There’s a small businessman who is aiming to blaze a trail on Spring Garden Highway but it has nothing to do with Crop Over.
Selby Taitt is so passionate about cars and the environment that he found a way to incorporate them, added things that matter to him such as great service and attention to detail, into his valet business – Avant Garde AutoSpa Barbados.
Like other little boys, he loved cars and he loved seeing them “in their showroom condition” not “run down” or “pop down” as he puts it.
“I see [clean cars] as a work of art and that’s why I have gone into the business. From the time I was eight years old, I started cleaning mum and dad’s car, so that spread into a business as it is now. Cars were my heart; I’ve been around them from young – three or four years old.
“I really want to distinguish myself from the competition using new technology especially since we’re in a water scarce country. It really came in at a crucial point,” he said.
The former bank employee who has a bachelor’s degree in economics, a masters in investments and wealth management and is training to get his pilot’s licence, felt so strongly about pursuing his passion that he decided to move from “doing it on the side” giving up a secure pay cheque in the process to open almost a year ago.
The products and services offered by the St Michael business are what sets him apart as “no other valet company in Barbados offers right now”.
“In starting out that’s a good thing to have, something that really distinguishes you from the traditional set-up. It’s a very competitive environment in the valet business, you really have to be on top of your game as it relates to offering pricing and services whereby people will keep coming,” Taitt said.
Without divulging too many details, the businessman said that the system used allows them to wash the vehicles using significantly less water in one step. There is no soaping, then washing off and then polishing.
“It also waxes the paint which is a critical necessity for this part of the region because we have so much sun. It washes and waxes the vehicle, it’s like killing two birds with one stone,” he added.
Given the technology employed in the business, he and his team of four – three men and one woman – are able to handle the present load.
“Our overheads are cut dramatically, so it really allows us to pass the savings on to the consumer and allows us to offer attractive pricing so as to incentivise people to contribute to the environment in a meaningful way,” he added.
“Sometimes if required, I’m there on Sundays. I also do overnight appointments as well, if you drop off your car at 6 p.m. I’ll work on it overnight and have it delivered in the morning,” Taitt noted.
“We’re looking to employ some other equipment shortly whereby drive-ins are very much welcomed. You can get your car done, if it’s a basic job, in an hour or less. Based on what we’re using right now we can’t facilitate unscheduled appointments but that’s only going to be the case for another week or two,” he said.
While the vehicles are being cleaned, customers have access to Wi-Fi and in about three months or so there will be a mini spa where manicures, pedicures and massages will be offered.
“We’re really trying to differentiate ourselves by offering services so the customers are well taken care of, from their car right down to themselves. It’s a work in progress,” he stated.
As for the expansion of Avant Garde AutoSpa, the entrepreneur said around this same time next year, he hopes “to be travelling the Caribbean expanding on this concept because the Caribbean really needs this.”
“Water is like gold, it can’t be wasted, all means and ways must be discovered to conserve and manage what little we have right now. In five years, I hope to finish off my other list of goals including gaining my pilot’s licence as I hope to travel the world to do some more business… right now, the sky’s the limit”.
Despite the dry spell, Taitt said there was still a demand for his company’s services “just to keep the car looking a certain way, especially for the headlights and engine bay”.
“Personally, anything that I go into and it doesn’t really benefit the world I live in right now or those aspects of life, I won’t go into it with as much vigour as I would if it didn’t really benefit others. I try to make a change, big or small… [the decision to start this business] was a wise move.” (GBM)
