Excellence in Business Large Business of the Year 2010: Dandridge Equipment
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Fayette County Chamber of Commerce
andridge Equipment’s owner and founder, Cathey Dandridge, sets his business apart from its competition by living the motto, “We doze, but seldom close.” Open since 1967, Dandridge Equipment is the oldest John Deere equipment dealer in the South. The business is open seven days a week, even offering service 24 hours a day. What started as a five-employee business now has a staff of 45 who collectively have over 600 years of service experience with Dandridge Equipment. Coupled with Dandridge Equipment’s commitment to hard work is its devotion to customers. Dandridge says above all else he tries to focus on his customers and their needs. Elected Fayette County’s 2010 Large Business of the Year,
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Dandridge Equipment goes the extra mile to ensure customers get the exact products they are looking for. “If a man wants something, and we don’t have it or can’t get it for him, then he probably doesn’t need it,” he notes light-heartedly. No one seems to be complaining of neglect. Mike Cottam, Dandridge Equipment’s general manager, says customer retention is one of Dandridge Equipment’s strengths. The scope of its customer base underscores his point; the company’s customers are not limited to the rural community in which it resides. The dealer provides services to customers as far as 200 miles away and sells products to a customer base that includes 10 states and extends internationally to
countries including Brazil, China, Canada and Argentina, to name a few. According to Cottam, Dandridge Equipment is unique because “we try to treat every customer as a customer instead of a number. A lot of dealers’ customers live in a different town so they treat them as such, but we personalize our service. Mr. Dandridge’s success in life has come from caring about people.” Cottam cites Dandridge Equipment’s John Deere Day as an example of that care. “Originally John Deere Day was tailored for previous customers as a way of treating them to a good time and showing them our newest products,” he explained. “We changed ours to a Saturday venue that is like a community carnival,