12
October 6, 1928
P R E S T 0-T I M E S
zine advertising, and d—n little at that. A good
slogan may help some pianos but a good man to
help the dealer in the smaller places would help a
lot more.
The average traveling man will not report the
actual conditions to his house, as he is merely a
rubber stamp, and there is not a Chinaman's chance
In Following Letter E. A. Francis, Galesburg, of ever pulling off a piano playing contest in a city
of this size, good as they may be in Detroit and
111., Recites Grievances Arising from Un-
Chicago.
willingness of Manufacturers to Par-
We have made it easy for you to publish this letter
ticipate in County Fair Displays.
as we have not mentioned the name of any of your
advertisers.
Galesburg, 111., Sept. 26, 1928.
A trade paper frequently runs articles as to "What
"Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of
man, in whom THERE IS NO HELP."—Psalms Is the Matter with the Piano Business," and so far I
have not seen a single remedy that has not been
146 :v. 3.
tried out by every oldtimer in the "Game" for the
Editor Presto-Times: The psalmist must have had past forty years.
a call from a traveler for harps when he wrote that
As long as the manufacturer (who really controls
verse and had been treated in a manner similar to me. the policy of the business) takes the attitude he does
Here is just how much the average manufacturer is to the dealer, the business will be just what it is.
willing to help his dealer. We wrote some time ago to
E. A. FRANCIS,
the six different manufacturers whose franchise we held
President, Francis Piano Co.
apprising them of the fact that we intended to exhibit
at two county fairs this fall, and asking them if they
wished to cooperate with us in an advertising way.
PIANO CALMED CHILDREN'S FEARS.
Four of the six did not see fit to even send any
Miss Phyllis Stewart, teacher of the La Mere
advertising matter. Two of them did send some school, Homer, Neb., saw the approach of the tor-
and we placed an order with one of them for a nado which caused such havoc recently, and hud-
reproducing grand with the distinct stipulation that
dled her twenty-six pupils to one side of the room.
their traveler would spend two days with us at the There was no other shelter available and she tried
fair. They shipped the instrument all right, but, to calm the fears of the children by playing the piano.
although that fair has been over a month we have
This she continued until the storm arrived and
yet to see the man. He wrote a flimsy excuse about
wrecked the building. The piano was then blown
having to go to other territory. That fair cost us through the side of the building and killed a child,
$75, and we got considerable advertising but no sales the instrument coming to rest upon the body of its
as yet. But here is where you will weep and swear victim.
with us.
A traveler who has sold us an even dozen grands
OPENS IN HOLLIS, OKLA.
besides players and straights recently changed houses
G. G. McBrayer, of Childress, Okla., was in Hollis,
and took an order for the Aledo Fair in Mercer
Okla., during the past week looking for a location
County with the distinct understanding, written in
the order, that the instruments would arrive in time for a piano and music store. The McBrayer brothers
for the fair and that he was to spend at least two have been in Childress for several months, and a
days with us, the 20th and 21st if possible, but any- short time ago they dissolved partnership and G. G.
way, two days out of the five the fair lasted. The McBrayer is now looking for a new location. Up
factory shipped the goods but they arrived two days until Saturday he had not found a suitable building,
after the fair closed, and the man never showed up but hopes to be able to locate there. He states that
should he secure a building and open for business
at all.
there, that in addition to a full line of pianos, he will
Now, we had paid $70 for a booth besides buying handle phonographs and sheet music.
1,000 balloons, etc., and could not lay down, so we
trucked over stock from the store here and went to
it with the result as told in the attached newspaper
clipping. At this fair one implement dealer had no
less than sixteen traveling men to aid him, all there
at the expense of their company. Ralph Thede is the
man's name. The Voss Washing Machine Co. of
Davenport not only sent a man, but sent a band of
twenty pieces.
And the piano manufacturers try to kid the dealers
that they are doing a lot to help by the little maga-
SAYS PIANO MAKERS
ARE INDIFFERENT
THE W. W. KIMBAIX CO.
IN BALTIMORE., MD.
Big Showing Made of Instruments in All
Modles at 535 North Howard Street
at Special Prices.
The Baltimore, Md., store of the W. W. Kimball
Company has created a furore in the local piano field
by the alluring low prices at which it is offering
grands, players, reproducing grands and uprights. The
store is located at 535 North Howard street. The
prices at which the instruments are being offered are
said to be comparable with the pre-war 1914 quo-
tations. The following reasons are given for char-
acterizing Kimball's piano sale as vastly different
from the customary piano sale:
"Customers seldom have an opportunity to choose
from an entirely new, fresh and clean collection of
pianos shipped direct by the manufacturer for com-
pletely stocking the warerooms of a new factory
branch store. They are made and priced to meet and
defeat national competition"
A feature of this event, marking the formal open-
ing of the Baltimore factory brance store, was the
offering of free automobile service to the store. One
had but to call the store's phone number and an
automobile was at their command. This is the first
time any store in this city has offered such a service,
and marks an inauguration in piano-selling service in
Baltimore, the home of piano makers.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
—to become specialists in a field which will not
only pay them exceptionally well but which
will give them social standing and prominence!
'"PO young men looking for such an opportunity we
1 have an unusual offer. Right now in numberless
cities and towns in the United States, there is a great
shortage of piano experts, technicians and tuners.
The few masters there are, are earning large salaries
for this exceptionally pleasant work. Their time is
theirown. They meet the best peo-
p r > r . —
FRCC
Pie »nd
» soon estah lish a wealthy cYien-
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TfieCABLECOMPANY
Makers of Grand, Upright
and Inner'Player Pianos,
including Conover, Cable,
Kingsbury, Wellington and
Euphona.
Chicago
fact Bo per
took a music
lesson And now they are earning from
J250 to $500 a month!
This is the opportunity you are looking for Pull yourself out
- ^ . of the rut. Mako a place for yourself among the
-*="' 1 bestpeople. Our complete course in nur new $85,-
000.00 laboratory fits you for a real paying pro-
backing than you have. Find out the facts anyway.
POLK COLLEGE OF PIANO TUNING
•Ik BulldlKI. D«pt. 1O
La P o r t . , Ind.
l'olk College of Piano Tuning, La Porte. Ind.
1 like the idea of becoming a professional
ALWAYS
a p r o d u c t w o r t h y of
"A Name Well Known Since
1875"
JESSE FRENCH & SONS PIANO CO.
NEWCASTLE, INDIANA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
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Coin Operated and Selection Controlled Pianos
MECHANICALLY PERFECT
Music That Pays as It Plays
WESTERN ELECTRIC PIANO CO., 832-850 Blackhawk St., Chicago, ID.
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