Stuck in the Lift with… Tom Doyle, Testing Operative

Techbuyer has recently expanded their testing department by a third to 2,700 sq. ft. and in recognition of this achievement this week we are interviewing Techbuyer’s longest-serving testing team member. Since joining Techbuyer 3 and a half years ago, Tom has personally data wiped 121,000 hard drives! But that’s not all Tom has been up to... As well as being an expert at data wiping he's done quite a bit of modelling and can even write and produce music! Find out more about Techbuyer testing operative Tom Doyle and his time at Techbuyer.

Where did you grow up? My dad was in the army so I moved around quite a lot when growing up. I’ve lived in Germany, Holland, Ireland and a couple of places in the UK. However, I have lived in Yorkshire for the longest so I would happily class this as my real home.

What's your first memory? I remember my first day at primary school. And what a horrible experience it was. I remember balling my eyes out as my mum left me in a very large and unknown location!

What did you want to be when growing up? I really wanted to be a professional footballer or skateboarder when growing up.

How long have you been at Techbuyer? I’ve been at Techbuyer for 3 and a half years now and it’s absolutely flown by. There was 40 of us back then and the warehouse was the same size as just our current testing facilities! Those were the days where if you were going to make a brew, you’d have to make one for the whole warehouse!

What are your primary roles at Techbuyer? My primary roles are to test and data wipe every single hard drive that comes through the door in an efficient and secure way. I’ve wiped 121,000 hard drives over my time here! I also offer tech support for customer queries, help the team with general warehouse work and sometimes visit customers to pick up used data centre equipment. When visiting customers, I love seeing the data centres in action.

Favourite memory at Techbuyer? One of the memories that stands out the most was the first time I built and set up a server. It was all from my own research of specific parts and I connected it to an expansion unit with drives in. And… it actually all worked perfectly! This gave me quite a buzz of personal pride and satisfaction! Also, it’s been pretty cool being part of the company advertising. Whether it’s been in our company brochures, in magazines, on websites, official government brochures or even on national TV, my face has happened to be on a lot of marketing materials!

What were your first impressions of Techbuyer?! I really enjoyed my first day at Techbuyer. Everyone was so welcoming and I loved the graft of the job. I still feel that way and have always viewed my colleagues as friends rather than just people I work with.

What is your favourite thing to do out of work? I love music! Whether I’m writing it, producing it or just jamming with friends. It’s what I spend the majority of my time out of work doing.

Tell us something we don't know about you... I enjoy watching Love island... And I in no way feel emasculated by admitting that!