Oct. 14, 2007 — Broken washer, dryer, refrigerator, range, or dishwasher? On St. John that often means a call to Appliance Paul.
That would be Paul Crutchley, 36, a recent addition to the island.
"I'm usually to your house within 48 hours," he said.
Crutchley and his wife, Heather, moved to St. John in March after a short stint on St. Thomas. Like many, many transplants, they came on vacation and fell in love with the island.
"It was gorgeous," he said.
That was in April 2005. During the next year, they vacationed on St. Croix and St. Thomas before making the move in July 2006 to St. Thomas. Crutchley said they initially decided to move to St. Thomas because he thought he'd find more work on that island.
But he soon found himself working on St. John several days a week thanks to referrals from an appliance store and the local air-conditioning repair company.
"And an electrician gave out my name and number. It just kind of took off," he said.
He said vacation villa managers were quick to call him to make repairs, but he said he doesn't work on high-end appliances like Vikings and Gaggenaus that are popular at the pricier vacation villas.
Crutchley said that Whirlpools are the most popular among St. John appliance owners, so he keeps a lot of those parts in stock.
Otherwise, customers may have to wait for a parts shipment from the mainland, which can take two weeks.
"That can be very frustrating for vacation villas," he said.
Crutchley said that other than parts supplies, the frustrations are few.
Crutchley's been fixing appliances for 17 years. After graduation from high school in his native New Hampshire, he kicked around at college for a semester. That wasn't for him, so he took his father up on an offer to teach him the appliance repair trade. His father was living in Phoenix, Ariz., so off he went to the Southwest.
That was back in 1990, and Crutchley soon started his own appliance repair business. He then worked for other appliance services in New Hampshire.
He said he and his wife are enjoying their time on St. John, spending time with friends and dining out.
"And going to the beach," he said.
Call Appliance Paul at 690-5213.
