Question & Answer: Meet Peter from Square Appointments

[Sean]

At Square our purpose is rooted in empowerment – of folks both within and outside of our walls. In order to build the best tools for the businesses we support all over the world, we have to start at home, with a workforce as diverse as y’all and your customers. Squeers is our LGBTQ+ employee resource group and we’re focused on cultivating an inclusive environment where our community feels empowered to be themselves, successful in their career at Square, and engaged in driving economic empowerment. As part of bridging the gap between ourselves and y’all, I want to introduce @pbarfield (aka Peter), our Squeer of the Month!

~~~~

 

"Hi everyone! My name is Peter, and I joined the Square Appointments team as a Product Marketing Manager in January this year. My roots stretch back to a small town outside of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. While I loved the food, culture and many aspects of small town Southern life, as a newly-out gay man I was often curious how life compared with other parts of the country and decided to venture out. My first adventure was to Boston for college, followed by Cincinnati for my first job with Procter & Gamble and eventually led to San Francisco where I’ve had marketing roles at Rodan + Fields, Lyft and now Square. Given the ability to work from home for many of us at Square, my boyfriend and I relocated to Los Angeles for at least the next year and, I have to say, being this close to the beach is quite the treat. 🌴 Outside of work, you can find me doing [virtual] bootcamp workouts, attempting to cook, and discovering new electronic music.

Over the past few months, I have been working with the best product and creative partners on new features for Square Appointments to delight you and your customers. One that I’m particularly excited about is the launch of Square Appointments on Square Register, which has been a huge request from businesses in the beauty and personal care space looking to enhance their front desk experience. 💇‍♀️💈

And Luna (adorable pup in the photo) sadly belongs to my friend Emmi but I love this photo and its #pride vibes! 🏳️‍🌈"

~~~~

Reply below with any questions for Peter, his career path at Square, or just want to say hi. 👋

[Tom]

Thanks for sharing, @pbarfield! I'll kick things off with one of my favorite questions to ask fellow team members: So far, what has been your most challenging day and most rewarding day at Square? 🙂

[pbarfield]

Hi Tom! Thanks for the question. 

Most challenging day - probably the first day of mandatory "work from home" for Square, as after only two months on the job there was all of a sudden concern about seeing my team again in person and having to work from my tiny SF apartment, about impact to Square's business, and (most importantly) the impact that our sellers, some of whom I was just getting to know, were in the midst of experiencing. On the flip side, it's been incredible to be a part of a company that can see the resiliency of small businesses firsthand despite the ongoing challenges we may be facing on both sides.

Most rewarding day - this is very cheesy but I have to say my first day starting at Square 😄 I remember thinking how excited I was to be a part of the company after learning more about its history and mission during onboarding (very new space for me), and I also realized how great being on the Square Appointments team was going to be.