METHODS AND PRACTICES OF RETAILING MEAT 
15 
Short weighing and over charging frequently are practiced by such 
dealers. Price cards which include fractions of cents are displayed 
prominently. After the customer selects a piece of meat the clerk 
places it on the scales and quickly announces a total amount but not 
the weight. Some dealers of this type admitted they used fractions 
on their price cards because they are confusing to the average person. 
In case of doubt as to the correctness of the transaction the customer 
hesitates to question it. 
FREQUENCY OF TURNOVER 
The importance of frequency of turnover as a factor from a profit 
and loss standpoint is not fully understood and appreciated by all 
those engaged in the retail meat business. Quantity buying without a 
proportionate selling volume is dangerous. Losses instead of profits 
are frequently incurred by such practices. Deterioration and shrink- 
age of a highly perishable product must be reckoned with. 
10 
20 
30 
PER CENT 
40 
50 
60 
70 
80 
CUTTING TESTS 
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Delivery store 
Cash-and-carry store 
\'\'\ Chain systems store 
Fig. 9.— When the various stores are scored according to methods of making cutting tests, con- 
siderable variation is noted. The efficiency of the stores in the chain system in this respect is 
in striking contrast to the stores in the other groups. Frequent cutting tests to determine what 
selling prices should be if they are to return a profit are a feature of chain-store operations but 
they are lacking to a marked extent in other system? 
Many dealers are evidently satisfied to make one complete turnover 
each week and do not realize the handicap resulting from the slower 
rate of turnover which involves greater shrinkage and waste because 
of the greater length of time meat remains in the shop. 
Volume and its relation to fixed overhead expenses including 
full-time employment of clerks and meat cutters has not been studied 
by the average retail dealer. Several established retail dealers testi- 
fied that when progressive cash-and-carry stores came into their 
neighborhoods they were obliged to bring their own methods of 
buying and salesmanship up to a new standard. 
CUTTING TESTS 
Practice has proven that frequent cutting tests constitute the only 
method by which a retailer can determine with accuracy whether the 
retail prices of the various portions of a carcass are adequate to 
return him a profit above the cost of the meat and his operating 
expenses. Yields of cuts vary with grade or quality. Yields 
