THE GREAT SALE
I would like to be able to say that there were big sales on the first
day of the automatic sale. All the goods on those four sales' counters
had been reduced one cent in ten--ten-cent articles to nine cents, and
so on--but, on the first day, we took in only $36.00 from those
counters!
I found that the invoice cost of all the goods which I had put on in the
sale was $1,364.00. If I could only get that amount in cash out of them,
I would be more than satisfied, for I would have turned into money a lot
of stock which was old, damaged or such slow sellers as not to be worth
keeping. With the money I could buy goods that would sell quickly and
thus increase my rate of turn-over.
But only $36.00 worth sold the first day! And the sale of other goods
had been unusually slow, also. In fact, it was the worst day I had had
since I bought the store.
Not very promising for the beginning of a sale, was it? But Betty, bless
her heart, said, "Wait until Monday or Tuesday and you'll find things
will go along all right. The prices are not yet reduced enough to make
people eager to buy."
Although the goods on the bargain counters had been reduced 20 per
cent., only $47.00 worth went the next day!
Larsen shook his head and said, "It _may_ come out all right." He was a
regular Job's comforter!
That night, I said to Betty, "Perhaps it would be wise to call the sale
off, and put some of the goods back into stock again."
She replied: "Whatever you do, don't call the sale off! If there are any
lines that are really good, you might quietly put some of them back, but
don't call the sale off! It would hurt you too much. By the way," she
added, "I wonder what Stigler's window is covered up for to-day?"
I had noticed that as I came home. He had pulled the shades down in his
window, and, although it was 8:30 when I passed the store, the lights
were still burning inside. I had an uncomfortable feeling that he was
going to do something to me.
I wondered if he was going after me on prices even worse than before! I
did not sleep very well that night. It's easy to say "what's the use of
losing sleep over a thing," but, when a man finds the bottom knocked out
of his business because of competition, plans a big sale and it starts
off as a hopeless fizzle, after an outlay of over a hundred dollars for
advertising, he can't help but worry! The man isn't born that can find
things slipping away as I had and not worry over it!
Betty was a real comfort. She said:--"Don't you see, boy dear, that's
just what you need, a lot of trouble?"
"Huh," I replied, "I'm certainly getting what I need, good and plenty!"
She smiled, and replied, "That's right, keep your sense of humor. One of
my teachers once said that a sense of humor is a safety valve which
prevents us blowing up from the pressure of too much trouble. You're
going to pull through this all right, and you'll be a better and a
bigger man for the experience!"
What would I have done without her! I wonder, if the big business men of
the country were to tell the truth, how much of their success they would
owe to some quiet little woman who gave them the right kind of
encouragement and admonition? Whatever success I may have had I'll be
frank enough to admit that I would not have succeeded if it hadn't been
for Betty.
On the third day of the Sale, we kept the store open till 11 o'clock,
and it was midnight before I left.
When I had passed Stigler's that morning I had found his windows piled
high with kitchen goods, on which were labels with the regular retail
price. I had stood at the window and looked at the different prices to
be sure that they were genuine, and, surely enough, the prices were
regular. But then I noticed a big sign, hung from above, which read:
STIGLER'S SATURDAY SPECIAL
For one day only, every article in this window will be
offered at 25 per cent. off regular price. These goods
are offered for sale, and will really be sold. We are
not offering to give goods away that won't be there!
I was doing some pretty quick thinking while I was standing there, for,
while only about half the goods in my sale were kitchen utensils, I
certainly had made a big push on those goods.
At that moment Stigler came along from behind me, walked right up to me,
and said:
"Howdy?"
"How are you, Stigler?" I returned.
"Fine!" he said. "Enjoying the weather! How do you like my little
window, eh? I'm glad to see yer take an interest in what we are doing!
Of course, if you ain't satisfied with what you see there, come right
along inside and I'll show yer me books!"
"I was just passing your store, Stigler, and, naturally, I looked in
your window."
"Sure--sure," he said, nodding his head sarcastically, "you fellers have
a habit of passing the store pretty often, don't yer? Quite a clever
stunt you are putting up there, with that automatic give-away-nothin'
idea. Kinder thought I'd start in the cutting line myself a bit. How
d'ye like it?"
"I don't know what I have ever done to you that you should make such a
dead set on me."
"N-no?" he returned with a drawl. "Well, I'll just tell yer, young
feller. I've just kinder got a fancy to get some more business, and as
some of the trade seems to be floatin' around kind o' easy like, I
thought I'd just nail it down. And if by any chance some dear
competitor"--and his lips curled in derision as he said this--"happens
to get in the way, well!--I can kinder be sorry for him like, and
perhaps give him a job sometime if he wants one."
Then I had lost my temper.
"You're a four-flushing cur, and just as sure as my name is Black, I'll
give you a run for your money! If you think you can scare me, you're
mistaken! And if you want a fight, by George, I'll give it to you!"
Stigler leaned against the corner of his window and said:
"My, somebody's been feedin' yer meat, ain't they?" and then he turned
and walked into his store.
The first thing I did when I got to the store was to tell Larsen I
wanted to put a dollar in the "swear box," and then I told him the
incident. He shook his head thoughtfully, and said:
"Too bad, Boss, too bad."
I wished that I had kept control over my tongue! I felt that Stigler had
had the best of the scrap that morning. I felt that he had put it all
over me. I had felt like a scolded boy, and I had probably looked like
one as I marched away from his store with my ears and face burning,
a-tremble in my limbs.
Larsen had quickly written a sign which said, "30 per cent. reduction
to-day on all goods offered in our automatic sale!" Then he asked me if
I could manage to spare him for a couple of hours.
"What for?" I asked.
"I tell you, Boss," he said. "We got a lot of good carpenter tools in
the sale. I want to go to every carpenter in town and tell 'em what we
got. Stigler tries to get sales in carpenters' tools. He got a mad at
you because you put in more stock. I'll tell 'em they can buy
carpenters' tools for 30 per cent. less regular price. That'll hit
Stigler where he lives!"
I caught a bit of Larsen's enthusiasm. Isn't it remarkable how a man
over fifty like Larsen could have the energy and enthusiasm he showed? I
really thought he was getting younger every day, while I was getting
older!
When he came back to the store, about 11:30 he was smiling.
"How did you make out?" I asked.
"Fine! I got over $60.00 of orders. I promise to put the tools one side.
The folks'll call later in day. Some that didn't order said they goin'
to come in."
"That's great!" I exclaimed, and my spirits immediately rose.
"Any business this morning?" Larsen asked.
"Yes," I replied, "four lines sold out."
"Kitchen goods?"
"Yes, all of them. You know that cheap line of enameled frying pans?"
"Yep."
"Well, a woman came in and bought twelve of them!"
"Twelve?"
"Yep. And then another one came in and bought six! They've been selling
in bunches," and I chuckled. "What are you looking so glum at?" I asked
him suddenly.
"We got a hole in our plan," he returned. "We oughta say no person buy
more than one of anything. I bet them frying pans in Stigler's now. They
was good at the price. He couldn't buy 'em wholesale to-day for it. I
bet he sell 'em off to-day, and we got none. He got one of our big cards
and plays it himself."
"I've got the list of goods sold out ready to put in the window," I
said, and passed him over a card on which I had listed the goods which
were all gone.
"I think," he said, "we better put some more frying pans in the sale and
not say we sold out."
"That's a good idea," I returned; and we put a half dozen more of our
regular stock on the 50-cent counter. Then we agreed to be cautious
about selling any more articles in "bunches."
To my surprise, our sales for that third day on the "automatic" goods
were $421.00, so the first three days of our sale netted $504.00. That
sounded encouraging.
If I could get another $860.00 for the balance of the sale, I would not
have done so badly. I decided that I had planned right in having the
third day sale come on Saturday, for that was always a big day with us.
The reduction had been a substantial one, and yet everything that was
sold had been sold for more than the invoice price.
Our tool sale had been unusually large; Larsen's trip to the carpenters
had helped that out a lot.
After the store was closed we made a list of the articles which were
sold out and posted them in the window so that they would be seen the
next day. Over sixty different lines were sold out, and the list was
quite a formidable one.
Then we drew another big sign, which we placed in the window, saying:
At eight o'clock Monday this store will be opened, and
the few remaining goods in our automatic sale may be
bought at 4¢ in ten discount, or 40 per cent. reduction
from regular price. As the sale has been a phenomenal
success, we anticipate clearing out the balance of the
goods on Monday. Early comers will secure the best
bargains.
Stigler springing that 25 per cent. reduction sale on kitchen goods had
unfortunately spoilt a lot of business which I felt sure we would have
had otherwise. We had overcome some of the loss, however, by the extra
push we had made on carpenters' tools.
When I told Betty about it after getting home, she said:
"Well, Stigler didn't waste any time getting after you, did he?"
"No," I said with a grin.
"And do you know that he says now that your sale has proved a fizzle and
that practically all your goods have been put back in stock again? . . .
_Quiet_," she said, putting her hand on my shoulder, for I was about to
explode with temper. "I suppose no man can be successful without having
a lot of people throw mud at him."
That evening I was so tired that I fell asleep in my chair. Betty woke
me up by putting her arm around my neck, and saying:
"You had better go along to bed now, boy dear. Here, drink this--it will
make you rest better"--and I drank a glass of hot milk she had prepared
for me, and went to bed.
On Monday we had a wonderful clearance. Most of the goods were sold, and
our total for the four days' sale was $1,090.00!
The boys were all dead tired. I had sent Wilkes about 7 o'clock to get
some hot coffee and sandwiches for us, for we had a continuous crowd of
customers in the store and not one of the store crowd would think of
leaving. We took drinks of coffee and bites of sandwiches in between
serving customers, and the coffee was all cold before we got through
with it!
You will remember my telling that I had discharged Myricks and that he
had gone to work for Stigler. Well, Stigler had fired him after a couple
of weeks, saying that he had found out all he knew and had no further
use for him. Myricks had been looking for a job ever since, and, as I
knew I would have to have some extra help for the sale, I put him on
again. In fact, I had told him that, if he behaved himself I might be
able to use him for the winter, for it had been tremendously hard work
for our little force to take care of the business, and I had felt that
if we had another clerk it would relieve me to do some more planning,
and might also allow Jones or Larsen to do some soliciting for business;
for I hadn't forgotten what that pencil sharpener man had told me, and
had decided that, after the sale I would go.
Well, Myricks had started on Thursday morning, and had seemed to be
working well. I had noticed, however, on the following Monday, that he
didn't ring up one of his sales. He had sold over $6.00 worth of goods
and I had seen him put the money in his pocket and go after another
customer.
I called him to one side, later in the day, and said:
"Myricks, why didn't you ring up that sale?"
He went red, and then white, and said:
"Er--er--you see--I'll tell you--that other customer was impatient and I
wanted to get to him quickly and I thought it would save time and I
could ring it up later."
"Don't do it!" I replied sharply. "Ring up every sale as you make it!"
We were too busy to dispense with him then, but I wondered--I
wondered--
When we closed the store Tuesday no more goods were left! The sales that
day had been $427.00.
Of course when I say there were no more goods left, I mean there were
perhaps thirty or forty odd items left, but I was certain that they
would be all sold out the next day.
The total for the sale had been $1,517.00. My advertising had cost me
$127.00, so that my net cash from the sale was $1,390.00. That showed me
a cash profit of $24.00. But, gee whiz!--didn't that bank account look
good!
I planned to take up that note of $1,000.00 at the bank, right away. It
would seem good to get rid of that. And I was going to Barrington and
pay $250.00 on that $1,250.00 loan for which he had taken a mortgage on
my farm.
Gosh, it did seem good to have some money, although after I had taken
$1,250.00 from $1,390.00, there wouldn't be much real cash left. Still,
I hadn't been buying much, and my bills were unusually small that month.
When I got home I rushed into the house, took hold of Betty and swung
her around several times, and sang my little song--"Half-price day is
over and no more goods are left!" We behaved like a couple of kids.
She thought I would be making a mistake to pay off that thousand dollars
at the bank. She thought I ought to leave $500.00 of it, for she said I
wouldn't have enough money to pay my month's bills and would have to
borrow again.
"Well, they'll let me do it, if necessary," I said; "and besides, I'm
not paying interest on what I am not borrowing."
"Perhaps you're right," she said with a laugh, "and now come and get
your dinner."
Dinner, at 10:30 at night! However, what's meal time when you're busy?
How I pitied those poor fellows who don't get heart and soul into their
work. Time surely does fly when you do! What a shirker I had been when I
had worked for Barlow! The days had seemed long then.
I gave all my fellows a special bonus that week for the work they had
done. I gave Larsen $10.00, Jones $6.00 and Wilkes $3.00--that is, an
extra half week's pay.
Myricks had gone. In spite of being busy I had gotten rid of him that
Tuesday. I had caught him again putting money in his pocket, and Mr.
Pinkham, who bought a saw, also told me that he had noticed Myricks
didn't ring up the money.
I had kept my eye on Myricks, and then, when there was a little lull in
trade, I had called him into my little office and ordered him to turn
out his pockets.
"What's that for?" he asked impudently.
"I want to see how much money you have got there," I said.
"I don't see that it's anybody's business what money I have got in my
pockets," he replied.
"Well, it has something to do with me," I returned sternly, "for you
told me yesterday you were carrying my money in your pockets. Now, I
insist on knowing what you have got in your pockets."
"All I've got is money of my own, and I don't see that it's any of your
business!"
"You are going to turn out your pockets before you leave this office," I
said angrily. My voice was raised and the others in the store were
gazing in our direction. "If not, I'll call a policeman."
"Call him in and be damned," he said, and he struck at me.
I lost my temper, and for once I was glad of it, for I landed on him and
hit him fair and square under the jaw. He fell against the desk,
upsetting a vase full of flowers that Betty had put there. He got up,
holding his head, and blood was trickling from a cut in his cheek where
he had caught the edge of the desk.
I was so raging mad that I was prepared for almost anything.
"Now, damn you!" I said with a snarl, "turn out your pockets _quick_!"
He did so, and I found $37.00 there.
"It's my money," he said surlily. "It's my money! You touch that money
and I'll have the law on you!"
I picked up the money, put it in my pocket, and said:
"Now, I'll give you just five minutes to get clear out of my sight!
Before you go, let me tell you that customers have seen you putting
money in your pocket, and I have seen you also. Just let me have one
peep from you, now or any other time, and I'll have you in jail! Now,
beat it!"
I opened the door and he slunk out.
"I'll get you yet," he growled as he left.
I had lost my temper, I knew I had; but I was mighty glad I had; for I
felt if I hadn't I wouldn't have given him the lesson he deserved. And
incidentally, I had learned another lesson, and that is, never rehire a
discharged employee. Then and there I determined that, so long as I was
in business, if an employee ever left me for any reason whatever, I
would never reinstate him. He would be through forever.
[Illustration: "I WAS SO RAGING MAD THAT I WAS PREPARED FOR ALMOST
ANYTHING"]
When I got home that night, Betty remarked:
"Why, look at the knuckles on your hand! They have blood on them! What
have you done?"
"Oh, I just knocked into the cash register $37.00 which was walking out
of the door," I returned jauntily. And then I told her the whole story.
She came over and kissed me and said:
"Good boy!" and her eyes flashed as she said it. "I'm proud of you!"
Those four words meant more to me than the success of this sale.
Betty and I went to Boston the next day. I wanted to call at Bates &
Hotchkin's to buy a few things I needed, and also I wanted to call on
Mr. Barker, to whom Mr. Sirle had given me a card of introduction some
time ago. I intended that we should have a nice little dinner, and take
in a show and stay at a good hotel for the night and come back the next
day. All by way of celebration.
"You are an extravagant man," said Betty severely when I told her this.
"What train do we leave by? I'll be ready."