Q&A with Chester Cheung

Chester Cheung, former Sales Engineer, Jetcraft
Location: Hong Kong

How long have you been at Jetcraft?

I have been with Jetcraft for seven months, since July 2014.

What are your responsibilities within the global Jetcraft team?

As a Sales Engineer, my number one responsibility is to provide accurate sales support for my assigned sales team members. The majority of my value to the team are aircraft value assessments, building/updating specifications, coordinating market broadcasts, aircraft viewing and inspections, etc.

Describe a typical day or week in your role.

Between the Asia sales team I tend to stay in the office more often, not only due to the fact that the majority of my tasks are clerical work, but I also have to support my Sales VPs when they go out meeting with people. They might ask for a number or an e-brochure, expecting an answer within minutes. But really there is no one typical day in our industry, when something urgent comes up you just have to respond no matter if you are sleeping or out in the sea kayaking. There have been times when I was so concentrated talking on the phone while out in the sea kayaking I just lost my balance and capsized.

What do you love most about your job?

Coming back to work at 9am everyday I am always expecting to see a new aircraft interior, no matter how elegant or unique it is, and get to do research on topics I’ve never worked on before. Steve Jobs said “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”, this is how I motivate myself for everyday work, or life.

Describe the company culture at Jetcraft and what it means to you?

Jetcraft is a true global family. I am especially proud of our Sales Engineers team, we are like siblings from different parents. This means that I always have a reliable teammate to support me somewhere in the world, 24-7. In this industry, personal network is everything. Having direct offices around the world means we are there with the customer to work through regional conflict or downturns.

What do you want your customers to experience when dealing with Jetcraft?

Long story short, I want every customer of Jetcraft, whether buying or selling an aircraft, to give us a thumbs-up at the end of the deal for our professionalism, determination, and attention to detail.

What has been your greatest professional influence?

The first two years of my professional career changed my whole life. I was a Flight Operations Officer at SATS HK, a ground handler for commercial airliners at HKG Airport. I got to finally complete my childhood dream of working around aircraft every day. It was also a time when I could apply my knowledge from school to real world situations, while maturing quickly in the day-to-day environment. At that job I learned to immediately respond to all kinds of situations, from a misbehaving passenger to hundreds of eel crawling out of the bulk compartment in a rainy day because of a broken foam box.

Describe yourself in 3 words.

Supportive, Creative, and Truthful

If you were to buy a business jet, which aircraft would suit your needs and why?

This is definitely a happy problem. I would love to own and operate a Gulfstream 550. My reasoning is because this aircraft type has demonstrated reliability and can cover most major cities around the world from my home-base. Also, owning an aircraft knowing it had 400+ units in service means you have access to engineers and parts anywhere in the world if support is needed.

What stands out to you as good customer service?

Communication technique may be different for every customer service person or salesman, but I believe that good customer service is being able to balance all parties’ interest or concern, while achieving the goal – that would be good customer service.

Finally, what is your hidden talent or hobby?

I am a big fan of kayaking, going out to the sea with friends is when my mind refreshes itself. Participating in soccer games does a similar thing, playing goalie forces my mind to focus 100% on the game and temporarily takes me away from the stresses of work/life. And did I mention my team won the cup last season? (pictured in header photo)