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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 4, Issue 6 (October 1, 1929)

General Manager's Message — Securing Business

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General Manager's Message
Securing Business.

In the matter of securing new business for the railways I have felt for some time the great potentialities of concentrated business-getting effort on the part of our 19,000 employees.

During the last Conference of our executive officers in Wellington, it was suggested that possibly some members might refrain from action in the direction indicated because such assistance had neither been specially asked for, nor, in Shylock's words, “so nominated in the bond.”

For the above reasons I think some statement on the question might be in the general interest.

It need hardly be pointed out that every suitable action on the part of members to influence business towards the railways, or to notify where it may be influenced, is assured of the general approbation of the management. We want the business, we can carry extra traffic at small additional cost, and it is our definite aim to make the service as self-supporting as the conditions make possible.

In this work every member may be swayed by a higher motive than mere self-interest. My own confidence in the value of the service the Railways render to the people of New Zealand is very definite. I believe that whenever any member secures a passenger or a consignment of freight for the Railways he is, at the same time, performing a useful service not only for himself but also for the country as a whole.

Even if a member feels no personal capacity for salesmanship, which has been aptly described as “the art of finding out what people want,” he is invited to pass the word on about projected trips of friends or likely movements of goods of various kinds between one district and another. Such information should be gladly availed of by any traffic man, and the proper representation by him of our facilities should help to secure the business. In any case, the interest taken in their movements or business, if presented in a helpful spirit, would be appreciated by the people concerned and result ultimately in favourable reactions towards the Department.

Not only the staff, but members of the public who know of cases where, by proper representation, business might be secured to the railways, are invited to draw the Department's attention to it. The nearest railway man could be told about it. He would pass the story on to the right person to clinch the business. The purely selfish aspect—that the more work we get the better will be our own prospects—would naturally be expected to appeal to members of our staff. But to them, as to the public, the wider appeal is made also—that of helping the country by a fuller display of interest in the country's own transport business. In this respect the railways’ and the country's interests are identical.

By the issue of comprehensive notices and publications we are giving every opportunity to employees to know what our services are; and an added zest will be given to their daily work if they can utilise that information for the purposes of salesmanship on behalf of the railways. And if the information broadcast through the various publicity channels of the Department should be considered inadequate, anyone has only to ask for further information at any time or suggest how further it could be made available, to gain this necessary assistance for helping on the increase of business.

General Manager

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Inspection Of New Line And Workshops. Mr. H. H. Sterling (General Manager of Railways) with engine driver (Mr. T. Ching) on the engine of the first passenger train to run over the Westfield deviation, Auckland. This train carried the Auckland Chamber of Commerce party on the first public inspection of the North Island Car and Wagon Workshops at Otahuhu.

Inspection Of New Line And Workshops.
Mr. H. H. Sterling (General Manager of Railways) with engine driver (Mr. T. Ching) on the engine of the first passenger train to run over the Westfield deviation, Auckland. This train carried the Auckland Chamber of Commerce party on the first public inspection of the North Island Car and Wagon Workshops at Otahuhu.