Meet Steven Anderson, Director of Inside Sales

 

Steven Anderson, a recent promotion granted him the role as Director of Inside Sales at FastServers.Net. This born and raised native of Sandwich, IL oversees the Inside Sales Team. Yes, we said "Sandwich, IL." Steven enjoys telling his famous joke about the town between Plano, IL and Sandwich, IL. "It's local joke about a fictitious town. Plano and Sandwich are five miles apart (I have lived in both towns). The brunt of the joke is there used to be a town between Plano and Sandwich called Baloney. Get it? Plano-Baloney-Sandwich," said Steven as he laughed hysterically. "Come on, you know that's funny!" We laughed too when we heard the joke.

Steven did not quit his day job to become a comedian. Well, that's obvious since he's working at FastServers.Net. But he used to be a DJ and now has a collection of over 1500 LPs and CDs. Wow! And you thought your collection of MP3s was massive. "I've always been interested in music. The first album I purchased was Foreigner's self-titled debut. The 100th album I purchased was the Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed. I lost track of album milestones after that," he said. Steven's massive collection includes music from all genres such as classical to Cajun, punk to funk, and new wave to new age. "Lately I've been getting into Brazilian music, especially Samba and Forró. I am also always looking out for new up-and-coming alternative acts." That's just his music collection; wait until you read how he got started.

His start in music began as a "radio personality" at Northern Illinois University's student radio station, WKDI. He was also a DJ at a nearby bar while in school. "It was great. I started out working at the radio station in the summer. I had the early morning shift from 6:00AM to 9:00AM on Saturdays," he said. The Program Director of the student radio station enjoyed Steven's personality so much, and he liked that Steven arrived early for such an unwanted shift, he gave him two weekday afternoons to DJ. "When the school year started and due to a lack of seniority, I was bumped to the Wednesday night overnight shift. I would go out to a club for what they called 'New Wave Night' and dance my tail off. I would then head over to the radio station and pull an all-nighter on the air. It was simply fantastic," said Steven.

If you are around the office or out in the parking lot at FastServers.Net headquarters in downtown Chicago, you will either hear or see Steven talking about or driving his '55 Chevy Bel Air. He described the experience for us. "There is nothing like driving it around on a nice summer day. People are always waving at me asking the year the car was made. Last year we participated in the Drive the Dixie Highway, which starts in Chicago's south suburbs and travels down Route 1. Another group heads up from Danville, IL and we meet in Momence, IL where there is a car show in the park by the river." Steven said he would like to drive the entire length of Route 66 or drive Highway 1 all the way down to the gulf coast. We didn't ask the mileage on the Chevy. Maybe next time.

When Steven's not riding around in his '55 Chevy Bel Air, you can find him hanging out at local clubs and venues like the Metro, Empty Bottle, Fitzgerald's and Hideout. He's usually listening to his favorite music while enjoying the smaller, more intimate clubs rather than attending big arena concerts. Steven told us about many of the outdoor festivals he likes to visit every year. "Chicago has some great outdoor festivals like Pitchfork, Intonation, Lollapalooza, and the Hideout Block Party. I saw a bunch of great bands at Pitchfork and the Hideout Block Party. And in the summer there are a lot of great street festivals every weekend with some great acts," he said.

Steven also described one of his experiences at one of the festivals he attended. Recently he was able to see a couple of bands live that he thought he would never see because the bands had broken up. He refers to Gang of Four, Scratch Acid and Mission of Burma. "I was able to see Patti Smith twice under great circumstances. One experience was at the Folk and Roots festival near my house where she was headlining the Saturday night show. The park was jam packed with people to see the concert," said Steven. He shared the experience with his brother, his brother's wife, and his niece (her first concert) when they were in town that weekend. "The second time was seeing Smith in a small Polish Dance Hall in Brooklyn, NY. We were 15 feet from the stage. She played all of the songs I wanted to hear."

Like most FastServers.Net employees, Steven says it's the people that make the difference. "I really like the people I work with here. I knew it was a good fit during my interview and I was more nervous leaving than I was leading up to the interview," he said. Steven also told us how happy he is working for the company. "I also love interacting with the customers and utilizing my 17+ years of customer service experience (retail, waiter, DJ, etc.) to help them get the best solution to fit their needs. I also enjoy the fast pace and the variety from day to day," said Steven. His most challenging aspect of the job is making sure the Sales Team is completely organized and the Sales Engineers are ready to respond to customers quickly and efficiently.

Steven told us he wants all FastServers.Net customers to see him as the "go-to" person. "Although my role has shifted quite a bit over the last couple of months, my overall goal is to make sure we are meeting response times. And since I act as the liaison between the tech department and the Sales Team, I want customers to know that I am the person they can go to for anything related to their server. I work very hard to make sure procedures and sales documentation are readily available to help our customers," he said. Steven's patience and experience with customer service is a huge plus for the Sales Team. He is always discussing ways to improve the sales process in order to ensure customers receive only the highest in customer care and service.

Steven is in the Chicago office so we had to ask him about his favorite sports teams. If you've been reading other profiles, you know how much the Chicago office enjoys Chicago based professional sports teams. "I've been a Chicago Bears fan since I can remember. I also like the Blackhawks," he said. In case you're wondering, the Blackhawks are a Chicago hockey team. "I really hope Denis Savard gets things turned around. He was a great hockey player and now as their coach adds significant value to the team," said Steven. When he's in the mood for a sports game, you can find him at Wrigley Field or Cellular One Field enjoying a game or two. Although he supports all Chicago teams, Steven also told us that he is a North Side White Sox fan. He claims the Cubs organization just abuses its fans. Are you a Sox fan? Let Steven know the next time you talk to him.