Donerix 2.0 Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 Got this sent from a friend and thought it was quite interesting: Where to buy a good watch If you were in the market for a watch in the late 1800's, where would you buy one? You would go to a store, right? Well, of course you could do that, but if you wanted one that was cheaper and a bit better than most of the store watches, you went to the train station! Sound a bit funny? Well, for about 500 towns across the northern United States, that's where the best watches were found. Why were the best watches found at the train station? The railroad company wasn't selling the watches, not at all. The telegraph operator was. Most of the time the telegraph operator was located in the railroad station, because most of the station agents were also skilled telegraph operators, and that was the primary way they communicated with the railroad. And it was the telegraph operator who had the watches. As a matter of fact,the telegraph operators sold more watches than most stores, combined , for a period 9 years. This was all arranged by "Richard", who was a telegraph operator himself. He was on duty in the North Redwood, Minnesota train station when, one day, a load of watches arrived from the east. It was a huge crate of pocket watches. No one ever came to claim them. so Richard sent a telegram to the manufacturer and asked them what they wanted to do with the watches. The manufacturer didn't want to pay the freight back, so they wired Richard to see if he could sell them. So, Richard did.. He sent a wire to every agent in the system asking them if they wanted a cheap, but good, pocket watch. He sold the entire case in less than two days at a handsome profit. That started it all. He ordered more watches from the watch company, and encouraged the telegraph operators to set up a display case in the station offering high quality watches for a cheap price. Travelers loved them. It didn't take long for the word to spread and before long, many travelers came into the station to buy watches. Richard became so busy that he had to hire a professional watch maker to help him with the orders. That was Alvah Roebuck. And they moved to Chicago and sold many watches and much more dry goods, using the railroads to ship their mail-order goods by RR freight.. Their company became Sears and Roebuck. It all started with a telegraph operator, Richard Sears, and his partner, Alvah Roebuck. And now you know the rest of the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 wow...very interesting...who would have known?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 Now that is fascinating! What a great way to start such a huge business! Thanks for sharing that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 (edited) Interesting indeed. I bet this was a major factor in the watch boom of the 1860s when all the major players today started up. What better way to get your name out and sell your watches then at train stations where there is a huge diverse market and all your "AD's" are up and running in prime tourist locations. Clever. Edited November 18, 2011 by phillycheez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 Fascinating. I learned something today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 I thought at first this was going to be about station master pocket watches. Very interesting story thanks. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 That's a fantastic story, thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 That's a fantastic story, thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxman Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 I saw this at TZ several months ago..a very Interesting read to say the least. Thanks for posting. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utheman Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 I thought at first this was going to be about station master pocket watches. Very interesting story thanks. Ken Me too. Great post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankt Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 One could only imagine how rapidly those 2 great merchants must be spinning in their graves, knowing how their legacy has been flushed into the crapper by the current management there!! Wifey and I stood for @ 10 minutes last week in the appliance section, looking for a particular model floor steamer, and I actually had to finally almost physically assault one of the many sales people that just casually walked by us, to ask for info!!! And when I asked her about the particular device that Sears was PROMOTING on their web site, she looked at me as if I was from Mars...She had never even HEARD about the EXISTENCE of the model!!!...IN HER DEPARTMENT!!!!!! As a former "JJ Newberrys" asst manager (back in the '60's), I was totally appalled at her lack of product knowledge, and customer skills!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subbiesrock Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 One could only imagine how rapidly those 2 great merchants must be spinning in their graves, knowing how their legacy has been flushed into the crapper by the current management there!! Wifey and I stood for @ 10 minutes last week in the appliance section, looking for a particular model floor steamer, and I actually had to finally almost physically assault one of the many sales people that just casually walked by us, to ask for info!!! And when I asked her about the particular device that Sears was PROMOTING on their web site, she looked at me as if I was from Mars...She had never even HEARD about the EXISTENCE of the model!!!...IN HER DEPARTMENT!!!!!! As a former "JJ Newberrys" asst manager (back in the '60's), I was totally appalled at her lack of product knowledge, and customer skills!! Forgive my ignorance, but I figure this relates to the Sears chain in the US? Very humble and fortuitous beginnings As for ignorance in salespeople, I went to a watch store with mum to work out what her style was. I asked her, 'what do you have in mechanical movements?'. Bear in mind, this was a seasoned jewelry store vet... She said... (and I wish I was joking). "You mean the ones where you need to shake yor wrist, love?" Oooooooh... Having this woman recognize my 312 suddenly became less of a concern... No one even batted an eyelid. Although she did comment that she liked the strap (a $15 Maratac Zulu 5-ring) So yes, customer service, product knowledge and the like are quickly being flushed down the toilet. It's not immediately clear to me why this might be happening, but I think cost-cutting through training is the big killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 Just FYI this time of the year, stores are full of new- hires who know next to nothing about anything. It's the holiday season and most people you meet in a store were just hired 2 or 3 weeks ago. They operate on a skeleton crew all year to make as much profit as possible then hire loads of new people for the holidays only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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