The one thing that most people living in Curacao know for certain is that it is not always easy to find good services on the island. There may be instances where you need to call an electrician or a handyman for general repairs and need the work done right away. Your expectations may be high at first but once you have gotten a taste of it, you will begin to realize that things don’t always happen at an efficient pace in Curacao, let alone on any other Caribbean island. It doesn’t have to be such a bad thing but instead something to simply adapt to and accept as part of the Caribbean philosophy.

Europeans and North Americans thrive on efficiency and productivity. Wherever there are gaps or a lack of service in any part of a business, you better believe that they will be addressed and managed accordingly in very little time. But, from a Caribbean standpoint, this sort of pace of work can be perceived as stressful and rushed. What’s the point in rushing if you have most of your life to work? That’s a valid point and that is why most people living and working in the Caribbean are not stressed. However, it could be true that any stress that may come about will most likely come from waiting for work to be properly done. There are both positives and negatives to this but in the end there are ways to get around this slow-paced attitude when you want to something to get done.

I have experienced my fair share of not so professional services from pest control companies to gardeners but once I find someone who is professional and helpful I stick with them for the long-term. It’s my way of weeding out the bad and supporting the good. And whenever I encounter a friend who is in dire need of a particular service and has had some unpleasant experiences in the past, I immediately scroll through my contacts and willingly give them a referral of my top-notch service person.

I was talking with my neighbour the other day about some renovations she was doing in her house. She was very flustered because the work that she wanted done involved masonry, installation of windows, painting and carpentry. A few months ago a new house near her had been completed and, from the looks of it, an amazing job was done in little time. So, naturally, she figured that perhaps she could hire the people that had worked on it and ended up speaking to one man who had worked on the roof of the house. He gladly said that he could do the job for her but at the time didn’t mention that he was only a carpenter. To make a long story short, she is still waiting after three months for a one-bedroom extension on her top floor to be completed and has already gone over her budget. Her message to me was that it is very important to continuously pay attention to the progress of the work to make sure that it is completed to your liking. After our little discussion I made sure to give her a couple of my own contacts just in case she needed some work done in the future.

I think that message is true for any service you plan to use, regardless of where you are in the world. If you are using a service for the first time it is imperative that you ‘try’ it out first or get a second opinion before you decide to depend on them for a large project or purchase. You will definitely be kicking yourself after the fact for using an unknown service that didn’t provide you with what you had asked for. That’s why I believe that referrals are essential for any endeavor, especially in Curacao.

For big projects and/or purchases in Curacao the best advice I can give is to speak to friends or family about their experiences and if they know of any good services to use. Of course, it is possible that even referred businesses may not always work out to your liking so it is important to trust the source of the referral. Your source may have only used the service once or for a small job. I have had issues with that in the past. I’ve also had some luck from asking some experts online. When I needed some information about where to stay in Curacao, where to rent a car and where to get immigration advice I received some very good referrals from chatting with some island experts on Trip Advisor, for example. There are many ways to get some overall good advice online for your plans and projects in Curacao since there are so many travel and information websites out there.

In the meantime it would be best to take it one step at a time and not rush into using just anyone for a particular undertaking. If you want to experience the good side of Curacao’s slow-paced, easy-going lifestyle, try to make an informed decision for yourself so your experience will go smoothly. I have met too many people, mostly foreigners, who have had issues with services such as car repair shops, air conditioning services and electricians but their expectations in most cases have been way too high. The Caribbean way of life does not have to be stressful at all, it just takes some patience and tolerance and a little knowledge of this different but refreshing culture and environment.

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