Meet Charlie: Lead, Software Support

Team Member Interview

Name: Charlie Reinhardt

Role: Software Support Lead for ClientPay

Time spent at Persolvent: A little over two years

Charlie’s Family

What do you do at Persolvent? What would I come to you for?

I’m a Software Support Specialist, so you would come to me if you need help with any technical aspects of our software. I manage communication and relay needs to the product team. We have our main Support team who handles the majority of tickets, but if it needs to be escalated, it would then come to me (Level 2) before going to the IT team.

What would you tell a new team member on their first day?

Get LastPass. It’s an app that saves all your passwords and logins.

I would also encourage them to ask questions because anyone would be happy to help answer them. Don’t worry if you don’t know much about the industry, you’ll be fine. You’ll learn things that will make you think a lot more about what’s involved the next time you swipe your credit card. It may even help your budget.

How have you grown at Persolvent?

Personally - I’ve learned a lot about the credit card industry.

Professionally - I moved from general payment support into a lead role focusing specifically on the ClientPay product. This transition took place because I was continuously coming up with project ideas for the team and decided to take the initiative and tackle them. I mentioned to my supervisor that I enjoyed doing these tasks and pretty soon one thing led to another.

What was your first job?

I was a delivery boy. My dad and his friend started a business for their kids to sell water softener salts, called Salt of the Earth Inc. I had to go knocking door-to-door to get customers - super awkward - but it was a great idea and people loved it. We would bulk order and drive around once a month delivering bags. However, there was one problem – one week, as I was going door-to-door, I found out the Boy Scouts had just gone before me selling the same product, so everyone had just stocked up for months. We missed our chance and it sort of fizzled out after that. Too bad, it could have been a really good thing in the making.

Do you have a favorite charity?

Feed My Starving Children. I like how simple the mission and processes are. It’s fun to volunteer and they serve a need in a tangible way. They do a good job making you feel connected to the product you’re sending off.  

Charlie and daughter playing the piano

What is your spirit animal?

I don’t really believe in this kind of thing. However, a coworker recently wanted to change her profile picture and asked me what she should choose. I responded with, “I don’t know, your spirit animal. It’s probably a horse”. Sure enough, she took a spirit animal quiz and her result was a horse! So, then my other coworker took the quiz on my behalf to see what I would be – according to him, I’m an owl. The description does seem pretty accurate.

Tell us about a book that had a big impact on you?

If we’re really digging into this, I have to go with the Boxcar Children series. When I was learning to read, all I wanted to do was read chapter books, like my older siblings. I skipped the in-between stages and went straight to chapter books.

As for a book that has emotionally impacted me the most, it actually killed me for awhile – Island of the World by Michael O’Brien. I also have to throw in Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes. I read this while going for my Master’s degree in Philosophy. I will be finishing up my second Master’s degree in Theology soon.

Are you a dog person or a cat person? Or neither?

I would say probably dog. But in general, I have more of a farmer mindset, where I believe animals belong outside. I don’t mind cats or dogs, but they should be outside, not in the house.

Charlie and son kayaking

A favorite memory from the past year?

A year is a long time. I’ll have to go with introducing our son to our daughter. We came home after he had gone to bed, so when he woke up the three of us were there. He was excited and confused, but gently held her hand.  

How do you like your eggs?

I call it an “egg steak”. I lightly fry it, break the yoke, then flip it onto the other side. I typically just do salt and pepper, because whenever I add garlic or onion, I end up overdoing it. Sometimes I’ll eat it on a bagel, too.