SELF-SERVING IN RETAILING FOOD PRODUCTS. 35 



cashiers, 2 checkers, 1 man in the stock room acting as receiving clerk 

 and stock man, 1 head clerk who bought all the fruits and vegetables 

 and looked after the merchandise display, etc., 1 manager, and 1 

 office girl. 



HANDLING PERISHABLE FARM PRODUCTS. 



There has been a great deal of discussion as to the possibility of 

 handling perishable farm products under the self-service plan. Such 

 products as butter, eggs, and cheese present little difficulty as to 

 handling, but meats and certain fruits and vegetables are somewhat 

 difficult to handle under self-service, in fact so much so that numerous 

 self-serve stores handle them in a separate department under the 

 service plan. The objections to handling them under self-service are 

 that the customers, in selecting their purchases, pick over the goods, 

 selecting only the best and leaving a considerable quantity of mer- 

 chandise which has to be reduced in price in order to move it, and 

 that the customers damage a considerable quantity in selecting their 

 purchases. 



It is practically necessary that a store handle the more perishable 

 products, especially fruits and vegetables. A very few stores do not 

 handle them, but they are not usually successful. Grocers often say 

 that a good display of fresh fruits and vegetables will do more than 

 almost anything else to insure a good trade and that it stimulates 

 trade more than a special sale of staples, even though a better value 

 is given in the sale of the staples. 



Fruits and vegetables are handled in numerous ways under self- 

 service, but only a few of these methods have been successful. Be- 

 cause of the usual methods of handling fruits and vegetables which 

 are not carefully worked out, prices on those articles have been 

 relatively higher than other foodstuffs. The public is always at- 

 tracted by a good display and reasonable prices on these commodities, 

 and the dealer handling them properly should be better able to meet 

 competition on other lines. 



Of the problems in connection with handling fruits and vegetables 

 under self-service, some are peculiar to that mode of merchandizing, 

 while others are involved in the handling of fresh fruits and vege- 

 tables under any conditions. 



BUYING AND GRADING. 



Certain fruits and vegetables are more suitable for handling under 

 self-service than others. In general, the products of this class that 

 can be handled most successfully are those that are not highly perish- 

 able and easily bruised, and which are, at the same time, of consider- 

 able value per unit. Citrus fruits may be taken as representing this 

 group. Such products as potatoes, on the other hand, though not 



