OLDS — Big changes are happening to the Nu2U thrift store, now that it’s officially operated by the Olds & District Hospice Society.
Its new manager – Jonathan Smith, has been on the job for a couple of weeks now and has plans to make the shop’s ability to take in and display goods operate more efficiently.
The society took over operation of the store on Jan. 3 after the town which used to operate it, announced plans in December to shut it down, sparking an uproar among its loyal customers.
Plans are also afoot to expand store hours.
For the moment, it will continue operating Tuesday through Friday from 12 noon to 5 p.m. and every third Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.
But it’s hoped that starting some time in March it can be open more Saturdays, and Thursday evenings.
Later on, the store may get into the business of picking up furniture from people who no longer need it.
Smith, 57, is originally from Orangeville, Ontario. But he and his wife Katie have been living in Bowden for about a year. He was lured to this area partly because he has family here, but also because house prices are lower than in Ontario.
Smith has two years of direct experience in the thrift store business, having worked in one in Belleville and for eight months in Red Deer before landing his current job.
Before that, he worked as an organizer/supervisor for youth groups and looked after an e-waste drop-off location in Orangeville, one of the busiest ones in Ontario.
Society executive director Mary Smith (no relation) described Jonathan as “very experienced, compassionate, empathetic, (with) great volunteer management (skills).
“Great with people, understands, is a good listener. Respect, huge on the respect, so we thought he’d make a really good fit,” she said.
“His references said every single one of them would hire him back in a heartbeat.”
Mary said the the society received 40 applications for the job, about 10 more than she anticipated. Jonathan was hired in late January and began his new job Jan. 31.
So far, he seems to be fitting in well,” Mary said.
"He’s really fair. He’s empathetic. He listens, he doesn’t react. He takes everybody’s input and then goes with the majority.
“And he also has the ability that if, you know, there’s a tough situation or whatnot to deal with – say, somebody was stealing – that he can manage that appropriately as well.”
Mary said she was surprised to learn that theft is indeed an issue in thrift stores.
“You wouldn’t think that, but theft is huge, I’m learning. It’s a big thing in the thrift world,” she said.
Mary said for all their new ideas, Nu2U will need to obtain more revenue; hence staying open more hours – plus possibly setting up a TikTok account.
“That’s a big, trendy, new thing for thrift stores, because there are a lot of young people out there that can benefit from the less expensive household items,” she said.
“We’re looking at exploring different social media things, getting the word out there, and doing every education campaign on what we have in the store so people can have what they need.”
Mary was asked if that means people will be able to order goods from the store online.
“We’re going to work towards that.” she said, adding that that service and the furniture pick-up service would require more volunteers.
Jonathan Smith said in fact, more volunteers are coming forward.
He said they now have about 30, including a few that signed up in the past week or two and a handful that have come back to work there again.
One issue that has bedevilled Nu2U is that some people have dropped off junk that can’t really be resold, so it has to go to the landfill near Didsbury.
When they announced plans last December to close the Nu2U, town officials said after a volunteer left, town employees were left having to drive junk to the landfill, cutting into their other responsibilities.
“We’re going to hire a company to do it because it’s not really fair to expect the volunteers to do that type of work, nor is it fair to expect the town to do that type of work,” Mary said.
“There’s always some junk in thrift. Everybody’s definition of thrift is a little different,” Jonathan said.
He said if some of it is metal, Nu2U might be able to sell it to a nearby scrap metal dealer.
“At least it would probably pay for the transportation of the stuff to the dump and such if we got some money back on that.”
Jonathan said he finds the thrift store business to be fascinating.
“I was just kind of captivated by the amount and quality of the stuff that was dropped off and it’s just a really neat process – people discarding stuff and you can turn around and sell it and the money can be used for good things,” he said.
“There’s a wonderful group of volunteers (at Nu2U) – very committed, and they have a community here. It gives them purpose. A lot of retired people, which is normal.
“And the cause helps people. People buy in when they know their work is going to a good cause, and hospice and all the other community organizations that are supported here I think is a real motivator for people.”
He said as things are currently structured, supervision is “a challenge” because the store sits in two spaces next door to each other. However, he’s confident a system can be worked out to address that problem.
He'd also like to make some of the retail fixtures like shelving look a little better and more uniform.
