John has been “a wonderful addition,”said Georgianne Vinicombe, who owns Monday Morning Flowers and Balloon Company in Princeton, New Jersey. “He’s sort of a father figure to our two young designers, and they’re helping him learn how we do things at our shop. They lovingly call him ‘Sir John’ and he calls them ‘Ma’am.’ What I enjoy most is his enthusiasm for the industry and his willingness to learn.”
Like many others in the industry, Georgianne Vinicombe has struggled to find positive, dependable employees for her business. She has had three new hires fizzle out when they realized the workload required in a retail flower shop. After struggling to train these young newbies, however, she found success by “going old school”: she recruited John Lynch, a retired florist with 55 years’ experience.
Vinicombe, who owns Monday Morning Flowers and Balloon Company in Princeton, New Jersey, with her husband, Kevin, became acquainted with Lynch years ago when he closed his family shop. “We purchased some wedding props from him and found him to be a wonderful man,” she said. “He was not looking for work at that time, but we kept in touch over the years.”
Lynch has been “a wonderful addition,” she said. “He’s sort of a father figure to our two young designers, and they’re helping him learn how we do things at our shop. They lovingly call him ‘Sir John’ and he calls them ‘Ma’am.’ What I enjoy most is his enthusiasm for the industry and his willingness to learn.”
Lynch shares his experience, “but never lectures,” Vinicombe said. “He’s really open-minded. And he shows up on time every morning with a smile!”
Vinicombe attributes her hiring challenges to a number of factors including tough competition from large corporations and universities in the area, being located in a city with a high cost of living (which means prospective employees most likely face a lengthy commute), being located in an affluent area where many local high school and college students don’t seek after-school or summer jobs (a time when many people fall in love with floristry), a lackluster Future Farmers of America group in the state and a historically low unemployment rate.
“We’ve found the pool of prospective candidates to be very, very low,” she said — an experience Society of American Florists members from all segments of the industry reported in a recent economic survey.
Following her success with Lynch, Vinicombe hired a delivery driver in his 70s. She plans to look to boomers to help build up her roster of holiday helpers as well.
Katie Hendrick Vincent is the senior contributing editor for the Society of American Florists.
