Web Developer
Web Developer
Customer Enabling Team
Works in Amsterdam and from home
Lives in Rotterdam
At VodafoneZiggo since 2022
The best thing about his work as a Web Developer? "Seeing colleagues happy with the applications I've worked on," says Jehizkia Garia. His focus is on applications for VodafoneZiggo's Customer Service. And how to keep improving them so that his colleagues can continue to offer customers ever better service levels. "Plus, the choice of systems and software I use is entirely mine. That freedom is fantastic!"
"Build new functionality, fix bugs, go live with modified applications... Those are the kinds of things I do for dozens of applications assigned to our team. All for Customer Service." A case in point is the in-app feedback button Jehizkia recently made for all their applications. "Colleagues at Customer Service can use it to reach us direct and, for instance, draw our attention to bugs or suggest improvements."
"There are two particular applications that I work on most," reveals Jehizkia. "The first is HouVast, which translates loosely to HoldOn. If Customer Service doesn't answer the phone immediately, customers can choose to be called back. A Customer Advisor then sees the caller's number in HouVast. They can also use it to make appointments and keep track of the status of enquiries. You could see it as a super-charged agenda." The programming languages Jehizkia uses for HouVast are PHP and Javascript. He also applies the frameworks Laravel, VueJS and TailwindCSS. And he uses deployment tool ArgoCD to put the application live on OpenShift, the platform that hosts HouVast.
The second application Jehizkia spends much of his time on is called Metro. This a platform used by Customer Impact Management (CIM) to collect incidents: from network outages to problems that have been reported with systems, applications and services. CIM assigns tickets to the incidents and subsequently forwards those to the relevant in-house and external parties for resolution. "I fix bugs in Metro, like I do in HouVast," continues Jehizkia. "And I recently built a dashboard for it, so that CIM can now see which tickets are still open, or which should take priority and which have recently been updated. At-a-glance insight into this kind of information makes it easier for CIM to do their work." Jehizkia uses PHP, Javascript, TailwindsCC and ArgoCD for Metro, as well as the frameworks AlpineJS, Filament and Livewire.
"It feels good to know that colleagues are better able to do their work thanks to our applications," says Jehizkia. He strives to add value and contribute tangibly to VodafoneZiggo's objective: to offer customers an exceptional experience. "It's what motivates our whole team, in fact: the three other Web Developers, the Media Developer, the Scrum Master and the Product Owner." That drive makes it good to be on the team. "Just like the warm relationships we share. We discuss work and help each other in any way possible. We also have conversations on a personal level and there's always plenty of banter. Despite some big differences in age and experience, there's deep mutual respect."
The pleasant working atmosphere makes it easier for Jehizkia to speak up. "I'm an introvert, so that doesn't always come naturally. I'm getting better at it now, though, playing a more active role during meetings and sharing my ideas with more confidence. Stepping outside my comfort zone is very educational and that's precisely why I often take up more complex tasks than in the past." Such steps in his personal and professional development are a regular topic during meetings with his manager. "By extension, we discuss the knowledge and skills that it would be prudent for me to hone. It's all possible through courses and training on VodafoneZiggo's Unlimited Learning platform."
Personal growth and development of individuals at VodafoneZiggo helps teams as a whole forward. "We've switched to Filament, for instance, a framework that my colleague and I tested and suggested to adopt. It's really great that everyone on the team has the opportunity to experiment with new software and coding languages. And there's plenty of freedom in other areas, too. We choose ourselves, for instance, whether we work in Windows, Linux or Apple. And where we work. Together, we made the decision to come to the office once a week only, on Tuesdays."
Jehizkia is confident that he will continue to learn and grow. "I really admire Web Developers Caleb Porzio and Taylor Otwell. They seem to be able to build anything they dream up. It'll be a while before I get that good, but I'm taking strides in the right direction. To keep learning is very important to me. And VodafoneZiggo is the ideal place to do so."
