which the trimmer was just finishing, this little twelve-year-old worker did their bidding. When hats were to be delivered by special messenger, she carried them home. Thus she heard the comments of customers. She learned why some girls are better saleswomen than others. She found out that by changing the tilt of a hat, the direction of a feather, the arrangement of a bow or a flower, an unbecoming hat became becoming—and salable.
In the workroom she studied how waste was prevented by competent trimmers and forewomen. She learned the values of trimmings and of workers. She saw how the firm guarded against loss through carrying too heavy a stock.
When other errand girls went into the shop to sew, she preferred to remain in the showrooms and run errands between the shop and the showroom. When she was sixteen and donned long skirts, she commenced to sell hats. She studied the faces of her customers and never let one of them leave the store unless the hat suited the face. She drew trade such as the store had never been able to control.
In time the buyer of the department consulted her about styles preferred by her trade. The head saleswoman left the store to marry, and the one-time errand girl succeeded her. Armed with this authority, she entered the workroom and dictated the department's policy.
