Hino South Africa and its country-wide network of 66 dealers has a proven record of providing outstanding customer service. The proof can be seen in the results of the Competitive Customer Satisfaction Monitor conducted quarterly by Scott Byers. Hino has been the top-ranked truck brand for the past nine consecutive quarters, not only in terms of the overall score, but also in the Service and Parts categories.

Hino scored 97,18 in the Service category in the first quarter of 2017,compared to an industry average of 91,3, while the Parts category score for Hino was 95,31 compared to an industry average of 90,12.

“Hino South Africa takes the results Hino’s of these quarterly customer satisfaction studies by Scott Byers very seriously, b-cause ensuring customers get excellent service is a very important strategy in retaining present customers and attracting new ones,” says Ernie Trautmann, Vice President of Hino SA.

“We have made significant progress in improving our customer satisfaction ratings in recent years and our customers are enjoying the benefits. We have found that increasing benefits are flowing from our ongoing implementation of the international Hino Total Support philosophy. This involves building and maintaining strong relationships between Hino Japan, Hino South Africa, suppliers and the Hino dealer network to ensure our customers have a trucking partner they can trust,” explains Trautmann.

Last year Hino SA announced changes to two important aftersales offerings in terms of an extended warranty on the vehicle and doubling the warranty period on genuine parts from one year to two years, provided the parts are supplied and fitted by a Hino dealer.

“What is very important is that Hino SA will issue and administer its own extended warranty programme in the future instead of using a third party as was the situation previously. In the past, we found that some of our customers were dissatisfied with the previous extended warranty offering because of claims being rejected, and that sometimes extended warranty work was not carried out by a Hino dealer,” explains Trautmann.

All this has changed now that the extended warranty is an in-house Hino SA product. There is a choice of two options – a basic plan or a superior plan – both of which are very competitive in terms of costs, while the new extended warranty also has the benefit of moe comprehensive cover on components.

However, what is most important for the customer is that making use of the Hino extended warranty, which can run up to six years, will keep a Hino truck in its original condition as only genuine parts will be fitted and all the work will b carried out at a Hino dealership, thereby improving the truck’s resale value.

The improved warranty on Hino genuine parts is also an important factor in further improving customer satisfaction levels.

Parts purchased over the counter and fitted by a third party still carry a six-month/20 000km warranty on the part only, whereas if the parts are supplied and fitted by the dealer, this cover extends to a one-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the parts as well as dealer labour workmanship. A part supplied and fitted at a dealers workshop is also covered for consequential damage if caused by a defective part; this is for unlimited kilometres.

Hino has a policy that if it does not have a specific part in stock – possibly a low-demand item – then it will fly in the part from wherever in the world it can be located.

In addition, Hino dealers offer tailor-made service and maintenance plans that suit a customer’s particular requirements. The dealer network also offers 24-hour standby for towing and parts supply, while many of these dealers provide servicing at night or on Saturdays – with some going as far as offering 24/7 service provided appointments are made in advance.

“Hino South Africa continues to evaluate its aftersales offerings against those of its competitors to ensure it matches or exceeds the best in the industry,” adds Trautmann.

“The Hino brand in South Africa is also backed by a 44-year history during which it has built up an enviable record for providing reliable and durable products backed up by outstanding aftersales service. We will continue to build on that legacy. Everything we do is aimed at enabling our customers to keep on trucking.”