eBay In Person: Darla Godwin

Darla Godwin is part of eWatch, a team of specialists within Customer Support who investigate and escalate site issues that may be impacting members.

How long have you worked for eBay?
I hit my 5-year anniversary with the company in November.

What is eWatch?
eWatch is a team of technically-trained Customer Support specialists who operate 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. The team was created three years ago to be the liaison between Operations and Customer Support. Since then we've gathered other jobs like researching bugs that get reported, testing new features, monitoring the site during special promotions, and various other responsibilities. Working in eWatch is a constant challenge, which I love.

How did you get hired at eBay?
I started out bidding on eBay (called "Auction Web" at the time) in December 1996, and soon found the eBay Café, which was the only board at the time. Reading the Café, as well as the Q&A Board (which followed not long afterward), gave me a lot of tips on how the site worked. I also enjoyed the sense of community. I later told a friend about eBay, who started buying and selling. In the early days of eBay, they were looking for people who knew the site well, and she was actually offered a job. In the meantime, I'd started selling full time. During one period when record numbers of new members were registering on the site, my friend contacted me and asked if I would consider working for eBay, too. Since I was on eBay most of the day anyway, I felt it was the perfect job for me.

What did you do before coming to eBay?
I worked for the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice as an administrative assistant.

Do you still read the Boards?
Yes, I still read the boards. When I first started on eBay, I learned a lot by reading them, and it became a habit. Now I tend to read them to get an idea of how members feel about new features and also to check for any problems that members might be experiencing.

What is the most rewarding part of working at eBay?
There are a lot of things about working here that I enjoy, but the knowledge that what I'm doing is helping others have a positive experience using the site is particularly rewarding.

If you could win any item on eBay, what would you pick?
A house with lots of land from the Real Estate category, so that I would have space for lots of animals! Right now I have 4 canaries and a cockatiel (I usually have at least one dog but have been waiting to get one until I move). I can't say I have a favorite, but the cockatiel is hand-tamed and reacts to me more than the canaries, although they do start singing when I walk in the door!