Business houses have increasingly begun to identify new strategies for success, and often for mere survival.

In the swirl of new-age sophisticated business paradigms, even family businesses have gravitated to a realisation that loyalty to a product can be shortlived.

And more and more, business relationships have become dependent upon price, perks and deals, rather than a solid handshake of a trusted friend.

The general manager of Metro Mineral Water & Trading Company Ltd., Mrs. Dora Spring, can tell you about loyalty. The 59-year old matriarch of a family business that began in 1928 on Reid Street, she has known no other job, no other business.

Metro Mineral Water & Trading Company Ltd. on Hermitage Road, Devonshire, is "the other firm'' in the oligopoly of Bermuda's soft drink business. It's a firm that Mrs. Spring was president of for a number of years, before relinquishing the office to her son, Paul, last year.

The company is reflecting on options for diversification after a long-running, and not so secret, corporate rivalry with John Barritt & Son Ltd., to keep Metro with adequate market share.

Mrs. Spring is, by her own admission, not one who is used to the glare of the spotlight. Initially, in denying a request for this interview, she repeatedly told us that she is a person who best works in the background. She is a behind-the-scenes, in-the-trenches corporate type who prefers to roll up her sleeves and get the grudge work completed.

She was not eager to discuss industry divisions, even though it is widely known that Metro needs "a David'' to lead the company against "the Goliath'' that Barritt's has become.

Metro is the Island distributor for Pepsi. Barritt's is the Island distributor for Coke. But distributorship has not meant exclusivity.

You would think that Metro would get a "cut'' out of every Pepsi sold in Bermuda. They don't. Mrs. Spring wants regulatory muscle to protect companies, like hers, that have franchise rights over a product.

She said,"There is somebody else who is bringing in Pepsi, through a broker, even though we have the franchise for Pepsi. No one else is supposed to bring that product in.

"But there is no law in Bermuda to stop it. The powers that be, do not stop it, although we've made it clear that we hold the franchise. It is not the only product that is being brought into the Island without the consent of the company that holds the franchise.

"A lot of it is about respect. We don't bring in Coke. We know the franchise is with Barritt's. They don't bring in Pepsi, because they know we hold the franchise. We respect each other's position.

"We have the franchise for another soft drink, Clearly Canadian, but we can't stop MarketPlace from bringing it in. Bermuda does not have a law to protect you.'' If supermarket presence translates into a higher profile amd better sales, Mrs. Spring said that the company has not yet been able to convince all grocery stores to set aside substantial space for Metro products.

The shelf space dilemma is compounded by the fact that supermarkets have also brought in other soft drink products for sale at competitive prices. The soft drink squeeze has been so pronounced that the price of the average can has actually dropped in Bermuda in recent years. The consumer will never complain about that.

There are times when you can see the general manager of the small, family-run company of 28 employees, trucking crates of soft drinks to their customers.

Mrs. Spring admits she has raised more than a few eyebrows. But it doesn't bother her.

"I know some people think that as a woman, and I suppose at my age, especially with the position I have in the company, that I should not be doing that. But I thank God that I can continue to do it.

"We must always put our customers first. And if there is no one else to make the deliveries, then it falls to me. It doesn't bother me. I've been doing it all my life. I'm from the old school. You do what has to be done.

"It doesn't happen regularly, but it is always an opportunity to get out and talk directly with the customers, to keep in touch with them. You know, it doesn't matter whether someone is a 20-case customer or a two case customer, they must be serviced properly. It's important to me.'' Mrs. Spring is concerned about the declining level of loyalty in business, whether it is in bilateral business relationships or between employer and employee.

She regrets seeing more people trying to get away with whatever they can get away with, not just in Bermuda, but worldwide.

"I love to work. I like to see things getting done. I think we have some good staff. But I have also seen those who think they are doing you a favour by coming to work.'' She has been officially with the company for some 40 years, after taking over from her sister for what was supposed to be just three months. But before that, as a child, she always worked with her father, the late Mr. Herbert G.A.

Stirling, after he had started the business from scratch.

The family business was one she learned from the ground floor up. "As a little girl, I was making crates for the bottles. Today a young girl may be watching television after school. In my day, your parents had you out working with them. I was probably younger than 10 years old.'' She was in her late teens when she took on a "temporary'' job, replacing her sister in the business office. She has worked throughout the company, doing jobs of all descriptions.

Her foundation in the family business came from her father, partly because he didn't drive motor vehicles. Mrs. Spring was happy to be chauffeur for her father, and was by his side when he conducted his business.

"I was always working close to my father. He was president and my brother, Sonny, was vice president. But I used to see things that needed to be done and do them myself. I was involved.

"I never worried about titles and still don't today. I was working in accounts receivables at night, while working in the factory during the day.'' "My father died in 1984. I had been doing the president's job at that point, although I wasn't president officially. My brother Harcourt was eventually made president and I became the vice president. After a couple of years, we switched positions.'' She worked through the pregnancy of her four children, three of whom work in the family business. Apart from company president, Paul, there are also David and Candace who work in accounts. Another daughter, Cathy, works in the travel business.

Mrs. Spring sees herself easing back a little from what used to commonly be 12-hour days. She said that they are not so common anymore. But she does not foresee retirement as an option in the forseeable future.