Retailers President Says 'Customer Is Again King'

Northern Advocate, 31 May 1949, Page 2

Retailers President Says 'Customer Is Again King'

“THE art of salesmanship was very largely lost during the war years because staffs had the idea that the customers were lucky to get what they were given,” said the president of the Whangarei Retailers’ Association (Mr R. Sands) last night at a prizegiving marking the end of the second school of retailing held in Whangarei. “This attitude bred a careless indifference to the needs of the customer,” he remarked. “Now we realise that we must train ourselves afresh. “Business has got the new look, and we are back to the good old days of service with a smile.

“The style of selling we nave put up with during the past 10 years has gone by the board. “We realise that the customer must get what he wants —the customer is king. “Business is a science and calls for study just as much as does any science. “Some people could seh ice to the Eskimos, but salesmanship is not just a matter of selling. It is something more—of selling social acceptance. “When we sell a pair of shoes, we should remember that we are also selling foot comfort and the experience of pleasant walking; when we sell furniture, we sell the background to somebody’s home.” AWARDS PRESENTED Mr Sands said that the school had been most successful, and he complimented the tutor (Miss H. Lang' Mr J W Court then made a presentation to Miss Lang. Main awards rn-esenteri by Mr Sands were: Best pupils. Advancea selling !\Jr E. Macdonald; intermediate group. Mr R Harrigan: junior Miss B. Pilcher Best manuals on individual trades. Advanced selling Mr J Montgomery ! Mrs M Downs 2; intermediate. Miss E Matthews 1, Mr R. Cameron 2. AUCKLAND WINS DEBATE Following the presentation was a debate on the subject, “That the Salesperson Should Always Be Strictly Truthful” A team which came from Auckland especially for the occasion, with Mr T. Carden as leader and Miss S. Rowe and Mr G Clay, defeated a Whangarei team with Mr J. Montgomery as leader and Miss R Stratford and Mr R. Cameron, by 126 points to 1191. Adjudicator was the secretary of the Auckland Provincial Retailers’ Association (Mr R. M. Barker), and the Auckland team took the affirmative.

Their main point was that untruthfulness in a salesman made for dissatisfaction when the customer discovered the deceit. For the negative, the Whangarei team pointed out that, at times, a little diplomacy in the approach to a customer made for better relations than a statement of the unvarnished truth.

Mr Garden perhaps squelched this argument, at least in the mind of the judge, by remarking that diplomacy was in reality the truth presented in the kindliest possible manner. Last year the Whangarei team, won the cup by a margin of half a point. About 70 people attended the function last night.