Algorfa, my adopted home village, has a population of around 3,000 souls, which is swelled in the summer months by holidaymakers staying in the village itself, or on the prestigious LA Finca Golf urbanisation. At some point, most of these people have passed through the portals of Mail Point on Avenida Maria del Mar Rodriguez. Officially, it's a Communications and Technology Centre, but unofficially, it's an information service for residents and regular visitors to the Algorfa area.
Mail Point is the brainchild of Dave Allen. Originally from Kent, he was at a crossroads in his business and personal life a few years ago, and he decided to set up in Spain. Although he'd travelled extensively through Spain, he'd never visited this area, and hadn't even heard of Algorfa until he saw a photo of the old village square and decided that this was the place he wanted to live and work.
If you think that this sounds like some dippy expat who doesn't stand a chance of making it in business in Spain, then you couldn't be more wrong. After 7 years in business, Mail Point is going from strength to strength, at a time when other businesses - particularly expat businesses - are folding with depressing regularity.
When you've been in the IT business for 40 years, you don't just branch out into the unknown on a whim, and Dave identified a need in Algorfa for a reliable computer repairs and maintenance service with IT solutions. Also, because the village is located inland from the coast, it doesn't turn into a ghost town in November. The client potential is year-round.
While he was looking for a business to buy, Dave recognised that he could also fulfill another need. It can take up to two years for the Ayuntamiento in Algorfa to recognise new urbanisations, and there was a lot of building still going on 7 years ago. Until the urbanisations were recognised, the residents couldn't receive deliveries from Correos, so all you could do was queue up in the Post Office for the hour it was open to the public, and hope the Postmistress would look for your mail, rather than glance at the pigeon holes and say 'Nada,' as if she had Superman's x-ray vision.
Dave could have bought an existing mail service, but the price was eye-watering so, as he says, 'I was arrogant enough to believe I could set up something superior for a fraction of the cost of buying an existing business.' That 'arrogance' has paid off handsomely.
Even though most of the urbanisations have now got their own post boxes, many people - myself included - would still rather pay the modest 7 Euro monthly fee to ensure that our mail is safe until we can collect it - particularly when friends and relatives send presents from England, or we order from Amazon or other online stores.
And if your parcel is going to Mail Point, you don't have to wait in all day when you could be on the beach or having lunch with friends. It's not all about profits, it's about providing a service, which is why Dave offers a one-off acceptance service for just 2 Euro. If you want to send something over from the UK and avoid the cost of bringing it on the so-called 'budget' airlines, or if you need to order online when you get here, the 2 Euro cost covers acceptance of the parcel and storage for up to one month.
Another great service offered by Mail Point is the facility to have new and old tapes transferred to CD or DVD. It's not as expensive as you might think, either, with prices starting at just 7.50. A couple of years ago, I was chosen to appear with members of my belly dancing class in Algorfa's fiesta. Tony filmed the performance - which wasn't bad, although I say so myself - and Dave transerred it to DVD, with a picture of Yours Truly on the front, in full shimmy mode.
I felt a bit like a film star when I picked up the finished article, and that's another great thing about Mail Point. Dave and his assistant, Tracy, make everyone feel welcome, and they'll go the extra mile to help you - whatever it is you need. They've been asked where to get a watch cleaned and repaired, and where to buy a rosary, among other things. In the unlikely event that Dave or Tracy can't answer your question, they'll probably know someone who can, so over the years, Mail Point has built a reputation as Algorfa's unofficial information service.
With so many people passing through every day, I asked Dave if anyone had ever really surprised or shocked him. It's only happened once up to now, when a customer said, 'I know that voice - it's Dave Allen, isn't it?' It turned out the lady in question had worked for Dave back in Southampton, in the early 1980s. As Dave says, 'I'm thinner on top, and thicker around the middle, but the voice is the same as it was 30 years ago.'
So is the friendly manner and the commitment to customer service. If you're in Algorfa, call into Mail Point and take a look at the services on offer. You'll receive a warm welcome from Dave and Tracy - and you may even stumble across a long-lost friend or colleague!
