Anyone who visits the watch repair kiosk at the downtown Bay knows Allan Danylyshyn.
The watch technician’s quick wit and self-deprecating humour has made him a well-known personality and downtown fixture for the last 17 years.
Even those walking by aren’t safe from his jokes.
“If I have no customers, I will yell out to people, ‘hey, bring me your watch to fix.’ If they say ‘it works,’ I’ll tell them, ‘I can fix that,’” Danylyshyn says with a smile.
“I have a very strong and devoted group of customers who have told me I’m not allowed to retire and my wife says that too. She doesn’t want me (at home).”
The funny man is also a downtown ambassador, finding lost tourists and “telling them where to go” for almost 20 years.
Danylyshyn sees all kinds of watches from cheap plastics to expensive brands and knock-offs; the most expensive, worth $45,000. He’s also helped customers discover that a supposed high-end watch is a fake or the $5 knock-off from a second hand store is the real thing.
He loves what he does and kibbitzing with the public.
“I don’t do standup because I prefer sitting down,” Danylyshyn quips. “I have a very small repertoire of jokes so if you come every year or two to get your watch battery fixed, you’ve heard it all.”