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A DEMONSTRATION SALE AT THE SCHOOL OF SALESMANSHIP. Women's Educational and Industrial Union, Boston, Mass.

DEPARTMENT-STORE EDUCATION.

Chapter I.

HISTORY OF THE BOSTON SCHOOL OF SALESMANSHIP.

Vocational training, as a part of the great movement for industrial betterment, is now widely recognized as an advantageous measure for both the worker and the industry, but it is not many years since such applied education was looked upon with disfavor by employers and employees alike. This report will not attempt to relate the circumstances which have led to a change of sentiment toward the movement as a whole, but will deal specifically with the development of that phase of it known to-day as department-store education.

In 1905 the Women's Educational and Industrial Union of Boston undertook to determine what special training was needed by girls who wished to become saleswomen. This organization, which has for its aim the educational, industrial, and social advancement of women, endeavored then, as it does now, to improve the conditions of women workers, to find new opportunities for them, and to help them to get training for their chosen line of work. One of the members of the executive committee of the union at that time was Mrs. Lucinda Wyman Prince, who became so interested in the union's investigation of saleswomen and their needs that she resolved to devote herself to this important question.

By experience and temperament Mrs. Prince was well fitted for the work in which she now became engaged. After graduation from the Framingham Normal School, she taught with marked success in both public and private schools. Later she studied at Wellesley College and in Germany. She had traveled extensively, had a wide acquaintance among educators and philanthropists, and was deeply interested in all social movements. She had been a resident in the first college settlement house in Boston, an experience which brought her into close touch with the environment and problems of many working girls and which convinced her that a right start in industry would do much to insure the future happiness and usefulness of these young workers.

In addition to her instinctive liking for all forms of constructive social work, Mrs. Prince had a special reason for being interested in the department-store problem, For some time she had been the

leader of a club of 50 working girls who met at the union two evenings a month. Many of the girls held positions in department stores, and all complained of the low wages they were receiving, even though, in some cases, they had been working for several years. They seemed to feel that their length of service entitled them to a salary advance, whereas it was evident that most of them were probably being paid quite as much as they were worth. Mrs. Prince was convinced that these girls would never be much better off until some one helped them to see the possibilities in their work. At this time there was in most stores no plan for instructing a new girl in the rules and customs of the house by which she was employed. She was given a sales book and placed behind a counter. If she was so fortunate as to be placed next to a kind-hearted sales girl who remembered her own initiation into the work of selling, she would receive some help; otherwise she must work out her own salvation unaided. Mrs. Prince saw in this situation a problem for which education was the natural solution. It seemed altogether reasonable that saleswomen, like nurses, teachers, and doctors, would profit by training for their special vocation, and she thereupon began to plan a course of study which she believed, by creating a more intelligent interest in the work, would result in greater efficiency and better wages. The Women's Educational and Industrial Union indorsed the plan. A room and the necessary equipment were provided, and help and support in the development of the work were promised.

The next step was an effort to enlist the interest of the merchants. Nearly all were frankly skeptical of the success of the proposed school of salesmanship. For one thing, they thought that salesmanship could not be taught by a person not experienced in selling. Mrs. Prince answered this objection by selling as a "special" at a bargain table for several days, and so completely did she outstrip all of her fellow workers that her ability as a saleswoman was never again called in question. Another objection was that training would not help the stores with their immediate problem, because girls could never be spared from their work to be educated. The management, moreover, was not prepared to offer such an opportunity to new and untried workers, neither was it disposed to guarantee positions to graduates of a course in salesmanship.

It was obvious that the school must start without the cooperation of the stores. The first class, which was organized in the fall of 1905, was made up of eight girls, who entered because they could not get positions and who were so young that they could enter the stores only as cash girls and stock girls when the course was completed.

The second class was started in January, 1906, with six somewhat older and more promising girls. The school had still nothing definite to offer its graduates, and the girls were not very hopeful material, at best.

To supplement the school work and make it vital, actual selling experience was considered necessary to the success of the experiment, but up to this time the only places where such experience might be gained were the food shop and the handwork shop of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union. Although this opportunity was greatly appreciated, it did not furnish satisfactory preparation for the larger business world the girls were to enter. The atmosphere and demands were those of the small specialty shop, rather than the department store; the customers were, in general, of one type; the sales were either paid or charged; the merchandise was limited. In addition, because the shops were small, only a few girls at a time could work in them. It was felt that the school could not attract the right type of girl until it could give actual store experience, with wages, during the period of training, so that girls who wanted the training could afford to take it. It was also felt that the school should be able to guarantee positions to its graduates. To this end, the cooperation of the large stores was essential. The first store to volunteer this help was William Filene's Sons Co., which offered to take the class on Mondays at a small wage. This firm also expressed willingness to consider graduates of the school for positions. With this more definite plan, the third class opened in July, 1906, with seven pupils.

Now that the aims of the school were better understood, the following stores became interested in the plan: Jordan Marsh Co., William Filene's Sons Co., Gilchrist Co., Shepard Norwell Co., James A. Houston Co., and R. H. White Co. The superintendents of these stores were invited to become members of an advisory committee, which should meet once a month at dinner with Mrs. Kehew, the president of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union, and Mrs. Prince, the director of the school. At these meetings problems of effective and practical organization were discussed, criticism of the work of the school was solicited, and the superintendents were urged to visit the school and suggest ways in which its value might be increased. These conferences were highly influential in shaping the policy of the school organization, and to the helpful interest of this committee the project owes much of its success.

It was agreed that the cooperating firms should send to the school promising applicants who, because of inexperience, could not be engaged for store work, but who would be given positions after satisfactory completion of the course. These girls, after being approved by the director, were admitted to the school. The stores which accepted them promised selling experience on Mondays at $1 a day, and the girls were guaranteed permanent positions if their work proved satisfactory after one month's probation.

The fourth class in salesmanship, the first in active cooperation with the stores, opened in October, 1906, with 16 pupils. The members of

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this class were old enough to take selling positions, but it was by no means easy to find desirable pupils who were able and willing to take the training, notwithstanding the fact that positions were guaranteed. Many could not afford the time or the loss of regular wages, and some, not understanding the plan, were opposed to anything connected with schools and classes.

It was soon clear that more practical work in the stores was needed for the best results. Accordingly, after consultation with the advisory committee, the schedule was so changed that the pupils attended the school from 8.30 to 11 and from 4.30 to 5.30 each day, spending the intervening hours in the stores. For this half-time work they received $3 a week. These concessions of more practice and higher wages were encouraging, for they meant that the confidence of the managers of the stores had been gained. From the start it was recognized that what was asked from the stores must be for value received, the entire proposition resting for its appeal to business men on a business basis.

From nearly one hundred applicants for the next class, beginning in February, 1907, twenty-one, the limit of the classroom, were chosen. Some of the girls left positions to take advantage of the opportunity for training. Soon after this certain changes were made in the school session. It was found impracticable and unprofitable to require the pupils to return to school for the final hour of the working day. In place of this appointment, a half hour was added to the morning session, which thus covered three hours, 8.30 to 11.30. On account of special sales often offered by the Boston department stores on Monday, that day is frequently the busiest of the week. As the saleswomen who were being trained became increasingly valuable, their services were desired all day Monday, and when the advisory committee asked that the pupils attend school five, instead of six, mornings each week the request was readily granted. It was a gratifying recognition of the practical value of the training. The next and last important concesssion was the action taken in the autumn of 1907, when the firms agreed to allow the candidates full wages while they were taking the course. This step was conclusive evidence that the school had found its place in the business world. Appreciation of the work was further shown by financial contributions made by some of the cooperating stores to the social-educational activities of the union. No significant changes in policy or organization have occurred in the succeeding years and the school is maintained to-day on the satisfactory cooperative basis which was the result of three years of experiment and study.

The School of Salesmanship of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union is now recognized as a valued training center for sales people of the following seven1 Boston stores: Jordan Marsh Co.,

1 Since this report was written L. P. Hollander Co. has been added to the group of cooperating stores.

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