New Department
As a sales-stimulant during June it was decided to take two complete sections of the fourth floor and create a new department to be known as Fourth Floor Bargain Centre. This department was opened up in connection with June Stock Unloading Campaign which ran for a period of eight days.
Special advertising called attention not only to Fourth Floor Bargain Centre but to Main Floor Bargain Tables and Rendezvous Bargain Tables as well. Fourth floor signs were placed on all elevators and on different floors calling attention to the bargains to be found there.
Considerable interest has been taken by the staff in the formation of this department and all buyers are very keen to get their merchandise displayed. If this attitude is reflected by the public there is no doubt that the creation of this department will prove a decided success.
Holiday time is here and several members of the staff are enjoying themselves in the country and elsewhere. Miss Burrows, of the ladies' underclothing department, has taken a big risk; she has gone to Ponoka. Hopes are entertained that she will come back greatly benefited by her sojourn there.
Mrs. Marks, who has resided in Vancouver for a few years, has joined the whitewear department. She was formerly employed in the blouse department.
The Adventures of Sales Book No. 666
(Continued from June issue)
After the trouble that resulted from my being lost, of which I told you last month, my owner was for a time very careful where she put me, but when one is doing one thing and thinking of something altogether different it won't be long before there is a mistake made—and sure enough that is what happened.
A lady came up to the counter and my owner, who did not happen to be serving at the time, asked her what she could show her. The customer mentioned some little 10c article. My owner produced what was required and the customer said she would take two. I was then taken up and the sale was written down, but she did not notice, nor did the cashier, who knowing the price and looking on the sale slip for 20c saw that and nothing else. On the sale slip was written 2—— 10|20. It was intended to mean two articles at 10c ea.—20c; but my owner had placed the 10c in the $ column, making it look like $10.20. You cannot imagine how humiliated I felt at the trouble one of my sale slips was, I felt sure, going to cause; however, I will let it tell its own tale.
The Story of Saleslip No. 1
As you know, I am really meant to stand for 20c, but look like $10.20. The cashier, not noticing the error, stamped me Paid, tore me in half, placed the duplicate portion in the parcel and the original on her file with a lot of others. Before long others were put on top of me and I stayed there till store closing time when we were all taken off the file, tied up and taken to the fourth floor and put in a box with a lot of other bundles. In the morning we were taken to the audit department where each bundle was summed up in turn by comptometer operators.
The turn of my bundle soon came; the slips were rapidly added and when it came to me, sure enough into the machine went $10.20. When the total of the bundle was compared with the deposit slip it showed the cashier as being $10.00 short. The bundle was turned back to be re-added; another operator went through it, and arriving at the same total, and it was the same with two others who added the bundle. Mr. Cunningham was then flashed for and the report given to him that the cashier was $10.00 short.
He questioned the cashier but she could not help him. Meanwhile the audit department were sorting the sale slips and when they had all the slips for each salesperson in rotation they compared them with the tallies. When they came to me they saw $10.20 and on the tally only 20c.
They were just about to add $10.00 more on to the tally when they noticed that the article written on my face was only a 10c article. Then they realised that the "10" was out of place and that I represented only 20c. By looking at the cashier's stamp number and referring to the cashier's report they saw she was listed as $10.00 short.
I was then taken to the saleslady who made me out and showed to her. Her only comment was, "Oh, that's nothing, it's only a little out of place."
Note.—The above was an actual occurrence. The sale slip in question was sent to The Beaver but cannot be reproduced here.