Act! Employee Spotlight
Walt Stewart
Meet our Tech Support Representative, Walt Stewart!
While Act! works hard to continue to bring innovative CRM software and marketing automation technology to market, we also pride ourselves on the relationships we build and support we provide our clients. Meet Walt, an Act!’s Technical Support Representative, whose knowledge and compassion have helped clients alleviate frustrations and get the most out of our technology.
Department: Customer Support
Office location: Scottsdale, AZ
What do you do at Act!?
If you have a problem, I am your guy. I work to provide solutions for any issues customers have, whether it be technical or just a lack of familiarity with a product. I enjoy guiding clients through problems because, one, I like the challenge, and two, I love being able to turn a customer’s day around and instill confidence in them moving forward.
When you have a problem with your software that you can’t solve, it has the potential to ruin your entire day. After learning about a customer’s issue, there is nothing more rewarding than being able to provide them with a remedy and hearing the joy return to their voice— sometimes a complete turnaround from the beginning of the call.
What brought you to Act!?
I had worked with a different hosting company in the past before taking several years off to travel and enjoy life. Once I decided it was time to return to work, I knew I wanted to continue working in software. I was drawn to Act! because of the solutions and commitment it puts into working with small businesses. It is gratifying to be able to help smaller companies that may lack budget or staffing level the playing field with more resourceful competition by understanding and utilizing all the capabilities of Act! CRM and Marketing Automation.
What makes working at Act! different from other places you’ve worked in the past?
The camaraderie and shared goals throughout the company. I have worked in other places where people feel it may not be in their best interest to share ideas or information. It is the polar opposite here at Act!. Our team is made up of a diverse group of like-minded individuals who are all invested in making Act! and its products the best that they can possibly be. Nobody worries about someone else stealing their ideas, which is why collaboration and forward-thinking are both welcome and plentiful throughout the organization.
How has your professional life influenced your personal life, and vice versa?
In my personal life, I have always believed in doing the right thing. I bring that same mentality to Act!’s tech support, ensuring that we don’t prioritize one client’s needs over another and always provide customers with honest answers.
The ability to leverage my technical wisdom with my morality played a significant role in my decision to join Act! as well. This company does not put its business goals and bottom line above its customers and employees. There is a strong sense of “do the right thing, and everything else will fall into place” here, and Act! allows me to be truthful and honest while always doing what is best for the customer.
What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment during your time at Act!?
What do you like to do in your free time?
Well, like most people, I love traveling and spending time outdoors. If I’m not on the road, I enjoy doing antique straight-edge razor restoration projects. It used to be a much larger operation, where clients throughout the country would send in their old traditional or silver straight-edge razors for me to restore. However, the workload began to take away the joy of the project, so I have eased up, only taking on a few projects here and there.
While it is tedious work, it is enormously fulfilling to take a piece of someone’s history—usually a distant relative’s razor—and restore it to a usable fashion. So, a great-grandson can shave with the same razor his great-grandfather used a hundred-plus years prior.