Barters & Bootstraps: PICK A SPOT & MAKE A STAND

(Page 3 of 5)

April/May 1992
By Ted Garrison 
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In some areas, the roadside stand has fallen into disfavor. I have always tried to offer my customers top-grade items, and thrown out spoiled material. But when visiting other stands, I've found items not fit for the compost heap. I've also seen second-grade stuff bought in town, trucked back out to the stand, and sold as first-grade items. Don't expect your customers to reach down and dig through a ditty hamper-full of overripe or half-spoiled fruit. Chances are they won't, and you can't blame them.

Keep older items moving ahead of the new ones to reduce spoilage. A markdown counter can help relieve you of those items that are close to spoiling. The markdown table is the boon to the home canner without a garden — it's a paradise for bargain hunters and those with big families who cook in large quantities to feed their hungry brood. Count your items out in units of tens, metric-system style, to make a quick assessment of what items you have and which are selling fastest.

Keep your stand scrumptiously clean at all times. You're handling food that people are buying to eat. Never leave a towel lying on a counter; it will give the place a sloppy appearance. Have a sink large enough to wash merchandise in (an old kitchen sink will do). Keep your personal appearance up to par — clean shirts and trousers for men and clean blouses for women (we've found that aprons on the girls denote country living, and with it, an atmosphere of wholesome life). Clean hands and fingernails go over like a big smile when it comes to making a sale. It's surprising how long people will remember "that dirty little man who runs the fruit stand out on the highway" once they've stopped there and never gone back. You're a business person — so look the part.

Also, keep the area around the stand picked up and the place painted. Shabbiness suggests something unpleasant to the average passing motorist, and the more cars that pass by, the less your chance of selling those items that are slowly going bad right before your eyes.

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