Many reputable companies still struggle with getting employees to display proper customer service, and the fight is even greater for small businesses which often cannot afford the higher cost of hiring trained workers.

But with good customer service playing a vital role in the growth of many small businesses, no one knows the importance of getting employees to always put customers first than David Tapper, proprietor of Fyah Side Jerk Centre in Toll Gate, Clarendon.

Despite the threat of crime in Clarendon, customers to this eatery along Toll gate in Clarendon not only come for the tasty jerk pork, chicken, fish and soup but also for the good customer service.

According to Tapper, his way of ensuring that customer service is always at the top of the menu comes from leading by example.

“I still make sure that I spend as much time as possible there to serve customers and lead by example and to also observe the staff interaction with customers,” Tapper told Sunday Finance.

As such, although the business provides employment to some 12 persons, Tapper said he always ensures that he is there working from Sunday to Sunday.

“I still season the meat myself with my special mix of seasoning,” he said.

Trained HEART graduates, he said, will often look more towards larger companies like hotels for employment, leaving small businesses like his to resort to training persons on the job.

In fact Tapper said he never employs someone with previous experience in jerking meat, but prefers to train persons from scratch.

“That way I am able to get someone to see things through my eyes and to do it how I want it done,” he said.

Given the challenges faced by small businesses in securing financing and sourcing raw material, Tapper is ever aware that if his business is to survive he has to have a heart for entrepreneurship.

When most youngsters were spending their summer holidays having fun, Tapper was busy working in his parents’ supermarket in preparation for the day that he would establish his own.

And so although the 36-year-old diligently completed his studies in finance at University of Technology, his vision never shifted from starting a business of his own.

Therefore when an acre and three quarters plot of land became available for sale along the main road in Toll Gate, Clarendon he knew this would be the ideal location for the eatery, a business he built from scratch and which has evolved in one of the most visited jerk centre in that parish.

In fact, Tapper would not settle for just a regular jerk centre, instead creating a niche in that rural parish which often pull customers from as far as Kingston to indulge in the tasty menu.

As he observed customers sitting around the counter of the huge wood fire with its sizzling jerk chicken and pork, Tapper said the idea came to him to name the venue Fyah Side.

Tapper said he had initially intended to use the venue to operate a car mart but later changed his mind after he recognised the greater potential for an eatery.

“The first year was the worst getting a business out of the ground without money,” he told Sunday Finance, pointing to the challenges to get financial institutions to initially buy into a business plan.

“Before I started business here, there was nothing except bush and trees,” he said, adding “every inch of what you see here I helped to put it together over time,” he said.

What started three years and two months ago as a small jerk pit with Tapper being the only chef continues to not only provide employment to many, but offers a market to scores of farmers who supply hundred of thousands of dollars worth of meat and ground provision.

Tapper said among the challenges he now faces is the difficulty to source good quality pork since he buys as much as eight pigs each week.

“I don’t buy from backyard people because someone who is raising one or two pigs won’t provide the quality that can be passed by the health inspector,” he explained.

As such he sometimes has to travel as far as St Elizabeth to purchase pigs.

As for the sourcing of other goods, Tapper said he makes his purchases in bulk.

Tapper who is always looking at ways to further expand the business, said it did not take long for him to expand the jerk pit into a pool hall and bar with booth type seating for persons to sit comfortably and enjoy a meal. With still room for further expansions, Tapper said he plans to branch off into renting the venue for parties and weddings.

A sprawling dwelling next door the business which is still under construction, doubles as Tapper’s home and another opportunity for business since he says he hopes to be able to branch off into offering short term accommodations in the near future.

With very few places for entire families to go out, Tapper said he hopes to fill that niche with the offering of a family friendly venue.

“I like to go and hang out without the vulgarity so that is the part of the market that I am catering to,” he said

Tapper is aware that crime has impacted many a businesses, especially in Clarendon, and believes his customer base would have been even bigger was it not for this.

“We have a lot of passer by customers who are fearful to stop in Clarendon,” Tapper said

He explained that he also has to hire uniformed security for the nights when he hosts live events at the venue.