Torium Matthews joined the company in January 2002 as a Customer Service Representative. After a few months, Tori jumped at the chance to transfer to the position of Help Desk Technician. Because she had worked previously at a large insurance company as a customer service representative and later worked in their interface-testing department, the job was a perfect fit for her. It was also a perfect fit for our company because our Help Desk functions recently had been transitioned into our Customer Service department. Tori, with her dual background, strengthened our Help Desk’s ability to help with both Customer Service and Help Desk issues.

Today, Tori is at ease working in the unit helping customers with technical issues and Customer Service duties. She frequently helps customers change their passwords and log on to DocumentDirect and WebConnect, along with helping them with other technical issues. Customer Service calls also roll over to the Help Desk for extra coverage. Once she takes a Customer Service call, she handles any processing requests that the customer might have from start to finish. Similarly, if the Borrower Services Call Center needs coverage, Tori is available to help out. In addition, she is responsible for helping our staff with hardware and software issues.

Although she has only been at the company for a little over a year, Tori was named Employee of the Month for January 2003 for her work helping to promote services like DocumentDirect. "Customers would find their work so much easier if they signed up for DocumentDirect. Being able to see reports online and print them as needed would save them so much time," she notes with conviction.

Tori felt at home at our company almost immediately. From the first day, Customer Service Representative Yvonne Marlowe was a great help to her. She also credits her supervisor, Raffaele Halsey, and fellow Help Desk Technician, Danielle Trinkle, for their ongoing help. "New things come up everyday, and we all work together to find solutions," she said.

These "new things" that come up everyday are part of the challenge of working at the Help Desk. Because we have many customers with many different operating systems and browsers, there are always questions to answer. Finding these answers often requires teamwork and creativity, which are found in large supply at our Help Desk.

Committed to finding solutions to problems, Tori never tells customers that she cannot help them. "My father always taught me not to give up. He said he was not raising a quitter and made me set goals and work toward them." She also has a sincere desire to deliver excellent customer service. "I want our customers to be happy, and they are not going to be satisfied unless I go above and beyond my job to make them happy." If you couple her perseverance with her desire to satisfy customers, you can see why Tori is such an asset to her department.
Tori’s long-term goal is to increase her technical knowledge of computers and the information systems side of the company. Although she is close to completing a degree in accounting at Forsyth Technical Community College, she also plans to take courses leading to a degree in Information Systems.

Like most working parents, Tori has her hands full outside of the office. She and her husband, Adam, have a son, Dylan, who is two years old. Most of her free time is devoted to her family, but she also keeps books for her husband’s business and attends church regularly. "I don’t have any time for a hobby right now," she said with a laugh. "Maybe later."