Tag Archives: The Power of One

The power of one

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When I started my blog in the middle of last year I swore I would blog about certain companies giving me excellent or very bad service. Now it is not often I get excellent service and unfortunately I have far too many bad experiences to blog about them all.  I thought I would label all these as “the Power of one” as I firmly believe that one person can make a difference.


Just recently I had excellent service from a company and I think I owe it to them to tell you all about my experience.


I have a Cadac 4 burner gas braai and the cover fell apart about a year ago. I have been searching for a replacement cover ever since and have tried various outlets. So about 10 days ago I had to go to Hirch’s in Fourways, Johannesburg to collect some spare parts for my oven. While I was there, I thought I may as well pop into THE BRAAI MAN and see if they had any covers. This is a little store which obviously specialises in braai’s.

I explained that I needed a cover for my braai and the gentleman kindly explained that there was a problem with Cadac goods in the country at the moment due to some wheeling and dealing going on with the dealers representing Cadac in South Africa.  As a result there was a pending court case and the company was going through a sequestration process. This would explain why I was unable to find a cover.


They however offered me an inferior cover – they explained it was inferior but I was welcome to take it home and try it out. Well I had nothing to loose and agreed to take it. The gentleman would not accept payment for it. He insisted I take it home first and try it out and if I was happy with it, I could do an EFT to pay for it.  It is not often you come across someone who trusts you this much.


So I took it home and tried it. It did not fit very well, but was better than no cover. And as the gentleman was so trusting I did and EFT straight away.


So out of the blue this morning, I get a call from the Gentleman at THE BRAAI MAN to say that he had received a new batch of covers and would I bring the inferior cover back. I thought about it for a while, popped outside to have a look at the cover which was full of leaves and dust and was wet due to rain overnight. I felt rather guilty and called him back to say that I had used the cover and I no longer had the packaging and there was no way I could just bring it back.


He insisted I bring it back. So I took a drive out there this afternoon and reluctantly took the inferior cover back. He handed me a brand new Cadac cover and took the other one back from me. I explained once again that the other cover had been used etc and he insisted it was not a big deal. I then took out my purse to pay for the cover – and quite frankly I was prepared to pay for the new one in full and not accept a refund for the inferior one. He insisted no payment was necessary and it was a swap out.


I tried to insist but he was more insisting that no payment was necessary.


So I brought my new cover home and THE BRAAI MAN gets 5 stars from me for service. I think this is the best service experience of my life.

The Power of One – Toyota

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My husband has been driving a Range Rover Sport for the last 3 years.  The Range Rover itself is a very nice vehicle.  However we have had endless trouble with it, not to mention the attitude and hassles from the service centre as well.  Now I could ramble on about Land Rover itself for hours but this is probably left for another blog down the line.  The only thing I can say is that there are certain companies and products I will NEVER EVER support ever again and Land Rover is one of them. 

Last year I traded in my Chrysler Voyager which was the perfect vehicle to accommodate 4 kids.  Now that I only have 2 kids at home, the Voyager was far too big   So I purchased a Toyota Prado 4.4 VX – top of the line.  It is absolutely brilliant.  The entertainment and navigation system is fantastic and it is a pleasure to drive.  The only down side is that it is a very hungry beast. 

So we were feeling rather guilty that we have 2 vehicles which are both heavy on petrol and we decided to offset some of the carbon footprint by purchasing a Prius.
I tried to purchase a Prius Exclusive from Toyota in March – around the time that Japan had the earthquake, but Toyota have had no stock.  I have been calling Toyota on a regular basis to ask when they will have stock again and of course no one ever got back to me.  I eventually complained to Toyota’s Customer Centre at Head Office.
I have been very impressed by their reaction and have had various calls to assist me.  I finally made a deal agreeing to trade in the Range Rover for a good price  and purchase the Advanced model of the Prius and they would throw in a full DVD, Navigation, Bluetooth, touch screen system with rear cameras and sensors.  This would all integrate with the steering wheel controls as well.

I took ownership yesterday of my new Prius.  It has not got the entertainment system installed as yet as they are still waiting for the faceplate and I should have this installed within the next 2 weeks.  I was quite impressed with the drive home from the dealership – it is extremely silent and will take some time getting used to the silence when driving, especially when stationary as one could easily forget the vehicle is actually on.  It is certainly not underpowered and can stand up to any 1.8 litre engine. 

I am rather disappointed with the current entertainment system – it is equivalent to something one would find in a much cheaper vehicle and certainly does not do the Prius any justice.  Based on this, I would not agree to purchase a vehicle for this sort of price, however this issue will be resolved in 2 weeks when they install the new Entertainment system.   

It does not come close to my Prado, but it certainly makes one feel good to know that you are doing your bit for the environment and I know my petrol bill will be much less each month.

The Power of One – Toyota

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My husband has been driving a Range Rover Sport for the last 3 years.  The Range Rover itself is a very nice vehicle.  However we have had endless trouble with it, not to mention the attitude and hassles from the service centre as well.  Now I could ramble on about Land Rover itself for hours but this is probably left for another blog down the line.  The only thing I can say is that there are certain companies and products I will NEVER EVER support ever again and Land Rover is one of them. 

Last year I traded in my Chrysler Voyager which was the perfect vehicle to accommodate 4 kids.  Now that I only have 2 kids at home, the Voyager was far too big   So I purchased a Toyota Prado 4.4 VX – top of the line.  It is absolutely brilliant.  The entertainment and navigation system is fantastic and it is a pleasure to drive.  The only down side is that it is a very hungry beast. 

So we were feeling rather guilty that we have 2 vehicles which are both heavy on petrol and we decided to offset some of the carbon footprint by purchasing a Prius.
I tried to purchase a Prius Exclusive from Toyota in March – around the time that Japan had the earthquake, but Toyota have had no stock.  I have been calling Toyota on a regular basis to ask when they will have stock again and of course no one ever got back to me.  I eventually complained to Toyota’s Customer Centre at Head Office.
I have been very impressed by their reaction and have had various calls to assist me.  I finally made a deal agreeing to trade in the Range Rover for a good price  and purchase the Advanced model of the Prius and they would throw in a full DVD, Navigation, Bluetooth, touch screen system with rear cameras and sensors.  This would all integrate with the steering wheel controls as well.

I took ownership yesterday of my new Prius.  It has not got the entertainment system installed as yet as they are still waiting for the faceplate and I should have this installed within the next 2 weeks.  I was quite impressed with the drive home from the dealership – it is extremely silent and will take some time getting used to the silence when driving, especially when stationary as one could easily forget the vehicle is actually on.  It is certainly not underpowered and can stand up to any 1.8 litre engine. 

I am rather disappointed with the current entertainment system – it is equivalent to something one would find in a much cheaper vehicle and certainly does not do the Prius any justice.  Based on this, I would not agree to purchase a vehicle for this sort of price, however this issue will be resolved in 2 weeks when they install the new Entertainment system.   

It does not come close to my Prado, but it certainly makes one feel good to know that you are doing your bit for the environment and I know my petrol bill will be much less each month.