delivered into its hands, thus becoming responsible for its prompt and safe delivery. A valuation should be placed upon the parcel, which forms the basis of claim against such company, in the event of damage or loss.

5. Export Shipping.-In shipping goods abroad, the exporter must bear in mind that every detail of the process must be carried out with a full understanding of trade conditions in the country dealt with. What are its customs regulations? What is its traffic development? To what conditions are the goods to be subjected in transit? All these questions will affect the manner of packing, the choice of routes, and the arrangement of the necessary documents. The American shipper is too much inclined to ignore these essential facts and to send off his goods after his own fashion, without the slightest regard to the wishes and necessities of his customers. Hence he may lose foreign customers, and experience disaster and loss both in money and in prestige.

The shipper must realize at any cost that practically every detail of his business is different in foreign trade from what it is in domestic trade. The way to keep customers is to follow their wishes, even their whims where it is possible; because some apparently exacting detail about packing may be made necessary by some condition in foreign trade of which the exporter is not likely to be aware. Goods must be packed with a full realization of the strain which they will be subjected to, stowed away many tons deep in the hold of a ship, and perhaps soaked with sea water. Such things can and must be provided against. The invoice must be specific and complete, containing an exact description of the goods. The goods should be packed in small boxes; for, once arrived, the transportation conditions abroad will probably make small boxes more convenient to the customer.

2. CLAIMS AND ALLOWANCES

By the phrase "returns and allowances" is meant the sending back of goods which are not in accordance with

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the terms of purchase, and the claim for a money credit equivalent to the charge made for the goods repudiated.

The Claim Department.-In every line of manufacturing or mercantile pursuit disputes due to errors or accidents in the receipt and delivery of merchandise are constantly encountered. An order may be erroneously filled; there may be imperfections of manufacture; shipments may reach the consignee in a damaged condition; or the goods may be delivered too late to be of use to the customer. The protests from these and numerous other causes have led concerns whose transactions attain a sufficient degree of magnitude to install a department the function of which is to adjust all complaints. Dealing directly with customers who feel they have a grievance, this division, capable of incalculable harm if improperly conducted, must be under the supervision of some tactful person skilled in the arts of diplomacy, possessing a thorough knowledge of the business, and expert in correspondence technique.

In a retail business the adjuster comes into personal contact with the complainant, and is therefore in an advantageous position to effect a satisfactory result, as the appearance and manner of the claimant will aid him in determining the justice of the customer's demand and method of settlement. Most of the claims for returns in wholesale lines, however, come in cold type, and it is in the disposition of these that the efficiency of the department is tested. Oftentimes the information given by the customer's communication is most meager; the letter is written in an aggrieved and perhaps a petulant tone, and threatening all sorts of dire happenings if an adjustment is not speedily consummated.

The complaint manager must deal with these dispassionately, and it is his duty to bring the customer to a more conciliatory frame of mind even though the facts force him to decide against the claim; for it is a wellknown fact in the business world that a disgruntled customer is the worst kind of advertisement.

A concern returning goods should state all the facts

in the matter-the exact shipment, when returned, how returned, and for what reasons. Printed forms should be prepared and numbered consecutively, a duplicate in another color being retained for the complainant's file. Such a form would read as follows:

Please render us credit memorandum promptly, and oblige,

Yours very truly,

X AND Y Co.

Classification of Complaints.-According to the causes from which they arise, complaints may be divided into three classes:

I. Those due to the negligence of employees of the defendant.

2. Those arising from errors of employees of complainant, and

3. Those over which neither party has control. If the first class is a large one, a thorough investigation is in order. A system should be installed whereby complaints are sorted as received, investigated, and the causes tabulated; thus errors may be traced to the sources from which they emanate, and the individuals at fault called to task.

In handling the second class of complaints the tact of the adjuster is in demand to prove, not the negligence of the complainant, but the blamelessness of his own firm.

The third class comprehends delays in delivery or damage of goods by railroads, express companies, and the postal service. The burden rests upon the shipper to prove that the goods were packed properly, addressed correctly, and shipped promptly.

With the immense freight-carrying business of the railroads it is not surprising that frequently portions of shipments miscarry and a shortage or a damaged consignment is reported by the customer. The procedure in cases of this kind is for a consignor to notify the railroad company to which the goods were confided. This is done by means of a claim record prepared from a dray ticket on which is detailed a full description of the goods receipted for by the agent of the carrier. The railroad company then investigates the matter and, after thorough tracing, an adjustment is made.

Pending the action of the complaint department, the merchandise returned, properly marked, will remain in the receiving department or in a separate section of the warehouse. Assuming the claim to be just, the receiving department will be instructed to enter the goods and distribute them to the proper departments. Care should be exercised that this class of merchandise does not accumulate, or that single case so returned shall not lie around in some out-of-the-way corner until it is neglected entirely. Every item of such nature should be kept on an open file and examined daily until adjusted and marked off.

A "Returned Goods Register" is maintained for this purpose and is ruled as follows: