440 THE PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL POWER
that it would have been been priced at about thirty-five dollars, and I
doubt that I would have paid that much for it had I not fallen into the
hands of a salesman who knew how to show the suit to best advantage.
If the first coat tried on me had been about two sizes too large, or
a size too small, I doubt that any sale would have been made. I bought
that suit "on the impulse of the moment." A single slip on the part of
the salesman would have lost him the sale of that suit. If he had said
"fifty dollars" when I first asked the price, I would have said thank you
and gone on my way without looking at the suit.
Later in the season I purchased two more suits from this same
salesman, and if I now lived in Chicago the chances are that I would
buy still other suits from him, because he always showed me suits that
were in keeping with my personality.
The Marshall Field's store in Chicago gets more for merchandise than
any other store of its kind in the country. Moreover, people knowingly
pay more at this store, and feel better satisfied than if they bought the
merchandise at another store for less money.
Why is this?
Well, the~e are many reasons, among them the fact that anything
purchased at the Field's store, if it is not entirely satisfactory, may be
returned and the purchase price will be refimded. A guarantee goes with
every article sold in the Field's store.
Another reason why people will pay more at the Field's store is
that the merchandise is displayed and shown to better advantage than
it is at most other stores. The Field's window displays are truly works
of art. The same is true of the goods displayed in the store. There is
harmony and proper grouping of merchandise throughout the Field's
establishment, and this creates an "atmosphere" that is more-much
more-than merely an imaginary one.