It’s generally true for most folks that over the years, in the various areas of our life, we come to know individuals, or sometimes companies, that we turn to for our diverse needs based largely on the fact that we have come to value them for the standard of their work, to appreciate them for always “getting it right”. Whether it’s a major job, or a minor matter, those are the people, or companies, we turn to knowing the work, or the service, will be well done, on time, at a reasonable price, and it will stand the test of time. So when something looms, there is no debate; we know in advance who will be handling it.
One of them for me is a Mekdeci company up the East Coast, TriStar Industries. I bought a couple items from them, including my power washer, which I take back to them for servicing and their attention to detail is impressive. On my recent contact there for a small oil drip, the machine came back to me with a stick-on note which, for their purposes, included date, name, and an internal reminder “to be assessed” concerning the problem. It may be a small point, but it demonstrates that attention detail I’m referring to which should be in the back of such companies but is often missing, so that a few months back, when a concrete strip in our backyard needed mending, the guy I got to fix it, left the patch with a very rough surface. When I mentioned it, he said, with a grin, “That’s okay, it can wuk suh.” I told him, “Nah, man. It rough; it look bad.” And, needless to say, I never again gave him the opening to tell me “it can wuk suh”; he didn’t get it right.
Another example is the restaurant at the Grand Coastal Hotel, where both the meal and the service are always pleasing. And beyond that, any time you show up at Grand Coastal you get a welcome from staff who recognise you from a previous visit and will come over to say hello even though they’re serving someone else. Even the guy in the parking lot as you enter is helpful; I suspect that Mukesh, the owner, may be behind it, but whoever is involved, they are getting it right, every time you show up.
The striking thing about this attitude is that it can show up in the most unexpected places. Annette and I frequently buy coconut water from the roadside vendors outside Bourda Market. It is an experience. We usually buy a bottle or two to take home, and the guys manning the business come to your car as you drive in – they remember you from the previous visit – and take your empty bottles to avoid you blocking traffic. We drive around the block, and come back down the same road, by which time the bottles have been filled and are ready to go. These guys didn’t go to business school or university, but they are definitely getting it right.
Likewise, Georgetown contractor Gary DaSilva. I can’t recall who recommended him when I moved back here to live, but Gary does all the repair or renovation work that our house in Oleander Gardens needs, and the frustrations that can be part of that exercise are absent. And the guys who work with him, like Troy the electrician and Mikey the all-rounder, are in the same mold – professional work, professional finish, no garbage left lying about. Gary is 624-1129.
Another gem is Brudda, the painter. I have to admit going in I don’t even know his proper name. A friend recommended him that way, and that’s how I know him. You call Brudda, you show him the job, he quotes the price, does the work, and you don’t have to inspect it; it’s always the right colour and the right finish and no drips anywhere.
Occasionally I add to my list of these specialist people. Just recently I encountered one by the name of Hans Neher, who is a plant specialist. Originally from Germany – God knows how he ended up here – Hans has a plant place up the Highway but is involved all over the map helping out folks with their plants from towering Royal Palm to tiny tomato. In our case, our ackee tree was losing leaves and looking quite bedraggled, until Hans came along, did some fungicide magic and applied some fertilizer, and the tree is once again in full bloom and flowering. The man clearly knows how to do it right when it comes to plants. You can reach him through 612-1848.
Finally, this is about a person, or persons, I don’t know, but I do know they are in the kitchen at the Pegasus Hotel preparing the regular menu items as well as the sumptuous buffet offered there during the week. The meal is always – and I stress “always” – excellent, with a wide range of choices and, particularly appealing to me, is that there is obviously good control in the cooking because the flavours in the various dishes are always consistent so the food always tastes as you remember it from the last time; many restaurants are not able to make that happen time after time; the Pegasus always does.
So the next time we’re caught up grousing about this or that in Guyana that is either going wrong or gone wrong, I am sure that if we look around in our circle we all have people like Gary and Hans and Brudda and the Pegasus chefs and the Bourda coconut guys and the Tri-Star bunch, as well as the group at Grand Coastal, who are definitely getting it right.
