11-05-2025
Interacting with readers a highlight for street vendors
The Herald's street vendors are a familiar sight throughout Nelson Mandela Bay — and they love it when customers make their day with a joke or some wise words.
Romano Dickenson, 38, of Helenvale, has been a vendor since a very young age and said the favourite part of his job was what he learnt from people who stopped to buy a copy of the newspaper from him where he operates in the northern areas of Cleary Estate and Salsoneville.
'The best part of my job is meeting different people and communicating with them. It's often like a motivational speech,' he said with a big grin.
'Of course, you do get some grumpy people sometimes who are not having a good day perhaps.
'But mainly I just love it when people try to make my day by making me laugh or telling me something that gets me going and motivates me.'
His colleague, Alvero Louwskieter, 29, who used to be a vendor at the Cleary Park taxi rank but now works in delivery, agreed with him.
'I just love the interaction with people,' he said, adding that he first started vending some 10 years ago.
The Herald
