David Harmon
Houston,TX
Summary
Highly talented, multicultural polyglot with a sound understanding of human nature and a deep-rooted love for people.
Virtuoso in the art of customer service and highly adept at making customers, co-workers, and clientele from all walks of life feel seen, heard, appreciated, and loved.
Passionate, driven, and goal-oriented professional with a brilliant personality who is ever consistent in going above and beyond, doing whatever it takes to fulfill the customer's needs, address their concerns, and bring sunshine into their hearts and peace to their minds, all while showing by word and deed that the moment a walk up to the counter, that customer is truly the most important person in the world!
Overview
30
30
years of professional experience
Work History
Barista
Starbucks
09.2023 - Current
- Increased gratuity by more than 300% by utilizing highly developed interpersonal skills, and award-winning personality in order to provide customers with top-notch entertainment during hectic periods, thus not only transforming their otherwise miserable waits into fun, and memorable experiences, but also greatly increasing sales, gratuity, and customer loyalty.
- Only customer service representative to utilize and maximize the effectiveness of the drive-thru video camera in order to increase emotional connections between customers and employees,
- Control line and crowd with quick, efficient service.
- Clean counters, machines, utensils, and seating areas daily.
- Recommend products based on a solid understanding of individual customer needs and preferences.
- Monitored supply levels at the counter and maintained customer areas to meet typical demands.
Missionary
The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints
05.2015 - Current
- Proselytized people and imparted knowledge of faith using strong public speaking and one-on-one discussions.
- Helped train dozens of new missionaries on effectively sharing the Gospel message in Houston's Chinese, Spanish, and English communities.
- Prepared and delivered mission-related presentations to church and community groups.
- Facilitated and directed outreach events for local communities in San Antonio, TX, Lubbock, TX, and Houston, TX.
- Educated members of congregation on religious beliefs and practices.
- Volunteered in overseas locations and in various roles.
- Implemented strategies for successful mission outreach to grow membership.
- Presented mission-related topics at conferences to raise awareness and build networks.
Head Instructor and Vice Chairman
Self/Mountain Ray English
12.2016 - 12.2018
- In the period of 9 months, through relentless self and school promotion along with the highest quality of linguistic instruction, I turned a student body of only two brothers into more than 600 students and 4 brick and morter schools.
- Tracked student progress, frequently checking in with struggling students and identifying root causes of problems.
- Improved student performance by defining clear goals and communicating performance metrics.
- Evaluated and revised lesson plans and course content to achieve student-centered learning.
- Traveled across the Yunnan Province teaching superintendents of the PRC modern teaching methodologies in order to maximize their students' foreign language acquisition.
- Awarded best English School by the Children's Education Board of Beijing, China.
Senior Instructor
Goldentran English
05.2015 - 09.2016
- Trained foreign instructors in modern teaching methodologies in order to maximize children's' language acquisition
- Created and developed personalized teaching plans for the children of Beijing's elite
- Organized special activities to build team cohesion and promote learning.
- Grew two schools into eight separate locations through relentless self-promotion, the quality of instruction provided by the teachers I trained and supervised, and me, and high acceptance rate of my students into Peking University.
Translator and Interpreter
The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints
08.2002 - 12.2010
- Performed Spanish to English and English to Spanish simultaneous translation for weekly church meetings, as well as bi-yearly stake and world-wide General Conferences
- Translated documents from Spanish to English, and English to Spanish
- Applied cultural understanding to discern specific meanings beyond literal written words.
- Provided verbal summaries of non-English documents for immediate use.
- Worked with other translators to facilitate real time conversations.
Bilingual Call Center Sales Representative
Citibank
08.2003 - 09.2005
- Answered customer inquiries regarding account balances, transaction history, services charges, and interest rates.
- Maintained in-depth knowledge of bank products and services to provide appropriate recommendations to customers.
- Served as primary point of contact for customers, providing assistance with account maintenance and transactions.
- Answered telephone inquiries on checking and savings accounts, loans, and lines of credit.
- Learned about customer's financial needs, established trust, and optimized sales opportunities resulting in quality customer service.
- Monitored and reported suspicious activity in line with bank security policies.
- Established rapport with new clients to increase satisfaction and loyalty.
- Trained new hires on customer service policies and procedures.
- Cross-sold credit cards, loans and other bank products.
Spanish and Vietnamese Linguist and Cryptologist
United States Air Force
10.2000 - 07.2003
- Handled electronic equipment designed to intercept foreign transmissions or broadcasts.
- Quickly scanned and processed large amounts of material in Spanish and Vietnamese to produce clear, concise reports.
- Job details are classified
Recording Artist
Feelosophy Records
05.2000 - 10.2000
- Composed and arranged music and recorded music in studios for solo album.
- Composed and arranged music and recorded music in studios for other signed artists.
- Promoted events and performances by participating in media interviews.
- Turned down a major recording contract and resigned from the label to serve my country as a linguist for The United States Air Force.
Full-Time Missionary
The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints
01.1999 - 05.2000
- Worked in Missionary Training Center's Call Center and two separate mission fields using highly developed communication skills and persuasiveness to increase missionary appointments by over 5000% and baptisms by 2000%.
- Proselytized people and imparted knowledge of faith using strong public speaking and one-on-one discussions.
- Trained over a dozen new missionaries on effectively sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Southern, Midwestern, and Western communities.
- Led mission teams in prayer and spiritual formation.
- Built relationships with local and international mission organizations for successful partnerships.
Radio Personality and Assistant Disc Jockey
Cox Radio, 107.7 The X, And Classic Rock 99.5
04.1996 - 05.1998
- Starred with Robert Harmon as "The Moron Twins" on the Mason Dixon Morning Show.
- Co-starred as Luka's sidekick "Sunshine" on "Mornings with Luka".
- Used hidden mics to stage elaborate pranks on air.
- Engaged in hilarious daily dialogue with fellow radio personalities and celebrities on air.
- Composed and recorded comedy music and jingles for hysterical comedic bits.
- Researched breaking news during live, on-air shows, and then improved on them with comedic dialogue and dramatic irony.
- "The Moron Twins" helped turn "The Mason Dixon Morning Show" into Birmingham's #1 Morning Radio Show.
Foreign Exchange Student
Privately Funded Foreign Exchange
05.1995 - 04.1996
- Lived abroad as a teenager and became proficient in German and Polish
- Helped classmates succeed by tutoring when requested.
- Attended field trips with peers to study topics outside classroom.
- Mentored other students to support collaborative learning and further promote educational unit objectives.
Assistant Manager and Manager
Dolcis Shoes
03.1994 - 05.1995
- Served as the youngest Assistant manager in Dolci's history while still attending High School.
- #1 salesman across 12 states for 14 months straight.
- Increased store sales by 1350%.
Education
Spanish And Vietnamese
The Defense Language Institute
The Presidio Of Monterey, CASpanish Cryptology
Goodfellow AFB
Lubbock, TXSkills
- Fluent in Spanish, French, and Chinese
- Can communicate fluently with native Italian, Portuguese, and Catalan speakers by using Spanish
- University graduate level of listening and reading comprehension in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Catalan, and Chinese
- Military DLPT Listening and Reading score of 3, 3 in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Vietnamese, and Chinese
- Cultural Communications
- Superior Verbal Skills
- Interpretation skills
- Cross-cultural communication
- Language Translation
- Document Translation
- Language teaching
- Language acquisition
Accomplishments
Because of my high moral character, unmatchable work ethic, and persistence in demonstrating by word and deed what it means to be a patriot and go above and beyond in the service of our God and our country, I skipped rank at the Defense Language Institute and was recommended to the Bootstrap Program by Base Commander Col Michael W. Smith to become a commissioned officer.
My wife and I were recognized by the President of the United States for not only our sacrifice and service during 9/11 (especially with her being 3 months pregnant), but also for my wife's relentless voluntary service in assisting in the linguistic training of our nations' military linguists, despite her not having a green card.
President George W. Bush sent us a hand written letter along with my wife's greencard thanking her for her service to our country, which he mailed to us from the White House, instead of having it sent from the INS office.
Languages
Spanish
Native or Bilingual
Chinese (Mandarin)
Full Professional
Portuguese
Full Professional
Italian
Full Professional
French
Full Professional
Timeline
Barista
Starbucks
09.2023 - Current
Head Instructor and Vice Chairman
Self/Mountain Ray English
12.2016 - 12.2018
Missionary
The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints
05.2015 - Current
Senior Instructor
Goldentran English
05.2015 - 09.2016
Bilingual Call Center Sales Representative
Citibank
08.2003 - 09.2005
Translator and Interpreter
The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints
08.2002 - 12.2010
Spanish and Vietnamese Linguist and Cryptologist
United States Air Force
10.2000 - 07.2003
Recording Artist
Feelosophy Records
05.2000 - 10.2000
Full-Time Missionary
The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints
01.1999 - 05.2000
Radio Personality and Assistant Disc Jockey
Cox Radio, 107.7 The X, And Classic Rock 99.5
04.1996 - 05.1998
Foreign Exchange Student
Privately Funded Foreign Exchange
05.1995 - 04.1996
Assistant Manager and Manager
Dolcis Shoes
03.1994 - 05.1995
Spanish And Vietnamese
The Defense Language Institute
Spanish Cryptology
Goodfellow AFB