Tip from the Porter

13th November 1959, Page 139

13th November 1959

Page 139

Page 139, 13th November 1959 — Tip from the Porter

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64 HY is the news always the same and the advertise

ments always different?" asked Maggie, "I suppose for the same reason that fashions change and human nature does not," I said. "Why' do you ask?" , "1 was just wondering what happened to the girl we used to see covered in hair and parcels," said Maggie. "They were amusing pictures, but I never got around to finding out what she was supposed to be advertising."• " liritish. Road Services •appear to have given up the girl, for the time being, at any rate," I said.

"They have lost one reader," said Maggie. "Now I do not notice their advertisement at all."

"Perhaps the girl found herself a husband," said Maggie's brother Cromwell. "That would have solved her particular transport problem. B.R.S. have nothing to teach about parcels carrying to the poor blokes I see in the High Street every Saturday."

"Did the advertisements do whatever they were supposed to do?" asked Maggie.

"Not if they were supposed to bring about an increase in the volume of traffic carried by B.R.S.," I said. " In fact, the figure falls slightly each year."

"That may have been the idea," said Cromwell. "Funny things happen in transport advertising."

'Surely nobody pays to advertise if he is going to lose business through it," said Maggie.

"What about the announcements put out by London Transport asking you not to travel in the rush hours?" said Cromwell.

"Your friend Bloggs seems to have the same idea as you about advertising being bad for business," 1 said. "He never seems to advertise at alt."

"I said nothing about it being bad for business," said Cromwell. " You were not listening carefully enough. In fact, Bloggs is thinking seriously of taking space in the

Press, especially after what happened this summer." .

' "I was told he was flooded out with work," 1 said, "as indeed were many other hauliers."

"Even B.R.S.," Cromwell agreed, "had more than they could cope with, in spite of their advertising. They were more fortunate than Bloggs. They 'simply shut the door and refused to take any more traffic, whereas Bloggs was working up to all hours of the night to-get clear."

Personal Service "I thought that was what you called personal service and free enterprise," said Maggie.

"It may have looked like that from where you were sleeping in your comfortable bed," said Cromwell. " Bloggs carried on because he had no choice. His depot belongs to him, not to the public; and the customers would not have taken ' no ' for an answer. They would have broken the doors down, or 'phoned him up at home. Bloggs says that if advertising means he can get a decent night's sleep or a change, he is all for it."

" For once, then," I said, " Bloggs is nearly in step with he Road Haulage Association in their plan to do some ore advertising. Nearly but not quite. He aims to lose usiness, but the R.H.A. resolution says the new campaign s 'for the purpose of securing an increase in the traffic arried by members.'" " Blogg is not so much interested in traffic as in what he ets paid for it," said Cromwell. "There is so much ate-cutting these days that he reckons most -hauliers are operating at a loss, and only want another 10 tons or so per vehicle per week to put themselves right out of business."

"Once again, he is almost in line with the general opinion," I said. "He might find it difficult to put his point across to, his customers by means of advertising. He can hardly expect to find them interested in the fact that he wants more money. It is usually only the cut prices that find their way into advertisements. Possibly hauliers have missed the chance of advertising on these lines over the past few years."

A little psychology is all that is needed," said Cromwell. "It all depends on how you put your case. You are always at liberty to offer to sell your services to the highest bidder. Hauliers too often in the past have done the bidding themselves, which seems the wrong way round. Bloggs believes the right line to take is to suggest that hired transport is scarce, and worth paying almost anything to get. Take a tip from the railway porter for a change."' "It is a plausible theory," I said, "even if it does not work out in practice. Road haulage certainly ought to be in short supply, if the licensing system means anything. There is much more traffic now than before the war, and hardly any more road haulage vehicles, so that they should have plenty of work. According to the figures in the Ministry of Transport's survey of goods transport by road, this is an accurate description of the present position."

Spiv Clearing Houses " Bloggs says it is time the hauliers woke up to the fact. He would like them to beam their propaganda in particular to the spiv clearing houses."

"I thought they would come into the picture sooner or later. Bloggs should not forget that there are dlso many reputable clearing houses."

"Bloggs has nothing against them," said Cromwell, "except that they take and offer traffic at too low a He thinks they should be able to do something better than that. The spivs would be his real friends if they woke up to their opportunities. Outside road haulage, who ever heard of a spiv selling something for half its proper price? If only the spiv clearing houses would behave like spivs, the road haulage industry would be in clover."

"We have come a long way from the popsie with the parcels," said Maggie.

"Not really," said Cromwell. "She would do a lot to have somebody carry them—" "Even get married," said Maggie.

"—and the traders ought to pay just as handsomely for having the haulier take over their transport headache."

"You or Bloggs seem doubtful whether the traders' saw the point when B.R.S. advertised," I said.

"They overdid it," said Cromwell. "They were so wrapped up in the wonders of their own organization that they frightened the trader off. He thought that, if he put his goods into a machine as complicated as that, he would never see them again."

"And sometimes that was just what happened," I said.

"The trader wants results," said Cromwell. " He does not want to know what a miracle it is that any of his goods ever reach their destination. If we knew everything that went on in the Post Office, we should probably send all our letters by pigeon. In advertising, it is the simple touch that counts."