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Peace-of-mind in the Deal

Let's be honest. The arrival of new players in South Africa soon after the 1994 elections created an enormous amount of excitement in our local truck industry. As FleetWatch stated at the time, truckers were like kids in a candy store surrounded by a huge choice of new and colourfully wrapped packages.

This excitement was tempered over the years as operators found that the contents of the parcels did not exactly match the promises that the brightly wrapped packages held. This culminated last year in the demise of Swedish Truck Distributors which left many operators in the lurch.

It's perhaps because of all this that one gets a feeling of comfort when dealing with the familiar. Sure, Toyota didn't offer as bright a package as did the newcomers - except when it took on the Peterbilt franchise only to later give both the parcel and the wrappings back - but behind the scenes it was chipping away at making a come-back. And the time for that come-back has now arrived in the form of the Hino Super F-Series truck range.

Unlike some of the new arrivals which rocketed into this market with promises of great things to come, Toyota has followed what might seem to some as a conservative route. In other words, it has done its homework and prepared its people and its infrastructure before making any noises about its product. Of particular note is the attention the company has paid to training its people to ensure customer satisfaction is achieved and sustained from purchase through to disposal.

As customer and dealer support manager Hennie de Villiers states: "If we are serious about superior customer satisfaction, we need to recognise that the foundation for success rests squarely on the shoulders of our staff. It is our human resource potential that can give us the competitive marketing advantage."

Putting its money where its mouth is

Nice words but without action they remain just that - nice words. Toyota SA Trucks has put its money where its mouth is as evidenced by the training lead-up to the introduction of the new Hino Super F-series truck range.

A senior technical instructor, Kobus van Schalkwyk, was assigned to a four-week special mentorship course at the Hino technical training centre in Japan during November 1999. Utilising this transfer of technical know-how, new Super F-series training courses have already been conducted for technical and parts people.

A world-class, fully equipped, technical training centre is situated at the Toyota SA Trucks head office in Wynberg. In addition, technical training is conducted in the field at the premises of fleet owners to match specific user requests arising from operating conditions. The training budget for the new Hino Super F-series alone exceeds R800 000 and that training has already been set in stone for the year ahead.

Consider this: 15 sales courses, nine parts courses and 40 technical training course are to be held nationally. The technical training courses will include fleet owner training. Also on the cards is a regional and national skills competition as well as driver evaluations and training. And that's not all

Investments in special tools, computer microfiche and equipment, have also preceded the launch of the Super F-series. The powertrain of the new Hino models has taken up an additional investment of R5-million by both Toyota SA Trucks and the national dealer body in delivering the promise of high quality service.

Service facilities, special tools, parts, people, information technology, training, systems and processes have all been geared up to match customers expectations of the new Hino range. Through parts and service, Toyota SA Trucks are concentrating on the most important element of truck marketing, the promise of customer satisfaction.

Of course, delivery on promises must be carried throughout the 63 strategically situated Toyota truck dealers which support the trucks users of southern Africa at a district level. This in turn means that 63 qualified parts managers, assisted by 180 parts sales people, interpret the needs of Hino customers every day. An annual budget exceeding R1 million is allocated for training of technicians, parts and fleet owner personnel each year.

When it comes to parts, Toyota SA Trucks has an investment of over R30 million in truck parts. According to the company, current parts availability supply rates exceed 96%, while monthly pricing audits ensure that the price of parts offer value for money. Price auditing consists of benchmarking parts prices against a competitive basket of parts. Further value is added in terms of the Toyota warranty of 12 months for all parts used in services conducted at Toyota and Hino dealers.

The familiar may not be as exciting as the new but you've got to admit, it does impart a sort of peace-of-mind feeling to the deal.