Getting To Know: Mr. Freddie Lim, Senior Engineer
A Feature of Canon’s After-Market Support Team
Meet Mr. Freddie Lim, a Senior Engineer who has risen up the ranks during his 20 years in Canon Singapore. Despite holding the responsibility of overseeing other fellow engineers in his team, Mr. Lim insists on a more hands-on approach, regularly visiting sites and directly interacting with customers to address issues. With customer satisfaction being his top priority, he has attended to customer requests outside of office hours, earning the trust of his clients.
We sit down with Mr. Lim to learn of his takeaways from his eventful professional journey, from a completely unrelated field to becoming an integral team member of Canon’s After-Market Support Team.
Tell us about your job scope and what it entails.
As a senior engineer, I manage my team of on-ground engineers. When they face technical difficulties or customer service-related issues, I provide prompt assistance whenever they escalate their cases to me. Due to the supervisory nature of my role, I provide service to clients located all over Singapore.
What is a typical day at work like for you?
Our engineers are generally split into two teams, attending to the West and East side of Singapore. At the start of each day, we evaluate the manpower demands and I pay greater attention to the team either with more challenging tasks or a relative lack of manpower. Both teams disperse to their respective clients, while I travel to multiple sites to ensure everything runs smoothly.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Our customers come from different sectors, and being on-site for each client is always an eye-opener for me. Personally I enjoy interacting with the clients; even when they might be frustrated with the technical issues at hand, I look forward to the sense of accomplishment at the end when I resolve the issues for them. I feel that is what makes my job feel fulfilling and worthwhile.
What are some of the challenges you have faced at work? How do you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced throughout my 20 years with Canon is dealing with customer expectations. Understandably, our customers’ patience wears thin when faced with technical malfunctions, and I find myself helping to calm them down whilst attending to the issue. After the problem is solved, some clients might even try to take advantage of our service by seeking additional compensation.
When handling more challenging cases, I am thankful for the support provided by my team, especially my superiors. Not only do they provide us with additional technical expertise if needed, they also help to provide shorter-term solutions for our customers in the time being, such as arranging for temporary equipment loans while we are still fixing the problematic hardware.
What are some of your career highlights?
Just recently, I was selected to be part of the technician team for DreamLabo, a specialised photo printing machine. With just one or two machines in Singapore, this photo printing system is particularly niche. Although I was trained mainly in cutsheet printing systems only, I am honoured that Canon has trusted in my ability to pick up a new printing system, and provided me with the training to widen my skills set.
How do you go the extra mile for your customers?
Customers usually have a peak season, when they have greater demand for print output and efficiency. My team understands their needs during this period, and we put in extra effort to preempt for this increased demand, by exercising greater vigilance and ensuring all machines run smoothly prior to this peak period.
What has kept you working at Canon after all these years?
Before working with Canon, I was in completely foreign territory – I was assisting in account management! It became clear to me that I preferred a more active job outside of the office environment, and that is when I switched jobs to becoming an engineer in Canon. I’m not one to rest on my laurels, and I appreciate how the field of technology is always evolving, and also how Canon is committed to keep us up-to-date with new technologies. The dedication Canon has for each employee has motivated me to be a part of this company for the past two decades.
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