Taupō & Tūrangi Weekender's thumbs up and thumbs down, January 20

Every week, Taupō & Tūrangi Weekender readers submit their thumbs-ups and thumbs-downs. Photo / Getty Images

Thumbs Up

■ A huge thumbs up and thank you to the staff at Mitre 10 Taupō. I needed assistance with purchasing an outdoor umbrella recently and the only stand available to fit was a 40kg marble one. The staff were outstanding in ensuring my purchase was not going to cause me any damage from getting everything into the trolley, into my car and one member calling in on his way home from work to install it. I was extremely grateful, well done Mitre 10.

■ To whom it may concern for making improvements to the signage and detour configurations concerning the roundabout being built on Napier Rd. Great to see suggestions were considered and acted on.

■To the contractors who pick up the rubbish and recycling especially at this time of year when there is so much more than normal. Well done and thank you all.

■ To the lovely couple that helped us on January 3 at the Hole in One when our ute broke down. You were amazing and so helpful, you were on electric scooters but offered to go back to your house in Wharewaka to get your vehicle to take us to where we were going. Thank you so much.

■To Will at Torpedo 7 who we recently dealt with twice while we were in the store. He was great, well informed about the store's products and he took time to give us great camping gear advice. He was very pleasant to deal with, a great guy.

■To Pops at the Paetiki Shops for winning best coffee in Taupō and for providing me a cool place to sit in the back of your shop when I had heat stroke. The icecream sundae and iced coffee you gave me certainly cooled me down fast, and I enjoyed the chat. Kind and delicious, thank you.

■To the swimmer at the Alberta St boat ramp who helped us get the rope tangled around our boat propeller off. Really appreciate your help!

■To "David Hasselhoff II" who rescued a mother and 18-month-old child from the river on January 9. Your quick-thinking action inevitably saved another tragedy.

■To those who provided and offered help when I foolishly locked my keys and wallet in the boot of my car while parked at Pak 'n' Save on a hot afternoon. My grateful thanks to the young lady who offered to run me home and to Cameron the Pak 'n' Save "trolley man" who was so supportive and organised the AA Emergency service to unlock my car. Top people all of you.

Thumbs Down

■To many of the cafes in Taupō. Please can you bake a decent muffin? When looking for a blueberry or raspberry muffin you'd be lucky to find one with a berry in it. Three raspberries on top don't cut the mustard and if you're supplying butter with your berry muffin you're saying "it's going to be dry". Once upon a time, you could find a delicious, fruit-filled, moist muffin.

Do you have a bouquet or a brickbat? Email your thumbs up/thumbs down to us at news@taupoweekender.co.nz, message Taupō Weekender on Facebook or drop them into our office upstairs at 4 Starlight Arcade, Taupō. Thumbs up/thumbs down may be edited or abridged. Personal attacks or thumbs down that refer to easily-identifiable people, businesses or groups won't be published.