8 May 2008
Johannesburg — THE Midrand/Selby dealership caused something of a stir at the annual Toyota Trucks convention held in Cape Town recently when it was announced it had won the company's Dealer of the Year award for the second year running. Doing the "double" is not easy, but the dealer principal of the winning dealership for 2006 and 2007, Johan Kruger, says he used the 2006 title as a motivator to his staff to encourage them to try and improve standards even further in 2007 ... and it worked!
"We analysed the results of the 2006 Pyramid of Excellence scoring so that we could strengthen our weak areas for the 2007 evaluation and I am sure this proved a winning strategy," explained the proud dealer principal, who heads up a team of 43 people in his split dealership and is also the elected chairman of the National Dealer Council for Toyota Trucks.
"We used the April evaluation of our dealership operations as a radar screen to highlight possible problem areas that need attention and then focused on these items before the final Dealer of the Year scoring takes place in October/November."
All the team members in the winning dealership, which operates from the large McCarthy Toyota dealership complex in Midrand as well as having a dedicated truck centre in Selby, in the Johannesburg CBD, focus on building relationships with their colleagues as well as their external customers.
"Teamwork is paramount and we can't afford to have a weak link or to carry 'passengers'," said Kruger. "On a personal front I enjoy excellent support from McCarthy senior management. "
Kruger says he sets great store by continual measurement of all aspects of his operation by using a variety of research tools, including the quarterly Scott Byers survey of most players in the local truck industry. He is also very supportive of all the relevant training courses offered by Toyota Trucks and the internal courses devised specifically for the McCarthy group.
"I am particularly keen on those courses that pertain to improving customer satisfaction, as satisfied customers are the real key to making a success of our business."
Besides being set very challenging sales targets by Toyota Trucks for 2007 the team at McCarthy Toyota Trucks - Midrand/Selby achieved 94% of its Dyna target and exceeded its Hino target with 107%.
Added to sales success is the all-important, independent customer satisfaction measurement of sales, service and parts. The company shone in all departments in this measurement too, achieving 97.37% for sales (up from 94,2% a year previously), 95,87% for service (slightly down on the score of 97% in 2006) and 95,05% for parts (up from 93,3% a year earlier).
The overall CSI rating for 2007 was an outstanding 96,09% compared to a national average of 91,7%. (All these measurements are made in relation to meeting customer expectations).
However, all these achievements cannot be made at the expense of profit, which is another Dealer of the Year yardstick. "It's a balancing act where we strive to absorb overhead costs through profit in parts and service, while investing time and effort in satisfying our customers' needs," explained Kruger.
McCarthy Toyota Trucks - Midrand/Selby is growing so fast that the dealerships are bursting out of their present premises. Plans have been drawn up already for new premises near the current site in Midrand, with a new facility in Selby planned for erection in two years' time. The major benefit will be in trebling the servicing capacity.
"We are certainly not going to become complacent now .
"The target I am now setting for my team is to make it a 'hat-trick' with a third consecutive trophy," said a smiling Kruger.
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