Latest figures from the state indicate that one in ten people is unemployed.
That’s not good news for graduating college seniors entering one of the most sour job markets in years.
Hal Ferry knows this only too well.
The 27 year old graduated from Southern Illinois University in December 2008 with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance.
He said he would like to work for a company as a financial analyst, but so far nobody is hiring.
For the last year and a half he has worked odd jobs, put out resumes, got married and moved to Nashville.
On a frigid February morning Messed Up caught up with the job applicant. He was wearing a suit and carrying a brief case containing resumes. He was also holding a large, hand painted sign that said:
FINANCE GRAD. NEEDS A JOB.
Cars on Broadway passed by Ferry. Some honked. Many stared. He said people shouted words of encouragement.
Andy asked Hal Ferry why he’s doing this. Here’s his reply:
“Being new to the area, I have no contacts, and don’t know which businesses are big down here. So I just figured this was a way to go, to set myself apart from the crowd.”
Andy also asked Ferry what his wife thought about his guerilla marketing plan. Ferry said she thought it was stupid.
Andy told Ferry to tell his wife that he will be on That’s Messed Up, telling his story before potentially hundreds of thousands of employers.
How stupid is that, Andy asked. Hal just laughs.
Hal’s efforts out on the street did pay some immediate dividends.
He told Messed Up that an insurance man offered him a job as a night security guard. Ferry said he took the job, which still allows him to continue his job search by day.
If you are interested in checking out Hal Ferry’s Resume, click here.
Messed Up recieved the following anonymous e-mail:
The group of investors owning a number of drive ins have decided that, as of March 1st, all carhops must roller skate.
Exemptions have been granted to those who have been employed continuously for 4 years or more.
Emails have been circulated to these locations specifically stating that anyone who has a doctor’s note excluding them from skating may perform in other positions until they are cleared by a doctor to roller skate. No special effort is being made to provide these individuals with alternate means of income at their current locations.
Managers who attempt to schedule such employees are facing threats of reprimand. So essentially, employees who are incapable of rollerskating (though they otherwise perform their jobs satisfactorily) are being laid off without any compensation, and being replaced with new ones at a cheaper hourly rate in the name of company image. Even workers currently granted exemption from the lay off are are facing the eventuality of losing their livelihood as more people are found to replace them for less money. Of course this is “messed up,” but my question is this: is this legal?
Thank you for your time. I would like to remain anonymous, for the sake of myself as well as those with whom I am associated for fear of retaliation.
We ran this e-mail by the Better Business Bureau of Tennessee. This was their response:
This is a private company…they have a ‘theme’ service delivery that requires a specific talent/skill. If you don’t want to be a roller skating car hop, you can move to another job that does not require the skill/talent. Yes, you won’t make tips if you aren’t coming face to face with the customer who is impressed and decides to include a tip.
Kathleen Calligan, CEO
Better Business Bureau Nashville/ Middle Tennessee
Going to Juvenile Court is often a stressful experience.
Parking at the Juvenile Courthouse should not add to that stress, but lately it has been doing just that.
According to Central Parking officials, on January 8th, 2 older parking terminals were removed from lot E and replaced with a single, more modern unit.
According to citizens coming to the court, the new solar powered unit has never worked well, and because of that, lines are long and people are frequently late to court.
Messed Up goes to parking lot E on Wednesday 1/20/10 around 12:30 pm, ½ an hour before the afternoon court docket is scheduled to begin.
There are approximately a dozen people in line, all of whom saythe machine is malfunctioning.
Though it says it will accept cash, the machine is not accepting dollar bills. The red light is on and it indicates it will only take credit cards, which is a longer authorization process.
Several people in line don’t have credit cards, so people with cash end up cutting deals with people with credit cards to pay for their tickets.
As one nice woman with a credit card tells Messed Up, “I shouldn’t have to take money from someone to pay for their parking.”
Another man tells me his concern is that the new terminal requires you to know your license tag number. If you don’t know your license number, he says you have to stop your transaction, get out of line, go to your car and get back in line and wait all over again.
One woman with a small child tells us that court is stressful enough and the headache of worrying about paying for a parking space and being late to court is unnecessary.
Sources inside the court house tell messed up lawyers have been complaining for weeks, even calling from the parking lot to tell the court they were running 30 minutes late.
I go to the Central Parking office on Church Street where VP and General Manager Richard Wagner addresses the issue.
To his credit, Wagner says he immediately dispatched a crew to the machine, which he says was malfunctioning.
“When we did the installation, we replaced two older machines, called Lexus; they were failing, so we put in digital equipment in its place. To be candid the credit card receiver was not working properly, when we first installed it on January 8th. We were quickly trying to install it since the other machines were failing. Unfortunately that machine was not totally ready to go out.”
He tells me that the credit card mode was not set properly to begin with which is why authorization times were taking so long.
Thanks to our call, he says that was corrected.
As for the money not being accepted, Wagner says the company believes it is a humidity issue.
“The bill accepters are susceptible to humidity and we had failures. We corrected it and now we are working on how to reduce the humidity problem. W are going to try “stay dry” internally with the equipment and we’ll put up a shelter to shield the equipment from rainfall. We want a smooth transaction that takes a few seconds, for people to do their business.”
Wagner agrees with citizens complaining about the lack of signage on the lot regarding license plate info, and he says that will be addressed immediately.
The Dominoes began to fall this weekend when Seattle Seahawk head coach, Jim Mora, was fired.
Suddenly USC Football Czar Pete Carroll emerges as the next coach in the Emerald City.
Troy is stunned and saddened as top notch, five star recruits take off their SC hats, replacing them with Gators and Bama and Longhorns.
Cardinal & Gold faithful are shocked and feeling hollow.
How the mighty have fallen.
DOMINOE 2
Fast forward to Tuesday night when sneaky USC Trojans inside a figurative Trojan horse sneak attack into Vol-Land. The Trojan staff steal the renegade coach, and just like that, Lane Kiffin is now a Trojan, thank you very much.
Lane Kiffin would seem to be perfect for USC. He comes complete with Hollywood good looks and adorable wife. This is the same Lane Kiffin, who only 14 months ago sang Rocky Top and put the cross hairs on Urban Myer.
Kiffin was part of the Trojan Machine that dominated college football in the middle of the decade. He was there to hoist national championship trophies, and apparently he was willing to sell out the Rocky Top faithful to sit behind the legend’s desk in Heritage Hall.
Tuesday night, ESPN went crazy with breaking news that Lane Kiffin, and perhaps more importantly, Defensive Guru Monte Kiffin were heading West. Some would argue that even bigger than Lane and Monte is the addition of Ed Orgeron, arguably the best recruiter in the country. He too was there for the Trojan glory years. And all three Vol Coaches are going back to Exposition Blvd.
Knoxville exploded with anger. Kids protested in the Quad with signs that proclaimed: We hate Lane Kiffin.
That about says it all.
Wednesday morning sports radio was over flowing with rancor.
On 104.5 the zone.
Frank Wychek quoted ESPN articles saying “Paris Hilton has paid more dues than Lane Kiffin.”
Mark Howard questioned: “whether Kiffin ever felt comfortable as a Vol.”
A caller said “Kiffin was running as far from the SEC as he could get, to the less competitive PAC 10.”
Out on the street, the anger was just as visceral.
When asked what he thought, one man, not even a Vol fan said:
“I think Mr. Kiffin and his daddy defecated on the University of Tennessee.”
A U.T. fan full of anger said: “I think he is a worm. I hope the Smoky Mountains hit him in the ass on the way out. I never liked him. He was always squirrely.”
DOMINOE 3
Last Week USC fans felt this kind of anger and resentment and hollowness at Pete Carroll.
Now the Trojan program has caused another school’s faithful to feel the same anguish.
I’m sure it is just a matter of time, before U.T. announces its new head coach from X Y Z UNIVERSITY.
Then that school’s fan base and recruits will take the torch of displeasure and storm the quad with signs that say: WE HATE COACH SO AND SO.
And UT will be to blame.
Sadly, this is the ugly cyclical mechanism that is College football.
Tiger Woods is arguably the greatest golfer in the world. When he shows up at a tournament, ratings spike, cash flows, sponsors do back flips.
Now he in the news for all the wrong reasons. He is accused of marital infidelity and his once private life is peeling away like a tainted onion.
At the Golf Headquarters in Cool Springs, Tiger Woods face is everywhere. It is on posters and products and pictures.
Paula Fazilat is a secretary at the golfing meca. Fazilat is married with children and she says she has lost respect for Tiger Woods the man.
“I think it is awful. Here is someone who has everything in his hands, a beautiful wife and kids, yet he has to be unfaithful to his wife.
He is suppose to be, a role model, for our young generation. I feel this has damaged his being.”
Fred Rigdon is a golfer from Glascow Kentucky. He is in the store while his wife Christmas shops at the mall.
Rigdon feels much like Fazilat that Tiger the husband and father has let his family down. Rigdon feels that Woods is the face of golf and he will over come this.
“I am a big fan of Tiger. It’s the best thing for golf, but it is ashame, he is such a strong figure in the golf world. People looked up to him, it has hurt his image. Will he come back?, yes! He has a lot of ground to cover. He is the best thing in golf. Personally, he needs to work on that. He’ll rebound. He’ll take a set back. This world has a way of forgiving and forgetting. Look at Kobe Bryant. It is a scar on his life but he’ll come out of it. I hate it for the children. It is a black eye in the golf industry. I don’t think it has hurt it, but it is a black eye.”
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Tiger Woods is arguably the greatest golfer in the world. When he shows up at a tournament, ratings spike, cash flows, sponsors do back flips.
