Our dedicated team of Happiness Engineers is one of the best reasons to jump into Jetpack. With direct access to a global team of WordPress experts, our customers know that they’ll always have the help they need to get things up and running smoothly.
These folks are smart — really smart. Any chance to pick their brains about all things related to WordPress and Jetpack is a great opportunity to learn something new! We recently caught up with Ryan, a longtime team member and passionate WordPress enthusiast, who has some interesting advice for the millions of folks building their online presence with WordPress.
It’s no secret that you know a lot about WordPress. How did you first get involved with the software?
I’ve been using WordPress since 2008 or so. Back then, I was working at a small company building websites for local businesses. As website requests got more complex, we had to find a way to serve our clients that didn’t require hand-coding sites from scratch. Luckily, I discovered WordPress and have been learning more about it ever since. It’s been really cool too see how much the platform has grown and matured over the years!
What does a typical day look like for you on the Jetpack team?
Most days, I’m working with our customers, doing my best to ensure they have the best possible experience with Jetpack. That might mean troubleshooting an issue, offering advice on how to best use Jetpack, or providing instructions on how to accomplish something they’d like to do on their site.
I’m also regularly working with and communicating with my teammates. We help each other investigate issues, share feedback, and discuss how we can keep improving our service. And we have a healthy amount of social chatter, too. The regular debate on the proper spelling of color/colour with some of my international teammates always gives me a laugh.
What are some of the biggest challenges in supporting our enormous — and awesome — community of customers?
You captured part of my response right in your question – the size of our community certainly brings some logistical challenges. We pride ourselves on providing hands-on support and we strive to help everyone that contacts us as thoroughly we can. That approach, combined with our volume of users, means we have to learn our products inside and out, so we can provide accurate and efficient help. It’s not the worst problem to have — we love working with users! — but it certainly keeps us busy 🙂
In your years of supporting Jetpack customers, what common missteps have you seen?
I find that a lot of folks don’t realize all the benefits that Jetpack can provide for a website. From backups and security, to our site accelerator and performance-related tools, I find newcomers and veterans alike are often surprised to learn about a feature they hadn’t known exists. My advice would be to explore — check out all of the features and give them a try on your site!
Beyond newcomers, what advice would you give the WordPress users running Jetpack on their sites?
You don’t have to go it alone! There’s a team of people, myself included, who are more than happy to help, whether you have a question about Jetpack or a suggestion you’d like to share with us. Don’t be afraid to give us a shout; it’s what we’re here for.
What’s your favorite memory of working here over the years?
Oh man, it’s hard to name just one. I’ve gotten to work on some very interesting sites. I get to work with an incredible team. And every day, I get to help people work towards their publishing goals. If I have to choose just one, I’d say that my favorite part is working with our customers and getting to hear their feedback. The kind words and positive feedback are always really nice to hear. And the constructive feedback and suggestions help us improve our products and our service.
We’ll be back soon with another opportunity to get to know the folks behind Jetpack. In the meantime, subscribe to our blog for updates on everything Jetpack and tips for securing and growing your site, delivered straight to your inbox.
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In the past, Ryan and I have exchanged many emails related to JetPack. It’s great to see Ryan is recognized and valued at Automattic.
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Thank you, Khürt! I appreciate the kind words 🙂
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