Name: Patrick Quinn
Job title: Key Account Manager – South
Tell us a bit about yourself
When I’m not selling toilets, almost all my time is taken up by my three-year-old daughter Scarlett, although if I’m lucky I’ll find some time to read each day, even if it is only when I put myself to bed about 9pm!
I’m from East London originally but have lived in Essex for most of the past decade.
During my childhood and teenage years, I was a boxer for just over ten years, and I was fortunate to complete in National Finals and have a chance to box for England, although my grandparents refused to talk to me for a month after as I had to box against Ireland!
I also have a rather geeky hobby of building and painting toy soldiers in my spare time.
Describe your job to a five-year-old.
I sell toilets to people and every now and again I get to go to a party.
What do you like most about your job?
It is certainly the variety, both in terms of working days never being the same but also the variety of people and places that I get to interact with.
How did you get here?
Well, the original plan was to become a barrister but after getting expelled from university the plan needed revisiting. I spent a very enjoyable couple of years selling phones during the day and working as a bar tender in the evenings. One day I was intrigued by a vacancy working in the internal sales department of a local builder’s merchant which became my very first role in this industry of ours which I haven’t left since.
What motivates you?
As obvious as it sounds it is my daughter. She can be an absolute bandit but everything I do is to make her happy.
If you could swap jobs with anyone, who would it be?
I’ve always fancied myself as a working-class James Bond but if I couldn’t get the producers to go for that I’d settle for Foreign Secretary.
Your favourite song lyric or line from a film
The entirety of “Leave before the lights come on” by the Arctic Monkeys.
Your favourite app?
Technology doesn’t like me. I think my devices still only have the apps they came with!
Biggest facepalm moment at work?
There’s a few to choose from but I’d say the time I was supporting a colleague with a contractor meeting and accidentally locked my keys in the boot of my car after and subsequently stood in a car park in the pouring rain for 10 hours. To compound my misery my wallet was also in the car at the time. Thankfully after about eight hours someone came to ask me why I was sat on a kerb in the rain wearing a suit and after explaining my disaster they went away and came back with a burger and chips from a local restaurant!