the national 
DELINQUENTS ON DELIVERY. 
Southern Nurserymen Discuss an Important Subject — Every 
Bundle of Trees Ordered Is Delivered Regardless of Custom. 
er’s Change of Mind—Collections Fellow By Letter — No 
Notes Taken—Salaried versus Commission Agents — 
Experience with Lawyers In Collecting Accounts. 
At the annual convention of the Southern Nurserymen’s 
Association, in Charleston, N. C., the following discussion 
took place : 
President—Suppose we take up the subject of “ How is the best way 
to close out delinquents on delivery ? ” 
Secretary—We are still pursuing our same tactics with them and last 
year we collected in the neighborhood of $10,000 out of delinquents 
after we had finished making our deliveries. If there is any better 
plan I would like someone to put us on to it. 
What is that plan ? 
Our instructions to our deliverymen are to deliver every bundle of 
trees to the customer’s house whether he wants it or not. We take it 
that after a man has ordered trees he ought to have them and whether 
he pays for the trees or not when delivered, we leave the trees with 
him. When our man leaves a delivery point, his trench is empty—he 
has nothing left at all and nothing to sell. There are a good many 
people who annually watch for the tree-man to come and deliver his 
stock with the expectation that they will buy a lot of trees from what 
he has left over; but we never do that. We deliver every tree to 
every man who orders them. After the deliveries are made and the 
delivery sheets delivered to the office, we follow them up very closely. 
We begin by mailing a letter to each delinquent requesting in a very 
polite way, that they make payment for the stock that has been deliv¬ 
ered. This brings in a good deal of money and if not, at the end of 
thirty days we mail them a second letter a little bit stronger than the 
first, and we keep that up. I received the day I left home $15 from an 
account that was four years old. We keep after them, we find that it 
pays, and we have no system suggested to us that is better. 
Mr. Killian—You take personal notes from these parties ? 
No sir, take no note at all. We consider we already have a pretty 
good one when we get the order. 
Mr. Hood—If the party who orders is not rated well, do you deliver 
the order ? 
It has to be very bad. We endeavor to have all our orders good to 
begin with. There will always be a certain percentage of them abso¬ 
lutely worthless. It has to be very bad, but we take chances on it— 
that is in losing it. 
Do you sell to colored people through your agents ? 
As few as possible. The gentlemen of color during the last few 
years have fallen from grace with us. 
You state you collected $ 10,000 from sales last season. Would not a 
great part of that be really what was called good orders given on 
time ? 
In what way, Mr. Hood ? 
For instance, they were to people you thought good, and you give 
them time. 
A certain per cent, of course of the orders delivered are good. A 
man might not be at home, or he may not have the money, and pro¬ 
mises to pay at a certain time. Of course there is always a certain 
percentage of that order. 
Mr. Young—After hearing Mr. Wilson’s plan, I have thought a good 
deal of how we might work ours the same way, but the way we employ 
agents, unless we would give them a rebate, I hardly see how we 
could work on that plan. Mr. Wilson, do you employ your men all on 
salary ? 
I suppose 90 per cent, of our men are salaried men ; still we have 
many dealers who are glad to turn their accounts over to us to collect. 
Do you say to your men ‘‘you shall not sell your stock second¬ 
hand ? ” 
To the dealers you mean ? No sir, we do to our own men. 
How are you going to manage your dealers ? 
NURSERYMAN. $$ 
It is just left entirely with them. We cannot do that, of course, but 
I don’t think we have a dealer but what pursues our system. 
Mr. Shaddow—We work on the same plan as Mr. Wilson, and I 
don’t believe any nurseryman who sets his dates of delivery and expects 
his customers to come for their trees, can do a successful business. My 
method is the same as Mr. Wilson. When we have appointed a day of 
delivery we are there with the trees, and those who come we are glad 
to collect for them. Those who do not, we load them up in wagons, go 
right to their houses and leave the trees in the yard, collect all we can, 
which is generally about 50 per cent., and wind up the balance after¬ 
wards. 
Mr. Hood—Mr. Wilson, you say 90 per cent, are salaried men. You 
mean they work on salary or commission ? 
Salaried men. 
Mr. Hood—In our business we have very few salaried men. 
Mr. Killian—Mr. Wilson, in your salaried men, you have them 
to deliver the order they take themselves individually ? 
As near as possible. 
Mr. Hood—Mr. Shaddow, you spoke of having to pay agents to carry 
them out. 
We make a rule to send enough men to dispose of everything before 
they go to another point. We don’t depend on one man always to do 
all the work. We have had as many as six or seven men on one line of 
deliveries, and one man would go ahead and open up on the appointed 
day, the balance would come up and wind up with them. They never 
bring a bundle of trees back unless the customer cannot be found. By 
this means we collect 20 to 40 per cent, more than we would by waiting 
for the customers to come after the goods. The dealers all have the 
same rule. All we don’t collect we leave trees. We have their appli¬ 
cation, and we pursue Mr. Wilson’s course afterwards. Aboutf every 
two or three weeks we give notice. 
Mr. Hood—Mr. Wilson, how far do your agents sell from point of 
delivery ? 
Seldom over 12 miles. Generally from five to six miles. Some go 
ten. We do sell as high as 20 miles out, but usually these bills so far 
out we find the best people to come after the trees. 
Do you have your agent where they sell, or do you get them from 
your state ? 
Most of our agents are home men, Tennessee boys, and go into 
other states. We have very few local agents. 
Mr. Smith—In regard to that collecting, do you do the entire work 
from your office or do you have a lawyer at any time to enforce the 
collecting in case you fail to do it ? 
It has been our experience that the majority of cases where a lawyer 
gets hold of the account we had more trouble getting the collection 
from the lawyer than we usually have from our customers, so that we 
give lawyers a wide berth when it comes to collecting. 
President—Has anyone present ever pursued the method of deliver¬ 
ing everything to the house ? 
Mr. Killian—We have in some cases this last year. We have some 
men, they went from home with horse and buggy and delivered what 
they could, and hauled everything about, and the good part was they 
delivered all. Found a great many of these men with money in their 
pockets. Some men sent in an order to countermand, we took no 
notice of it, but sent the trees on and got the money. Those young 
men took their own buggies and horses, and knew every house, every 
man knew how to get there, and they delivered about all in that way, 
but all young men cannot do that. 
Mr. Smith—Did you ever use the collectors’ agent system before you 
went into this ? 
No, sir, we never have._ 
AT FREEPORT, ILLS. 
John M. Wise, Freeport, Ills., writes: “We have had a 
rather favorable winter here for nursery stock so far, the cold 
spells not lasting long. Prospects for spring trade good. We 
enjoy the regular visits of the National Nurseryman. I hey 
act as a tonic.” _______ 
Alonzo Lowe. Janesville, Cal., Jan. 7, 1902.—“ Please find money 
order for renewal of subscription to the National Nurseryman. 
Your journal is like electricity, easy to take hold of but hard to let go.” 
