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Tech Talks- Halloween Help From Customer Support

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Tech Talks- Halloween Help From Customer Support

tech talks halloween help

Taylor Smith, Support Supervisor and Halloween Guide Extrordinaire

We’ve been around for a long time and have collected some of the best minds from across several industries, and we think it’s high time they got their day in the spotlight. In this series of blogs we’ll be unearthing some of the technology and talent that power our hosted communications platform.

Ghosts in the machine, gremlins on the wings of planes, and all of that wacky, head-exploding craziness from the movie Scanners- what do they all have in common? In addition to being fun movie topics for a month of Halloween, they also combine some sort of ghoulishness with technology. Coincidentally, so does our Tech Talks focus for today, Taylor Smith.

dead-time-dreamsTaylor was the perfect fit for this edition of Tech Talks because, though he is a Support Supervisor at VirtualPBX by day, by night he has a much more intriguing pastime. Taylor has been supporting and performing in Dead Time Dreams, the long-running haunted house based here in San Jose, California. It was between building and operating this year’s haunted house that we caught up with Taylor to talk.

Okay, first things first, what got you into the haunted house gig?
I’ve always enjoyed Halloween and have had connections into various theatrical scenes in the area and eventually those two interests intersected. Honestly, it’s a lot like VirtualPBX in the sense that there’s just a bunch of people who enjoy doing something, do it well, and want to bring it out for others to benefit from.

Good point. That said, what is it in your professional experience that makes being a Support Supervisor a natural fit for you?
Well on one hand, acting is all about empathy. If you can’t get into the mindset of your character, delivering a convincing performance is going to be tough. In a similar way, though, empathy is the second most important thing for delivering high-quality customer support. Whenever someone calls in, I don’t instantly know how their day is going, what is riding on their business’ success, or even what kind of day they’re having. What I do know is that we wouldn’t be talking if everything was 100% perfect, and that’s not good. Because I understand that, I am really motivated to help get them back to what is really important in their lives and to making sure their phone system is taking care what it needs to.

I understand you worked a little in education, too, how does that impact a support role?
Absolutely! First of all, you want to talk about scary Halloween stories? Try taking on a class of disengaged middle schoolers! But seriously it was great, I taught science classes and tutored for years and that has been really helpful for me. Both in strategies on how to perform as a Supervisor but also in the variety of ways any topic can be taught. All of our customers have unique circumstances when they call, and not everyone learns the same way. Working in Support is a great exercise in creative ways to bring people to new understandings about their phone system. Plus I never have to send anyone to the principal’s office, either.

The Nightmare on Elm StreetThat’s awesome. Now a bit of rapid fire Halloween questions. What’s your favorite candy for trick or treating?
Cookies and Cream Bars.
What’s your favorite Halloween costume?
Rufio from Hook.
Ooh, respect. Okay, best Halloween movie indulgence?
Nightmare on Elm Street.
And what’s the best way to keep terrifying students engaged with science classes?
Keep it simple and blow stuff up. Of course, anything with dry ice is always a safe bet, too.

I can concur on the awesome experiments, too. There is no way I would have made it through chemistry without some green flames or frozen bananas once in a while. What isn’t an experiment, though, is what you’re going to get if you ever have to drop a line on Taylor or any member of his Customer Support Team at VirtualPBX. He and many more smiling, but sometimes scary, faces will be there to greet you at the door. That is, of course, if you dare!

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