IMAGINATION 435me. Finally I laid this one down also, and began to look through the
remainder of the assortment.
The young man behind the counter then had a happy idea. Picking
up a gaudy-looking yellow tie, he wound it around his fingers to show
how it would look when tied, and asked:
"Isn't this a beauty?"
Now, I hate yellow ties, and the salesman made no particular hit
with me by suggesting that a gaudy yellow tie is pretty. If I had been in
that salesman's place I would have picked up the blue tie, for which
I had shown a decided preference, and I would have wound it around
my fingers so as to bring out its appearance after being tied. I would
have known what my customer wanted by watching the kinds of ties that
he picked up and examined. If given the opportunity, any customer will
give the alert salesperson a clue as to the particular merchandise that
should be stressed in an effort to make a sale.
I then moved over to the shirt counter. Here I was met by an elderly
gentleman who asked:
"Is there something I can do for you today?"
Well, I thought to myself, if he ever did anything for me it would
have to be today, as I might never come back to that particular store
again. I told him I wanted to look at shirts, and described the style and
color of shirt that I wanted.
The old gentleman replied: "I am sorry, sir, but they are not wear-
ing that style this season, so we are not showing it:'
I said that I knew "they" were not wearing the style for which I
had asked, and for that very reason, among others, I was going to wear
it, providing I could find it in stock.
If I were selling goods, I might think what I pleased about a cus-
tomer's taste, but I surely would not be so lacking in diplomacy as to
tell a customer that I thought he didn't know his own business. Rather,
I would tactfully show him what I believed to be more appropriate
merchandise, if what he wanted was not in stock.