Quattro Celebrates The Silver Jubilee of Queen Victoria

‘The time has just bloody flown!’

We caught up with Credit Control Manager, Victoria (Vicky) Eldridge who is celebrating twenty-five years at Quattro.  Born in Forest Gate in Newham, Vicky spent most of her life in Poplar and has one son, ‘my Danny’.  Vicky lives with her husband, Bill whom she met at The Royal Oak, Loughton in 2005.  She has one granddaughter, Harper.

- How does it feel to have been at Quattro for twenty-five years?

The time has just bloody flown!  It seems like yesterday it was me and John doing wages and invoices, working every Saturday for 12 years.  Back then I used to go out clubbing and come straight to work he’d be like ‘Are you dying?’ and I’d be like ‘Yeah’, and he’d be like, ‘Do you want a sausage sandwich?’

- Do you remember how you got the job?

I do, yeah, my Danny was only a year and a half.  I was desperate to get back to work. My friend worked at the Job Centre and got someone to job-match my skills.  I interviewed with John and a woman called Eileen.  I begged my mum to help me, and eventually she gave in to look after Danny.  I wouldn’t be where I am today without my mum.  

- How was the interview?

My first impression of John was that he was an Irish cowboy.  That hasn’t changed!  I thought, ‘I’m working for a nutcase here.’  Needless to say we got along really well in the interview.  After Eileen left I said to him, ‘I can do this on my own’ and he let me go for it.

- Tell us about your first few weeks.

In my first few weeks John got one of his mates to phone up and say he’d like a rubber duck.  I thought he’s having a laugh but turns out he wasn’t and you know, I learned that a rubber duck is a machine.  Then I had another phone call, ‘Can I speak to Mr Murphy please? It’s the clinic.’  I was like, ‘Okay I’ll just put you on hold for a second!’  Another one phoned up saying it was Wayne Kerr.  I fell for that as well.  I was only twenty-four and this was my induction.

- What’s your typical day?

I get in at seven and thanks to Annette there's a nice cup of coffee on my desk, white no sugar.  I go through my emails and usually have some from Karen at QOTA.  I oversee the sales ledger and the purchase ledger.  I look after all of John’s private stuff.  My team of six help me across the whole Quattro group, including AB2K.

- Tell us about a memorable Quattro moment.

The Institute of Waste Management do is always very memorable for many different reasons.  Something crazy always happens.  One year I went with a broken leg. I broke it on the Wednesday, the plaster was still wet on the Thursday and I went to the do on the Friday.  I was on crutches and comedian Frank Carson helped me up and down the stairs.  Exactly one year later John broke his foot so there we were again, up in London and plastered!

Some of Vicky’s Quattro colleagues had this to say about her:

Michelle Cunningham
Admin Assistant

Vicky has been my friend for a long time.  We knew each other through family.  When I first stated at Quattro in October 2007 there was only a couple of people and Vicky was one of them. She’s dependable, assertive, fun, don’t take no nonsense, says it as it is.  She’s a good laugh.  She’s essential; I wouldn’t like to think about Quattro without her.  She’s John’s right hand man - a proper rock.

I have to add though - she’s all mouth and trousers.  She comes across as really hard giving it all out, this and that… she has people quivering in their boots.  But if she sees a mouse, My God, she falls to bits and starts screaming, jumping on the desk, petrified and I double up laughing!

Maxine Koyce
Accounts Admin

The first time I met Vicky was just after John bought the rail company I worked for 14 years ago. I thought she was really pleasant and confident, didn’t mince her words, and came across as really nice to talk to.  It was when we all moved to Stratford I got to know her better.  As my line manager I really enjoy working with her, we do watch a lot of the same telly and Netflix. I don’t know where I’d be without our Made In Chelsea chats!  There is never a dull moment working here with Vicky!

Nick Nkana
Group Accountant

I believe hard work, loyalty, and diligence are the cornerstones of great employees, I am so pleased to have experienced those qualities in Vicky as part of Quattro Army in the last decade and congratulations on Vicky’s quarter century service.

John Murphy
Managing Director

Right-hand man?  Vicky is better than any man I’ve ever worked with!  Quattro is the well-oiled machine it is today because of her.  She is part of the fabric of this company.  To say thank you for twenty-five years doesn’t seem like enough, so I’ve ordered her a special thank you mouse and some friendly spiders and hidden them in her desk as a surprise.  

Truthfully though, I couldn’t do this without her.  Vicky is indescribable.  She is also many other words… but this is a family article so please read it after the watershed.  I’ll see you next Thursday, Vicky!

- Finally, Vicky, what is your style of work?

I’m straight talking.  People think I’m hard and scary but I’m just direct and down to earth, what you see is what you get!

At this point during the interview, colleague Silly Tom enters the room with a cake for Vicky.  He reverses out of the door, bowing.

From all of us at Quattro, thank you Vicky for twenty-five years. Long may you reign!