Parow Dealer on Top

The Hino SA Dealer of the Year title has gone to the Cape for the first time with the laurels for 2014 going to Hino Parow. Dealer principal Wouter Nel is justifiably very proud of his team which has broken the stranglehold dealers outside the Cape have had on this coveted title for many years.

“This was also a clear cut win by the enthusiastic team in Parow,” commented the Vice President of Hino SA, Ernie Trautmann. “The figures on the score sheets do not tell the whole story though as this dealer’s passion and dedication to the truck business and its customers is evident in its wholehearted support for our latest Hino Total Support programme.”

Not only did Hino Parow score 99% in both the parts and service categories of this annual dealer competition, but it was also judged the winner of the President’s Award for providing the Best Customer Experience for the third successive year.

The runner-up for the Dealer of the Year title was Hino West Rand, which sold an impressive 240 units last year and had an overall Customer Experience score of 98%.

Hino Parow has been in the Hino truck dealer network for 21 years, when it was then known as Imperial Toyota Trucks. It has been located at the current premises, on the corner of Jan Van Riebeeck and Epping Avenues, Elsies River Industria, for the past 18 years. Last year the facility underwent an upgrading process that cost R2-million. It now complies with all the Hino SA corporate identity and operational criteria.

The facility is on a site covering 8 000m2 with half the area under roof. It has 16 work bays and a technical team of 18 including seven technicians, five of whom are qualified Masters, while there are three Master Service Advisors too.

Hino Parow is a full service dealership, with sales of new and used trucks, parts and service. The parts stockholding of almost R2-million is the largest of any Hino dealer in the Western Cape and the dealership acts as a parts supply hub for many smaller dealers.

Servicing is available on Saturday mornings and at other times outside normal working hours by arrangement to suit a customer’s needs. Parts and service team members are available 24/7 to assist with breakdowns and emergency repairs, all as part of the overall focus on ensuring top class customer satisfaction.

Although the dealership serves a number of large fleets, including several in the Imperial Group, its main sales focus is on smaller businesses and individuals, including farmers. Customer retention is very high as one would expect from a company which focuses so much on the customer experience.

Dealer principal Wouter Nel has been in the Toyota SA/Hino SA family for 40 years from the time he started his working life as an apprentice technician at ESS Toyota in Christiana in 1976. He has concentrated on trucks since 2009 and took over as head of Hino Parow six years ago.

Nel’s emphasis on training is important and makes sure his team members undergo all the necessary Hino SA and RMI training courses as well as those which focus on matters such as health and safety.

“This year we will be putting in extra effort to improve sales and service in the extra-heavy category of the market with the Hino 700-Series range, which now offers a comprehensive model line-up,” added Nel. “But we will still be driven by our unofficial company motto which says ‘Business goes where it is invited and stays where it is well treated.’”