WHY H.G. WELLS IS NOT A DRAPER
*qnly incompetence;:'-
At the »n_ual conference dinner of the National Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen, and Clerks, at the Criterion Restaurant, London, 'says an English -journal, abetter was read .frbrn Mr. H. G.. Wells, in the course of which he said:—. .". "As you know, I began life behind tho counter (draper's ooqnter) when I w« thirteen, and I suppose if I had had a. normal ability to pack parcels and respect my shop-walker I should^ have been a dr»per'a assistant. all my life. _ What got me out of business was nothing but incompetence. I couldn't handle the stuff skilfully, and I couldn't. keep bright and attentive for long spells. . .
"I can work' pretty well- m short spells, but then I' must knock/off for half an hour or so before I can go on, anti the staying power of my colleagues filled mo with astonishment a-nd envy. To this day, the .steady good temper and patient alertness of, the shop assistant compels my admiration. "I don't know what sort of message- to give your conference except my very respectful and friendly greetings. If I wero talking to youngish assistants an_ trying to be fatherly and helpful I should say, 'Road all you^ can and keep adaptable. Learn everything you can of vtho story of the stuff you handle before it got into ,the shop, and get back towards the whole : . sale if you can.' "The greatest danger that threatens a shop assistant is routine. Don't, if you find a comfortable position, fall into routine. No branch of human activities is undergoing such a profound and revolutionary change as the distributing trade. Everything is, changing—methods of production, transport, handling, and display. "Tlie temper and quality of the customers is changing too. This moans.bother for you. It means change and accommodv tion—but it means opportunity. May you see it in good time and grip it with" both hands." _^____
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19220708.2.158
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 7, 8 July 1922, Page 19
Word Count
324WHY H.G. WELLS IS NOT A DRAPER Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 7, 8 July 1922, Page 19
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