The Market Assistant PDF Download

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1867 edition. Excerpt: ... The worst feature befalling these persons in such cases is, that although these dealers may occasionally be successful in inducing servants to change trades-people by such discreditable means resorted to, yet sooner or later, they are apt to be discovered, and then the trader or family is not only lost to both the new as well as the old dealers, and very often the-market also; as many conscience-stricken do not like to be seen changing from one dealer to another, they of course do not wish to acknowledge their mistakes by returning to their old places of dealing. The fact is there are heads of many families who are not aware of the iniquity and injury done by many of these named dealers, with their foreign aids and domestic help. My evidence, however, is now in relation to the two latter, proceeding with several instances from my experience of the peculiar help, which many families have found, to their cost, more plentiful than those of the more faithful. The family of a prominent merchant, residing in the Fifth Avenue, for several years had dealt satisfactorily, I believe, with the author. This family vrasfortunate ! enough in securing the services of foreign help (respectively cook and waiter), in the persons of man and his wife. The wife (cook) was supplied with a pass-book to market with, and thereby not having the opportunity of cheapening, or purchasing articles of inferior qualities, and pocketing the difference in her favor, as if she had been supplied with the ready money daily to make the market purchases; but at the end of the month, when the monthly bill was paid by her, she demanded " percentage" as she called it, for herself. ""What do you mean by percentage ?" I demanded. "Why," she says, " I mean five per cent., of...