With mixed feelings, we announce the retirement of Fred Huppert. For several years he has been our lead support technician for the OPAC, CritiCall, AutoAAP and C4 software products. If you’ve ever contacted Biddle’s technical support, then you’ve probably spoken to Fred.
Fred is known around the office not only for his ability to chase down solutions but also for his dry wit, fondness of playing billiards and eating dessert and, most importantly, his love for his wife Grace.
Mike Callen, VP of Products, had this to say about Fred:
“Fred Huppert is truly one of a kind and we wish his wife Grace the very best as she now assumes complete responsibility for him.
In all seriousness, I had the joy of working with Fred on-and-off since 1994. Fred has worked in sales, customer service, quality assurance, technical support and product documentation. He’s been an absolutely indispensable employee and an all-around great guy with which to work. Fred is unflappable under pressure and simply conveys confidence to our clients. Those who work with him know that he was willing to continue to persevere until an issue was handled. We are fortunate that he was able to work with Jon White for many months and has inspired Jon to adopt that same customer service philosophy. While we will desperately miss Fred and his fantastic humor, we are very happy for him and his wife Grace. They have some great plans for the near future and this seems as though it will truly be a wonderful ‘next phase’ of life for them.”
As Mike mentioned, Jon White has now assumed Fred’s role in technical support. In the almost 3 years of working for Biddle, Jon has been involved in software testing, sales, customer service and technical support. We asked Jon to share about his new job at Biddle. He said, “I enjoy working for a company that values integrity. That’s important to me. I feel very accomplished knowing that I’m helping people in my new technical support role. Some of the tech support issues are a challenge but I’m learning more everyday. Fred was very patient while training me and leaves big shoes to fill. However, he also gave me the tools I need to feel confident and be successful in my new position. Thanks, Fred!”
We’ll definitely miss Fred, but we’re also happy for him and grateful that he shared with Jon all of his “secrets of the trade.”
By the way, if you are a current OPAC, CritiCall, AutoAAP or C4 customer, you can still reach technical support by calling 800-999-0438, extension 127. Jon is ready to help!