"Service Be$ins at Ffome" Says Salesman

Walter Baker, o,f Sacramento, who jogs up and down the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys for the Hendrickson Lumber Coinpany, of San Francisco, dropped us a letter the other day that had lots of good meat in it, the intent andr purpose of the letter being to prove that in the lumber business, as elsewhere, service should begin a home. He wrote as follows:

"The writer has read with interest the many articles printed in the several Lumber Journals telling, and f am sure convincing, the Retail Lumber Dealer that if he is to be abreast of the times and successful as a Lumberman, he must give SERVICE.

"SERVICE has been explained so many times that the dealer knows WHAT it is but, for some unknown reason, no one has answered the question which arises in the mind of the reader of these artic,les, HOW, WHEN and WHERE do I start to work along these lines.

"The thought that I am going to try to convey was prompted by what I overheard in a Lumber Offici in a thriving little city in the San Joaquin Valley and I believe that if this article is run through your Mill an.d remanu_ factured it might be brought up to grade,and, passed along for the dealers' consideration.

"The writer's attention was first attracted to what I think is the answer to the above question by the appear_ ance of the Yard Foreman who told the Manager that it was time to close the Yard' but wanted to know if there was anything else he could do before leaving and the Manager afterward told me that this had been the nightly habit of this man for years.

"On first entering the Office, I asked a,bout one of the office force whose d,esk I noted was not occupied and was informed that he was sick at his home but immediately after the Yard Foreman had left, the Manager was called to the phone and I overheard a conversation in which our sick man was told to stop worrying about the Office and stay home until he had entirely recovered.

"The Manager stated further that each one of the office force had taken on a part of his work so that everything was up to date and that the Yard orders wers ail fuging filled on time as the Yar,d Force had worked until ten thirty on the previous night to get out a large country order and he was very much pleased by the fact that they would not accept one cent of pay for overtime.

"From the above you can readily see that this man has worked under the policy that "service Begins at Home,, and, after actually witnessing the display of loyalty and being told by the Manager that the time of employment of his newest employee was measured in yeairs, I am thor_ oughly convinced that this man has found the answer to our question, "How, When and Where to start Service.,,

"Judging from the activity f see every time I call at this Yard, I can see that this organization is enjoying the good will of their community and that, after al,l, is the goal every yard is seeking.