ThirdQuarter News Stories
Wanting a ThirdQuarter Encore
"We couldn't have asked for anyone better."
Terri Ferguson
Mark's Work Wearhouse manager ,
Summerside, P.E.I.
Summerside, P.E.I. folk singer and ThirdQuarter Pete Blanding knows the first rule in show business: always leave the audience wanting more.
He didn't intend to apply that rule to the retail business, but when he took a temporary job at Mark's Work Wearhouse for the Christmas season he was such a hit store manager Terri Ferguson wanted an encore.
"We couldn't have asked for anyone better," Ferguson said. "We would have liked to have kept him."
Normally, seasonal employees are laid off in January, but Ferguson asked Blanding to stay after his term was up. She said it's worth extra payroll costs to keep a good employee.
And Blanding was a standout.
"In this field you have to be able to smile, and keep smiling on the worst of days, and that's why Pete was great," Ferguson said.
"He's been in the workforce long enough he knows that there are going to be slow times, but he knows there's also going to be crazy pull-out-your-hair times."
Blanding, 59, said he'd love to have a return engagement next Christmas, but he couldn't stay on in January. He's also booked from May to October, running a tour business for seniors with his wife, Cindy.
"They were great people to work with and they treated me wonderfully," he said.
"If I hadn't had some other things going on I'd be there still."
Ferguson was optimistic when Summerside community co-ordinator Don Anderson stopped by last fall to tell her about ThirdQuarter.
"I was in desperate need to hire. It was perfect timing," she said.
She doesn't like to advertise for help because dealing with a flood of job applicants is too time consuming, and training inexperienced workers takes up more time.
ThirdQuarter was an ideal solution. Ferguson was able to target a small pool of workers who would bring a level of maturity to the job.
"I knew anyone that was older knew what it was to earn the buck," she said.
And old dogs already know the tricks.
Blanding worked in retail many years ago and he quickly caught up with new innovations. He said his younger co-workers learned something about the value in workers who "have a little seasoning."
He and Cindy, who perform in a casual folk band, were sold on the ThirdQuarter concept long before he signed up on the ThirdQuarter.ca website.
The couple has operated their tour business for 15 years, and Cindy has a degree in recreation for older adults.
"She knows the senior population probably better than anyone on the island and she's been touting this kind of thing," Blanding said.
Ferguson said employers are really missing the boat if they're not tapping into the ThirdQuarter pool.
Chances are Blanding and Ferguson will be reunited next Christmas, but if something prevents that he said he'll look for new opportunities through ThirdQuarter.
Ferguson is sold on the project, too.
"On the next hiring process, we'll definitely put the ad in again and see where it takes us," she said.
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Archives
November 2011
October 2011
- ThirdQuarter is a Great Resource
- National Seniors Council Report to Federal Government Promotes ThirdQuarter
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
- ThirdQuarter Presents Inaugural Employer Recognition Certificate
- ThirdQuarter Launches in Portage la Prairie
May 2011
- ThirdQuarter Fills Hiring Needs
- ThirdQuarters Are Reliable and Flexible
- ThirdQuarter Fills a Niche and Needs
- You Talked. We Acted.
- Portage la Prairie Launch Postponed
- ThirdQuarter 2.0 to be released May 17
April 2011
- ThirdQuarters Have Talent for Tutoring
- A Refreshing Change
- Bill Denyar - President - Atlantic Chambers of Canada
March 2011
- When Jim King talks about transferable skills, he speaks from experience
- Wanting a ThirdQuarter Encore
February 2011
- ThirdQuarter Hires Make an Impact
- ThirdQuarter Hires Make an Impact
- Steve McLellan - CEO - Saskatchewan Chambers of Commerce
- Don Anderson found his perfect match in ThirdQuarter
January 2011
- Office of Literacy and Essential Skills
Bureau de l'alphabétisation et des compétences essentielles
