Life, 1924-02-14 · page 3 of 36
Life — February 14, 1924 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily an advertisement**, not a political cartoon. It features "An Advertisement to Our Employees" for Statler Hotels, a major hotel chain of the era. The image shows a formal portrait of an unnamed businessman (likely a Statler executive) alongside text explaining the company's service philosophy. The message emphasizes that employees must treat guests with respect and courtesy—"the golden rule of treating the other fellow...as you would like to be treated." The advertisement's framing as a formal "public record" statement suggests this was a serious corporate ethics declaration. The "Guarantee of Statler Service" promises guests will receive satisfactory treatment or can escalate complaints to management. This reflects early 20th-century hospitality industry standards and corporate PR messaging rather than satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* LIFE - An Advertisement to Our Employees: People generally pay more attention to telegrams than to letters, don’t they? You agree, because you know that the man who pays several times the cost of a letter to get his message before you quickly and prominently has something important to say. That's exactly why I'm giving you this message in expen- sive—and valuable—space when I might get it to you more economically in several other ways. That's why I'm adver- tising, to you, the service you give. There’s another reason, too, I'm here going on public record with this—which I wouldn't be if the same sheet of printed words were sent to you at the hotel or at your home address. “If you have ever been doubtful as to whether we mean what we say, this ought to settle it DETROIT: 1000 rooms, 1000 bachs. Grand Circus Park. ST. LOUIS: 6y0 rooms, 630 baths. Ninth and Washington. BOSTON: Now preparing to bald ot Columbus Ave, Prove dence and Aslingwon Sa. Now forget those preliminanes and get the message: You know, and I know, that the pc cies of this business ar aple, and pl and easily- understood. You know, and I know, that the big st job in running these big hotels is to keep the human side of service up to our standard. The mechanical-service fea- tures don’t make one one-hundredth the trouble that the people who give serv- ice do. Our guests are promised, and guaran- teed, a service that isn’t only thorough, but is also helpful; that isn’t perfunctory, and that is interested, that isn’t cer grudging, and is always courteous. Those written promi: sstomers, are just as bindir ¢ the written promises to our bankers to pay them certain moncys. What I'm saying t n now, 1s that those prom: ust and will be kept; neither you nor I nor anybody working in these Is can forget them or neglect them, and get away with it. All previous instructions stand, you understand, and all alibis are outlawed. You're to do all your authority permits toward satisfying any guest, and if that doesn’t satisfy him you re to see that he gets to your superior. You're to be guided by the Codes; "re to use your head; you're to follow ating the other fel low—guest or fellow-employce—as you'd like to be treated. I don’t want to preach, and 1 don’t want to scold. If I do either I'll doitin pnvate. What T'in trying to pt th: can thi If you have whether we n and the guarantee we give ¢ guest—ought to settle it The Guarantee of Statler Service ha (and with fhe can’t sai take you t more than 6,000 emg no need that | should d: our promises aren know My permanent ; Oifices, Hotels S ‘The largest hotel in the world with 2300 rooms, 2200 bachs On Seventh Avenue, 324 10 334 Se f comicbooks.com