OUT AND HOME.
Page 19
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By "The
Extractor."
Showing the Way.
Burnley stands out amongst the smaller towns of Lancashire in connection with the sale of commercial motors. There is a tremendous demand, locally, but the pushfulness of the agents there attracts custom
' from all parts of the country. After all, Burnley is accessible from Manchester and from Yorkshire, especially if you are driving, and the number of dealers there transform the place into a market. According to my recollection, -Knape's were the first in the -field, pushing Karrier cars with great thoroughness. Then came Geo. B. Duerden with the Maudslay, and a constantly replenished stock of secondhand lorries and steam wagons. Now we have Oswald Tillotson, the Leyland agent, and a specialist in
.chars-h-bancs, and the latest to set up an establishment is W. .H. Harrison, well known.in that part of the country, who holds the Albion agency. 'Recently I went over his new work ' shop and garage, which is excellentlysuited for the purpose. In addition he has a special showroom in course of • erection in the main street of the town. So, altogether, Burnley, amongst the smaller towns is undoubtedly • showing the way.
. Homeless.
The Motor Club is now closed for redecoration, with'the exception of a few small rooms on the first floor of the annexe, which strike me as being totally inadequate, but it is obviouslythe best they could do. The new subscription is to be "substantially " increased, according to official announcement; rumour, oft-times a lying. jade, puts the new figure at ten guineas. Meanwhile, arrangements have been made, quite unofficially, for a small section of the members to be accommodated at the Playgoer's' Club hard by. Only a limited number could he taken, and this list is, I believe, now complete.
"Spotted."
It has been a great convenience to be able to leave one's car outside the Motor Club, on the Whitcomb Street side, and this privilege to members still exists,' but it is necessary i.o take
-, precautions. Many cars have a _fitment by which one can lock up the ignition. My experience, however, is that owners are mostly careless about this. Let me tell them that Mr. "Bob' ' Crossley's Darracq was driven away in broad
daylight, from the side of the Motor Club, by same 'car thieves.' Crossley has a cheerful face most times, but the beam was brighter than usual as he told me that soon after the theft be " spotted " his car being driven along Piccadilly, bolted after it, and, fortunately, through a stoppage in the traffic, was able to jump on the offside running hoard; one man slipped out and disap-peared, but the driver was detained, and by now I believe, has ample time to reflect upon • the mutability of human affairs. The moral is, therefore, get into the habit of locking the car wheri leaving it unprotected. Mr. W.
Mostly About G.A.S.
• A posthumous Sketch by poor G. A. Stevens has come to light. Why it was not published before I oannot think, because he has caught Turner Smith in a characteristic pose, with his" usual happy expression. Now I atilt have some caricatureS by me which I have had to -withheld, because of n too, extravagant flight of fancy on the part of' our late friend G.A.S. One in particular before .me is a cartoon of .a wellknown gentleman with a slightly prominent nose. In. a reckless liniment G.A.S. gavehim a proboscis like Cyrano de Bergerac, so, Of course,' there it lies in. the archives,a few other unpublished efforts, which heperpetrated in wild 'moments, of ShrahnellSmith, Arthur Windsor and myself. If it happened that I had nothing at the moment. specially for him to do; arid-he felt like work (which was not always like many of us), I believe he used to go home and see how absurd he could make me look.
However -----1 This paragraph is going to be mostly preamble if I do not keep a str-ong curb on my pen, Lean. see. War restrictions during the last four Years must have limited the business with G.M.C. lorries, but Turner Smith tackled with wonderful energy the farm tractor development, . and the fame of the Wallis and Wallis.Cub. was solidly established. He is a firm believer in the system ofselling through agents, and he has a fine circle of enthusiastic supporters throughout the country. . .. . ,
"Study Your Customers' Problems."
It is with increasing eagerness that I open each month -my copy ' of : 'the ,Sentinel News, a little 'journal emanating from the place which is pronounced " Shrewsbury." It is hardly a house journal, because the personal :element is absent; it is well edited, contains much matter of interest to "Sentinel" steam wagon users, and its articles for general attention, •such 'as, Transport,
Lubrication., Service and . Salesman ship, are quite attractive. In connec tionwith the last-named subject,. it refers to the broader functions allo
t I cated to the salesman. lie e haS to apply himself so assiduously to the customers P transport problems that his department is likely to be known 0 as the "Advisory Department," and F.i., he will become a " Techrical Counsel " I-or "Engineering Adviser." The 00
article in question is obviously of American origin, and concludes thus:
Turner Smith. . "To-day the salesman studies. the technicalities, and the technical man is learning salesmanship, and their'boss is standing behind them both with a new policy. This is the policy of performance, not promises—service before sales. Under that policy the very terms salesmanship and sales department are beginning to disappear, to be replaced by new nomenclature,which More accurately indicates What a manufacturer's-tepresentative can do for the customer, and gives him access to the latter on the basis of confidence aridgood will."
011a Podrida.
London showrooms are to be shortly opened at 220, Shaftesbury Avenue, W. by the , Chloride Electrical Storage Co., Ltd., of Clifton Junctionanear Manchester.
Mr. H. A.. BIackie, the popular exhibition manager of the -8.111M.. and T., has not been in. the beire form lately, having been-away from business for the last few Weeks