4 minute read
Toyota of Smithfield Wins President’s Award
Wins Its First President’s Award!
By Mark Berger
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Toyota of Smithfield earned a very prestigious award recently—when they were presented with the car company’s 2021 President’s Award.
The distinction comes from a third-party assessment of the 71 dealerships in the region. From that, just 20 Toyota dealers were chosen for this special award. Toyota of Smithfield was the only dealership in Rhode Island to win this honor. This is their first President’s Award, one that General Manager John Durrani says he hopes becomes an annual accomplishment.
In order to be considered for this high honor, a dealership has to exceed their sales’ expectations by 106 percent during a 12-month period, while maintaining exceptional customer satisfaction and retention. Customer satisfaction and retention were the main focuses to qualify for this award.
One can imagine the excitement and elation of the staff upon learning their hard work and dedication had paid off.
“The staff and the management team never gave up and never lost focus, even with all labor and supply shortage challenges that we all have faced and continue to face.
“And of course, without our local clients and their steadfast support, we would not be able to achieve this accomplishment and receive this prestigious award; I would like to thank all of our customers!” Durrani said. As for inventory, they still need used vehicles. Their request remains because of high demand and low inventory.
“We are appealing to the public for used vehicles. Simply put, we need more inventory to adequately fulfill orders,” Durrani explained.
To help facilitate the need for more certified, pre-owned vehicles onto their lot, Toyota of Smithfield offers 115% of the book value for any used cars. It does not matter whether the customer decides to purchase a car from their lot.
“We will buy your trade, even if you don’t purchase a car from us,” he said.
The Dealership’s Peace of Mind Purchase Process means no hassles over pricing, trade-in values, cash back, and rebate incentives offered up front, with the best available leasing and financing , also, up front. Durrani said that this is just part of the all-around, customer-driven experience he implemented to ensure the process does not get bogged down in miscommunication.
Schedule an appointment by calling them 401-723-0962 or visit their website at www.toyotaofsmithfield.com.
“When my oldest mare died, I allowed the others to see her, sniff her body, and realize that she had died, not just disappeared,” she wrote. Pugh added that the mare’s daughter, Dolly, was brought out of the barn to witness the burial.
“She stood over her mother until the heavy equipment came to move the body, dig her burial spot, and bring her down to the site,” Pugh continued. “Dolly followed the backhoe and waited patiently, standing guard until her mother was completely covered and the equipment left. From that day forward, when she was let out of her stall in the morning, the first place Dolly would go was to her mother’s grave and stand over it for a few moments before moving on to graze. She is now buried alongside her mother.”
Pugh revealed that cows also grieve.
“I saw my neighbor’s cow give birth to a premature calf,” she recalled. “It didn’t live long, less than an hour. As the mother stood over her baby, trying to nudge it back to life, all the other cows gathered around. Then they formed a line and each cow walked by, gently touching the dead calf and then moved on. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.” Pugh remembers that the cows also comforted the mother by gently nudging her and remaining with the grieving animal for the rest of the day.
“Years later, when that same farmer’s horse died and was being buried, the cows that had been lying in the cool shade under the trees all stood up and watched the burial. It was almost like they were paying respect to the dead,” she added.
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