When favour leads the way, excellence abounds

Jun 19, 2022 News

My Testimony…

By Sharmain Grainger

Kaieteur News – As a single woman, it is often a tall task to find the right man for the job – those technical jobs that usually only men have a knack for such as plumbing, carpentry and masonry. Of course, the service of trusted experts to cater to the needs of vehicles is also of utmost importance to women, like myself, who chauffeur themselves around.

Andy, one of the electricians, taking care of a customer’s car

‘Wiggles’, another electrician, always takes pride in his work

Though reluctant, Janathan Harripaul poses for a photograph

Indeed, it would be any woman’s dream, and even some men too, to have a one-stop complex for vehicle services. Until such time, we must test the expertise of the specialists around until we find those we can truly rely on. While I have been lucky to find one of the best mechanics in the country, who I will tell you about at a later date, today my focus is on my new auto electrician, Janathan Harripaul.
I met Janathan for the first time two Fridays ago and made arrangements to utilise his service last Monday.
Interestingly, I didn’t end up at his shop because of any referral. I simply saw his conspicuous sign – Janathan Auto Electrical Service – opposite Dan’s Auto Shop while driving along Light Street in Alberttown, Georgetown and assumed that an electrician there would be able to assess and possibly fix one of the rear windows of my vehicle that was malfunctioning.
Whilst there, I requested attention for two more issues I had with my car that I, up until last week, couldn’t find anyone to fix. The other two problems were a trunk that wouldn’t open and malfunctioning rear indicators. For those of you who drive, you can appreciate that those are worrisome issues.
When I turned up sometime after 10:00hrs on Monday last to get the process started, the auto electrician’s shop was already a hive of activity. I had a few words with Janathan who made it clear that I had arrived too late for him to give my car any attention that day since he already had quite a few vehicles to deal with and on top of that he was short of staff.
Not willing to have my issues deferred to another day, I argued that at least my window issue was too urgent to not be attended to forthwith.
After a fervent prayer was made on my behalf, the auto electrician miraculously advised me that he would include my vehicle in his work schedule for the day. Grateful, I quickly parked my vehicle in his work space, left my particulars with his secretary and headed off to Kaieteur News to begin my work day.
But when I returned later that day none of my problems were fixed. However, the root cause of my malfunctioning window was detected but nothing could have been done until I sourced a mechanism. Of course, as a driver, I know a trusted parts dealer who during a quick telephone conversation assured me that he had in stock what I needed. Not only that, without me even asking, he said that he would slash the price by almost half, and he did (I will share more about him at a later date).
Armed with the newly acquired mechanism, I returned the next day to the auto electrician’s shop to finally get my window fixed. Although the window was fixed by the end of the day, there were still the two outstanding problems that needed attention. While the team did try, they were unable that day to address them.
In fact, when I returned for my vehicle on Tuesday, Janathan looked drained and even advised that he was feeling unwell. Nevertheless, he informed me that he needed more time with my vehicle and that I should return two days later since he had other clients who he needed to cater to as well.
I must let you know at this point that a future article will explain why it was necessary for him to advise me to return two days later. That explanation, dear reader, is not one you should miss.
Faithfully, I returned Thursday and like the other days, parked my car, shared my particulars and scurried off to work, somehow feeling confident that, that was the day he was going to solve all of my electrical problems. When I returned later that day, indeed my trunk was fixed but he advised that I needed to return Friday to have some additional work done on my indicators, although they appeared to be working to my satisfaction.
Nevertheless, I returned Friday and while Janathan and his team thought they could’ve done a much better job in a shorter time, what they didn’t know is that their dedication helped to grow my faith in Jesus by leaps and bounds. You see, it wasn’t the first time I had taken my car to an auto electrician to have the issues addressed. The mere fact that Janathan was willing to have his team try each day, helped me to realise that divine intervention was unfolding before my very eyes.
It wasn’t as if they weren’t already overburdened with work but, in spite of that, they took the time to understand my vehicle and solve its electrical issues.
You would believe that after the challenge of fixing my car at least an arm and a leg was due and indeed I was prepared to pay, but as the title of this article suggests, favour was in order.
For Janathan and his team, fixing my car turned out to be a labour of love. They were eager to take on the challenge just so they could show off their prowess. Indeed, I was and still am impressed.
For those who may be interested in the services offered at Janathan’s shop, these include all things electrical for all types of vehicles.
During a conversation with me, Janathan revealed that he discovered his passion for fixing vehicles when he was just a boy. His father, a mechanic, would pass on his knowledge to him during the weekends. But as he grew older, Janathan said that he developed a liking for auto electrical work and thus decided to make a career out of it. For the past 15 years, he has been honing his skills. Although he mainly directs the show these days from behind the scenes, with trusted team players like Andy, ‘Wiggles’ and a few others being more hands-on, Janathan admitted, “I always like a challenge and certain wiring work can be a challenge but I never give-up…things got so simple at one point that I find that I was always looking for a challenge.”
Given the satisfaction that Janathan affords his customers, their testimonials have been the main reason that his workshop is always busy. This of course means that the workload any given day requires more hands on deck. As such, Janathan is always willing to train youths, especially those just out of school, in hopes of growing his staff complement.
Trainees, he said, are paid a stipend and once they are passionate about learning, they are eligible for employment after a three-month probation period. Those, who are interested in learning from one of the best auto electricians in the country, are encouraged to take advantage of this offer.