What Is Service

By JACK DIONNE

The strenuous current of the tide of modern times 'has brought into everyday mode'rn use, the word "SERVICE." It practically dominates every business discussion; has become the harp of many strings upon which the modern thinker strums with vigorous hand. Upon it every salesman bases his argu,ment-his hopes-his aspirations.

And yet we seldom hear the potent question asked: "What IS service?" It is worthy of serious thought and consideration, because as w€ look about us we so often see rnen claiming to be rendering service of a phenomenal sort, to whom the actual mean'ing and demonstration of the word is absolutely and utterly unknown.

Nearly two thousand years ago that Man who died on Mount Calvary, propounded the soverign principles of SERVICE when he said, "Whosoever shall be great among you shall be your minister; and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, will be the servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto. but to minister. and gave his life a ransom for many.."

The VALUE of service was w,onderously predicted in the above quotation, but the growth of modern civilization has developed the practical everyday necessity for the rendering of business service, and is gradually setting a giltedged premium on service-giving ability.

Today the question that the man in any walk of life must answer is, "What degree of service can you render?"

All the departments of our civilization are working toward the one great object; the intensification of SERVICE -the supef-development of EFFICIENCY.

'fhe world is learning that the worker is' to be judged by the service that he renders, and that he shall be, rewarded in exact proportion to the quality and quantity of that effort. honest business, all creative orderly society, and all true

Service is the basis of work, all free government, religion.

Service is the magic password that unocks the vaults wherein lie hidden away the best of human possibilities. It is the Aladdin's lamp of modern business, but unlike the lamp of Aladdin, there is ,more to be done than merely the rubbing of hands or the muttering of a word.

Then what IS service? What IS this thing that the master preached-that men proclaim-that all humans have learned to praise?

Let us turn to the d'ictionary. It states that SERVICE is "Assistance rendere,d;" also that it is "Duty performed."

As service affects the business man 'of today, the lumber merchant parti.cularly, it seems to us that a blending of the two definitions, gives an excellent inte,rpretation, because the giving of MODERN BUILDING SERVICE means the rendering of assistance to the buyer, and perfoqming a duty towards him also. The assistance is a necessity, and the duty is clear.

We sh,ould say that MODERN MERCHANDISING SERVICE means to furnish to the public the fullest p,ossible degree ,of intensified, specialized, intelligent assistance in the use of those materials which you sell. It means that you will use your most earnest efforts to "Do unto others as you would, have them do unto you"-if YOU were at the buying end, and the other fellow the merchant of building material.

Use THAT as a basis for measuring the quality and quantity of the service that you ,give, before you put "SERVICE" on your letterheads and in your advertising c,opy. SERVICE is NOT a physical TI{ING. It is a demonstrable FORCE.

The merchandise that you sell is the PHYSICAL end of your sale; the SERVICE is that intangible and uncharted dynarnic development of modern times, which makes your goods worth buying, and worth having.

Are YOU giving service or not ?