People often complain about the service they receive on island, which is definitely justifiable some of the time. Though in many ways, I’ve found that the small town atmosphere on my rock has led to unexpected advantages – plenty of instances that leave me thinking, This would never happen on the mainland… 

Take yesterday, for example: I went outside, having allotted myself a mere six minutes to get to an appointment in town, only to find that I had a flat tire stopping me in my tracks. My husband and I tried to change the tire ourselves, but the tiny little car is only equipped with one tiny little tire wrench; the lug nuts were really tight and wouldn’t budge despite our efforts. It took us more than six minutes to figure that out, so I missed my meeting, but then, what can you do?

I called Marlon Brando, the man who sold us the car. Though the sale was almost two years ago, he still remembered us and where we live (a great relief, considering that giving directions and locating a house is greatly complicated here by the lack of house numbers and street signs). In less than an hour, he had come to the rescue, removed the tire, replaced it with the spare, fitted everything back into its tiny slots, and advised me to drive only as far as the tire store. In less than an hour. And he charged me only $8 USD.

I can’t remember anything like that ever happening back at home, a place where we once called a repairman because the garage door opener only worked occasionally. A place where it took days to get a repairman to come unstick a button on the control panel with his fingernail, and subsequently charge us $75 USD for this “expertise”. Apparently, back at home, it costs $1 to unstick a button, and $74 for knowing that it needs to be unstuck. Thankfully, not so on the rock.

On a recent visit to the island hardware store, I gave my Good morning, good morning greetings, and the nice man who often helps me replied in kind. I asked if they had any extension shower rods (seeing as our whole house is concrete and tile, I was not about to start drilling holes into tile). He let me know that they were located upstairs, but also offered a bit of useful advice: “The springs in the extension rods fail here because of the sea air, and then you have to replace the entire rod. We have another kind that you might like better…”

He showed me the other option, which consisted of a pipe, and in a separate package, two ends that fit the pipe. You cut the pipe to fit, put the ends on, place it where it needs to be, and simply un-screw the ends so that they tighten against the shower wall. Slick as a whistle. I did have one problem, though: “Thank you, but I don’t have any tools to cut the pipe.”

“No problem, we’ll cut it for you. Just bring in the measurement, and we’ll do it while you wait.” Amazing. Even more amazing – this whole deal was less expensive than the extension rods I had originally planned on buying. Tell me – where else in the world does a salesperson ever recommend that you spend less? Only on the rock.

*credit DX Coffee

With all of our wind-y, hill-y roads, car maintenance is another important service needed in island life. Here, the mechanic drives to my house (out of town), picks up my car, leaves his own for me to drive, and returns the car later after its stay in the “hospital” – usually the same day. No paperwork, no signatures, no nothing. It’s like he knows how important it is for me to have his car to use – I couldn’t go play bridge without it.

Another time, I needed cushions for my couch and chairs. They were made by hand, on-island, and brought to the house four days later. I had said I did not need webbing, but Kenrick the installer showed me how stretched out the base was, and replaced the webbing anyway. He didn’t even charge extra for doing all that.

Ryan, the man who maintains our pool, also brings us live lobsters. As if that’s not astounding enough, one time he came back unexpectedly the next day with change, saying that he had accidentally overcharged us. That made us feel good for days.

During our first season here, we were concerned about how to properly prep the house in the event of a hurricane. Ryan reassured us – “No problem – just give me a call if you need help.”

We depend on the internet to phone the mainland, using a device called Magic Jack. Sometimes it sounds like we’re next door, and sometimes not. During one particularly bad period, I called a couple of times, and a day or two later the cable company called back to say, “The problem with Magic Jack is nothing to do with your equipment. It’s ours. We’re working on it, and we’ll have it fixed as soon as possible.” I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard a utility company accept responsibility for anything.

One morning, as I was leaving a parking lot, I said, “Good morning, good morning” to a young man nearby.

Naturally, he replied in kind, and asked, “How are you?”

I said, “I’m fine thank you. I’m just walking slowly so I don’t trip on this rough ground.”

He slowed his pace, and walked all the way down to the main street with me, just to make sure I made it all right. Once again, it made me feel good for days.

Only on the rock.