SALESMAN AND HIS CUSTOMER.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 78, 1 April 1931, Page 4

SALESMAN AND HIS CUSTOMER.

ADDRESS IS GIVEN TO THE ADVERTISING CLUB.

“The Customer: Types, Tactics and Ethics,” was the subject of an address delivered by Mr James Stout, manager of the Jobbing Department of the “ Christchurch Times,” to the Canterbury Advertising Club after its annual meeting last evening. Mr J. J. Staples presided over a fair attendance. The speaker said that the analysis he had to offer concerning the customer would apply to most businesses as much as to those of printing and advertising. which, for convenience, would provide most of his illustrations. What he had to say of the frailties of customers was put forward only in a helpful and constructive way, for sellers, as well as buyers, were composed of good, bad and indifferent, and it did not become any section to offer criticism from a pedestal. It would be equally interesting and helpful to hear a customer’s address on the types, tactics and ethics of sellers, but it would not be a very terrifying experience to printers, for they were used to “ getting it in the neck.” Customers What They Are Made. The printer who criticised his customer unkindly should not overlook the fact that, to a large extent, customers were what he made them. A printer who, through fear or stress of circumstances, played the inferiority role of “ doormat ” should not be surprised if such an attitude developed an overbearing type of customer. The speaker then dealt with several types of customer, each presenting his own particular problem to the printer, and. incidentally, to most other classes of business men. The bargain-hunter in the printing world was usually penny wise and pound foolish, and lost his saving on price by the cost of time lost in chasing it, and losing still more heavily in the lowered effectiveness of cheaply priced and correspondingly, poorly produced publicity. The increased wastage due to low* quality printing was a very serious though invisible loss to the customer. The printer, when harassed by his creditors, with his bank overdraft stopped, and in his panic doing work at halfprice in order to delay the inevitable crash, was a temptation to more than the mere bargain-hunting customer, and was a danger to his own industry. This feature, of course, was not confined to the printing world, as other business men present could confirni. Unavoidable Expense. The “ finicky ” customer was entertainingly dealt with. When the “ finicky ” man’s exactions extended to the charge for the many unforeseen vicissitudes in the progress of the work' for which he alone was responsible, it was rather a revelation to him to have itemised in detail the surprising num* ber of operational steps through which his work had passed, each of which was an unavoidable expense which absorbed the printer’s hard cash, and amply justified the charge, i Other types, such as the “ bluffer,” the “ sticky-fingered,” the man with a divine gift for fault-finding and the fair-minded, were also generously dealt with. The printer himself, incidentally, came in for his own share of friendly criticism. Mr Stout declared that neither “ the art and mystery of printing ” nor the printer himself were held in as high esteem by the public as in the early days of the trade. The printer who did not respect himself and his industry could not demand the respect of the business community. A spirit of antagonism, or of mere “ getting even,” as between printer and customer, of whatever type and irnder whatever circumstances, could only make for bad business. The pressure of hard times tended to bring down the price, and with it the quality, and low standards in production ultimately offended the disillusioned customer as much as it displeased the struggling printer. Such a situation was mutually unprofitable, viewed from any angle. The seller in all businesses too often failed in his expression of appreciation of the continuous, loyal support of the worth-while customer. “ Thanks to the high ideals passed down to us by our early pioneers,” said Mr Stout in conclusion, “ there is no part of the Dominion so rich in the evidence of character and standing as our own province.” A vote of thanks -was accorded to Mr Stout for his talk.