How long have you been with CallRail? Why did you want to come work here?
I’ve been here for five months. I moved here in August from Chicago and needed job. I applied to hundreds of places. One day I was Googling “best places to work in Atlanta” and CallRail popped up. The unlimited vacation time, getting a Mac, it sounded awesome so I applied. Out of all the places I applied, this was the only one I was excited about.
Talk about your background, and how you got into customer support.
I have a two year old daughter Jaelle, and a little boy on the way, Jensen, who is going to be born in June. My wife and I had been in Chicago for about five years, and wanted something fresh and new. Out of nowhere we got a hunch and decided to try Atlanta. We felt led to come here, even without any family here. We finally decided the date we wanted to move, and my wife got the offer for her job here two days before. We were fully prepared to move here with no jobs, and no house. We didn’t even have a house for 3-4 weeks.
My whole life has centered around helping people. My previous job was a youth pastor at a church in Chicago. Aside from youth ministry, I rap, sing and produce music. I can also do little bit of graphic design on a good day, along with some videography and editing.
I knew that whatever job I landed in Atlanta, I wanted to make sure I was providing value to people and helping people. So seeing that CallRail was a cool place to work, and that I would be working in customer support was exciting to me. I had no tech background whatsoever, so I’m really thankful to the team for getting me up to speed. The onboarding process was incredible.
What’s the most important thing you’re working on right now, and how are you making it happen?
Our customers matter and we want to make sure they know they’re valued. The biggest thing for me right now is contributing to the team, which means knocking out incoming tickets and phone calls. I stay diligent in this by pushing distractions to the side and keeping focused. Superior care and attention to our customers’ needs is important not only to them, but to our team as well.
What are you doing when you’re not at work? What are you passionate about?
I am very passionate about music. From 8:30pm-2-3am, it’s music. I’m finishing up an album. It’s Chance the Rapper-ish, so more sing-rap. I’ve been working hard on this. So nights and weekends, that’s where most of my out-of-work energy goes. I love music so much. And of course, being a husband and a dad.
Your passion for music clearly shines through. How did you become interested in pursuing it?
I played football in junior high and little bit in high school. And I was horrible at it. I was peer pressured into doing it by my cousins. And I tried it – but it was horrific. Going into 10th grade I finally had to quit. I decided I was going to pursue music seriously. I’ve been playing music since I was about two. But I didn’t realize I could make something great out of it in my life until college. I went to one of Lacrae’s concerts, and I remember watching him in his element, just watching him do it and thinking “this is his job, who he is, what he does”. And it just clicked, I knew I was supposed to be doing this. I knew whether I did it full time or on the side, I had to do it or I would blow up. I had to make music.
If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and what would you eat?
I would choose a great-great-ancestor. I would definitely eat tater-tot casserole. It’s the greatest dish on the planet. Ground turkey or ground beef. All that magic. I would want to talk to him right before the end of his life, and ask in the span of everything you’ve done and seen, “What in your life did you regret not doing? What do you wish you would have done? What kind of advice would have given me as a 28-year-old new husband, new father?”
How do your personal values impact your work at CallRail?
I am a Christian, so I try to see everything I do through the lens of my faith. Even down to the way I talk to customers on the phone. I’m not just nice to them because it’s my job and I have to be. I know that they are fellow human beings created by God, and they deserve respect, and love even. Even if they’re upset on the phone on a support call, I have to love them.
If you could give one piece of advice to your 15 year old self, what would it be?
Be you, and love you. It doesn’t matter what people think or what you look like. No matter what anyone else has to say about that. Finally, at 28, I’m following that advice. And I’m loving life.
To learn more about careers at CallRail, visit www.callrail.com/about/careers
