Meet a Helpful Human – Ronald Caldwell

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We’re the employees you would hire if you could. Responsive, helpful, and dedicated in ways automation simply can’t be. We’re your team.

Each month we recognize one of our Most Helpful Humans in Hosting™.

Meet Ronald Caldwell

Ronald has been with Liquid Web for over four years as part of our Sales Team. Ronald has an Associate’s Degree in Computer Science from Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, IL. Prior to working for Liquid Web in the hosting space, he was a personal banker and licensed Financial Advisor for three different financial organizations, including Chase Bank.

These days, you’ll find Ronald chatting with multiple customers via Live Chat and phone as one of our helpful Hosting Advisors, or writing another amazing article for The Liquid Web Blog.

We sat down with Ronald to find out what drives his passion at Liquid Web.

Ronald Caldwell - Helpful Human

Why did you join Liquid Web?

I joined Liquid Web to be a part of the technology space. Technology is a huge passion of mine personally and professionally, and I wanted to have a career that allowed me to learn more about all forms of technology. I also use my customer service experience to help people. I have worked in sales and customer service since 2003, including roles within the Automobile, Financial Services/Banking, and most recently, the Internet Hosting Industry.

What draws you to the hosting industry as a career?

The Hosting Industry is uniquely positioned as one of the important pieces of the World Wide Web. It presents an opportunity to help customers get their applications and websites running and served to their audience. There is a satisfaction I receive from assisting customers with reaching their goals, such as the mom that is able to get her blog seen by a larger audience, or the working professional that is able to build a website that brings awareness to a trending topic.

In all things, I try to live by the Golden Rule: treating others as I would want to be treated. That means making sure my customers are well taken care of.

Is there something specific at Liquid Web that you just love?

At Liquid Web, I have access to whomever I need to speak with to get the information I need to be successful. I love the fact that most people are a Slack message or email away. This enables success at all levels of the business.

Conversely, I've worked in companies much more bureaucratic in nature. This leads to project delays and customer dissatisfaction.

What’s your favorite part about the company culture at Liquid Web?

While we are considered a large corporation, we still have a start-up feel. Most people working at Liquid Web know they are making a difference with every interaction they have. We stand by being the Most Helpful Humans in Hosting, both internally and externally.

In your eyes, what’s the difference between Liquid Web and other employers?

Liquid Web is a flexible company that doesn't mind pivoting when necessary. Recently, Liquid Web acquired Nexcess and shortly thereafter decided to move our entire Managed WordPress and Managed WooCommerce platforms over to the Nexcess infrastructure. This change has allowed us to become the leader in the Managed Applications space online.

Other employers I have worked for tend to have a "this is how it's always been done" attitude, and may not have even considered such a purchase or migration necessary. At Liquid Web, we are always on the lookout for the best technology for our customers.

What is the biggest milestone you’ve accomplished?

I've been fortunate enough to use my knowledge as a Hosting Advisor to create new content for our writing program. The program is an internally-organized group of subject matter experts dedicated to increasing traffic and SEO value to Liquid Web digital properties through the creation of new blogs, knowledge base articles, and videos.

They say the best way to learn is to teach someone else, and through writing for The Liquid Web Blog, I have been able to share and acquire knowledge that has enhanced my ability to consult clients on their solutions.

Tell us about a truly rewarding experience you’ve had with a customer.

I had a customer contact Liquid Web because their website was down with their current host provider. They happened to have their own recent backup, and they didn't want to wait any longer for their current host to bring their environment back up. Knowing that this situation needed to be handled immediately, I helped bring together our sales, service delivery, and migrations teams.

Not only were we able to exceed their expectations in getting the server up in a timely fashion (we promised within 24-48 hours and delivered in 6 hours), but our team got the migration done well under the given time frame. The customer was back to business with a faster environment that they had room to grow into, and happy to be with Liquid Web.

What is one thing you wish our customers knew about their hosting?

Most customers, based on their experiences with other hosting providers, assume that the services they pay for come with a lot less management than they actually have. After all, “Fully Managed” means one thing to one hosting provider and something entirely different to another hosting provider. At most hosting companies, full management simply adds support and patches for the control panel.

At Liquid Web, our Scope of Support includes supporting the operating system (OS) and server stack, along with active monitoring on cPanel, Plesk, Interwox, DNS, FTP, HTTP, MySQL, POP3, SMTP, SSH, and Ping (ICMP), 24/7, every day of the year. We also guarantee 100% power and network uptime. Chats and phone calls are answered within 59 seconds and tickets within 59 minutes initially. We even assist with installing third-party software at default settings.

Try finding that kind of support elsewhere.

Work aside, what are some of your hobbies?

I love spending time with my family, playing drums at home, gigs, and church (City Life Lansing), writing, and creating music of all forms.

Ronald Caldwell playing drums - City Life Lansing

Ronald playing drums at City Life Lansing, one of the many venues he likes to lend his talents at.

What is your favorite TV show?

Definitely The Office. I love the dry humor and antics of the characters. After all, laughter is good for you, like medicine.

You can follow Ronald Caldwell on Twitter or LinkedIn. Or, read more of his articles here
We hope you enjoyed our series, and stay tuned for the next Most Helpful Human in Hosting profile.

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About the Author

Todd Terwillegar

Todd has been published with several global brands on the topics of marketing, SEO, and blogging, including Nexcess & Uberflip. You can follow Todd on LinkedIn.

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