SERVICE ON THE BUTTON

IT’S GOOD to know there are still companies in the Cape which are prepared to deliver excellent service without demanding ridiculously high prices.

After more than 20 years of service my large, old-fashioned fridge finally gave up the ghost and refused to chill my wine or beer any longer. Oh, there was some warm food in there too, and other items of little importance. I have my priorities.

After an initial stage of mindless panic (warm Chardonnay is a crisis), I began asking friends for advice.

Everyone knew somebody who fixed fridges, some offered me the loan of their little bar fridges, every fridge mechanic I called was on holiday in the Bahamas (fridge mechanics must rate up there with brain surgeons and politicians on the salary scale), so I chased the cockroaches out of my wallet and went visiting fridge dealers.

After a morning of hard bartering across the entire south peninsula I ended up right here in my home village of Fish Hoek, where a local dealer sat me down and arranged an offer I couldn’t resist.

Within an hour of my agreeing with the terms of sale, two sturdy workers arrived at my home, took my heavy old fridge down my steep steps, removed the door handles so it would fit through the front gate, and efficiently installed my new fridge. That’s service.

The good part was that it was all done with friendly smiles and never a cross word, in spite of it being a hot and sweaty day and my steps very steep.

On that same day my alarm system’s remote controller reached the end of its useful life. It has worked well for about 10 years, so I understand it’s entitled to a little sullenness.

The little red button had crumbled and required some skilful finger work to get it going. I took the ailing remote to an efficient locksmith in Retreat and asked for a new one.

The key man looked at the ancient remote and said: “You don’t need a new remote. All you need is a new little red button.” He then found a little piece of red something, took out his pocket knife and carved me a replacement red button.

“There you are,” he said as he handed it to me. “It should be good as new.” I took it gratefully and asked what I owed him. He chuckled and said: “No charge, sir. It’s just a piece of scrap plastic. You’re welcome.”

That was kind. He could have charged me R100 and I would have paid happily. It was also good PR.

Obviously, if I ever have problems with keys or security equipment, I will know exactly where to go.

Last Laugh

On his way to work every day a man walked past a pretty garden where a woman was always beating her husband over the head with a large French loaf.

One day he stopped and stared. The woman was using an iced fruit cake to beat her husband over the head.

“Excuse my asking,” he said, “but why are you beating your husband with a fruit cake today instead of a French loaf?”

“It’s his birthday today,” she explained.