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- from ‘Art of Money Getting’
- by P
BE POLITE AND KIND TO YOUR CUSTOMERS
- from ‘Art of Money Getting’
- by P. T. Barnum
.
Politeness and civility are the best capital ever invested
in business. Large stores, gilt signs, flaming
advertisements, will all prove unavailing if you or your
employees treat your patrons abruptly. The truth is, the
more kind and liberal a man is, the more generous will be
the patronage bestowed upon him. ‘Like begets like.’ The
man who gives the greatest amount of goods of a
corresponding quality for the least sum (still reserving
for himself a profit) will generally succeed best in the
long run. This brings us to the golden rule, ‘As ye would
that men should do to you, do ye also to them’ and they
will do better by you than if you always treated them as if
you wanted to get the most you could out of them for the
least return. Men who drive sharp bargains with their
customers, acting as if they never expected to see them
again, will not be mistaken. They will never see them again
as customers. People don”t like to pay and get kicked
also.
.
One of the ushers in my Museum once told me he intended to
whip a man who was in the lecture-room as soon as he came
out.
.
‘What for?’ I inquired.
.
‘Because he said I was no gentleman,’ replied the usher.
.
‘Never mind,’ I replied, ‘he pays for that, and you will
not convince him you are a gentleman by whipping him. I
cannot afford to lose a customer. If you whip him, he will
never visit the Museum again, and he will induce friends to
go with him to other places of amusement instead of this,
and thus you see, I should be a serious loser.’
.
‘But he insulted me,’ muttered the usher.
.
‘Exactly,’ I replied, ‘and if he owned the Museum, and
you had paid him for the privilege of visiting it, and he
had then insulted you, there might be some reason in your
resenting it, but in this instance he is the man who pays,
while we receive, and you must, therefore, put up with his
bad manners.’
.
My usher laughingly remarked, that this was undoubtedly the
true policy; but he added that he should not object to an
increase of salary if he was expected to be abused in order
to promote my interest.

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