Eric Curthoys’ Inspiring Leadership as a Ting Service Supervisor

While they love our reliable, lightning-fast fiber internet, Ting customers will tell you that a big part of their great experience is our dedication to customer service and support. There’s a very simple explanation for this: We hire great people. Ting employees are knowledgeable and passionate about what they do. They’re also interesting as heck! Here’s a chance to get to know one of our amazing local team members. We’re internet that gets you.

Please tell us your name and your role with Ting.

My name is Eric Curthoys. I am the service supervisor of Wake Forest and Rolesville, North Carolina. I oversee the installation of conduit fiber and fiber in homes, as well as directly dealing with customers.

And what would you say is your favorite part of your role? It could be related to your town or your team.

I know everyone says this, but I feel like I have a really good team. I love working with these guys, and I particularly enjoy this role in Wake Forest. It can be challenging at times due to historic homes and businesses in the area, like a restaurant downtown that has been open since 1916. Placing fiber can be quite challenging, but I also enjoy interacting with people. It feels great to hear how much better we are compared to the cable company. So that alone is a great feeling every day.

What does a regular day look like for you?

Honestly, there are not enough hours in the day. We usually get here early, around quarter past seven. I like to interact with my team, have some coffee, and discuss the previous day or just life in general. It's important to me to have a positive work environment. Our morale is very good because we all came from places that didn't treat employees well. My team knows what to do and how to do it. So, after coffee, they go out and do their tasks, and I usually work on reports, attend meetings, do quality checks and more reports. Sometimes I help my technicians with installations in the field.

How was working for another ISP different from working with Ting?

I worked for another ISP for almost 20 years. And I'd say 95% of my techs have worked for another ISP. And you're not treated well there—bigger companies. They don't care about you as a person. They just want to see results. So, I think I've learned from that, and I believe in team culture. I love and have the utmost admiration for Ting’s culture. I really want a work environment that trickles down to the customer.

Do you have any interesting stories from a particular installation?

We've actually gotten a hand-written three-page letter from a lady talking about how thankful and grateful she was for us, and that meant so much to me. We had helped her with her installation when her husband had recently passed away. When we set it all up, it was such a touching moment when we were talking and she opened up. You know, it's like here I am talking to this lady and telling her about how my mom had passed away and sharing a tear with her about her husband, talking about her husband's life and his legacy.

I thought that was one of the best highlights I've ever had, and for her to turn around and write a three-page letter, talking about how awesome we were, meant so much to me. It's a very gratifying feeling.

That’s really special and so powerful. Thanks for sharing! And why is reliable internet important to you?

Coming from a company that had very unreliable internet and what we call “band-aided issues,” and then coming to a company that actually has a true product, I was blown away. Experiencing how reliable Ting is was incredible, especially after being in the field for 20 years.

And truly having that reliability factor, especially with everybody working from home nowadays—everybody needs reliable internet. That's part of your job. People rely on us for their livelihood and their jobs. And for us to set them up with Ting, it’s a very gratifying feeling.

And so how do you use the internet? Are you into streaming video, gaming or listening to music?

For me, I would say probably streaming is my number one priority. Secondly, music, and then third, educational purposes or doing research on my hobbies or work-related stuff. So yeah, those are my top three in that order.

Nice! Have you been streaming any good shows lately?

Not really. I've actually been going back to some old stuff, like old ’70s and ’80s shows. A lot of times I put on mindless stuff too, like Family Guy, just because there are no commercials in it—just for background noise.

Let's talk about your town. You do live in North Carolina, right?

I do actually! I'm in our other market—I live in Fuquay Varina. I drive up here every day. I go back and forth between the two markets. I have a good relationship with both offices and the technicians there. It's getting really spread out too. Our footprint is ever-increasing, which is great. Especially in Fuquay. In fact, I'm gonna get Ting at my house hopefully here in the next year or so. So I'm excited about that!

So, what do you usually do in the evenings? Any favorite local places to eat or get coffee?

Well, my girlfriend and I have Mexican food every Thursday, and in Holly Springs, my coworker and I go to a Vietnamese place called Bep for lunch every week. They know us by name there, and we even got them to install Ting at their business and home! It's pretty cool. My coworker and I were actually the first ones to do the Pho challenge. It's this big thing, it's ridiculous [laughs]. They took our pictures and everything.

That’s awesome. Are there any other local or small businesses that you interact with?

Oh, Lumpy's Ice Cream here in Wake Forest. We have all scheduled next week to install there. It all started with the hardware store. We installed Ting there, and now our modem, if you will, and our logo is displayed on the counters. So people come in and ask about it.

Is there anything else, something special, that you feel like sharing about working with Ting?

Definitely. This job just has new challenges every day. It never gets boring, never gets mundane. It's really something I look forward to at work. I've been told I'm a different person since I've gotten this job because the last job was so stressful.

You need a work-life balance. So yeah, it's a great experience here at Ting. Like I said, it really does trickle down to the customer. That's the bottom line.

It sure does. Well, thank you, Eric. It was great chatting with you.