Enertec Hillcrest comprehensively redefines the very notion of what a battery shop is all about…
The times they really are a-changin, as Bob Dylan famously sang some decades ago.
Where do we start? Well, being an automotive journalist I’d say diesel cars are a good enough place. Until fairly recently they were sluggish, somnolent, fume-belching conveyances that rated very low indeed on the desirability scale.
Today, of course, there’s a whole new wave of highly frugal, clean-burning turbodiesels that in some cases even outperform their petrol counterparts while being exceptionally desirable on all fronts.
More topically, the very notion of a battery shop might conjure up images of a grimy little store set in a dodgy industrial area. And perhaps that’s still the case in a lot of instances.
But just as diesel cars have been reinvented, so Enertec redefines what you’d expect a battery shop to be. In fact, Enertec doesn’t so much rewrite the rule book as chuck it away and start from scratch.
Enter then Enertec Hillcrest. For a start it’s not buried away in some obscure area that requires a GPS and a lot of swearing to find, making a trip there a grudge outing of the first order. No. Enertec Hillcrest is set bang in the middle of Hillcrest. In fact, it’s right across the road from the town’s major malls so if you’re having a battery fitted, for instance, you can enjoy a bit of shopping or perhaps a quick bite to eat while it’s being done.
Don’t bother having a cup of coffee, however. Enertec has a comfortable, air-conditioned waiting area in the store. And you’ll be pleased to know that complimentary coffee is available. So is free Wi-Fi.
A browse through the store, meanwhile, is a fascinating experience on its own, and staff members Sarah Meugens (sales) and Llewellyn Erasmus (technical manager) are not only the very epitome of friendliness and courtesy, but they’re highly knowledgeable too. They’ve certainly got a lot to be knowledgeable about, and until you visit Enertec Hillcrest chances are you won’t realise just how enthralling and vast the world of batteries is.
For a start store owner Greg De Ricquebourg has been importing batteries from Johnson Controls, the world’s biggest battery manufacturer, based in Europe, for some 32 years. So he knows exactly what he’s talking about.
It also so happens that Greg holds the sub-Saharan contract for the renowned Energizer batteries, and Enertec Hillcrest stocks a vast range of Enertec and Energizer batteries with varying warranty lengths – from car batteries to deep-cycle batteries.
As a quick aside it should be pointed out that deep-cycle batteries are used to store energy. A good example would be to store solar power if you’re taking your home off the grid. All inverters would utilise a deep-cycle battery. And if you’re on a yacht, meanwhile, a deep-cycle battery would essentially serve as your power station, your own mini Eskom (minus the load-shedding of course!).
Other 12-volt car batteries are what are termed “start batteries.”
But as the affable Lwellellyn notes, “We sell a battery for absolutely anything!”
Indeed. And that “anything” stretches from Energizer torch batteries to golf cart batteries.
It also so happens that Enertec Hillcrest stocks a vast and beguiling array of 12-volt appliances and accessories. For instance, the torches they stock vary from ones suitable for kids camping out in the garden to highly advanced units.
And as for those 12-volt accessories, well, they stretch from winches to hairdryers to fans to compressors – and even kettles!
You can add to this the fact that Enertec Hillcrest also stocks a full range of fuses, electrical wires, lugs, insulation tape, jumper cables, and even a full range of trailer lights. Meanwhile, a line of gift cards and vouchers, as well as a loyalty card, will soon be available, while an added bonus is that both battery fitting and testing is done free of charge. And let’s not forget the free parking or the fact that a browse through Enertec Hillcrest’s shelves will yield a rich fruit of potential gifts for dads and lads.
Jeepers, in an emergency, Entertec Hillcrest (or their recently opened branch in Kloof) will even come to your house in the Upper Highway area to fit a battery – free of charge.
But don’t take my word for it. Pop in and visit Enertec Hillcrest, enjoy their free coffee, chat to the staff who’re always so happy to engage with customers – and browse their vast range of batteries and everything else possibly connected to batteries.