James Villarin

I am a math whiz with a heart which only means that I love solving problems/puzzles and am passionate about helping others. This combo helped me become successful in my career as a customer support professional. 

I have over eight years of experience in Customer Service, five of those in the front line answering calls, emails, and chats for a telecommunications company, and the last three years receiving escalations and retaining customers for an online subscription fashion brand. I found the latter more enjoyable because it involved negotiation and retention skills. The challenge is there and I loved it. I am proficient with any help desk platform such as Zendesk and for new systems/tools and processes, I have the learning capacity of an empty ocean.

I took from my father to always find joy in all my endeavors despite the challenges. He always said that it is only a matter of perspective. If I find the source of joy to be scarce, I just have to use my imagination. For me, the thought of achieving my goal, in the end, is motivation enough. Having a conservative and religious upbringing, honesty and perseverance have become the two main components of my character. As a kid, I would get corporal punishment for lying of any sort so my initial motivation was fear and it became a force of habit. I hate lying and cheating so I expect nothing less from others. Growing up, I did not always get what I wanted. My parents had to make both ends meet to provide our most basic needs. So, I took it upon myself to work hard and be patient to achieve my goals.

I ventured into becoming a remote worker to have the opportunity to work directly with a client and have a work-life balance. I firmly believe that the beauty of directly working with a client is sharing and learning without any middlemen. Some brilliant ideas are a product of spontaneity and some feedback need to be made immediately. Having this setup allows for these things to happen which makes the improvement process easier and faster. Furthermore, since college, I have been away from home and being too focused on my job gave away the time which I was supposed to spend with myself and family. Having a remote job also allows me to make up for my family and have a healthier lifestyle.