Dad Su's Toy Hospital & Kaohsiung Repair Café
People sometimes find throwing away beloved toys and broken household appliances difficult because they are connected with priceless memories. Therefore, they can bring them to Dad Su's Toy Hospital(蘇爸玩具醫院)and Kaohsiung Repair Café(小家電診所)that restore small home appliances. When customers happily come to pick up their repaired treasures, the repairers are filled with an immense sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
Dad Su's Toy Hospital
After "accidentally" mending one of his grandson's broken toys, a retired electronics company employee Su Sian-rong(蘇顯榮), wanted to assist other kids in repairing their toys. As a result, he founded Dad Su's Toy Hospital. Since 2017, he has restored more than 1500 toys.
His most memorable repair encounters include a customer who brought in toys that his father had given to his grandchild, following the father’s passing. The customer’s wish was to uphold his father’s memory for his child by restoring these cherished toys. Dad Su also once worked overtime to repair a toy for a child with Kanner's syndrome. The child was ecstatic when they got their favorite toy repaired.
Dad Su says repairing toys has brought tremendous meaning to his retirement. Besides fixing sentimental toys and maintaining the memories connected to them, he believes it is also an environmental business. At the Fongshan Cleaning Squad office, Dad Su offers free repair services six to ten times a year.
Kaohsiung Repair Café
Kaohsiung Repair Café has nearly 60 volunteers that assist in repairing home appliances. The Café has been open for over three years and is a community-oriented repair shop. They only charge for the parts and provide free repairs for small home appliances. Even more impressive is that they involve customers in the repair process, so they can better understand their typical usage patterns and share tips on maintaining them.
It's refreshing to see a business that truly cares about its customers and goes above and beyond to provide a valuable service.
Volunteer organizer Huang Wu(黃武)says, "The more difficult it is to find a home appliance repair shop, the more valuable we become!"
Once, they successfully restored a 70-year-old antique metal fan, which had been a customer's housewarming present. They also repaired a custom-made Buddha table lamp that the customer's mother had ordered when she was young. After replacing a small switch, the lamp instantly lit up again.
Seeing customers joyfully carrying home their appliances brings satisfaction and joy to the volunteers. They are open at varying times and have service centers in Meinong, Cishan, and Fongshan districts.
心愛的玩具和家電損壞,伴隨著回憶總讓人捨不得丟棄,「蘇爸玩具醫院」及「小家電診所」專門維修故障的玩具和小家電,當物件修好再次重生,顧客燦爛的笑容帶給他們莫大的成就感。
蘇爸玩具醫院
自電子公司退休的蘇顯榮,因偶然修好孫子壞掉的玩具,興起幫其他孩童修玩具的念頭,他成立「蘇爸玩具醫院」。自2017年迄今,蘇爸維修逾1500件玩具,談起難忘的維修經驗,他說曾有顧客將已故爺爺送給孫子的玩具送修,希望保存爺爺疼愛孫子的心意;也曾為患有肯納症的小朋友加班趕工修玩具,當孩子拿到心愛的玩具,開心不已。
蘇爸說維修玩具讓他的退休生活更有意義,除了落實環保理念,也修補主人與玩具間的回憶。蘇爸玩具醫院在鳳山清潔隊義診,一年約有6場次。
小家電診所
「小家電診所」成立3年多,近60位對維修家電有興趣的志工,懷抱服務社會的理念,免費維修小家電,只取收零件費用,與顧客一同參與維修過程,除了解平時的使用習慣外,也分享保養小家電的訣竅。
志工召集人黃武就說,「越是找不到地方修的家電,越是我們存在的價值!」曾成功修復70多年的入厝賀禮「古董金屬電扇」;還有修過客戶媽媽年輕時訂製的佛桌燈具,更換開關小零件後,佛燈再次點亮,看著客戶愉快地抱著的小家電返家,志工心中也獲得滿足與快樂。目前在美濃、旗山與鳳山皆有固定據點,定時提供服務。