Classic Mode

Music Trade Review

Issue: 1923 Vol. 77 N. 7

AUGUST
THE
18, 1923
MUSIC
TRADE
9
REVIEW
B. K. SETTERGREN CO. ANNOUNCES NEW GRAND PIANO
A NEW FIELD FOR WOMEN'S WORK
New Factory in Bluffton, Ind., Will Probably Ship First Grands Some Time in September­
Howard, Farwell & Co. Use Woman to Adjust
All Complaints and to Follow Up New Sales
in Order to Keep the Customers Satisfied
With the Instruments Sold
New Plant Modernly Equipped, With Extensive Additions Made Since Acquired by House
BI.UFFTON, IND., August 13. ·Something decidedly
the B. K. Settergren plant and, if it is to be
intcreoting in small grand pianos is due to come
taken as an indication of the instrument which
frOlll the plant of the B. K. Settergren Co. some
is to be built within its walls, the Settergren
lime in Scptclllbcr. The Review representative
grand will not be a cheap grand. Apart from
who called upon 11. K. Settergren at his head­
the buildings the company possesses a good
tract of land, whereupon expansion can take
quarters here to-day
fOLlno the new COlll­
place.
pany with over two
vVhen asked whether he intended to erect
other buildings upon this extra ground in th e
hundred grand rims al­
ready made up, a brand near future Mr. Settergren replied in the nega­
new millroom erected, tive, saying that he had no desire to build more
than six grands a day. "If I can realize my
dry kiln~ in operation
ambition, both as to price and quality in the
and the earlier stages
small grands which I am building, I have no
ot grand production
deSire at this time nor within the immediate
well under way.
future for undue expansion. I h3.ve a ddinite
.\nnouneement has
task and one that is not easy, of getting pro­
been made that ship­
duction under way on a type of instrument
lllents will start the
I'lrst of September, but, which I am going to let the trade itself judge
when it is produced and when I reach six a day
judging from the ex­
I certainly intend to remain at that figure for
ceedingly careful mode
some time to come. Unduc expansion has been
of procedure of B. K.
Settergren himself,' it the cause of more ills in piano quality than
anYlhing else. I shall be perfectly content with
will be nearer the lat­
six granQs a day when this figure has been
ter part of SepteI)1ber
reached."
B. K. Settergren
than the first wnen the
Although Mr. Settergren will not state
first shipments are made. This gentleman, who
whether h(' will make a cheap grand or a high­
is well known in the t rade for his unusual ac­
priced grand or just what kind of a grand it will
complish m ents as a superintendel1t, is not likely
be it is easy to gather from the "'av he is pro­
to put anything ou t t ha t is not a finished article
in everv sense of the word. If a n ythin g. he
- - - - - - - - - - - ­ --:c-::-:;­ - - - ­ - - - - - . ,
will err 011 the side of caution and pains­
(;cking care, rather than again s t thes e two
'Iualities, for he is determined that the trade
.shall judge his instru men ts up o n th e m er its
of the first shipmen ts and is making evcry
e!'iort to see that the se first instruments are
IlP to the mark which he has set for his
pe rm anen t standard.
Just what that standard is, just what
quality of grand he intends to place upon
t he market, Mr. S ettergren is exceedingl y
Part of the Settergren Plant-The Millroom
re ticent 111 divulging. Above everything
ceeding that he does not intend to compete with
else he wants the trade to judge his instruments
the cheapest commercial grands on the market
npon their merits, an d it is to this end that he is
to-day. There is this much to be said in his
"makin g haste slowly."
favor on the price question. He has an ex­
The B . K . S ett er gr en Co .'s pl ant is not the
ceeclingly low overhead and will be able to make
hrgest piano manufacturing institution in the
six grands a day just about as cheaply as though
Middle West, neither is it the smallest. It is
he were makmg sixty. He took over a plant
moderate sized, with modern buildings and
which was fully equipped for woodworking pur­
equipment. Since acquiring the factory, which
poses, such as is necessary in a piano factory,
\Vas formerly used ill the manufacture of spe­
cial furniture, Mr. Settergren has added an en­
and he secured it upon a basis which makes it
tirely new building which will be used as the
easy to place an attractive price on whatever he
millroo m. T hi s la st- nam ed s tructure was not
J)roduces. The labor cost is low in Bluffton and
built to serve the purpose of a day or a year,
the help is plentiful. He himself is an experi­
but was made for p er manen ce r a t her t han the
enced hand at worying in new men, but he al­
immediate service of the builder. This thought
ready has a number of thoroughly experienCf~d
is seen in every th in g that is bein g don e a bout
piano workers in his employ. He is a good
ha nd a t makin g friends an" is weil liked
throughout the industr:,. Ru!ardin g his ability
in producing real piano values it is enough to
say that s everal large dealers have already told
him that they want to get shipments of his first
instru m ents.
~t4ubrrt
ENDORSES "CONSTITUTION WEEK"
Players and
Reproducing
Pianos
Grands
and
Uprights
ESTABLISHED
18ao
"':Jhe '~U~r!ds 73est
7oJ(ed 71ano})
Office and Factory: 1 West 139th Street, N. Y.
Music Industries Chamber of Commerce Pledges
Industry's Support to Movement
The lvlusic Industries Chamber of Commerce
has pledged the support of the industry at large
to furthering the observance of "Constitution
Week," September 16-22. 1923, which h3,s been
inaugurated by the citi.zenship committee of
the American Bar Association, "to re-establish
the Constitution of the United States and the
principals and ideals of our Government in the
. minds and hearts of the people." It is planned
to make the celebration national in scope, and
it is expected that music will have a prominent
place on every program of observance, 3S it
deserves in sllch work.
?VfINNEAPOLIS, MINN., August 7.- Tell your per·
plexltles to the attractive young woman in the
picture. jVliss Myrtle McLaughlin or "Mac."
Myrtle McLaughlin
as she is known, smooths out perplexities and
adjusts complaints for purchasers from the St.
Paul, Minn., storc of Howard, Farwell & Co
Her position is quite unique, representing serv­
ice in one of its lilost attractive forms.
Shortly after a piClno or high-grade Vlctro!;l
is purchased "Mac" and her smile apperir at
the customer's door, ready to help them in
player-piano operation, Victrola operation and
to ClscertClin that the purchase is as satisfactory
as the purchaser expected it to be. Her sen·
ices are particularly appreciated by player-piano
purchasers.
Her prompt appearance and her offer~ of
continued help from Howard, Farwell's service
department arc winning many friends for the
store, as well as live new piano prosp;:~cts.
When a proopect linterializes into a purchaser,
Miss McLaughlin introduces the friend who
suggested the prospect to a wonderful array
of premiums, including 1847 Ro g ers' silverware,
a set o f dishes, a ha lf dozen Phoenix hose,
watches, clocks, cigarette cases, etc. These
premiums are available to anyone who ha s sug
gested a prospect who buys either a piano or
Victrola.
liVhen not engaged cementing the company 's
and customers' good-will, Miss McLaughlin
lake,; a musical census which yields the hrm a
list of prospects.
Charles P. lA/agner, assistant treasurer uf the
company, heads the service department and was
chiefly responsible for the,c-:·,tion of the post
of field representative w hich Miss Mc L au ghlin
fills so capabl y a nd suc ces sfully.
It is possible that so m e oth er co ncerns ha v e
carried out the idea to a greate r or less degree
in certain insta nces , but it is d oubtful if in any
single inst a nc e the policy h a s been followed
out as consistentl y as in the cas e of Howard,
Farwell & .Co
The plan has passed the ex­
perimental s tage and h as p rove n o f definite
value not only in ceme n ti n g fr iend shi p between
the hOLlse and its customers, but in bringing in
actual business through direct sales an d th e
securing of actua l prospec ts as well as satisfy ·
ing the customers.
The success of th c work is d ue in no small
measure to the pl easin g personality of Miss
McLaughlin, who has firm ly e stablished her
faculty for securing sa tisfacti on fo r the com­
pl~ining customer and turnin g h im into a firm
friend of h er company.
THE
10
MUSI C
TRADE
REVIEW
A DEALER WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE IN CASH DISCOUNTS
Ju dgin g b y the Trend of H is Lette r He Seems t o See a C a t ch S omew he re in the S ystem Whi ch
He P rid es H im self in Eludi n g-Misplaced S ym path y for t h e M a nu fa ct u r er Who O ffers Them
The fo llowing lett er, recent ly received from
,I retail e r, is un ique in that it is the fir s t objec­
tion The Review h as ever heard to taking ca discounts, whe n it is possible to take them, the
sale basis of it seeming to be considera t ion for
t h e manufact u re r who is so foolish as to make
s uch an offer. The letter, which is printed in
lull, fo ll ows herewith:
Hunt ington, Ind ., August 3, 1 9;~3 .
Editor, The :Music Trade Review:
T h e Music T rade Review has a good de:11 to
>ay, from t i'me to t ime, abo u t the foo lis h ' re­
tailer who fai ls to take advantage of the 2 per
ce nt discoun t, thu s paying at the rate of 36
per cent pe r ann um on his accounts whit It he
permits t o come to matu r ity. Well and sood.
B ut h ow about t I,e manufacturer or jobbel who
g rants a 2 pe r cent disco unt , thu s payi ng 36
pe r cent pe r ann um for the u sc of t h e mo ne y?
Is he a foo l, too ? A good d ea l of journali st ic
advice to the re t Barnha rt nook Store.
Th is letter re p re' Cllts a p ec u liar attitude of
mind . Obvious ly t lt e d ea ler responsibl e for it
t hinks there is a catc h some place in t he system
of cash d iscoun ts and prid es h ims elf on be in g
one of tho se who is not go ing to be ca ught by
it. Or he may be the type of bus in ess man who
never !Jays a bill until he li as to, fi g uring that h e
can finan ce him se lf on the money hI: owes.
Some of th em do, but mor e ofte n th an not the
ma n who conducts h is bu siness on t hat basis re­
ceives conside rab le publicity in the column
hearted "Busincss Embarrassments.
If the gent lem a n fr om I n&ia;a w o uiu stop
and think a moment he :""ould sec that the
manuiacturer offers cash dis co unts bes:a use it is
to hi s a d vantage to do so; in ot h er 'word s, br-
Henkelman
P ·i a nos and
Player-Pianos
The Highest Grade
Commercial Value
on the Market
O wing to our sy stem of standardization and
low overhead these instrun1ents possess ll1any
fea ture s found only in pianos sold at much
hig her prices.
Prepare for Fall
by Ordering Now
Write
for
Catalogs
and
Prices
A trial order will easily convince you
that what we say is true.
Henkelman Piano Mfg. Corp.
709-717 East 140t~ Street
New York
AUGUST
18, 1923
ca u se he can take advantage of cash d iscounts
which are offer ed to him by t he firms f rom
w h om he buys his materia ls . Th is, in t u rn, is
re fl ecte d in a lower manufacturing cost, which
the retailer rec eives t h e benefit of as does th e
manufacturer. Thus eve rybo d y ben e fits, not
o nl y from t he dir ec t saving of 2 per cent, bu t
from the indirect sav in gs thro u g h lower costs.
Followin g the ph il osophy of th e write r of thi s
letter, whe n a cu s tomer comes into his store to
buy a p ia no, for instance, h e w ou ld pref er to
se ll it on long t ime to ge t t he inte rest on t he
deferred payment s, instead o f selling it for cas h
at t he net figure. It is not at a ll probab le that
he does bus iness in that way- yet he be lieves,
evidently, that it is the proper way t o conduct
affa ir ~
To be thorough ly consistent, w hi ch, of
course, few men are, he s h oul d hang a s ign in
his store w ith a wording something like t hi s :
"Vve Do Not Do a Cash Business- We Prefer
to Vvait for Our :Money ." B ut it is p robably a
safe bet that no such a nno un cemen t w ill ever
m ake its appearance . An d whe n h e does make
a ca sh. sale he probab ly p rid es hi mself o n hi s
abi li ty t o d o it.
T h ere is n o necessity fo r sympathy for the
ha r d lo t of t he manufac t ure r w h o likes to hav e
his bi ll s discounte d. It is was t ed a n d h ad b ette r
be devoted to the p t sition of the r etail er who is
un ab le t o save money b y do in g th is. He re, in
pa r tic ular, it had bett er be d evo ted to th e write r
of the letter h imself. He nee d s it, n o t on ly be­
cause he probab ly fai ls to d isco u n t his bills, but
because he ev ident ly considers it poo r po licy t o
do so. T h ere is hop e for th e man w h o is u n­
able to take adva ntage o f cas h di scounts bllt
who k nows that it is a goo d th ing to do. B ut
w hat hope is th er e for t he ma n who considers
th is mo s t ele mentar y forlll of good financia l
policy bad bus ine ss an d so met hin g to be a voi d­
ed ? Yet th a t is t he only deduct ion t h a t can b e
m a d e fr om the s tat eme n ts contai ned in thi s
letter.
I t is a matt e r of ordinary mathema tics to
S IIOW that the m a n who does no t di scount hi s
bi ll s pay s an average of 36 per cent p er allnum
o n t he a illo ll nt o f hi s outs tan di ng liabil iti es. A
littl e fi g lll'ill g wit h penc il an d paper, and a littl c
th o u ght, w ill go a lo ng wa y to convince hinl of
t hat fact. It is very do ubtfu l whether ;;11)' re­
tai le r ca n r ea li/.e that ret ur n on permittin g h is
bill:.; t o g'O to maturit y and usin g hi s liabili ti es
'IS ca p ita l in hi s bus in ess. If the w rit er of this
le tt e r can , h e possesses a sec ret pana cea w h ich,
for t he ben efit oi hi s fe ll ow trad esJ ll e n, h e
might JJ1ake p ub lic and the space, and lot s o f it,
wi ll be accorded him in T h e Review to do so.
For the editors of this paper would like to know
it just as th e res t of th e t rade would, and the
Jlla n who wou ld make it pub lic woul d be a ge n­
era l b e nefa ctor.
If t he iniorllJatio n cO ll laillccI i" l.he o rigina l
ar t icle on t his subje ct w h ic h a p peared in T he
l,eview is "bu nk," to u se the e legant expre"sion
of t he writer of t h e letter, it is th e sort of
"bunk" tha t the b es t bu sin ess houses in th e
co unt r y, a nd the mos t s uccessf ul retail m us ic
ho u ses in t he trade, consiste ntl y follow, and,
judging by t h e s uccess t hey hav e had, the so rt
of "bunk" which has con t ribute d great ly to their
s uc cess. If t he gent leman from I ndiana wil l
tak e a litt le more " j o u rnalis ti c" a d vice he wi ll
ask a d ea ler who disco unts his bills wha t he
t hin ks of t h e propos it io n, a nd perhap s t he hard
facts of experience, o n which were ba se d the
original arti cle in The Rev iew, w ill carry co n­
viction to him .
Mean .w hile, let him save his s ympat h y-the
llianufa cturer doe s not need it except w hen h e
has a go o d many dealers o n h is books w h o
neve r discount, w ho permit t he ir b ill s to run to
llIaturitya nd, in mos t cases, whe n t hat tak~,
p lace SOIll(, tim e beyond t he dati ng.
OPENS IN NEW LOCATION
Cor.ll,vlJ\l IS GROVE, 0 ., A ug ust 13.·- T he H. H
H ol lis Music StO I'C was forma ll y opened a short
t im e a g o in it s !lew loca t ion fl ext to th e po s t
office o n Sy camo r e s t ree t.

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