. You can then tell at
a glance which batteries are out.

A good plan, and one which will save space, is to write the number of
the rental battery on the customer's claim check, and when repairs on
his own battery are completed, to set his battery in the place
provided on the rental rack for the rental which he is using. When he
comes in for his battery, you can tell at a glance whether his battery
is ready by looking at the place where the rental he is using is
normally placed on the rental rack. If a battery is there you will
know that it is his battery, and that it is ready for him.

[Fig. 185 Rental Battery Stock Card]

You could, of course, look through the batteries on the "Ready Rack,"
but this would take more time, since the numbers of the batteries on
this rack will always be different, and you would have to look through
all the batteries on the "Ready Rack" before you would be able to tell
whether any particular battery were ready. By putting a customer's
battery in place of the rental he is using, you will have only one
place to look at in order to know whether his battery is ready.

========================================================================

CHAPTER 13.
BUSINESS METHODS.
-----------------

Success in this day and age cannot be attained without a well
thought-out plan of action. There is no business which does not demand
some sort of system of management. The smallest business must have it,
and will go to ruin without it. Hence every battery service station
proprietor should see to it that his affairs are systematized --
arranged according to a carefully studied method. Most men look upon
"red-tape" with contempt and in the sense of a mere monotonous and
meaningless routine, it merits all the contempt poured upon it. Hard,
fast and iron-clad rules, which cease to be a means, and become an
end, prove a hindrance rather than a help. But an intelligent method,
which adapts itself to the needs of the business, is one of the most
powerful instruments of business. The battery man who despises it will
never do anything well. It does not matter how clever he is, how good
a workman he is, how complete his knowledge of batteries, if he
attempts to run his business without a plan, he will eventually come
to grief.

Purchasing Methods.

Every battery service station proprietor is eager to build up his
business, and improve the character of his trade, because this in turn
means that he wi