I turned the TV on around one o'clock and started flipping through the channels. I happened to catch the PBS series MASTERPIECE THEATER on Wisconsin Public Television.
The were showing a marathon re-run of last seasons "soap opera" series about Harry Gordon Selfridge which I had not seen.
I got hooked on it and watched and watched and watched until 10:00 P.M.!! I can't remember the last time I was up that late or watched that much television.
I have always been fascinated with the life of Harry Selfridge because he was born in Ripon, Wisconsin and grew up to become a very wealthy man working for Marshall Fields in Chicago for 25 years.
He moved his family to London and established the world famous Selfridges Department Store which is still in business today as a chain of very successful high-end department stores.
It was Harry Selfridge who invented the phrase, "the customer is always right" and he was also the first retailer to advertise with the slogan "XX More Shopping Days until Christmas".
Selfridge was one of the most colorful men who ever lived. He invented more successful sales techniques than you can count and in his private life he was a heavy drinker, gambler and woman chaser which was, finally, his downfall.
The series is excellent and a "soap opera" well worth watching. The new season begins Sunday night and I'll be up late every Sunday night for the next few months. If you want to get hooked on great drama, I recommend this program about one of Wisconsin's most famous and colorful legends.
By the way, many department stores still have the perfume/makeup counter right at the front door as you walk in the building. It was Harry Selfridge who put it there. Guess why?
Back in the day when he opened his store, most of the transportation was still by horse and buggy. That meant that customers tended to track horse manure into the store and that's the first thing you smelled when you opened the door. Harry took care of that a "spritz" of perfume!
He moved his family to London and established the world famous Selfridges Department Store which is still in business today as a chain of very successful high-end department stores.
It was Harry Selfridge who invented the phrase, "the customer is always right" and he was also the first retailer to advertise with the slogan "XX More Shopping Days until Christmas".
Selfridge was one of the most colorful men who ever lived. He invented more successful sales techniques than you can count and in his private life he was a heavy drinker, gambler and woman chaser which was, finally, his downfall.
The series is excellent and a "soap opera" well worth watching. The new season begins Sunday night and I'll be up late every Sunday night for the next few months. If you want to get hooked on great drama, I recommend this program about one of Wisconsin's most famous and colorful legends.
By the way, many department stores still have the perfume/makeup counter right at the front door as you walk in the building. It was Harry Selfridge who put it there. Guess why?
Back in the day when he opened his store, most of the transportation was still by horse and buggy. That meant that customers tended to track horse manure into the store and that's the first thing you smelled when you opened the door. Harry took care of that a "spritz" of perfume!
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