Erad de Lange is a man of few words. As Dealer Principal and owner of Caledon Toyota since 2007, he is a busy man, though. The dealership is buzzing – all day, every day.
As a rich farming district, Caledon is Toyota country and it shows in the scale of the dealership, which sells a car just about every working day.
“When you walk into Caledon Toyota, you can expect to be greeted by a team of highly trained, motivated individuals all working towards the common goals of the company and dedicated to providing you with personal service excellence and efficiency,” De Lange says.
From the company’s premises at 30 Prince Alfred Rd in Caledon, the capital of the Overberg (located 110 km east of Cape Town and 70 km from Somerset West on the N2), the dealership serves the whole area – the towns of Caledon, Villiersdorp, Riviersonderend, Kleinmond and Greyton – with a staff of 38, including the panel shop.
Caledon Toyota offers the full range of new Toyota vehicles – passenger cars, SUVs and, of course, South Africa’s top-selling vehicle, the Hilux in all its shapes and forms – in its showroom as well as the Automark Certified pre-owned floor. More than just supplying trusted, reliable vehicles to tackle any situation, Caledon Toyota offers its customers unparalleled safety and performance by using genuine Toyota parts to ensure that ”once you put yourself in a Toyota, you know that you are home”.
Every month the workshop services about 350 vehicles.
To serve such a large and diverse customer base, all members of staff are encouraged to be creative and give innovative input, including intelligent risk taking. In doing so, Caledon Toyota recognises mistakes may occur, but service will be better as a result.
“The customer is the ultimate judge of our products and services, not management.”
Caledon Toyota is no stranger to achieving top results, having won a number of prizes over the years, including in 2019 for the highest level of proficiency for both new vehicle sales and Automark. The prize was a wonderful trip to Mauritius.
The dealership’s success, De Lange believes, is because, “We pride ourselves on our ability to make and meet commitments and pay attention to detail.”
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Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
George Carlin
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