SELF-SEKVING IN EETAILHsTG FOOD PRODUCTS. 23 



An adding machine at the exit is not essential, but speeds up the 

 work, insures greater accuracy, and means greater satisfaction to the 

 customer. A suitable type of cash register, while not essential, will 

 greatly facilitate the work of properly and efficiently taking care of 

 the customer at the exit. 



The entrance and exit should be so constructed as to allow only a 

 one-way passage. This is effected by the use of turnstiles which pro- 

 vide for the entrance and exit of only one person at a time, and 

 in one direction only. It is sometimes desired to keep a record of 

 the number of persons passing through these turnstiles, both as a 

 check and for statistical purposes. This can be accomplished by 

 placing on each turnstile a small counting machine especially con- 

 structed for this purpose. 



The refrigerator used for the display of such commodities as 

 butter, cheese, and eggs is one of the most important items in the 

 fixture account. An ordinary ice box can not be used advantageously 

 because it does not permit the proper display of articles which must 

 necessarily be kept in it. Where a considerable volume of business 

 is done a large refrigerator may be built in as part of the parti- 

 tion between the salesroom and the stock room. The doors should 

 be so hinged that they will automatically close tight (by the use of 

 heavy springs) after they have been opened. Something similar 

 to this can be followed out on a larger or smaller scale, depending 

 upon conditions, with satisfactory results. 



MERCHANDISE. 



There are numerous problems in connection with the buying and 

 selling of merchandise under the self-service plan that do not arise 

 to such an extent under the service plan. These may be conveniently 

 treated under the heads " Buying," " Grading," " Arrangement and 

 display," and " Price display." Practically all of these problems 

 exist in the service store, but their solution does not require such care- 

 ful consideration, since the management can explain to the salesman, 

 who in turn explains them to the customer. This does not always 

 work out to the best interest of the service store, because of the human 

 equation which enters in. 



The information in regard to merchandise that the store wishes to 

 impart to the customer is likely to be more carefully considered, and, 

 therefore, more thoroughly worked out under self-service, because it 

 is more difficult to impart the information under this condition. 

 Under the service plan, as it is likely to be left too much to the initia- 

 tive of the clerks, it is subject to variable interpretation. The lack of 

 salesmen makes the selling of merchandise more a scientific than 

 a human problem, and therefore in many cases it can be solved to 



