TIME TESTED

Derrick’s Watch Repair Has Been Keeping Lake Charles On Time For 30 Years

By Todd C. Elliott

For three decades, the steady tick of watches has filled a small shop in Lake Charles, where a quiet craftsman has made a life out of precision and patience. Behind the counter sits a man whose hands, though marked by disability, have restored thousands of timepieces to working order. 

His story, however, is not without hardship. Just three years after opening his shop, Derrick’s Watch Repair owner Derrick Cooper faced a harrowing test of courage. An armed robber stormed his store, forever changing how he viewed both his work and his community.

Yet he showed resilience and grit, choosing not to close his doors but to keep time moving forward. He is the watchman of Lake Charles.

“July of 1995 is when I opened, but after three years in business, I was robbed at gunpoint in my shop,” said Cooper, 59. “I was 29 years old then, and I was full of hope that I would stay in business for 30 years, long enough to retire. But the robbery changed the way I do business. 

“The robbery was something I wasn’t prepared for. This guy came into my shop as a customer, in the middle of the day, and jumped up on my counter and pointed a gun at me. From that point on, I have always kept a trained dog in the shop with me for protection.”

Since then, Cooper has always had a watchdog in the shop. The irony of having a “watch” dog in a watch repair shop is not lost on him. He considered changing the canine’s title to “guard” dog in an attempt to sound more serious. But to this day, 30 years later, the sign in the store still stands: “ATTENTION ALL CUSTOMERS PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT WITH THE WATCHDOG.”

Faithful customers of Derrick’s Watch Repair know about the watchdogs over the years, and that Derrick does not accept credit cards. He has for three decades only accepted cash and checks. Like a small business anomaly, he remains in business on W. Prien Lake Road without the use of a credit card machine. That’s something Derrick may be rethinking after all this time on his watch.

“By not accepting credit cards, it’s been less hassle over the years, one less thing to worry about,” he said. “I don’t lose customers, but I may lose a sale from time to time. I’m about to start accepting credit cards.”

Derrick should be accepting credit cards this year or next, and that may be welcome news for customers, whether they’ve been visiting the shop the last 30 years or the last 30 seconds.

Amazingly enough, Cooper is busier than a smart watch as his business is largely driven by referrals and word of mouth. Corporate jewelry giants, who sell watches in the Prien Lake Mall have been sending customers to Derrick’s Watch Repair since Cooper first opened. He cuts out the factory middleman. The only recourse that watch repair customers may have is that of sending their timepiece to the factory, which can sometimes take weeks or even months. 

“I don’t work on smart watches,” he said. “But I’m getting a lot of smart watch users who are tired of their smart watch always alerting them. Tired of the miniature computer on their wrist. A lot of people now are deciding to just go back to their old watch or watches.”

Cooper said that in the old watch department, he gets a lot of business based on sentimentality. He sees a lot of heirloom watches or hand-me-down wristwatches; those are a steady part of his business. In a way, the old watches of a parent, grandparent or loved one are symbols, a marker of time that reminds the wearer of the time spent, the time lost and the time that will come to be. 

While memory may not stop it’s ticking, if the watch stops, Cooper is the man.

“I guess I’ve been lucky for 30 years, because as far as watch repair, I’m it,” he said. “I think one thing that I’ve learned is that good customer service goes and long way. That’s what people really appreciate.”

Though he’s been disabled since the age of 15, time appears to be on Cooper’s side. A tragic car accident claimed the use of his legs, but not his hands or mind. He persevered and graduated from Sulphur High School in 1984. He then moved to Texas, where he underwent aptitude tests that recommended, based on his background of taking things apart in his youth, watch repair for a trade. Derrick said that in his youth he enjoyed taking apart guns and cleaning them.

Every customer of Derrick’s Watch Repair knows that from time to time, Cooper won’t charge for small jobs. When asked about this, he simply replied. “It always comes back around.” 

Much like the hands of a watch come back around repeatedly, so do the customers. 

For multiple generations now, Cooper has found the time to make his customers day.