It’s with a dash of philosophy that we discuss with Douglass. Responsible at times for tech support and other times as a trainer for our support staff, he is a devoted member of the Funio Team. In this interview, he describes his everyday as the responsible entity of our advanced tech support.
For starters, how did you first hear of Funio?
A little over 5 years ago, I worked with iWeb’s tech support department. At that time, all services, shared and dedicated, were but one amalgamated service. When it came to technical support, organization was not as segmented as what it became. Through the course of my interventions for our dedicated server customers, I met Sylvain Leclair.
He told me about his vision for Funio. He was looking for passionate people that wished to be challenged and think on how to innovate share hosting. On a larger scale, we wanted to build intelligent solutions that remained easy to use, all the while remaining fun. His proposition was very flattering and attractive. However, regardless of personal considerations, it was extremely motivating to join a team of devoted people ready to work ruthlessly in order to bring shared hosting back to its former glory.
What makes Funio unique?
A passionate, creative and dedicated team. On a daily basis or at our weekly meetings, we are continuously seeking new ways to improve support and find better ways to deal with our customers, stabilize our infrastructures, perfect our reactivity, etc.
Most importantly, our opinions are valued and taken into account. Hierarchy is non-existent. Our supervisor is a guide that provides us tools and helps us surpass ourselves instead of being a dictator. While at the same time learning more about what we do and to think differently, without forgetting to dose everything with a bit of fun.
Can you tell us about your everyday tasks?
In all honesty, my days are fairly packed. My tasks are resolved like the the Lernaen Hydra. You know, the Greek monster that would regenerate two heads every time you cut one? My tasks seem to go through the same process. Sometimes I have to move heaven and earth to find solutions to certain whirlpools. But I apply myself relentlessly to the task with great pleasure and enthousiasm.
I am responsible for tech support and I am the bridge that links customer service and our infrastructures. Therefore, my tasks include, among many other things, the training of our customer service and technical support agents, the contribution to our knowledge base, server surveillance, customer account migrations, etc.
You have taken care of training the agents in our call center. How have you imprinted in our agents Funio values?
Not wanting to be a complete cliché, I still have to start by quoting an old proverb that said: “Give man a fish, he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”. Every day, I try to include this way of thinking, whether for our agents or for our customers, so that they learn and have the capacity to face the unexpected with resourcefulness. Therefore, frustrations are avoided and a feeling of satisfaction is obtained with the self-resolution of a task. However, I remain present at all times to respond to their questions, concerns and requests.
What reasons would lead a user that has a dedicated server to transfer to Funio and select our Panelbox Private Infrastructure solution?
Firstly, the Panelbox Private Infrastructure is fully managed by Funio. Whether we speak of its physical aspects, or that of software updates, 24/7 surveillance, redundancy or backups, everything is under our control and our responsibility.
The Panelbox Private Infrastructure is a solution that is not only robust and powerful, but it allows for a considerable reduction of server management costs. That is without considering the headaches that can be caused by overall server management and surveillance of your own server. We wish to make your life easier by allowing you to do what you do best, without being concerned of the server. In parallel, we are the hosting experts that make sure that we provide an optimal service for this aspect of your company.
A great amount of your work consists in migrating customers from other hosting providers. What are the main reasons customers have mentioned that motivated their decision to come to Funio?
Obviously there are multiple reasons, but several constants arise amongst them, such as the quality of customer service. Other opt in to take advantage of our centralized management since it can become very frustrating having to manipulate your hosting management on multiple interfaces.
What distinguishes our Customer service?
Our customers have been sharing more and more their satisfaction when it comes to the speed and the precision of our responses. Many also mention the fact that we invest more time and energy than our competitors in resolving their requests. We always take the time to give sound advice that will guide and educate, while at the same time optimize the choices of products our customers obtain.
Quickly:
- Mac or PC? Linux 😉
- Android or iOs? iOs
- Most-used software: Terminal
- Montréal is: in one word, diversity.
- Greatest quality: Perseverance.
- Your worst trait: Stubborn
