Business View Caribbean | August 2022

61 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 8 AQUAR IUS CAR I BBEAN to explain over and over to your client that it is going to take longer because people are sick with COVID, or because there are no materials, or because we have big price increases so we have to wait, or because shipments are not coming in. So, I would say in the last half of 2021, that was a difficult discussion.” As the public has become more aware of these ongoing challenges van Lieshout suggests that clients are better prepared for what is coming and are again showing more patience with delays. With the majority of builds being residential, Aquarius Caribbean has many clients from the Netherlands, Europe, and North America who are building second homes, retirement homes, and investment rental properties. To keep these clients updated on their projects, some properties are equipped with cameras, one even offering a time lapse video showing the entire build in two minutes. Zoom and Skype are also used to keep people up to date on the progress. Europe and America was one way in which the company was able to manage these material shortages and price increases. Van Lieshout relays, “We look for materials we can buy ourselves, so that we aren’t depending on the hardware stores here. Just to be prepared, we are buying in bigger amounts so that we have a little bit of stock and we don’t fall short on materials when we start a new project now.” Sourcing goods as soon as possible is another way in which Aquarius Caribbean attempts to avoid shipping delays, which can be costly to the job and aggravating for the customer. With lingering supply and price issues, van Lieshout remains optimistic, although there are times it has been frustrating for everyone. She admits, “The projects that we had in the COVID period were all finished later than we anticipated. Of course, in the beginning, there was understanding from the client, but once COVID faded out a little bit, the understanding of the client also went away. It is very difficult