Automatic Age

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
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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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