When the call is for a garment to be altered, the person taking he call usually ascertains what is to be done, and writes the instructions on the back of the tag. In case no instructions are given in advance, they are usually given when the call is made—in which case they are written on the tag by the driver. When the package reaches the shipping room, reference to the tag shows what is wanted, and the package can be forwarded, at once, to the proper department. Carrying out the color scheme, the call tag should be of a special color to distinguish it from the delivery tag.
C. O. D. Deliveries. Of special importance are C. O. D. deliveries. There must be a positive record which will make it possible to check every item at every stage, including all items collected.
Fig. 22. Collect on Delivery Tag
The handling of a C. O. D. item begins with the sale, when the sales person, in addition to noting on the sales slip that the item is C. O. D., makes out a tag, as shown in Fig. 22. This tag, which should be of a special color, is made with a perforated stub, and on the stub the information on the tag itself is duplicated. The sales person fills in, on both the tag and the stub, the name and address of the customer, the amount to be collected, his own initials, the number of the department, and the date.
The goods and the duplicate sales ticket go to the packing room, while the original sales ticket and the tag go to the office, where they are taken charge of by the C. O. D. clerk. This clerk registers the sale on a C. O. D. register, stamps the number on the tag and stub, and returns them to the packing room. The tag is then attached, and the package sent to the shipping room, while the duplicate sales ticket goes to the auditor's office.
In a store where the packages are wrapped in the department making the sale, the routine is changed to the extent of sending the package direct to the shipping room, with a plain address label. The package is held in the shipping room until the tag, sent direct from the office, is received.
Fig. 23. Special C. O. D. Delivery Book
After they are sorted by routes in the shipping room, all C. O. D. items are entered in special delivery books, as in Fig. 23. This book is made in the same style, as the regular delivery book, with perforated sheets, but should be made of paper of a different color. The form differs but slightly from that of the regular book, the only difference being the addition of columns for the C. O. D. number and the amount to be collected.