Building Software Is a Tough Job.
Building an entire working product while constantly making improvements is even more challenging.
As a Software Developer, Johnathan primarily works on Nigel, High Touch’s restaurant management software via a joint venture with Thrive Restaurant Group. Nigel is a cloud-based, full-scale restaurant point of sale system that uses server-held tablets to improve the restaurant experience for customers, employees, and restauranteurs alike. Learn more about Nigel.
Break it to make it.
With software development, figuring out how to break things and fix them is part of the job. “I’ve learned that breaking things comes naturally for me,” laughs Johnathan. “It’s a talent that’s good for the job but not good for everything else, like changing the oil in my truck.”
Johnathan literally brings the human touch to technology — Nigel is a product that’s physically in the customer’s hand every day. By managing the complicated rules and functionality within the Nigel software, restaurant workers have a point of sale system that’s easy to use and understand, so when you go to eat at a restaurant, you get better service from the staff.
“Overcoming the Occasional Bouts of Insanity to Make it Work.”
As someone who likes to solve problems and be around happy people, working as a Software Developer just fits for Johnathan. “I was really drawn into a career in software by the creative aspect of technology,” he states. “We can create amazing products and solve difficult problems just by typing words on a keyboard.”
As someone who has been working on Nigel since its near beginning, Johnathan knows a thing or two about solving problems with a keyboard for people working in the restaurant industry. “I look at my job as providing restaurant employees with the tools to make their jobs quicker and less stressful, so they can provide better service to customers, which in turn, helps restauranteurs by reducing their operating costs.”
When Johnathan first started working at High Touch, he helped implement the feature promotion process for Nigel, which is still one of his favorite projects to date. “I worked with the team to make sure we had everything scoped out so that we could provide the client what they needed. When the team finished the feature, we had not only created a powerful promotion engine, but I was able to gain the respect of my coworkers by delving into the underbelly of the system and prove myself competent,” he says.
Every Day Is a Party
Believe it or not, Johnathan’s first job was at Party City. “I was there for five years and was everything from cashier to supervisor. We had a lot of fun at the Rock Rd. store in Wichita,” he laughs.
While Johnathan enjoys his work as a Software Developer, he’s also interested in applying his recent education to strategy and leadership positions in the software field. As Johnathan states, “I’ve learned over the years that I like defining the big picture, then working out the fine details. I recently finished my MBA, and I would love to use that knowledge to help my coworkers and High Touch grow.”
8 Things You Might Not Know About Johnathan Nichols
As part of our Employee Spotlight interview, we ask a series of lighthearted questions to highlight the unique, diverse personalities that make our High Touch team great. Johnathan has become an oil change expert by experience alone, has an outspoken cat that’s popular with his team, and certainly doesn’t have an elephant on his wish list.
1. What was your first job?
I worked at Party City. I was there for five years and was everything from cashier to supervisor. We had lots of fun at the Rock Rd. store in Wichita.
2. Does a cyclops wink or blink?
The definition of wink reference a singular eye, and the definition of blink references plural eyes. Therefore, the cyclops blinks.
3. Which famous person would you have dinner with and why?
I would like to have dinner with Napoleon Hill. He had researched so many interesting things, and I would love to better understand his technique for convening the invisible council. Even though I recently found out that he may not have been the most truthful individual.
4. Do you have any pets or kids?
My wife and I have two cats whose names are Bella and Mia. Bella is a black and white short-haired cat and is laid back but startles very easily. Mia is an orange medium-haired cat who is very demanding and not afraid to raise her voice.
We’ve also had a little boy, born in February this year. He is just a wonderful little guy. It’s a ton of work keeping up with him, but his smile and laughter make it much easier.
5. What’s one quirky thing people don’t know about you?
I sing—a lot. But very few will ever hear.
6. What’s something you always do wrong the first time?
I cannot describe the pain I have gone through while changing the oil in my 2002 Dodge Dakota. Most people can complete this simple task successfully. I am not most people. Most people don’t do the stupid things I have done because they are smarter than me, and I am happy for them. I, on the other hand, experience every possible failure before I can truly master something.
Have you ever started adding new oil before you put the drain plug back in? Have you ever replaced the oil filter but didn’t realize the O-ring from the old filter was stuck to the engine? Have you ever left the new oil filter a little too loose? Or, have you tightened it so much that it is nearly impossible to remove come the next oil change? I HAVE!
Thankfully, I have learned from my mistakes, and I no longer have any issues while changing oil, but I remember the pain of the past every time I do it.
7. If you had a warning label, what would it say?
Warning: I ask a lot of questions.
8. You’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant?
I could be wrong, but I believe that royalty gave elephants as gifts when they wanted to bankrupt someone. I’m pretty sure I would go bankrupt if I decided to keep it. I can’t give it away or sell it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have some well-funded group help me transfer the elephant back to the wild.
Bringing the Human Touch to Technology.
Thank you, Johnathan, for everything you do for High Touch!