Customer Service Creates a Bridge to a New Career in IT - A Spotlight on Anthony M.

NOTE: After 1 year with Accent, Anthony has moved on to another opportunity. We wish him the best!

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of career upheaval for a lot of people, and Anthony M. was one of them. He’d been in a management level position at a major restaurant and entertainment business where he’d worked for 20 years when he found himself furloughed. A year passed with no sign of re-opening, and Anthony decided to weigh his options and applied for a job at Accent.

Although he had never worked in IT support previously, Anthony had some technical experience that made a bridge to the role that he landed as a Support Specialist. At his previous job, he stepped in when IT needed onsite eyes and hands to swap out a switch, replace equipment, or troubleshoot an issue. He also led a team that was responsible for maintaining and repairing low voltage electronic equipment.

New Career Path and Learning Curve

He knew that he had much to learn as he embarked on a new career path, but Anthony soon discovered that he would have all the resources that he needed to be successful at Accent, and that included the ability to tap into his co-workers’ expertise.

“There were a lot of challenges for me, so I had a lot of questions,” said Anthony. “Luckily, the team on Alpha was so great and were there to answer my questions and help me along.”

As a Support Specialist on Accent’s Alpha team, Anthony spent his days responding to incoming phone calls and emails requesting assistance from individuals at client companies. His previous employer asked him to come back two months after he started, but he declined. Then, several months after that, a position opened up at Accent that caught Anthony’s attention.

“An opportunity came up on the Elite Field Team, and I applied,” said Anthony. “One of the questions was - What interests you about this position? – and it’s the experience I had with face-to-face interaction as opposed to being on the phone.”

Face-to-Face Interactions is Where He Shines

Anthony got the job. Now his day-to-day routine is carried out at client sites, where he performs proactive maintenance and assists with any support tickets that need hands-on work. While he’s onsite, he connects with the client point-of-contact and works with individuals face to face.

Whether it’s on the phone or in person, Anthony is conscientious about making every client experience a positive one. His supervisor, Johnny O., agrees that face-to-face interactions are where Anthony shines.

“He’s not uncomfortable speaking with complete strangers,” said Johnny. “His tone and the cadence in which he speaks, and his preference to listen before he speaks all present a very good experience for the customer, and frankly for other team members too.”

Although Anthony works on location at client sites, he always has access to his Elite team colleagues (and anyone else for that matter) when he needs assistance. Likewise, they know that he’ll do what he can to help them.

Freedom to Speak Up, Flexibility for Family

In addition to always having the support of the team behind him, Anthony appreciates opportunities to provide input and contribute to the continuous improvement of how Accent delivers IT services. Anthony realizes that every idea that he has might not be implemented, but he knows that he can voice his opinions, and someone will listen.

Anthony has also found that he can speak up when he needs the flexibility to attend to family matters. Instead of wondering if he’s going to let his family down, he knows that he can approach management with requests for time off or an adjusted schedule and that not only will he be heard, but the team will do what they can to cover for him.

When he goes home at the end of the day, Anthony has a sense of accomplishment that comes from knowing that he not only did what needed to be done but that he helped people and represented himself and Accent in the best possible manner.

A door might have closed when the COVID pandemic shut down his previous employer, but a window of opportunity definitely opened when Anthony chose to grow his career in a different direction at Accent.