Nostalgia: Hub Bijsterveld : Cheese & wine after a career solving consumer complaints
Hub Bijsterveld
Harare, Zimbabwe – I note Hub Bijsterveld's memorial (09 February) in the Newsletter. Just a snippet about him.
He was one of the best, if not the best chemist in the whole of the worldwide Bata Shoe Organisation. We used to have regular annual "Chemeets" in various parts of the world for our Chemists and Hub stood out at these "meets".
Quite often BSO chemists from around the world would phone him for advice which he readily gave.
Whenever we received a complaint from a customer – for example, a faulty sole, on a pair of Toughees, which had a six months’ guarantee – I would approach Hub. Even if it was obvious that the shoe had been abused by the boy using the shoes as brakes for his bicycle, in his inimitable way he would say "leave it with me". It was a challenge for him. A few days later he would bring me a new pair of shoes as a replacement.
After his retirement he moved to Harare and extended an open invitation to me to join him after five for "kaas en wyn". We spent many afternoons on his veranda reminiscing about the good old days, trying out various wines.
Showing Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith around the Bata Gwelo factory.
His service record with the Bata Company
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