PRAISE FOR SHOP ASSISTANTS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25090, 23 January 1947, Page 5

PRAISE FOR SHOP ASSISTANTS

VISITING EXPERT’S VIEW “ The Press ” Special Service AUCKLAND, January 21. A compliment to New Zealand shop assistants for their courtesy was paid yesterday by Miss V. M. Wiedersehn, an instructor of the Retail Traders’ Training Institute of New South Wales, who has been in New Zealand for some months organising a college of retailing in conjunction with the New Zealand Retailers' Federation. The college will begin day classes in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin for men and women on Monday. “I have never in any shop in New Zealand received anything but courteous treatment from the assistants—and I have been in many towns,” said Miss Wiedersehn. “I can say that quite honestly.” The pressure of the last few years had been borne by everyone, and everyone’s nerves had been frayed. It was easy to be pleasant when meeting people* occasionally, but shop assistants had to deal with the public every day. “I think our students are very definitely of average intelligence and, judging by those who have completed their course, assistants throughout New Zealand are interested in making of their work a career where there are standards. It is our job to set those standards.”

About 60 shop assistants who attended day classes in Wellington last year had been the first to complete a course and had done so with credit to themselves. As employers were continuing to support the college she presumed they felt they were deriving some benefit from it.

Miss Wiedersehn said enrolments in each of the four centres for the day classes beginning next week totalled about 120. More than 1000 students in other parts of the Dominion were taking correspondence lessons. The instructor at Christchurch is Miss Joyce Street, a North Island girl, who graduated last year.