SmartSimple in New York City - Interview with Arthur Lathrop

To celebrate the opening of our New York City office, SmartSimple is publishing a series of interviews with our staff to find out more about this exciting new move (and new city)!

As an integral part of our Technical Community Support team, Arthur Lathrop lends his expertise and commitment to our expansion in New York City. This week, we've spoken to him about his move and the business advantages of our new office location.

First of all, how was the move from Toronto to New York? We hope it went smoothly. 

It did. We have a cozy little office on the cusp of the Flatiron and Chelsea districts of Manhattan, smack dab in the middle of “Silicon Alley”. The adjustment was basically seamless, thanks to the awesome teamwork skills of our Toronto colleagues. We’ve been able to connect with our colleagues in Toronto and Ireland on a daily basis through regular VoIP calls and, of course, using SmartSimple to keep track of our daily tasks and what our coworkers are up to.

What’s the advantage of having a New York office, given that, as an Internet company, we are connected to our clients globally over the ’net, anyway? 

The motivation was basically to make ourselves more available to our U.S. clients. At SmartSimple’s support desk, we’ve always prided ourselves in making a connection with our clients when we are providing technical support, and not just reading from a script like other call centers.

That’s the motivation behind our job titles: Technical Community Support. We want to help build a vibrant community of SmartSimple administrators and work with our clients to enable them to use the system to its fullest. 

We’ve always been available by phone, email, and over the net; but having an office in New York will make visiting American clients on-site so much easier. I think this move shows that we are committed to establishing a presence in the U.S. market, and also that we are committed to putting a human face on software support.

How do you think the business culture in New York differs from that in Toronto? 

New York is an extremely service-oriented city. With so much competition for goods and services, you have to make a reputation for yourself early on as the best at client satisfaction. And we know we can deliver.

With the assistance of an amazing and growing group of talented support professionals in Toronto, we are confident we can provide our clients with the technical expertise they need to administer their SmartSimple systems.

You’ve been to New York before - are you familiar with the area surrounding our new office? 

There’s so much to explore and discover in this city of cities. But for right now, it’s a short power walk from SmartSimple HQ to The Strand bookstore and Forbidden Planet.


Want to know more about SmartSimple and our New York City office? Visit our main site or email info@smartsimple.com to get in touch with us.

Keep checking our blog for the next interview installment of SmartSimple in New York City!