Reece has a music recording degree, a wall of guitars, and a taste for horror films. He’s also the person hundreds of FLG customers rely on when something’s gone wrong, and the two have more in common than you’d expect.
Away from his desk, he’s every bit the homebody. Dog dad, keen on DIY, and someone who moved up north for love, softer at heart than his choice of films might suggest.
We caught up with Reece to find out what keeps hundreds of customers happy, how he ended up running FLG’s support desk, and why the Skyrim theme nearly made it to his wedding.
From his studies it’s fair to wonder how that led to a support role. Look closer at what the degree actually teaches, though, and the connection makes sense. Software proficiency, troubleshooting complex hardware, critical listening, attention to detail, staying calm under pressure, patience and diplomacy. Those are exactly the skills that make someone good at support. There was always a bit about creating the right atmosphere too, something Reece still loves doing today, just in a different way.
What made you choose FLG?
Before FLG, I worked in other support roles, but I wanted something more technical, and that’s what drew me here. Back when there were fewer of us, I ended up helping across multiple parts of the business, and that’s held me in good stead ever since. It gave me context on every department, so now I can deal with almost any part of a customer’s setup and give them a proper one-to-one experience.
That’s one of the things that feels different about FLG. There’s a real connection with our customers and an understanding of what they’re trying to achieve.
What’s it like heading up support for hundreds of users?
You take it in your stride, or you learn to pretty quickly. My motto is to be as self-sufficient as I can be. There’s nothing worse than waiting on someone else to fix something, so I try to give our customers the same experience I’d want myself: resolving things as quickly as possible.
That’s part of why I’ve put the time into learning the back end rather than just the interface. I taught myself SQL and Python, so I’ve got a proper understanding of how everything works, rather than hassling other people every time something needs digging into.
Is support the whole job?
Not quite. I’m also involved in implementation for some of our newer customers, which works well alongside support, since it means I already understand their setup when it comes to building on it later.
What do you enjoy most about the role?
(laughs) Helping people find resolutions, genuinely. FLG plays a real part in how our customers run their business, so if something isn’t working the way it should, it has a knock-on effect on the service they offer their own customers. Being able to fix that is what I enjoy most.
Working across so many industries, how do you keep everyone happy?
It could easily turn into a juggling act, but I try to look at it differently. It’s about listening to what someone’s actually trying to achieve, then working backwards to see how the system can be tweaked to get them there. Trying to make a customer fit around our existing features, rather than the other way round, never really works.
What’s the team like at FLG?
Young and energetic, and we genuinely gel as people, not just colleagues. Everyone’s got each other’s back. We’ve all got different roles, but we complement each other well, and everyone’s knowledgeable enough to pivot when something needs it.
Away from work, what are you into?
I’m a proper homebody. I love spending time with my wife and our dogs, watching horror films and playing video games. Music still plays a big part in my life too. It’s all about creating a good vibe, whether that’s at work or at home.
One story says it all about how much music still matters to him. His wedding day fell on Skyrim’s tenth anniversary, right down to the date. It’s one of his favourite games, so he was keen to have the theme playing as he walked down the aisle. “We had a harpist, and I was so tempted to get her to learn it,” he laughs.
Looking ahead…
For Reece, the job has never really been about the tickets in a queue. It’s about understanding what a customer is trying to build and making sure FLG works the way they need it to, not the other way round.
Whether he’s solving a customer’s issue, working on the house, or lost in a game, it comes down to the same thing: pay attention and get it right.