The Consumer Viewpoint | Page 4

weight is
easily handled.
8. Convenient switch; handle designed long enough for comfortable
operation at woman's height.
9. Bag, double seamed; strong, tight connections; easily emptied;
durable material, preferably of cotton flannel type.
10. Winding posts for cord to be strong and conveniently placed.
11. Convenience in connecting attachments.
12. Elimination of noise, in so far as this is possible.
Instead, then, of attempting merely to learn the dealer's demand for
selling points, put part of your effort into learning the demands of the
user of the machine. Consumer suggestion or demands are apt to come
only after a period of use. Obvious ones are sometimes reported by the
dealer, but very often they never come to the manufacturer through the
reports of the trade in time to be of service. It took a period of years for

the dealer to realize the importance of enclosed moving parts. It finally
came to him through the reaction developed by women using the
machines. In the same way the manufacture and marketing of both gas
and electric ranges, which has been uniformly efficient, has overlooked
one very important detail. The broiler grids are often so placed that the
steak is an inch and a half away from the flame instead of one-half inch.
With such a broiler, perfect broiling is impossible. Again a kitchen
cabinet may be made of high grade materials but the hardware proves
too light to stand the constant closing and opening. Such a kitchen
cabinet is handicapped in any neighborhood because constant use
makes the minor annoyance a cumulative one, which reacts directly
upon the manufacturer's product.
The vacuum cleaner that is easily sold on the dealer's floor because it
looks big and imposing oftentimes discloses its poor efficiency only
after from four to six months of use. This is due to the fact that from
time immemorial women have ordained a period devoted to
housecleaning twice a year. And it is at this crucial time that they
discover if the routine care of rugs and carpets by their vacuum cleaner
has accomplished a work satisfactory to them. This conclusion is well
borne out by a conversation we had with a large dealer in vacuum
cleaners from the west coast. He freely told us of handling two vacuum
cleaners, one a comparatively inexpensive and absolutely inefficient
machine (as we had proved by test), the other a more expensive and a
thoroughly efficient machine. He claimed that the first proved only a
feeder for the second, since when the woman, after a longer or shorter
period of use, realized that the first machine would not do the work, she
returned to buy the more expensive and better machine. And the
average time was six months! Now this dealer could have selected a
machine no higher in price than his less expensive model which would
have done good work and thoroughly satisfied the user. We leave you
to draw your own conclusions as to the fate of the manufacturer's
product in the first place, and the dealer's selling methods in the second
place.
In selecting a Washing Machine, the woman looks for:

1. Compact, trim appearance with all machine parts covered.
2. Plain outlines.
3. Swinging wringer with safety release.
4. Pump attached to machine to rapidly drain off water when drain
connection is not practical.
5. Metal tub exterior painted (easy to keep clean).
6. A waterproof finish on a wood tub.
7. Switch control of motor, clutch control of tub and wringer.
8. Height that will obviate stooping.
9. Design to insure efficiency.
10. Motor and switch insulation.
11. Materials and workmanship that insure durability.
12. A water outlet that allows rapid running off of water.
13. Threaded outlet to allow for connection. 14. All handles and levers
to be easy to grasp and to turn by wet hands.
15. Tub body slightly off the level to allow for draining.
It is easy to sell a refrigerator that has a sightly appearance, that is
equipped with a sanitary seamless lining and that is marked with a price
that spells to the woman good workmanship. But it is only actual use in
storing food that develops the fact that the insulation is of sufficient
quantity and is assembled with high grade construction, or that cheap
material and workmanship have been substituted. The service that can
be obtained from the appliance after it is marketed is of the utmost
importance for the manufacturer to learn. It is peculiarly impossible to
sell and "forget" any product sold to women.

THE WOMAN'S VIEWPOINT ON MATERIALS USED IN
CONSTRUCTION.
Undoubtedly a phase of manufacturing that acutely interests the
average manufacturer deals with the selection of the materials that are
to be used in the construction of his product. Too often the person who
selects these materials