"Follow the Leader", Featuring Matt Beckwith

Has working in customer service made a positive affect in your personal life?

The short answer is: absolutely! I’m not sure if I was drawn to work in customer service because of my natural curiosities and interests or if working in service has created who I am today. I suspect it’s a little of both. I believe that working in customer service and leading customer service teams has taught me more about the human condition than I would have otherwise learned. There was a time in my life when I believed I would have been an economist or a music teacher. Although I have great respect for educators (and economists, too) I am thrilled that my education and career took me on a different path.


I have no doubt that I learned empathy through working in customer service. And, empathy, the ability to understand another person’s perspective, has given me a rich life. I am a better friend, husband, father, grandfather, and community citizen because of my quest to be empathetic.

Through the years, I have had the privilege of working with a number of community based non-profits where our customers were donors, volunteers, and the greater community. I don’t believe I would enjoy that work as much, or have had successes, if not for my career in customer service.

Working in customer service has also been a win-win for me. Treating customers well, and treating employees that service customers well, has always made me a happier and healthier person. I have always believed that giving team members the ability and freedom to help customers is good for the customer and healthy and beneficial for the team member.
In my mind, great service begets great people. I view my job as someone who gets to make positive impacts on people’s lives every day. And that certainly has made an impact on who I am.

Matt Beckwith is proud to be a Contact Center Geek. Since putting on the headset for the first time as a 411 operator, he has spent more than 20 years leading customer service and sales call centers in different industries. His passion for customer service and experience, technology, leadership, and professional development has led him to his current role leading customer contact operations for Clark Pest Control, one of the largest and most successful pest control companies in the US. Matt also serves as a steering committee member for the Northern California Contact Center Association.

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