T
he
A
u t o m a t ic
other stores the average monthly
earnings are about $15. This may be
partially explained by the superior
locations o f chain stores, but it is
also due in considerable measure to
the fact that automatic selling de
vices in general are peculiarly well
adapted to chain store merchandising.
W hy A ccuracy Is Vital
Another improvement in scale de
sign, effected in the interests o f the
retailer, has been in the direction o f
increased simplification. An intricate
scale mechanism, operated by dozens
° f complex springs, is bound to give
the store manager trouble, as the ex
periences o f hundreds o f stores in the
Past have amply proved. But today
manufacturers
are
bringing
out
scales with as few as thirteen springs
contrasted to the 235 springs actually
found in some scales o f the same
general type.
And along with the increased sim
plification in scale design have come
marked improvements in scale accur
acy. That has been one o f the seri
ous obstacles in the way o f scale
Popularity in the past — the all too
prevalent inaccuracy o f many scales.
When the customer found that his
weight varied from a few ounces to
several pounds in different stores,
naturally he had little confidence in
any scale. But the highest developed
scales on the market today will retain
fractional-ounce accuracy fo r years
with a minimum o f service calls. The
ticket type o f scale, too, now has a
greatly increased capacity fo r tickets,
which means important time economy
to the merchant. The capacity o f the
latest ticket scale o f 10,000 tickets
has been a notable step forward in
scale design.
Winning Public Confidence
Accuracy is being demanded by the
thousands of men and women in
America today who are being weigh
ed regularly, for they take the matter
© International Arcade Museum
A
ge
13
seriously. It is not with them, as
doubtless it often was in past years,
a mere diversion o f the moment.
Checking up on their weight period
ically is being recognized by thou
sands today as an essential part in
any program o f keeping fit. And this
factor, too, explains the popularity o f
the type o f scale with a permanent
record o f his weight.
In every type o f store today which
is operating along modern lines keep
ing the goodwill o f the customer is a
paramount consideration. The chains
especially have been driving this
lesson home consistently. Fitting in
with this general aim o f winning cus
tomer goodwill, the new scale models
are designed to take care o f another
frequent source o f customer dissatis
faction in the past— that o f the scale
which accepted the coin but did not
register the customers’ weight unless
he took care to be on the scale before
he inserted the coin. But this d'ffi-
culty is eliminated through mechan
isms wh'ch return the customer’s coin
unless he stands on the scale first.
Thus a frequent source o f complaint
in stores in the past is removed.
Still another phase o f present-day
scale designing which directly con
cerns the store owner or manager in
a practical way is that o f the size
and weight o f the scale. Store oper
ators in the past have frequently
complained that it took two or three
men to move a scale into the vesti
bule o f the store in the morning and
to return it at night. But the use o f
sheet metal cabinet.; and other light
materials in the late scale models, at-
ta'ning liglit weight with no sacrifice
o f strength and durability, together
with roller devices, are taking care o f
this problem. And here, again, is
illustrated
the
general
tendency
among manufacturers o f automatic
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