Jul 26 2006
About / Contact Me
To e-mail me, please send your message to email@chrismerriman.com .
For those that prefer to use Skype, please add chris.merriman as my contact address.
Please see the end of this page for other places you can find me online.
Finally, if you prefer, you can leave a comment on one of the posts on the main page. You don’t need to register, and your e-mail address won’t be made public, nor will I pass on this information to anybody else.
About Chris Merriman
Chris Merriman is an enthusiastic & skilled IT specialist with a record of success in user support. He is experienced in the implementation and use of major software applications and operating systems.
Self-motivated and able to interface and work effectively with all levels within an organisation and an effective problem solver with the ability to apply new solutions to current situations.
OK, so that is the introduction in my CV. If you are a prospective employer please contact me if you require a copy.
Expanded details of duties & responsibilities (as referred to in my CV)
EDS Helpdesk
- Connection issues (LAN & Remote access)
- E-Mail issues (configuration of IMAP accounts, external accounts and fault reporting)
- Support on standard NT, XP & Office products, as well as many RAF specific applications
- Ensure that all enquiries were resolved in the shortest time frame possible
FireNet – Remote Technical Support
- Connection issues
- E-Mail issues (configuration of mail servers and fault reporting)
- Working from home, I handled the e-mail based technical queries & gave assistance via their forum
Affinity
Before the company was sold, I worked for Affinity Internet Holdings (AIH).
My role there consisted of :-
Providing technical support for Sonnet (a business orientated ISP).
- Connection issues
- E-Mail issues (configuration of mail servers and domain pointing)
- DNS Updates
- Advice on their web sites.
Handling all the domain management for Affinity and Sonnet.
- Communicating with domain registrars (VeriSign, Nominet, CentralNic etc.)
- Ensure domains are renewed and bills are paid
Sole investigator for AIH’s Abuse Dept.
- Receiving all enquiries regarding possible mis-use of our services
- Tracing customers through their IP addresses, and ensuring that no further Malicious e-mails, SPAM, port scanning, placement of inappropriate (be it Copyrighted, Adult or Slanderous) materials on our servers, or active ‘hacking’ takes place.
- Keeping ISP Account managers up to date on new developments
Whilst working for Affinity/AIH, Training modules passed :-
- Network overview
- Systems Training (Primus knowledge system, Heat customer service records & VIPWeb)
- Systems configuration (E-mail, DUN, Newsgroups, Protocol installations, FTP, Data Protection, ADSL & Macintoshes)
- Support Boundaries
My previous roles in AIH were :-
2nd Line Tech Support for 100 of Affinity’s VISPs
- Any cases that 1st line agents are unable to complete are passed on to the callback team, who specialise in the fault tracing and resolution of the more unusual variety
- Ensuring that any knowledge gained is passed on, both to training mentors, and directly to other members of staff
Affinity’s point of contact for FireNet
Ensure that all enquiries were resolved in the shortest time frame possible, and liaising between the different levels of management, both within Affinity and FireNet itself
Personal History for Kazakh Employers
I was born in Yeovil, Somerset, UK, in 1979. I attended my first school, St Gildas until 1986. I then changed to St Martins School, Crewkerne. In 1990, we all moved to Cheltenham, and I started at Pate’s Grammar School.
In 1993 I started my first proper (paper rounds and sticking up not counting…) part time job as a TV/Video/Satellite repairer & sales assistant at Double Vision, Cheltenham. During 1995, I finished Pates Grammar School, and continued into the Sixth form there, to take my A-Levels, the following year I started a concurrent course at GlosCat, Cheltenham.
In 1997 I started a course at Bournemouth University. In 1998 I moved back to Cheltenham, and met my wife-to-be. We were married in Astana, Kazakhstan, in August 2001.
I worked for Affinity Internet Holdings, Gloucester, from 2001-2003, working as 2nd line technical support specialist. We moved to Bourton On The Water. I then went on to work for EDS, as an IT helpdesk operator. In April 2006, I emigrated to Kazakhstan.
This website was setup with a lot of help from MattG, and is a place for me to post information for friends and family thinking of visiting Kazakhstan, or simply wishing to learn more about my new home. It also links to articles on web sites I think others might find interesting and is an area for people to post queries/corrections about posts, if they prefer not to e-mail.
As promised, here is a list of all the places you can also find me online…
