Mr. Helper

Jackson has been working in the telecom field for over a decade. When he started working, he barely knew how to use a cell phone. In fact, when he went for the interview at Xcel Telcom, he did not own a wireless phone. His goal was to get hired then take care of the rest. To learn and adapt to any situation was his forte.

The day he went for the interview, Jackson was involved in a collision with a tow truck. Now, on the first day, it was the pre-interview. Meaning? It was a tech test. He was tested upon his computer skills. How to use Microsoft Windows and how quick he was on typing on the keyboard while listening to audio calls with instructions. Jackson was upset because the side doors, passenger side, was heavily scratched. He knew that he would have to spend money to fix it. The car was not that old to let it go to the junk yard. While going through the test, Jackson kept thinking about his car.

The test lasted two hours. He was advised by the human resources department that he would get a call in a week if he qualifies for the second part of the hiring process. That is the interview.

In the meantime, Jackson had to deal with his car insurance company. The tow truck ran away and Jackson did not have time to get the license plate. After talking with a representative from the insurance company, he was told that it would cost him $500. That is the deductible. The remainder would be handled by the insurance company. Was it worth it? Yes. The total cost was over $3,000.

The car was gone to a garage. Jackson was offered a courtesy car for the time being. That was a big help. He needed a car for commuting. Especially for work. 

While waiting for his call to see if he can go through the interview, and waiting for his car that was at the body shop, Jackson still needed to continue working at his current workplace. He was still loyal to that company. If he is working for them, his dedication will be 100% till he leaves them.

By the time he got the call whether to see if he would still be part of the hiring process, his car was restored and handed back to him. Human resources had spoken to Jackson and he was invited to an interview in seven days. Jackson has time to get his shift moved for that day so he can attend the interview.

On D-day, Jackson got to the location. Free parking was provided. That was great. All dressed up accordingly to the interview. He was greeted by the security then a few minutes later by the interviewer. When Jackson entered the office, there were two of them.

After close to 90 minutes, the interview was completed. Jackson left the premises and he was not sure if he did well or not…

While driving back home, he kept thinking if he will get this job. If yes, the pay would increase by 55%! With much more added benefits. At his currently workplace, it felt like a family but the pay was not what he was looking for and the tasks were redundant. Boring. No challenges…

One thing that Jackson was good at is helping people, clients, and his peers. Companies admire that quality in an employee. Another lesson he learned early in life is that whether you are cleaning the toilets, or doing the dishes, that he must do a great job. He was a perfectionist. An extremist. In the sense that, either you do a full perfect job, or don’t do it. Both qualities would sometimes hurt him but usually they were what made Jackson a high caliber employee with lot of passion, dedication and commitment to his role. He learned also that even though no one is looking at you, or supervising you, you should perform a great job.

During lunch time, Jackson got the call from HR. The tech test, credit check, criminal record and finally the interview. He passed all of them. He was offered the position and was asked by HR if he would be interested to start working in two weeks. He gladly said yes.

He gave his two weeks notice to his current employer. The manager was not too happy but understood the points Jackson made.

Jackson worked till the last day, Friday, and was starting his new job, three days later, on Monday. He was a little sad but he was happy that a new horizon and challenges were waiting for him.

The first three months was a rigorous training about the services and products offered. He had to go through also all the tools. How to use and read them. How to diagnose, find the issue, the root cause, and how to fix it. It was in the technical support side during the CDMA days of cellular services.

After so many years, Jackson moved on from a frontline tech rep to a help desk role. Helping frontline agents when they had issues. His passion for helping, no matter what, always stands out as his greatest quality. People who knew him would call him Mr. Helper. Whether it was helping an agent over the phone, email, side by side or chat support, Jackson would make sure that he would go above and beyond to get the answer and the solution to the problem.

Before even becoming help desk, there was this day, when Jackson was on a call for over five hours trying to fix and restore an Iphone. Even though, he could have transferred the call to Apple, he took charge of the call. Those were the days when the company allowed frontline agent to help at a great length. The duration of the call with the client was not a factor.

Jackson was that type of person. Helping people and being the best at his work took on a different level.

One night, he was supposed to finish work at 11:15 PM. He left work two hours after the end of his shift. To help a client with a backup, IOS update, then test it. Lot of times, Jackson would not even submit his overtime to his manager. He simply had pleasure helping people and get the job done.

Jackson was a great frontline agent, and now he is as great in his help desk role. The help he provides to everyone he comes across at work is just unbelievable. Now with the access to work from home with a laptop, Jackson is spending more time at home helping more people. Including the clients. Mr. Helper helping people that need help.