Employee Spotlight – Meet Chris Roop, Tier One Help Desk Team Lead at Kite Technology

Meet Chris Roop! Chris is from Frederick, Maryland and has been a valuable employee of KiteTech for the past 9 years, working as a Frontline Help Desk Lead. 

A typical day for Chris begins with him handling morning dispatch and answering morning phone coverage. The Help Desk Technicians then meet with the Help Desk Leadership Team to stay updated and connected on day-to-day events. Chris is very passionate about process development and typically works towards his quarterly goals to improve the Help Desk processes and standards. He stays available for his team and provides bi-weekly one-on-ones with each technician to review weekly goals and set training schedules. One of Chris’ primary goals is maintaining adequate phone coverage throughout the day and tracking schedules to assist with meeting these coverage needs. 

Outside of work, Chris enjoys playing video games, writing fiction, and watching movies and TV shows. Some of his favorite TV Shows include, “Like Chuck,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and “That 70s Show.”

What drew you to KiteTech originally? What have you gained from working here?

I have probably one of the most unusual stories about how I came to work at Kite. Back in 2010 I had started working for a small IT company where I began my career in the field. I loved the work and met a great boss and mentor in the process. Sadly after 3 years there, the owner had taken ill and passed away from cancer. In this tumultuous time, his friendship with Greg DiDio and Jeff Kite led me to Kite Technology, as they stepped in to help us out in those trying days. They gave me a temporary home to continue working with clients. In my time working alongside the caring and kind folks of Kite Tech, I was welcomed with open arms, even though I worked for another IT company at the time. I got a chance to work with these wonderful people directly and saw what a great group of people they were firsthand. Within a few weeks, I was officially hired on to work for Kite Tech. Looking back, I can’t believe how fast the past 9 years have flown.

What do you love most about your job?

Working on a team with awesome people, and getting a chance to work with people new to the industry and help them grow into their career paths of choice. I had great mentors when I began in the field so if I can give back even a fraction of what I was given when I was starting out that makes me very happy.

What advice would you give to new hires at KiteTech?

This industry is chaotic at times and sometimes it can feel overwhelming with all the information that is constantly being blasted at you. “Its like drinking from a firehose.” I cannot remember where I heard this originally, I know it’s relatively common, but I say it often to new technicians. I suspect there will be knowing smiles and chuckles from any reading this who have worked with me, as it’s become a bit of a catch phrase of mine. I often try to give advice to learn to embrace the chaos, and realize that while emergencies happen in our industry, nothing we do involves life and death. So, don’t panic, let the calmer, logical side prevail. Do not let the fear of the unknown cause you to freeze. You don’t need to know everything right off the bat, just approach everything as an opportunity to learn something new.

Do you have a favorite quote? 

I have a few that have held strong meaning for me in my life, however there are two that consistently have strong relevance in my life. The first was from “The Karate Kid”, Mr. Miyagi, “You remember lesson about balance? Lesson not just karate only. Lesson for whole life. Whole life have a balance, everything be better.” This is something I’ve been trying to strive for in my personal growth, not just from a work/life perspective, but finding balance in emotions, logic, and how I live my life and make decisions. 

The second quote comes from a fantasy novel, “The Stormlight Archives,” by Brandon Sanderson, which is, “The most important step a man can take. It’s not the first one, is it? It’s the next one. Always the next step.” This to me has meaning in that, no matter what has happened in the past, you can always make a change in your life.

Where would you like to go on a dream vacation?

I have always wanted to visit Hawaii. This has been on my list for years, but I’ve never had the opportunity to do so. One of these days I will get there. But, in reality, a dream vacation for me is anywhere that has crystal clear blue ocean water and beaches. Put me there and I’d be happy. Ocean breezes and blue oceans are all it takes to make me feel good and relaxed, and that’s what a dream vacation means to me.

What has been the most important innovation you have witnessed in your lifetime?

Cell phones, I remember back when I got my very first cell phone, a Nokia 3310 on tracfone prepaid. I was still in high school and just started working at my first retail job. It’s been crazy to see the evolution of cell phones that I’ve had over the years, as well as the ones my parents used when I was growing up. As phones became more and more advanced, the subtle changes in how we lived life began happening, and then seeing the first smart phones come out and how much more our lives shifted toward online presence and availability at all times. While I prefer to leave my own phone on silent and far away from me most of the time, I can’t deny that cell phones and smartphones were likely one of the most important innovations I’ve witnessed in my lifetime.

What kinds of hobbies or interests do you have outside of work?

I consider myself a bit of a jack of all trades, master of none. I don’t really have hobbies in a traditional sense, but I do have interests that I spend time doing and enjoying. It all depends on my mood. One month I may be in the mood to be heavily into writing, and then eventually my mood changes and I move on to something else. Sometimes I’ll return to a past interest and do it again, other times I find something new that interests me and try that for a while. I just enjoy doing and learning a lot of different things, and I just go where the sails of my interest take me next. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed things like fishing, writing fiction, some 3D artwork, model building, card collecting, gaming and many more that I can’t even remember. I don’t feel like I need to have any one hobby, I get a lot of enjoyment out of experiencing many different things even if only at an introductory level.

We hope you enjoyed getting to know a little more about Chris. Stay tuned for our next Empoyee Spotlight where we will be featuring Beth Mabe, another member of our Frontline Support Team!