His adventure in the Netherlands kicked off at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. Peter, born in the Philippines in 1972, came here to study as an illustrator. But his huge love for technology led to a slightly different career path. “Whenever friends or family needed something tech-related sorted out, they’d always call me,” he says with a laugh. “My passion for technology was so strong that I decided to make a career out of it. I didn’t want to be a freelancer forever, so I looked for a permanent job. My first employer was Canon Netherlands, which was very corporate. I was taken on by the Media department, specifically the Reproduction section. We worked exclusively for Rabobank, creating multimedia, animation, and graphic design for them. That’s where two loves came together: the creative, graphic part and the world of technology.” Peter was able to become a creative and to project-manage, and really learned to listen to the customer. “It was a mix of freelance work (the artistic side) and working for a corporation (the technical side).”
‘Hey Google!’
Anyone who owns a Google Nest will use the sentence above regularly to ask a question or give a command. Thanks to family in Dublin, Peter heard that Google (based in Dublin) was looking for tech experts to join the Nest department. “That brought me to Ireland,” Peter explains. After that, the world of reproduction called again. “It was familiar territory for me, this time at Xerox in Dublin. That wasn’t the final stop either; I switched to Dell Computers. In that job, the focus was on server hardware. Dell offered huge learning and growth opportunities, which I took full advantage of. Last year, I reached level 2 support there.”
And Then Rotterdam Came Into View
By then, Peter was convinced that his heart was in support work. His partner was already living in Rotterdam. After the pandemic, a challenging period, they decided to move in together in Rotterdam. With a strong desire for a support role, the position at Salacia that came through his recruiter was godsend. “I had two interviews and have been here since June 2nd. At first, I was quite nervous with so many new things coming my way. But the team and the guidance have been amazing. I’m happily working outside my comfort zone on some great challenges.” As a Product Support Specialist, Peter is a welcome addition: because the company is scaling-up, support tasks are no longer just handled by the team. Peter has been tasked with setting up a support department. He says: “This involves internal support, email support, setting up a knowledge base, and getting all the documentation in order and keeping it up to date. Once that’s all running smoothly, we can handle the growing need for support that naturally comes with Salacia’s growth.”
As Few Tickets As Possible
The goal is to help customers easily find their own way through the documentation and knowledge base. Peter: “We want as few tickets as possible. We’re a software company and need to be able to provide the necessary service to our customers. Of course, personal contact is important, but every ticket that isn’t created because someone can quickly find answers online is a bonus, for both our team and our customers.”
To conclude, he says: “If I succeed in getting the support department off the ground, I can “feed” and grow the department. A support department is like a living organism within the dynamic of the larger whole.”
