Stuck in the Lift with… Vince Canard, Sales Executive

He's been here for over two years during which I’ve never seen him without a smile on his face! His name has featured in Techbuyer's 5-star reviews a whopping 45 times and some would call him Techbuyer’s undisputed table tennis champion. Here's my 5-minute interview with Techbuyer's favourite French-speaking sales exec featuring an unbelievable desert island story...

Where did you grow up? Knaresborough in North Yorkshire. A market town famous for being home to the hideous Mother Shipton. It also has some strange local traditions such as the Great Knaresborough Bed Race and the Boxing Day tug o' war over the River Nidd.

What's your first memory? My brother leading me into the back garden and telling me to catch the rocks he started to throw at my head. One landed on my eyebrow which required stitches, though fortunately, I don’t remember that!

What did you want to be when you were younger? In Year 1, I wanted to be a hedge trimmer; they got to work outside and it looked fun. Also, an actor – shame I never stuck with it!

Favourite memory at Techbuyer? A spontaneous Friday night out with some of the sales team, where I made a life-changing decision! Great night. Great decision.

(Spontaneous Friday nights out aren’t usually known for producing great decisions - so I’m intrigued.)

How long have you been at Techbuyer? They’ll have had two of my best years in July!

Where did you work previously? A plumbing and heating supplier. A good place, but the world of toilets and bidets was surprisingly extremely corporate and I was looking for somewhere more genial.

What were your first impressions of Techbuyer?! I remember loving the vibe and work ethic of everyone!

What is your favourite thing to do out of work? Being outside. I also like to go out with friends and listening to music - I always have music on the go.

Tell us something we don't know about you... You’ll probably know this but I have a bronze medal in table tennis, for the 2012-14 UK championships. Less well-known would be that I once had to evacuate an island in Fiji in what was essentially a small bath over a couple miles of MAD, EXTREME, CRAZY waves to the next island due to cyclones and landslides. There was no running water - showers, taps or toilets- and on the 4th day, they ran out of drinking water and food. The Fijians, who had kindly accommodated us, had to chase down a poor chicken which we ate that night. After five days, the Swedish forces – of all forces! - sent a ship to save us, so it all worked out. (Well that was increasingly hard to believe!)