Our Connect Team members are connecting more than you might imagine.

They are network experts, sure. They are knowledgeable trouble-shooters, teachers, and all-around technology enthusiasts. Our connect teams also play a key role on delivery day: Using their skills to help train up new users, it’s these guys who ensure that when left to their own “device,” users are confident in their abilities to maximize its usage.

They connect devices to networks. They connect users to their devices. When it comes to Creating Raving Fans, they create a special connection.

“When we talk about what we really sell (our thinking), these guys embody that,” Datamax Inc. President Barry Simon said. “Rather it’s on the phone or on-site, these pros are constantly staying ahead of the technology curve to resolve issues promptly, and in a customer-friendly manner at that."

We handed Connect Team Supervisor Tony Foust (Little Rock) the “mic,” so that he could connect you, fellow Datamaxer, a little bit closer to who these gentlemen are and what it is they do.

Robert Winston (Little Rock).

“Robert is a natural when it comes to training the customers. Robert started as a driver here at Datamax. While usually drivers will exit the scene once the Connect Team takes over, Robert was the one sitting there asking questions, watching what we were doing, asking me if I had any data entry that he could do.
Robert has got the chops. He’s been a rock star. And the customers LOVE him. He’s one of those people that is heard before he is seen. He’s very, very enthusiastic about what he does," Tony said.

"I sort of liken it to back in grade school, if you had a dull teacher, you didn’t get a lot out of it. But for those who were energetic, you gained a lot from what they were teaching you. That’s Robert. And that’s really our training philosophy: Take a light-hearted approach, make a few innocent jokes here and there, and make that customer feel comfortable about what you’re doing.”

Blake Phillips (Texarkana).

Blake Phillips, who joined Datamax in 2022, is “a natural” at his connect team duties.

“He’s really great at grasping new concepts. I can tell him, ‘this is the gist of it,’ and he’ll take it and run with it, figuring out what he needs to know,” Tony says.

In addition to connectivity-related support calls and installation tasks, Blake is trained up on the Kyocera devices and specializes in support for that manufacturer, which is more widespread in the Texarkana area.

David Smith (Fort Smith)

David is a chiseled industry veteran who came to Datamax from the Firmin’s Office City acquisition in 2019. Taking on the role of connectivity, he’s become quite the guru on the phone.

“He’s the phone support master. In between service calls or deliveries, you can’t hardly get to the phone fast enough to beat David,” Tony said. “In our job as installers, teachers, troubleshooters, etc., a lot of what we have to learn is patience, and David has that. He also knows how to ask the right open-ended questions to nail down the issue and get a customer back up and running over the phone.”

Tyler Stracener (Little Rock)

Tyler is the newest member of the Connect Team, arriving in May.  He handles installation/training, phone support, as well as on-site service.

“He’s really hands-on and wants to get in there and get involved with the issue,” Tony said. “We’re all really good collaborators on this team, and Tyler is no exception. For younger guys like him, they understand networking at an earlier age than I ever would have even thought about… We have an email thread dedicated to sharing what we’ve seen out in the field use that thread to share our own experiences. In our line of work, with new devices coming out, you’re building on what we know depending on the circumstances we are in. I can share something with Tyler, and he’s like ‘OK, got it.’”

Jared Shaver (Little Rock)

As Tony’s first hire as the Connect Team Supervisor, Jared is the resident trouble-shooting expert.

“If there is something rare, something we don’t see really often regarding either network OR installation, I’ll call upon him because of the experience he’s gained over the years,” Tony said. “He’s a little bit more reserved than some of the other guys, but he’s as good as it gets at getting the job done. I often hear from him: “OK, I’m done with that… what do you want me to do next?”