THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508030240
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 53 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK
DATELINE: SOUTHERN SHORES LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
It was the visitor's 40th birthday, and swooping over the Outer Banks with the family in a rented biplane was a pretty good way to celebrate.
But it got even better.
As the pilot surreptitiously hovered over his vacation home in Corolla, the flabbergasted man looked down into a huge crowd gathered on the beach. The group clutched bouquets of balloons and hoisted banners and handmade signs, waving furiously and wishing the man a happy birthday.
``He said it was the greatest moment of his life, and this is a man who has had an incredible career,'' said Pamela Price, beaming at her recollection of the man's reaction. ``I was so excited, it gave me the chills.''
She wasn't there, but Price heard all about it: She arranged the event from beginning to end.
As the owner of ``. . . At Your Service,'' Price has molded the oldest baby-sitting business on the Outer Banks into a catch-all, you-want-it-you-got-it service that effectively fills the cracks in the area's burgeoning tourist trade.
``She meets a lot of unique needs,'' Angie Daniels, public relations director for the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, said of Price. Daniels added that the business is the only one of its kind recommended by the chamber. ``We get a lot of good comments about her. It's a very good service.''
When she bought the seven-year-old company from former owner Dee Shepherd, it was primarily a summer-only child care and house cleaning service.
Using the business' sound reputation as a jumping-off point, Price opened shop at her Southern Shores home year-round, kept her ear to the phone and let the service take its natural course.
What's evolved is not just a robust baby-sitting business, but also a delivery, housekeeping, grocery shopping, linen and elder-care service.
And then some.
Price recalled one woman who called from Michigan, saying that a cat belonging to her sister in Hatteras had been run over and that the sister was devastated.
At the woman's request, Price hired someone to pick out a suitable replacement kitten from the shelter and deliver it to the sister.
``She was thrilled,'' Price said of the cat lover's response.
One of Price's favorite jobs was stocking a honeymoon cottage with romantic luxuries for the new bride at the behest of the groom: flowers on the bed, chocolates on the pillow, refrigerator filled with local gourmet specialties, a bottle of chilled champagne.
Bingo - another pleased customer.
With a degree in teaching and eight years of public relations experience, Price said she is not only used to working with people but that she also enjoys it immensely. Model-pretty and meticulously groomed, with a soft, infectious laugh and warm, bordering on perky voice, it's easy to see why perfect strangers trust her with their homes and children.
But she's also a good businesswoman, said one of her clients.
``She works really hard, and she's a go-getter,'' said Jan Worthington, a Richmond physician who vacations annually on the Outer Banks.
Worthington said Price shops for two weeks worth of food, puts it away, and sets up the vacation home with daily essentials before she arrives. The service also does the housekeeping and baby-sits Worthington's two children.
``They have never sent out anyone who isn't capable. It just always works out, much to my delight,'' Worthington said. ``If anything happened to that company, I'd really be in trouble.''
Problems have been few so far, Price said, crediting a ``very, very qualified'' staff.
She could recall only one disappointed client: A request for a bellydancer didn't pan out because, although Price found one, she was seven months pregnant.
``She said, 'I'll do it, but I don't think I'll be very attractive,' '' Price said.
No one has ever asked for anything ``X-rated,'' she added. ``That's one place I draw the line. We try to please everyone - up to a point.''
Business, meanwhile, ``has grown dramatically,'' but baby-sitting still makes up the bulk of the service, with many of Price's clients coming from referrals or repeat business.
Price believes her connections in the community are reassuring to parents seeking some child-free vacation time, in addition to the stringent screening process that she puts her 50 or so employees through before hiring them.
Only one sitter had to be replaced on a job, and that was because the mother felt the ``chemistry'' wasn't right, Price said. Most customers, she said, have been very pleased.
But when pressed, Price did acknowledge there's a downside to the business. She said she gets frustrated when she can't meet last-minute requests, and she worries if people are happy with her more off-beat, creative jobs.
``I'm not a perfectionist,'' Price said. ``But I like everything to be perfect.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by CATHERINE KOZAK
``. . . At Your Service,'' owner Pamela Price has molded the
baby-sitting business into a you-want-it-you-got-it service.
by CNB