Meet the digital dream team
Move over Ant and Dec – Ant and Gabe are the digital double-act to contend with.
If you’re a customer of JJ Thompson, chances are you won’t have met Ant and Gabe, but you will probably have been helped by them, or benefited from their considerable expertise in some way.
Together, they lead the digital team at JJ Thompson, and along with the rest of their team, they’re responsible for managing all aspects of JJ Thompson’s digital services.
In the first of our new ‘Meet the Team’ series, we caught up with the dynamic duo to find out more about what makes them tick.
A quick glance at their workstations reveals a fair bit about their different personalities. Gabe’s is neat and orderly, featuring photos of loved ones, sweets for that mid-afternoon energy boost and a few well-thumbed Scandi crime novels. Ant’s can be described as organised chaos – piled high with paperwork and sporting a collection of broken things that he intends to fix just as soon as he has time.
Although the pair were busy on customer projects, we managed to pull them away from their desks for a quick chat.
Q: In a few bullet points, can you describe your day job?
Ant: Mainly trying to make sense of the madness – dealing with all the various models of intraoral scanners, not to mention the temperamental nature of IT systems! Having managed the rollout and expansion of the 3D printing department for JJ Thompson, I now spend most of my time on indirect bonding – it’s really increasing in popularity so that part of the business is getting very busy!
Gabe: Ant tends to deal more with customers, helping them with their enquiries, while I end up doing more of the 3D printing jobs. It’s great as I’m learning so much on the job. We’re also the official ‘guinea pigs’. We test out new materials, tools and software to help the business innovate.
Q: What were your first impressions on meeting each other?
Ant: Oh dear! Haha, no that’s mean. To be honest, Gabe immediately struck me as someone who is young, extremely capable and willing to learn. He has huge potential.
Gabe: In my previous job I had a horrible boss, so I was very pleasantly surprised as Ant is a lot more chilled out. And no, I don’t mind if my old boss reads this!
Q: What winds you up about each other?
Gabe: Ant’s desk is so messy! I try to be tidy and can’t stand clutter. But then last week when I was covering for Ant, mine soon got a bit chaotic too.
Ant: Erm, can I plead the 5th? I don’t think I’ve got a pet peeve to be honest with you. Mind you, the way he’s got his desktop background set up is all wrong – I’m a bit OCD about these things!
Q: What do you do when you’re not in work?
Ant: I enjoy a beer and playing computer games. At weekends, my girlfriend and I are usually hosting or visiting friends, or visiting the better half’s native Scotland. A weekend on our own is a rare treat!
Gabe: For the past few months, I’ve been organising nightclub events with friends – mainly drum and bass nights. I’m learning to DJ too! I recently moved into my own flat, so I’m learning how to ‘adult’ – paying my own bills and cooking for myself. I make a lot of curries, chillis and stuff that’s easy to throw into the oven. My girlfriend gets in late from work so I like to have dinner ready for her when she gets home.
Q: What impresses you most about the other?
Gabe: That Ant knows so much about the technical aspects of orthodontics and it’s all self-taught. I find that really impressive.
Ant: Gabe is very quick to come up with solutions to problems. He’s a quick thinker.
Gabe: My Dad taught me not to go to someone at work with a problem – always explain the problem but also offer a solution. I try to make sure I always do this.
Q: On social media, we’re about to introduce JJ and Tee – our robot digital assistants. If the two of you were robots, what special features would you have?
Gabe: I’d like an extra pair of hands so I can start getting more work done!
Ant: Scheduled power up and power off time to help me fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning! Extendable arms so I don’t have to get up from my desk to grab what I need. An embedded 3D printer so I don’t have to walk through to the printers!
To find out more about the work of our digital department, please visit www.jjthompson.co.uk.
Oh, and if you are in need of a little digital assistance, here are JJ and Tee!
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