What Users Tell Us
Page 17
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Interview 27
A Lady Owner : "It Was Simply a Question of Speed."
In order to make this series as representative as possible, so that. it will ap eal to all classes of users, we contireially endeavour to obtain the excellences of users in trades which have not hitherto been considered. A fortnight ago we published particulars of the delivery of ice-cream and muffins by motor. Per the present occasion, we have turned our attention to the delivery of watercress. We paid a visit to Messrs. E. James and Son, a firm which 18 one of the largest wholesale watercress growers and dealers in London.
We found Mrs. James, the head of the firm, at her private residence overlooking Kennington Oval, and she proved to be a most business-, like lady ; even our short visit was interrupted by telephone calls and by the signing of urgent letters. We opened our enquiries by asking Mrs. James what vehicle or vehicles she was running. "If you mean commercial vehicles, T only have one, a 16 h.p. StrakerSquire, built to carry a two-ton load, with lorry body. It was purchased in December last."
"What induced you to buy this motor ?"
" Well, it was simply a question of speed. In our trade it is of the utmost importance to get to market with our produce as quickly as possible after it has been loaded up from the train."
"Oh, then you do riot send your motor into the country to get the watercress?"
" No ; we have it sent up from our grounds in Hampshire by train, and then we take it in the motor to Covent Garden. We drop some of our load there, and re-load with a small quantity of vegetables, which we then take on to Spitalfields market, where we deposit some more of the watercress and other vegetables. We then take the rest of it round to the various retailers."
"Do you find any financial saving, Mrs. James?"
"No, I cannot say I have. And for this reason; I still have the horses and carts that were used previously ; owing to the greater volume of business I have kept these in addition to the motor, using them for very short deliveries in the immediate neighbourhood."
"Do you attach any advertising value to your machine ?" " Oh, yes, a great deal, but I cannot say whether the increase in business is due to this or has just come about naturally. Of course, our loads are of such a. nature that a weight of two tons is very bulky indeed, and causes a lot of comment, as people are much surprised at such a large amount of watercress, which they usually think of as in the, small bunches which they buy at the retailers' shops." " What sort of loads does the vehicle carry l" " Normally about one ton, but on
Saturdays, and sometimes other days when we are specially busy, it carries two tons or slightly more. It is difficult for me to give the exact .figures, because the cress comes in baskets, and these are only weighed by the railway. Our weekly mileage is a small one— seldom above 100 miles."
"Does your driver attend to the upkeep of the machine '?"
" Yes ; he does any running repairs, but we have recently taken on a fresh man, and therefore I cannot say what will be‘ done in the future."
"Do you employ one of your old horse drivers?
" No ; I thought it best to obtain a man who had been specially trained for the job. As a matter of fact, I believe he has been a taxicab driver."
It may be interesting to give an idea of how some of the members of the firm have to work. For instance, on Saturday, a start is made at three o'clock in the. morning with a load which has been received overnight. This is taken to the markets, and further loads obtained from the various railway stations. The work of the day finishes at 10 o'clock at night. "Have you observed any special advantages through the use of your motor vehicle?"
"Oh, yes ; those is the great advantage of early delivery, and also of quick despatch to our various customers. Also, the deliveries are done in about one-third of the time previously occupied by delivering with horsed vans."
"Then we may quote you as a satisfied user ?"
"Needles to say, with the advantages I have already mentioned, I am fully satisfied and am not in the least sorry for my purchase, which has proved of the greatest use to rue."
We then proceeded to ask several questions regarding the life of the tires, the mileage per gallon of petrol, and so on, but. unfortunately Mrs. James was not in a position to supply this information, as, in spite of the previously mentioned business attributes of this energetic lady, she has so much work to de in connection with watercress that she has no time to spare for collecting costs and such data COD(,erning the vehicle. She was content to reiterate her complete satisfaction on the score of greater expedition, which she finds valuable.