Shoe shop

“ When we consider that her income is two or three times as great as that of other salespeople in the same department, who will say that it isn’t worth the effort?
61 NO GEOGRAPHY IN SERVICE The summer resort shop requires a special style, color or material in a shoe in order to satisfy the needs of its customers; the professional man prefers one style above another; the laboring man has his preference; the Westerner has his choice, which is altogether different from what the city man in the East requires, and so on it goes, each man for his own needs and preferences. ”

“ One day being near to a manufacturer of the wooden shoes worn by the peasants, our party of four slips within the shop, and are fitted after trying on at least a dozen pairs, to the apparent delight of Meinherr. It is necessary to wear a heavy woollen stocking to secure comfort in these shoes. 120 The ordinary American stocking would soon be rubbed into holes by the hard surface of the shoe. Indeed it is quite a feat to be able to walk rapidly and gracefully in this clumsy footwear. ”

“ That same shoe must attract the approving attention of the wearer’s friends; it must wherever worn give the sensation of snug sufficiency; it must help the chest to expand a little with pride of possession and the shoulders to straighten up as that “well-dressed” feeling asserts itself. Every shoe salesman has noticed these things, that spread of honest joy on the customer’s face as he stands up, stamps his foot into the shoe and strides up and down a few feet, erect and confident, and then reaches into his pocket for the price. ”

“ At our Whitechapel Factory there is one shoemaker whom we picked off the streets destitute and miserable. He is now saved, and happy, and cobbles away at the shoe leather of his mates. That shoemaker, I foresee, is but the pioneer of a whole army of shoemakers constantly at work in repairing the cast-off boots and shoes of London. Already in some provincial towns a great business is done by the conversion of old shoes into new. They call the men so employed translators. Boots and shoes, as every wearer of them knows, do not go to pieces all at once or in all parts at once. ”

“ There are close on to 250,000 men and women engaged in the retail selling of shoes, most of whom spend their entire effort in the work. Billions of invested capital is required to furnish the means of carrying on this enormous business.
From the standpoint of cost as well as importance as part of a man’s wearing apparel the shoe ranks second only to his suit of clothes. With most women this is true also. ”

“ In reply to your favour of July 2d, I have the honour to inform you that, according to my opinion, there is no place on the habitable globe that presents to the eye stronger evidence of the need of a first-class shoe store than does the town of Coralio. There are 3,000 inhabitants in the place, and not a single shoe store! The situation speaks for itself. This coast is rapidly becoming the goal of enterprising business men, but the shoe business is one that has been sadly overlooked or neglected. In fact, there are a considerable number of our citizens actually without shoes at present. ”

“ He should be able to consider himself sitting in the chair, he should look at the shapes and colors submitted, through the eyes of the customer, and he should feel the shoe on his own foot as he adjusts it to the customer’s. Pure imagination, of course, but how else can he successfully work along in the sale with his customer—how else can he hope to work in harmony? ”

“ We refer in these remarks to the manufacture of what is known as “sale work.” There are many, very many, “custom workers,” who proceed by correct rules, and upon scientific principles; men who understand how to adapt the shoe or boot to the foot, so that when the customer first draws the boot or shoe on, it fits naturally and easily, adapting itself to any, and every deformity or slight irregularity which the foot may present. We make general statements, which every intelligent shoemaker, or large manufacturer, will at once acknowledge. ”

“ Boxing, running, football, tennis, baseball, are all forms of strenuous exercise, but they do not call for the same endurance as the busy eight-hour day of retail selling. In spite of this, how many shoe salesmen are there who actually make it a part of the daily program to get and keep in condition for the business game? ”

“ Bring to the customer only one style of shoe, and that should be the style the salesman has assured himself as being the one desired by the customer. Do not hand the shoe to the customer to examine and do not hold it up before his eyes to inspect. ”

“ But a man does not have to be one-legged nor to have feet of uneven sizes or shapes to make him ask the dealer to break a pair of shoes for him. A man with two perfectly good feet came into the store where he was accustomed to buy and wanted one shoe. ”

“ The simplest and the clearest way of showing how the various kinds of shoes are made is to explain the manufacture of a Goodyear welt and afterwards bring out the points in which this method of shoemaking differs from the others.
Shoes are manufactured in up-to-date factories, employing hundreds of operatives. The modern shoe factory of to-day is divided into six general departments: the sole leather department, upper leather department, stitching department, making department, [104] finishing department, and the treeing, packing, and shipping departments. ”

“ In women’s factories where sole leather is not cut, they do not have a complete sole leather department. Instead, they have what is called a stock-fitting department. There are independent cut sole houses, etc., in the trade, which supply the soles to manufacturers. The same system of buying supplies also applies to many other parts of the shoe, as in the top lift, half sole, welt, rand, etc. In the upper leather department, manufacturers of both men’s and women’s shoes often buy trimmings and other parts of the upper all prepared. ”

“ In another building, I was shewn his manufactory of shoes, which, like the other, is full of ingenuity, and, in regard to subdivision of labour, brings this fabric on a level with the oft-admired manufactory of pins. Every step in it is effected by the most elegant and precise machinery; while as each operation is performed by one hand, so each shoe passes through twenty-five hands, who complete from the hide, as supplied by the currier, a hundred pair of strong and well-finished shoes per day. ”

“ Soiled remnants of European stocks play a very important part in this section of the bazaar.
On turning round a corner we have shoes and boots, foreign made, of the favourite side-elastic pattern, or the native white canvas ones with rope soles—most comfortable and serviceable for walking. The local leather ones have strong soles with nails and turned-up toes, not unlike the familiar Turkish shoe; while the slippers for women have no back to them at the heel and have fancy toes. ”

“ The cartons should be kept clean so that the salesman might justly feel proud of the appearance of the goods if a customer should enter the store hurriedly and notice a certain number in the stock. The appearance of a particular pair of shoes pulled out should be such that the customer would receive the impression that it had just arrived from the factory. There should be the look of freshness and newness that would at once appeal to the customer and influence his decision in favor of buying. ”

“ It remains for the retail salesman to meet the customer face to face and upon the ability he has to move the stock is determined the success or failure of the whole undertaking. This, surely, is a big job and it carries with it a big responsibility. Amid present-day competition no longer can we sit back in hopeful anticipation for the best. Selling is mainly a matter of brains, and success comes in proportion to the amount of ability mixed with effort.
RETAIL SHOE SELLING The annual shoe business of the United States is estimated at more than $1,500,000,000. ”

“ Although the customer may have asked for and may have been shown 138an eight-dollar shoe it is very often the fact that a ten or twelve-dollar shoe with more style and better wearing quality, if properly shown, will please him more.
Although a shoe may be a short-profit line the salesman’s obligation to give the customer full satisfaction is just as great as it is in selling the best shoe in the house. The leader, as suggested, is designed to attract the new customer so that he may become acquainted with the salesman and the store. ”

“ On the other hand, if her foot is of such a shape that it could not wear the new style, it would be better business for the salesman to say nothing about the new styles and to give his whole attention to the shoes he has to fit the particular foot. To be prepared to meet this situation when it occurs requires that all shoes in the stock be studied with the idea of learning their points of advantage or limitation as applied to different classes of feet. ”

“ In retail shoe selling it would be rare indeed to find in one sale so many features of poor salesmanship, but it is clear, of course, that the presence of any one of them would operate to reduce the customer’s confidence and satisfaction. 78From the shoe salesman’s own experience he would have realized at once the desirability of greeting the customers cheerfully and of showing an interest in an unusual experience that brought the men in from the street bareheaded. ”

“ If the salesman, by the manner in which he conducts himself and his actual knowledge of his job, wins the customer’s confidence, if he conducts 135himself as an expert, the customer will accept him as such and be glad to take advantage of his advice. The first or second shoe selected for the customer can be made more satisfying to him than one that he himself may have been required to select out of a dozen offered to him. ”

“ Such a customer would expect shoes that would give her the maximum of wearing quality for the money she has to spend. Her appearance indicates that she is poor. She wants the greatest possible wearing service and comfort that she can get. She deserves the best fit that it is possible to give her, and she will generally be glad of the salesman’s suggestions concerning the shoe she should wear. The matter of pattern and style is not a prime consideration. Talk quality and supply a strong, serviceable shoe. ”

“ A change has come over the craft of boot [iv] and shoe making. The use of machinery has effected nothing short of a revolution in the trade. The old-fashioned Shoemaker, with his leathern apron and hands redolent of wax, has almost disappeared from the workrooms and streets of such towns as Northampton and Stafford in Old England, or Lynn in New England. ”

“ Convince the customer that you are sincerely working for his interest—tell him so. The style and fit of the shoe called for will serve as an indication of the kind of shoe wanted. Proceed at once to get the stock nearest to it and start selling it on its merits. Nothing will be gained by considering any further the merits of the shoe that is out of stock. Remember that one of the important features of salesmanship is that of creating a desire for the merchandise you have. Fit properly the shoe you have in stock, dwell upon its good qualities, its workmanship and its value. ”

“ The stitching department is often called the fitting department; the making department, the bottoming department; and the sole leather department, the stock-fitting department. The departments are popularly termed rooms for brevity.
A shoe factory is designed so as to have a width of about fifty feet for each room, while the length is according to the number of shoes to be produced. A width of about fifty feet gives plenty of daylight and ample room in the center of each department, which is very essential in shoemaking. ”

“ It is safe in many instances to show something of slightly better quality on the assumption that the customer is not wearing the best he has, or perhaps, that he is more prosperous now than he was when he made the last purchase. At any rate, it is better to come down on the quality of shoe offered than to have the customer request that he be shown something better.
A customer, man or woman, dressed in the extreme of style will almost invariably expect to be served with footwear of the same general nature. ”

“ You see our girls learn to sew, wash and iron, and keep house. But we were puzzled to find suitable work for our boys; and I proposed in my report that they should learn some mechanical trade, and recommended that the managers should begin with shoe-making.
To my great gratification, the ladies all approved of this; and I can tell you I soon hunted up a shoemaker who was willing to come and teach them for a little money, and in a week there was a dozen boys provided with tools, leather, &c., hard at work, and very happy learning to make and mend shoes. ”

“ A woman about thirty enters the store carrying a baby in her arms and leading another child by the hand. Her clothes are shabby. She is evidently tired and makes her way to the nearest chair. She looks discouraged.
The salesman on considering these facts realizes at once that such a customer cannot be served in the same manner as the care-free schoolgirl. If he places himself in the position of the tired woman he will realize that her problems are different and that she requires in a shoe not 119only service but quality, fit, style and price to meet her own circumstances. ”

“ Most people live in their shoes about sixteen hours a day and during that time subject them to a variety of conditions of cold, heat and dampness. From the standpoint of sanitation, it is as important to provide sufficient ventilation for the shoe as it is to do so for the rooms in which we live.
CLOSING THE SALE IN THE STORE Satisfaction on the part of the customer is the basis of successful merchandising. Every wide-awake salesman and dealer realizes this fact, and makes it a part of his selling policy to insure the customer’s entire satisfaction, as far as it is humanly possible to do so. ”