Schiatti Angelo Srl | Meet the Team: Marco Mariani

Marco Mariani has been with Schiatti since January 1996…

Just the time to see monitors and PCs changing shape and size, to live through the years of bricolage made up of photocopies and hand-written instructions patiently sent by fax, to see the appearance of the first digital cameras, the first e-mails, the diffusion of CAD even in assistance, to arrive at the present day, where the concept of distance has been virtually canceled by technology.

Work has definitely changed in a 30-year career. What about your day now?

Dealing with technical support and spare parts, my day starts when I switch on the computer and click "send and receive" in the mail. What follows set my day.
Our machines are well-known for being unbreakable, which means that many customers are still working with models from previous technological generations. The need for support goes mainly to them.

How is customer service carried out?

With the latest technology tools for remote assistance and, in some cases, directly via telephone and, as a good Italian, I gesture while miming maybe the movement of the glass sheet and describe it to the customer. The show usually arouses the hilarity of the workshop colleagues who enjoy my 'dance'.

One of the biggest challenges in your job?

Sometimes there is no break because the service for us has to be almost immediate and we don't want to let any customer with production stopped. Moreover, when the day is almost over here, in the US it is just begun. But we also have fun.

For example?

For example, once I was in a video call with a customer: I couldn't see the machine but his ear, and he couldn't hear my voice. "I can't see! I can't hear!" We were a bit comical. And then it happens that you write a message, put it in an envelope and send it off, if that means resolving the situation.

Is there anything you would change in your job?

I would like to institute the cordless launch championship. I would have at least three or four phones for the occasion. It would still be an occasional activity because lucky us the climate in the office and workshop is great and the inevitable bad days are soon forgotten.

And here comes the free time

The Friday siren is the signal to "unleash hell": I leave in a van, go to the sea or to the mountains to spend two days in nature. Life is like riding a bike: to keep your balance you have to move. It's a sentence that describes me well. For me, 'moving' mainly means walking in the mountains, sleeping in tents, huts, bivouacs or even just spending the night in one of my many 'hidden places'.