Sometimes in life we meet people who restore our faith in the rest of humanity – if just for a while.
My 22-year-old car was giving me problems and I had no idea what was causing it to use so much water. What I knew was that it was probably going to be expensive since nothing is cheap anymore.
Then I remembered a good experience I had a year ago when my son’s 20-year-old car also leaked water. I drove to Silverton Radiators in Maitland where I again interacted with Garry de Goede.
Garry did a pressure test on my vehicle and pointed out exactly what was wrong and told me what was required to fix it.
Just like a year before, Garry’s professionalism and friendly assistance was outstanding and he refused to take any payment for his efforts and expertise.
I was so surprised. Garry could have told me anything and charged me anything and I would not have known the truth from falsehood.
The honesty of Garry at Silverton Radiators Maitland has restored my faith in my fellow humans and made me believe that there are many other decent and good business people in Cape Town who are not just about a quick buck.
I left Garry feeling empowered and grateful and visited Ebrahim Khan, my motor mechanic in Lawrence Road, Athlone.
Together, at his insistence, we visited the motor spares where the part responsible for the water leak was R10. I was utterly shocked because he could have told me to leave the car with him, forcing me to use public transport to get back home. He could have fixed the problem and charged me anything since I did not know what the repair cost entailed.
However, the integrity of Ebrahim Khan allowed him to share with me exactly what the cost was.
I want to encourage others who have had good experiences with local artisans and business people to write to The Argus so we can acknowledge these unsung individuals who work hard to earn a living with honesty and integrity.
As Capetonians, we must have pride in one another and support those among us who are honest and display integrity. That is how we will build a better society together.
It starts with a thank you to Garry De Goede from Silverton Radiators and Ebrahim Khan Motor Repairs.
* Cape Muslim Congress councillor, Yagyah Adams.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
Do you have something on your mind; or want to comment on the big stories of the day? We would love to hear from you. Please send your letters to [email protected].
All letters to be considered for publication, must contain full names, addresses and contact details (not for publication).