Ann.
Ann had a solution for this problem. She asked Clara to join her in the shower. Ann and Clara lingered in the steamy shower for about ten minutes. Ann showed Clara how Ann would carefully soap her pubic area and then , with a safety razor and a special handheld mirror, she would neatly shave herself so that below her head, Ann was completely hairfree. Ann used a scissors to trim the excess of Clara's pubic hair and then supervised Cl ara's use of the razor. Ann told Clara that it was important to keep up with her shaving, as stubble was unpleasant for her and her companion. As things turned out, Clara was assiduous in her grooming and I now had a di stinctive way to tell Clara from Sara.
I was at my desk one Friday morning in late February when Ann came in with one of the look that I had learned meant that she had something important she wanted to discuss.
"Bob," Ann began. "I have some ideas about that arcade project you are working on." Ann was referring to a development project I was working on for a series of stores that would be located on Northern Boulevard in Ros alyn, on Long Island. I was renovating a former bowling alley into what I hoped would be four, upscale stores. Three of the stores were spoken for by new tenants. One was yet to be leased. I had undertaken this projec t on my own, without outside investors.
"Really, what are they?" I asked.
"I'd like it to be a surprise" Ann said. "But I need the green-light from you, which means you won't see what I'm doing till its done."
"I would also like to be a partner on this deal. I want you to give me a 10% interest in the project, but that is only if you like what I set up for you."
"You want a 10% interest? But you get it only if I like what you do-O.K." I was in an agreeable mood.
Between February and June when the shops opened, Ann was very secretive about her dealings with our contractor and she made the arrangements for the opening of the stores without consultation with me, often meeting with my contractor on her own and spending time at the site. I kept myself out of the loop for several reasons. First, I was ever increasingly coming to rely on Ann's business skills which were formidable, and second, I was anxious to discover Ann's surprise. Retail "Show and Sell" and "Crime and Punishment" – June 1978
Our store project-we called it Roslyn at its Best-had been open for about a week when Ann insisted one Saturday morning that we go take a look at what she had done. "After all, I need to know whether I am going to be your 10% partner."
I drove us out to Roslyn and pulled up in front of the stores. I recognized three of the tenants, the fur salon, the sweater shop and the bath supplies store were all known, but the fourth, "Vanities" was unknown to me. What's Vanities all about I asked? Ann smiled and said let's go see.
Ann told me to pull in a space behind the stores which I did. Ann then led me to a door in the rear of the stores. She produced a key and we entered. She led me through a narrow corridor that was about 15' in length. At the end of the corridor was another locked door. Ann leaned against me and said that I should try and be quiet. Ann opened the door.
The door opened into a small room. There was a recliner/lounger in the middle. A small refrigerator and a telephone console with a bunch of switches. There were five windows arrayed around the chair, each opening into identical small rooms with doors beyond each of them.
Ann also pointed out three TV monitors mounted below the telephone console and she showed me a small handheld video camera that, she said, was loaded and ready to operate. Ann flipped a switch and the monitors came to life. The three monitors captured the inside of the store. As I studied the monitors I realized that Vanities carried lines of lingerie and swimwear. I then also realized that Ann had arranged for me to have a centercourt view of Vanities' dressing rooms. Ann showed me that the phone console allowed audio monitoring of each dressing room and that there was also a direct line to the cashier's desk. Ann told me that I (and she to the extent of 10% if I approved) owned Vanities. She also told me that she had picked the staff, the merchandise and had specified the floorplan.
Ann then asked me if I would like to stay in the room for a couple of hours while she looked in on how the store was operating. I was anxious to see how things went so I agreed. Ann showed my that there were soft drinks in the mini- refrigerator and said she'd be back in a few hours. She told me that the only way out was as we came in; there was no entrance from my room into the store. I settled into the armchair and monitored what was going on in the store.
Ann excused herself and a few minutes later I saw her enter the store. The staff all seemed to know her.
I had been at my post for about a half hour, when the door to one of the dressing rooms opened and a woman of about thirty years came in with two bathing suits to try on. She was not remarkable in appearance, but quickly stripped off her clothes and tried on the first bathing suit she had picked. She seemed to be staring right at me, but I realized that she was simply looking at her own reflection in the two-way mirror that formed the gateway for my view.
Over the next hour or so I was treated to the spectacle of about ten unsuspecting persons trying on Vanities' fare. Most were shopping for swimsuits but there were a few who were interested in different lingerie items as well. Ann then rejoined me and asked how I liked the setup. I told her that it seemed like it could be habit forming. She suggested that if I wanted, I could spend Sunday with her at Vanities. She said that she would be working there the next day between noon and 5:00 p.m. and that I could stay ensconced in that chamber. I was game.
The next day we left New York about 11:30. Ann told me that she wanted to get a better idea about how the customers were reacting to the merchandise and also thought it would be a good idea to try and train the sales crew too. Ann dropped me off behind the store and I unlocked the doors and entered the viewing room. The store had not yet opened for business and I watched through the monitors as Ann entered the store. I flicked on the audio and was surprised at the clarity of the audio reception. Ann was talking to Pauline, one of the other salespeople working that day.
I was also surprised and pleased for several reasons about the volume of business that came in to the store. I particularly enjoyed two college age girls who occupied themselves stuffing their bodies into a pair of bikinis and then trying to make sure that it was adjusted properly before leaving the room to show their intended purchases to their companions. There were two episodes that day, however, which were even more memorable.
Around 2:30, a man of about 50 came in to the store and started to poke around through the lingerie section. Pauline was with another customer so Ann strolled over and asked if she could help. The customer said that he was looking for something special for his wife. With Ann's help, he picked out two ensembles, one a red merry widow with matching panties and stockings and the other a black sheer robe to be worn over a black bra, panties, garterbelt and stockings. Ann tried to encourage him to look at some other items and he did pick out a gauzy, filmy beige nightgown. I was monitoring Ann's sales pitch.
"What size is your wife?"
"I don't know really, she's about average height."
"What size dress does she wear?"
"I'm not sure. What are the prices anyway?"
"Well this ensemble is $240, this one is $410 and the nightgown is $520."
"Oh that's more than I had in mind."
Ann wanted to make the sale: "Well I think your wife would think she is the luckiest person in the world if you came home with these items."
The customer was looking for a way out: "Well I'll go home and see if I can figure out what size she is and I'll come back."
Ann wouldn't be deterred: "Is your wife my size? I'd be happy to try these on for you so you can get a sense of what they look like."