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A dedicated, loyal, and long-serving team, once again, proved a winning recipe for Motus Group truck dealer, Hino Parow, in the annual Hino Dealer of the Year contest.
This dealership, established 27 years ago, brought this coveted title to the Western Cape for the first time in 2014 and is still the only Hino dealer in that province to have achieved this honour.
“I am the youngest serving member of our management team, having been at Hino Parow for only 12 years, which shows what a well-established team we have to serve a growing number of customers,” Wouter Nel, the dealer principal, who has concentrated on the truck side of the retail business since 2009, explained.
His motor industry experience goes back to 1976 when he joined ESS Toyota in Christiana in 1976.
“It is a privilege to lead such a strong team and I am proud to say that we did not set up any special committee or plan to regain the dealer of the year crown in 2019. There were also no major changes to the premises where we have been located for the past 24 years, other than an upgrade in 2013. It has been a case of ‘business as usual’, with our people and their positive attitude towards providing an exceptional customer service being the winning factor,” he said.
Hino Parow had an outstanding 2019, starting with achieving 104% of their Hino sales target, and 101% or the target for the parts department. Importantly, their customer experience ratings were 98.4% for sales, an astonishing 99.30% for service and 99.17% for parts. Interestingly the company also recorded scores of 99% in both parts and service in the 2014 contest, showing that consistency is another attribute of this winning team.
On top of this the dealership won the Hino Service Marketing award as well as reaching an ECO-3 rating for environmental care, with Gold Status for each quarterly evaluation.
“Striving to provide ever higher standards of service to our customer base with an increasing level expectation is a challenge, but I am, proud that our team continues to raise the bar. We have made our positive attitude a lifestyle and culture with everybody working at Hino Parow,” explained Wouter Nel.
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 extremely high as one would expect from a company which focuses so much on the customer experience.
“This second dealer of the year success for the enthusiastic team at Hino Parow is very well deserved, Pieter Klerck, General Manager of Hino South Africa, said.
According to Klerck, “The passion of all the Hino Parow team members really shines through when one visits this dealership. They are true truck professionals and their worth is obviously valued by their customers. Hino Parow is also a dealership that has given its whole-hearted support to embracing the international Hino Total Support philosophy which focuses on building exceptional and enduring relationships between Hino South Africa, Hino Motors Japan, our dealers, suppliers and customers.”
