Alumni Spotlight: Tiffany Ellison
In this installment of our Alumni Spotlight, we spend time with Tiffany Ellison, a nearly six-year veteran of ModSquad who joined us in 2010. During her time as a Mod, Tiffany worked on the project that kicked off our Sacramento, California operations center, which involved a popular animated film franchise that’s still going strong to this day.
Tiffany tells us about how she was searching for a genuine work-from-home customer support job and came across our ad. It seemed too good to be true, she thought. We know how this story ends — she joined the ranks of the Mods and found the flexibility of the job to be perfect for her needs. Find out what Tiffany was working on when she wasn’t providing first-class customer support to our clients’ fans.
What was your background prior to ModSquad?
I had started out in food service — my first job was at Foster’s Freeze — and then moved into retail. They were the only fields that were flexible enough to accommodate school. I was so happy that ModSquad came into the picture, since it was way more fun than retail. (“Yes, I scanned the coupon already. No, talking to my manager won’t change that.”)
What brought you to ModSquad?
I saw the ad and it drew me in, but I was a bit worried it was a fake job or something! But when I sat in the Sacramento office with all of the other applicants, I knew that I really wanted the job. Interviewing with Rich Weil made me want the position even more. He’s such a cool guy and his passion made me see what a great company it was. It was also exciting to start at the ground floor of the project to which I was assigned.
Once you went through ModSquad’s comprehensive orientation, what were your thoughts as your time with the company went on?
Before I started working at ModSquad, I always had a gamer side to me. I loved playing console games as a kid and got into World of Warcraft in my twenties. It was a side of myself that I always felt I had to temper around other people, especially other women. But at ModSquad, I felt at home! I worked with so many fun, multifaceted people. And I also enjoyed working with the clients, because I was fortunate enough to work on projects with companies that were hands-on and took our feedback into consideration. The most challenging thing was how frequently policies would quickly change; we had to adapt just as fast, possibly having to enforce the new policies with players.
Why do you think the ModSquad strategy is optimal for both Mods and clients?
The flexible scheduling definitely helped me out. It allowed me to work toward and earn my degree in Health Information Technology and my RHIT certification. Most importantly, it allowed me to stay at home with my daughter for the first two years of her life, which was invaluable. With the hours being so flexible, Mods get to work a variety of time frames, allowing them to pursue outside interests or care for their families. It’s also ideal for the clients, as they gain more readily accessible support services, as opposed to the standard Monday-Friday 9-5 model, if they so choose.
What did you learn from your time at ModSquad that you’ve carried with you?
The most important thing I learned was how to take constructive criticism. I also mastered the important skill of time management amidst the craziness that is working from home. And I learned a lot about customer service and troubleshooting. Unfortunately, this has set the bar very high for my own expectations when I contact customer support, and I’m frequently disappointed. More companies out there need ModSquad!