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Show i THE GENTLE ARTTfTRI N G" T HE 'WOMAN BUYER T EthB " WBiHICH Describes Roseate Prospect on Her Entering the Department Store, the High Noon of Her Success, the Gathering of- P2JS! H laZa! 'llWJj the Storm Clouds and, Her Eventual-Total Eclipse 9 HtS M ;I fR? the sorriest episodes In the oporatlon I I A I of the big department store is the dismissal Vyjof a buyer. Iu describing tho process by, f wHch this Is accomplished Barbara Deering is , " inclined to be cynical, and perhaps she has j1 omitted instances of direct and summary action w, that have thrown the victim out of employment. Jt - Nor is the side of the management presented Vm so generously as it might be. However, the . F3& writer does give an entirely sympathetic view - m of the employe's tribulations, for she Is thor ffli - ouf?llly conversant with them, and as a brief for OT" the defondant the article will be found an en- gft ' lightening exposition of the way to do o dis- IS agreeable thing without undue friction or un- fM" necessary harshness. W- BY BARBARA DEERING. $ iConjrisbt. J01J. tr U? NwYorl. Uerajd Co. All rlcbts rcvrrKl.) WHEN' a woman buyer makes her appearance in a large store to take charge of a department depart-ment slio experiences a delightfully dizzy sensation as of one ascending to new heights. Generally she Is n newcomer, for tho coveted W ppsltlou of buyer Is seldom obtnlued by one who has m occupied a mluor position. , When there Is n vacancy the department store spreads its net for ty womun to fill It. Perhaps she : has held a similar position In another cltv or has re mained for yearn in A department store In the sarao I city as. an assistant buyer, until she looks upon her- ' self as a perniauont fixture there and Is daxed at .being ' requested to call upon the firm that eventually em- r ploys her to talk over the possibility of becoming a buyer for them. I'"" ' Of.lcn she has gained her experience- from a busl- ' pess of her owu Jn which she. has becu successful nnd " has a clientele of fashionable and wealthy' women , whom the department store Is nnxlouso obtaiu. The ; j. department store ?cplcs her because, managing a busl- Jj uess for herself, she must understand 'business FVR Methods, anil?1 having a1 large following, she ivlll bo.;V( Influential In bringing It to the store. x "In your owu business you have expenses to meet . nnd you are confronted by financial worries, which you will be free from when you arc In our employ," a member of the firm argues. The woman who Is to become a buyer acknowledges that this Is Iruc. "Your customers keep you waiting for your money, while you must meet your bills promptly If you want to keep up your credit. If the season Is A backward one, despite your efforts you will find at the end of the year I hat you have made no profit, and, outside of nlmply having a living, you are worse off "than the year preceding." Thee arguments appeal to the woman who has been In business for herself. She sees the business problem from the viewpoint of a big merchant. If it has been the millinery business she will recall the worries which have confronted her daily, the gigantic rent she pay, the high salaried help she employ., the thousand and one expenses. When the compares the conditions with the opportunity offered, where she can take her place In a largo store with unlimited capital; where she does not need to lwther with bills payable and with outstanding accounts; where the merchandise she offers is advertised and the customer,? are brought to her. and where there Is a fixed salary which comes regularly each week, It seems like a great relief. ' When she goes into the department for I he first tjme the atmosphere is roeote: From the proprietors to the humblest messenger boy all do her homage. "She Is the new buyer." they tell one another, and if among themselves they say "1 have seen them come and go, and 1 give her about two years," she doesn't know it and believes that they regard her as a genius come to lift the department from the depths to which It has fallen. When a new buyer l engaged iu a department store (here is a reason. (Jeuerally the department has run iloun uutll Lhe sales are at low ebb and the stock Is In a bad condition. The department is In a 6talc of chaos. Probably it has been without a buyer for some time and has practically run Itself. Every one waits for the new buyer to put her shoulder to the Shu Is piloted about her department by one of the executive of the store. It may be a member of the firm who Is so interested iu this branch of merchandise merchan-dise that he wants to introduce her to It himself, or It may be the general manager or the merchandise man, both of whom are In some way Interested lu Its welfare. Every -word she utters, every opinion she gives, Is treated as if it were of priceless value. She notices that several of the saleswomen are uuattrac-tlve uuattrac-tlve and careless In conduct. She Is informed that she has the privilege of dismissing the entlro force If she so desires in order to build up an organization that will do her credit. She remarks that the lights arc bad, the mirrors pluccd so that the customer seated before them will see herself to a disadvantage. Carpenters and electricians are put to work to'follow out her Instructions. In-structions. She bus cartc blanche to order. changes. Her Ideas and suggestions are acted upou promptly. Her Auspicious Beginning. Manufacturers and importers come lo her aDd offer Inducements. - . - --.. - v-- "l'ou arc new here and w,e want you tp'makctusuc- ' -cess. WeiwlIL fjlve you something jthat will "make a ft nqlsar -liee. these' flowers? They bavo Just arrived. from Paris. They post .us $15 a dozen jo land and every store in The city wants them. Tho demand is greater than the supply. But as your store had no buyer abroad this, season, and as you haven't the flower we will let you have all .von want for 8.(50 a dozen, it will be a big feather lu your cap, for you can advertise jt." Of course the new buyer accepts this offer. Sho advertises the bargain and every woman in the city rushes to gel this llowcr at' one-half tbo price It la offered elsewhere. The advertising people appear on the scene and say: "See? We can get the people In when the right merchandise Is offered. It b not our fault when buy-"HSsfc buy-"HSsfc crs atvert-'Stf llluJ Wet no results. Give ua good valued iird to offer and Me will do tho rest." 2-3; L -The mercbiuirtl.se man Is equally elated. -"Look at irfi tlie a,ps! Although the purchases of this new buyer f0i are a little hcay, everything will right Itself under fejft my supervision." jjjjjM The management is also beard from. "Wo made the f&& department so attractive that people are Hocking to 03 '"" roru al' ovor luc c,t-v- 'c l,nv,i secured sales ifmziA people who know how to push tho goods." "Sr A1 clert,t for 'tne hoomlug condition of the Jfj3 department and are all attention when the new buyer H$i comes their way. Sales go ahead! At night when Sr she reports the day's sales to a momler of the 'firm itfJatl he gives her a word of praise, and as the older buyers '2S5f hear It thoy sigh and recall the time when they were 'jlfftfi jiow buyers and had this experience. She goes to 'USSwk Europe. She buys.. Sho returns to her department Swflp hlln t,cw ,uercUfl,1(1L' new ideas and, Incidentally, 4lkflU? new gowns for herself, which she wears with great OR success. She lccnma? known as tho woman buyer SlBk with wonderful taste, not only lu selecting racrchan- $3m- . lp h. ... : v: -KBSW t 4 J) Li tut J' tv Bw l W 1 'I 11 I ::' mJ ji ( J I il I I ' ' t' ' " - dlcse, but In pergonal dress. She Is like, the star In' a mnsloal .copiedy she is featured. "Our woman buyer," the firm states, "has 'just returned re-turned from abroad and is thoroughly .familiar with fashions." They advlac other buyers to seek her Ideas regarding fashions, and they appeal to her whenever a matter comes up that deals with the fashions of the store. .Meanwhile the season passes and stock taking time comes. Hor sales have gone ahead, but there Is a corresponding cor-responding Increase In expenses. The purchases are In excess of the amount figured u-on. She Is only Indirectly responsible for this state of affairs, for the department was in such a condition when she took charge that it was necessary to buy new stock, to sell the old at a loss and to increase expenses by bettering the department. Nevertheless, when the accounting has been made it Is found that there has been no profit, and a buyer to be successful must make money. She may explain to the merchandise man that she was forced to make certnln expenditures, and. mention Incidents, but he will show her ouly the merchandise figures. When sho goes to the management and proves that the increase in-crease of her expenses has been caused by necessary Improvements he will stale that the expenses have been, ofour?e,' great, but that all the new fixtures were ordered at her suggestion and were taken out of the profits of her department. Tho member of tiie firm who had approved of the spending of money to brlngtlie customers In also vanishes Into the background. back-ground. A buyer must depend to a great extent on those around her. The methods aud policies of each store differ from those of other stores and she lias much to learn. If she has had her I'xperlence In her own business, busi-ness, the rules, regulations and red Jape of the department de-partment store are constantly bobbing up and she must lok to her assistants to help her out Her head of stock, ufler she has installed herself In the good graces of tho now buyer, will begin to work for her own'lntercsb;. Little things that she will suggest wjth apparently good intentions will result In tho ultimate undoing of the buyer. She will say: "Why not reduce the prke of this merchandise ourselves In tea d of putting It through the regular reduction channels,?,. It 'the re-ductlonls re-ductlonls put through there twill 6ba.los5 in the'.sta-tistlcal the'.sta-tistlcal office, but if wowalt until the customer comes In' and then offer th'a bat' a few dollars cheaper no one will be tho wlsor and" tho' loss can b made up by charging tho amount on somo other hat, which wo can mark higher than its required profit" The buypr follows thin advloo. Kor a whlln b11 may,go well." She altera the figures on, the merchandise merchan-dise and accounts for this to tbo customers by saying that the goods uro damaged, but ono tlno day she Is ?alled to tho morchandiso ofilce and confronted with tho fact that sho has dlsoheyed a fundamental rule of the store. She has sold articles at other than tho prlees marked. When she goes to Europe she leaves tho head of stock In charge of her show room. She receives weekly letters containing the dally sales, wblcb are Invariably going ahead, and showing that the department de-partment Is In a flourishing coudltiou, yet the head of stock Is doing the very thing that will undermine tho woman buyer In tho eyes of the firm. She Is putting through reductions to make tho merchandise sell under any circumstances. In fact, Bhe Is fairly giving giv-ing it away. She L responsible only for the amount of the sales, and eo long us they are going ahead nothing else Is expected of her. At the end of the season, when stock taking comes, these reductions will play an Important part, and the buyer cannot blame her head of stock, but must assume as-sume all responsibility herself. i Storm Clouds Gather. Tho woman buyer may manage to show a profit the first year, but when her second year shows that her sales have not gone ahead, although her expenses aud ' purchases are smaller, her trouble begins. Saleswomen Sales-women who have loudly proclaimed that their buyer Nfe', .' . V -, ':' JrWk?PRif f -f M ill j - mm Wv -- wl Iff iMm i t The Saleswomen Who Have Fawned Upon Her and Flattered Her' Stand at a Safe Distance. Is "a dear" will look to their own interests. If their sales are not up to the mark and the management calls them lo account they put the blame on the buyer. "I could make sales If I had the merchandise. 1 lost thre sales to-daj' because the hats asked for were not iu stock." The woman buyer gets up all sorts of sales, makes' new plans with a view to pushing the merchandise, but no one will give her the free rein slie enjoyed when she started. Last year she had a table on the main aisle, which netted her department $-100 a da.u Tiilx year wlj; appeulu for tlilu upuct id v;lUi. It U a bad business year, too, Women simply will not buy bats, .Day after day she finds her wales falling behind be-hind thoRe of the previous year. She cannot control ber sales, but she can control her purchases, and ebe biiys from hand to mouth. Manufacturers become dissatisfied with the tfmall amount of her orders and elualvc bargains aro not for her. She comes to tho store in tho morning to find that tho caae containing hor choicest ifiatcrlals has been deliberately taken away without her permission. Long reports como In through the comparison department de-partment stating that her stock Is not up to the mark and that her department does not compare favorably , with the department In other stores. In former times Hhe was ulwnys a welcome vlslror In the offices of tno firm, tho merchandise man or tho management; now shu finds all door.s shut against her At night, when bho takes up her sales, the member of the firm has no hesitancy in telling ber they are behind, In a voice that can bo beard by tho other buyers. Gradually, too, the policy of the store Is changing. When she was engaged those In control approved of her methods, but these people have lost lnfluenco. The buyer has nothing to do with this, but she suffers In consequence. The member of the firm who originally engaged her may have been very strong then, but has 'since retired from active Interest, or, because his Ideas were not practical, he has been relegated to tho background back-ground and his place taken by another member of tho firm with totally different methods. In such cases tho buyers who have carried the banner or the deposed chief also fall. They are not discharged, they aro not Informed that their services arc no longer required, but thoy are given to understand that the store wishes to be relieved of their presence. If they do not take the hint and resign the geutlo process of "firing a buyer" takes place. The method Is simple. If the buyer has been an utter failure which Is seldom the ease, owing to th exhaustive investigation .regarding her ability before employment, It Is easy. The figures can be shown, a statement made that the department has not been run successfully aud does not warrant continuing the present pres-ent buyer In charge. I5ut when tho buyer is In no way to blame and when the departmeut has gone ahead or behind In the same proportion as other departments de-partments of tho store when, aside from the off cots of business conditions and unseasonable weather, It could not have been run better or more prontably. tlje Ann may still desire to gel rid of her Why, they do not know tbcmselres, Probably the bu) trrcuin.eJ! thut they, arc trying to "fire," her, and determines to make a fight. She ro-cnlls"ot'npr ro-cnlls"ot'npr 'buyers' atlll in the employ of the store who hav( gone through tho. "firing," process and emerged unscathed They refused to he. "fired," ajidshe decides de-cides to do likewise, ,, There -is an old man in an adjoining department who has been up and down, ono Tear a power and tho next stripped of all authority, merely banging on. When the aged proprietor decided that this buyer could be dispensed with ho uvadod being "fired" until a Junior member grew strong, when ho was Installed In-stalled In favor again. When his responsibilities wero taken from him he sat In his ofilce waiting to be restored re-stored to power. Tho buyer learns of the man who for years bought the boys' suits lu the clothing department of a store and went nlong well for yenrs. Then came along a new buyer for the men's clothlug department. looking look-ing the situation over, he realked that In order to make a sbowlug ho must control both the men's and the boys' clothing, running them under ono heading, so that the combined sales would show a greater profit than If the departments were run separately. The question of "firing" the buyer for boys' suits came up. now eould It be dno? The firm could not say, "You have been a failure " They could give no plausible reason, and yet he had to go. The first stop was taken when Ik went one, day to a wholesale housi to buy some merchandise. "We huve Just sold the new buyer for men's suit this number," he was Informed. This seemed strange; still the truth did not dawn upon him. He hurried back to the store to demand why the men's departmeut was laying In a supply of goods that belonged solely to tho boy.i' section, but Vhcn he reached tho store he received a second blow. Ills order, sent to the morchandisc man for confirmation, con-firmation, came buck with the notation: "Your order or-der must be signed by the buyer of the men'n cloth ing before they will be pasopd by the merchandise The buyer could not account for It and hurried to the merchandise mau for an explanation. He was H greeted with a smile. "Just a little change of policy," the merchandise H man explained. '-The new buyer for men's clothing H wll have charge of all the clothing sections, yours In- H eluded. You will take your Instructions from him." jH The boys' suit buyor resigned and he loft the store in a while heat of indignation. When hn had cooled il down sufficiently to look the matter over from every ll viewpoint he realized that the store had decided to ill rd lt-sclf of hla services andhad dpnc It In inch a way lH as to be held blameless. 'il Jn the white goods' section, the merchandise is 'ift- IH charge of different buyers, a lluyer for the l-'reneh H lingerie, another for the domestic underwear, a third ,H for shirt waists and a fourth "for the Infants' oe- '1 partmenl. ll When It was divided to take the French lingerie il from the buyer who had It In charge nnd to give It to ' Jh" woman who bought the Infant. wear, since there H w.ik no apparent "reason for discharging the young H woman, a scheme was resorted to, giving the lifipres- H ion that she Jet voluntarily. H "Wp are going to make alterations in the depart- jH ment" sho was told, "and must juke the French lln- H gerlc pff sale for a little while. This will give you a H little vacation." 'Il One Way of "Firing." The unsuspicious lingerie buyer accepted this stale of affairs nndnly'ftjfor her home In the West. As the H time pas?ed shcVwrote frequent letters to theniannge.- H ment asking If her department was in readiness, Ihu., H she received no reply. Puzzled, but n.ot comprehend. H big. sho returned to the store. The sight that' met H her eyes threw bur Into nervous prostration.' . There had been no alterations; her department was Just as H she had left It except thut the woman who bought' jH lnfauts' wear was now installed as the buyer of the H French lingerie and she was left without a position. iH The management explained Its attitude: iH v "We will try to find some other place for you In the jH store, or you might go behind a counter and sell tin- H gerie. but we have no need of you as a buyer, for wp find that the young woman who has the Infants' wear jjH can easily buy for the French lingerie section," O) H course, the young woman resigned. When the woman buyer's turn comes to. be "fired' jH she at first passes slights and refusals as incident. jH that arc likely to happen, and, as she Is constantly oe- H cupled with tho thought of making her department a H success; she has little time for Idle speculation on hid- IH den meanings. A heavy gloom and .u air of 'dis- jH quietude settles over the department. Older employes H who have seen the "firing" of a buyer before know jH what it means. il "When aro you going abroad?" they ask .her, and H she does not know, 'H At this time in previous years she bad gone to the H foreign ofilce. stating that she was in readiness to start. H selected her boat and departed. This year she waits. ,H And 'everybody, the firm Included, scenj3 to be wait- ' H big, When a buyer who makes two trips a year does not H 'depart the worst fears are often realized. The pcple H of the store talk It oer, and finally the outside world, jH by which is meant other stores and the wholesale tl 'Che woman buyer standing alone amid the things Ml She has planned and built begins lo reall.e that it fl was after all a waste of time. The saleswomen who ,H hare fawned upou aud flattered her stand at a .snlV '1 distance. If she is to go It will not be well (o have fll been too friendly. The wholesale merchants keep ll away, for they do not want to sell merchandise Ihnt iI will not Ixi confirmed r. If she gets it through ih lJ merchandise ofilce, they do not wont It In the stock room when a new buyer arrives. Customers come and go, and the woman buyer for the first tlmo lets them IH pass without greeting, for she Is harassed by a sue- ( cession of incidents thut occur with alarming rapidity. iH The invoice man sends for her. A short while ago fjl sho would have demanded that the Invoice man come fll to her. but she has nothlug special to do and lie Ij ll curious to see what new annoyance confronts her. It IH may be a request to have her goods removed from the I H plaec they have occupied since she has been in the iH .store. Had It been requested In times gone by she jH would have slated that she needed the space and that H some one else could move. il As sho was an Important person this would have fl been dime. Hut now she must move her reserve stwk H at once. She tries lo have this attended to. and, while A jH formerly her voice at the Iclepbouc would hava ifl brought a half" dozen messenger boys, repeated re- 'I H quests to lhe man Iu charge of the messenger boys H brings no satisfaction. lie, too. knows. IH A call comes for her from another quarter. Sho Is j H wanted In the merchandise ofilce. The merchandis I jH man has columns of figures before him, which he j H reads off In quick, haphazard fashion. The woman 3 H listens and tries to understand. ( H "Yonr sale are about tho wime as last year and yonr H purchases are lesa, but-you are not making enoujh M money. H "At last s'tocfc taking I made the required, percent- Although tho merchandise man knows this to be tfce jB truth, ho continues: "Yon BbouM have done better. H We are far from satisfied." The woman buyer de- jH fnn, hrwlf with tho same phrases she hJ timA J M "I think my department has made a remarkable M showing when you take Into conidderatlon the condi- '' 1 Uon of business throughout tho country." ' H The woman buyer has undnrgono this name style of H Interview alozeu times within tho last week, and sho ' M has mauaged to keep her temper. Tho merchandise H man becomes relentless. jH "By the way, how much stock have you left over IH from last season?" IH Tho woman buyer will tell blm, but the merchandiso & IH man is not satisfied. M "I should llko a list of It with cost and soiling 1 JM prices." When the buyer brings back this report she is told H that the entlro stock must be taken, a useless task. IH for the exact condition of tho stock from day U day is IH ever present on the desk of. tha merchandise man. M H Thom Is a reason behiud this order! It I considered H a great disgrace for n department to bo forced to an- H . dergo a special stock taking. Everybody knows that ft H something Is wrong. U M "Is she here this morning?" the salespeople ask each V H other, and when the reply comes, "Still bore, they l H know that the battle Is still being waged, and they fi m await developments. . (t Flnnllv tho climax comes. The woman buyer may fH have accepted the great humiliations without turning H a hair, whon some incident may occur so trivial that H at anv other time It would pass unnoticed but It Is H the last straw, nnd. with eyes flashing, the woman H M buyer closes her desk, gathers her papers together m "resigns." H si |
