When Kimberly N. Lindlof, president and chief executive officer of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, called Seth Rogers to tell him he had won the chamber’s 2016 Customer Service Stardom Award, he thought she was saying the company he works for, Maine Technology Group, was the recipient.
It wasn’t until days later that he realized it was he, and not the company, who had won the award.
As many who know Rogers would attest, he doesn’t seek the spotlight, so thinking the company won the award was true to his nature. And naturally, he was stunned by the accolade.
“I work really hard, for myself and the company and the clients, and the fact that they recognized that and were so happy with the job I did and wanted to nominate me for the award, I felt very flattered,” he said.
Rogers, 42, of Belgrade, has worked at Maine Technology Group at 120 Augusta Road in Winslow since 2012, helping business clients with IT needs while helping them cut costs and improve efficiency. He helps develop systems, trains the people who use them and troubleshoots when there are problems.
“I really like what I do,” Rogers said. “I like helping customers get the most out of technology that they can get. I like solving problems and I like to teach them how to meet their challenges, how to learn technology that benefits everybody. I like trying to make it work for them.”
Rogers will receive his award April 28 at the chamber’s 53rd Annual Awards Ceremony at Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield.
Lindlof says she can attest to Rogers’ skill and exceptional customer service, as he does work for the chamber.
“What I most appreciate about Seth is his patience and quiet, unassuming demeanor,” she said. “Just about the time that I’m ready to throw my laptop out the window, Seth is right here by my side to correct the problem. His customer service is prompt and his results are accurate. For someone who is not a techie, having Seth in your corner is a must.”
Rogers, she said, delivers the same service, whether to a small office or a large corporation. It’s the kind of service everyone appreciates, she said.
Maine Technology Group offers a variety of new programs and technology that can help businesses, and Rogers has the time to help ensure customers can use the technology properly, he said.
He describes a typical day on the job as “organized chaos.”
“I’m wearing several different hats,” he said. “Part of a typical day is making sure everyone in the office is OK with what they’re doing, helping customers with support issues. It could be going to a client’s office and either meeting with them for services they need before work gets done, or kind of just talking to them to get an understanding of the job they’re trying to accomplish or about how we use technology to make their job better or easier or more productive.”
He recently provided a business with document management software for its human resources department. The software was to help the department keep track of records and store files and make it easier to search for and retrieve those files. The software also makes it easier for people to apply for jobs through the system itself rather than through email. The business, he said, has very high security requirements that needed to be met, so he enjoyed working with the IT team to provide that.
“The people that I deal with a lot of the times are not the ones who make the decision on the products themselves, so a lot of time I’m working with people who use it every day,” he said.
Rogers said it’s nice because people show him how much they appreciate his work.
“I’m not just trying to deliver the software; I’m trying to make it work for them,” he said.
Rogers and his wife, Mary, have three children. He started in the IT business nearly 25 years ago at his family business, The Computer Department, in Readfield. There, he built computers from scratch with his step-father’s advice that he take it apart and put it back together. He still uses that method when assessing IT problems today, he said.
In the late 1990s and into the 2000s, he worked in customer service and creative design at the Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal and later worked for The Kennel Shop, based in Augusta, doing marketing and IT work. The company was acquired by Pet Life with an expanded focus on customer service, and Rogers helped expand the business to 12 stores, playing a key role in its growth. The growth at Maine Technology Group since Rogers joined is more than 1,000 percent, according to the chamber. Maine Technology’s clients include Johnny’s Selected Seeds, ALCOM, Northeast Laboratory Services and Hammond Lumber Co.
Amy Calder — 861-9247
Twitter: @AmyCalder17
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