Beatboxing, Bugs and Bacon. Get to know QuickLabel’s new Product Specialist.
Ben and his girlfriend Vanessa
What is there to learn about a self-labeled nerd that also has also beat boxed for a crowd of 3,500 people? Quite a lot actually! Please join us in congratulating Benjamin Pelletier on his recent promotion to QuickLabel Product Specialist!
Thank goodness Massachusetts native Ben isn’t going anywhere, because I need his help for things like setting up PowerPoint presentations in the conference room and fixing things that I don’t understand on my computer. You get the picture; Ben is a pretty helpful guy to have around the office. Who knew in addition to his technical smarts, he’s also pretty creative? Well, now you can get to know more about Ben, and learn about what life experience he had that was particularly scarring (I think I’m scarred just hearing about it).
QuickLabel: You’ve recently been promoted from Technical Support Engineer to Product Specialist, congrats! Were you excited to make this transition?
Ben: I was very happy to take on a new challenge like this. I’d like to thank everyone that I’ve come into contact with at QuickLabel Systems since I first started as a temporary employee. Everyone has been very generous with their help and advice, and it has been nothing but a great experience working here. I walk through those doors looking forward to what I get to work on each day, and leave thinking how lucky I am to be here. I’ve never had a job that was so satisfying, nor coworkers who were so engaged. This is a great time to be here for sure.
QL: What was your most memorable experience as a support technician?
Ben: Well, I’ve done tech support for many years, including running my own repair/installation company on Martha’s Vineyard and the south-shore, as well as building, training, and running Bestbuy/GeekSquad stores throughout Massachusetts. I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff that I’ll never forget, but I would say the most memorable would be an on-site repair visit when I first became the senior technician at the N. Dartmouth GeekSquad. I was opening up a huge DLP television because it wouldn’t turn on anymore, and discovered hundreds of cockroaches that poured out of it and scurried away. This has been forever burned into my memory. Unfortunately, what has been seen cannot be unseen.
QL: What kind of customer service experience have you gotten while working at QuickLabel? Do you think that will make you a better product specialist?
Ben: I think anyone that has worked in retail can agree that working directly with the public makes you battle-hardened (Although I loved it, I so agree!). It also puts you in a position where you need to have good time management and multi-tasking abilities. This was incredibly handy in tech support, as I would normally only get to talk to customers when something is going wrong, they are upset, and there’s not enough time. It’s a special kind of stress that not everyone can handle day-in and day-out. In this new role, the stakes are higher, the problems require greater solutions, and there’s a lot more documentation, but I enjoy the challenge!
QL: Tell me a fun fact about yourself.
Ben: I used to beatbox for a hiphop group from New Bedford called 3rd Eye Unlimited, which was a NPO designed to help inner-city youths express themselves through art. The largest audience I’ve performed in front of was about 3,500 people, but normal venues would be in the low hundreds. Those were really fun times back then (Ooh, you are so old Ben..back in my day..sorry couldn’t help myself).
QL: What do you like to do outside of work? Any hobbies or interests?
Ben and Vanessa’s dogs, Indy and Kara
Ben: Well, I admit I’m a bit nerdy since I like reading and playing video games. However, I am also an animal person and a nature lover. My girlfriend and I have an 18 year old Husky, a 12 year old Shepard-mix, and an 8 year old cat. They are like family to us, so we often take hikes/walks with them at whatever trails or parks are around. Sometimes we go kayaking or do other outdoor activites (without pets), but hiking requires the least planning. I also paint and draw when I have a lot of free time, as art has always been a passion of mine. My degree is actually in design, but most people don’t see my creative side since I do so much computer stuff.
QL: Do you have a favorite gadget or computer?
Ben: I custom built a computer for playing and designing games a few years ago, and I’ve been keeping it up to speed since then. It’s a monster under the hood, so I decided to forego normal peripherals and instead connect it to my home-theater system for speakers and use my television for a monitor, and control everything wirelessly. I named it Johnny #5, from the movie Short Circuit. Who doesn’t love 80’s family comedies?
QL: Do you have a favorite food?
Ben: Bacon! I know it’s bad for you, but if you are going to have a vice, it might as well be an awful tasty one.
Ben and Vanessa’s cat named Boyfriend. Here is is dressed in his evening wear.
QL:Do you have any secret talents?
Ben: I can move each side of my chin independently of the other. Does that count? I’m also left handed, but I play guitar strung right-handed. In other words, I play guitar upside-down.
QL: Why do you like working at QuickLabel?
Ben: What’s not to like? I get to be nerdy all day long, feel smart from solving problems, and my work is actually appreciated by coworkers and bosses. On top of that, every day I get to learn about a myriad of things related to my personal intellectual interests. When I go home at night, I feel satisfied with my day, and when I have to get up to come in to work, I don’t dread it at all. I am lucky, there is no doubt about it.
Now that you know a bit more about Ben please take this chance to e-mail him and congratulate him on the new position. Also, please leave any additional questions and requests for a QuickLabel beatboxing performance for Ben in the comments.
