It's all about me! (Part 3)

Welcome Back!
If you're just joining the conversation, please be sure to read part 1 and part 2.

Working as a DOD (Department of Defense) contractor has its ups and downs. When your expertise is no longer a commodity, the government will toss you out like an old shirt. Luckily, if you pay attention to all the gossip, you will learn about your demise before it comes to pass. It was time to move on by my own initiative or become an old shirt.

We were quite settled in Bedford, Indiana, so I used my background and found a position as a cash register service technician. This position proved that I could work on non-government equipment and introduced me to the world of networks. From a maintenance and troubleshooting perspective this job was not challenging; however, giving great customer service is always a challenge. I learned quickly that perception is much more important than reality. Less than a year on the job and I was still learning about all the different systems. I recall one of my toughest service calls, it had me in the store late one evening and I had to go back at 6:00 am the next morning. I spent hours trying to isolate the problem. I talked numerous times with my manager, it was quite frustrating. Then, I located the problem; I had made numerous errors and actually made the problem worse. I should have been in and out in 30 minutes the night before (I felt like an idiot). Finally, the system was back up and the store manager never knew how bad I failed. In fact, I provided continuous updates and reassured them often. They were so pleased with my service; they called the president of the company and shared their gratitude. I was clueless about the problem, but I understood the importance of making sure the customer was happy. The customer perceived they were in good hands with a senior technician, when in reality they were not.

Gloomy cold weather, family, limited pay and career opportunities brought us back to live in Texas. When I enlisted in the Navy, we lived in East Texas and now after 11 years, we came home.  Of course, it wasn't East Texas, it was the Dallas metroplex. After all, it was 1997 and there were many jobs for the picking. I chose to use my security clearance, technical knowledge, and military experience to land another DOD contractor position. Now, my expertise is about procedures and troubleshooting not the equipment. I was officially a technical writer and my biggest asset, empathy for the end-user.

In part 4 - My 14 year old son takes a message for me from a person in Finland.