Vernon Gene’s strong tradition of pride begins with the name. Part of the Doggett family of businesses, the new and used trailer dealer is named for Leslie Doggett’s father, a World War II veteran.
The family feeling runs through the business.
“We are very much a family company. There’s lots of Doggetts running around,” Human Resources Manager Laura Dooley says. In human resources, she says, family can be a bad word, but it’s not the case at Vernon Gene’s. “Everything stems from the fact we are a family company with fantastic leadership.”
Bob Logan, sales manager for trailer sales, says it’s not uncommon to walk into a location and find Executive Vice President Paul Burk, who leads Doggett’s on-highway truck and trailer division, talking to customers, sales staff and the back office.
Customers are definitely part of the family too, and Vernon Gene’s works hard to position itself as a one-stop shop for customer needs. Logan believes the tactic helps garner customer loyalty; it’s also helped it be named a finalist for the Trailblazer Award, powered by Successful Dealer, for the second time.
Vernon Gene’s new trailer brands are Great Dane, Manac, Eager Beaver, Exa, Doepker and Brandt Industries, and the company also sells used trucks and services both trucks and trailers. Through the Doggett family of brands, the team also access new trucks and in-house financing is available across the network.
“That’s the culture we’re trying to develop,” Logan says. “Not only does my sales team sell new and used trailers, they also work with used trucks and new trucks.”
Logan’s sales team also focuses not just selling a product, but making sure customers understand fully how the product can help their business. For example, he says Great Dane trailers are among the more expensive options, but his team learns the product so they explain how the total cost of ownership can be a net positive to their customer.
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“We really do our part and be 110% in explaining why a purchase would be a good, justified purchase,” he says.
Logan and Dooley say they look for potential team members to act like they’re owners, not just employees.
“There’s very much an entrepreneurial spirit among our managers,” Logan says. “They’re trying to come up with creative ways to lower the customer’s cost and win the customer’s loyalty.”
And fleet size doesn’t matter, either. Every customer is treated like they’re the biggest customer Vernon Gene’s has.
“Just because the guy doesn’t have 200 trucks in his fleet, you want to treat them like they have 200 trucks,” Logan says. “If you do that, you will be the solution for the customer. … Always think about what value you can bring to the customer, even if it doesn’t relate to trailer sales. That’s OK.”
Customer support also threads through Vernon Gene’s industry and community involvement. The dealer works with the Laredo Motor Carriers Association to show support for fleets in their area of responsibility. During National Truckers Week, Dooley says Vernon Gene’s pulls out all the stops for drivers with free meals and swag.
Recently, Vernon Gene’s also turned out when flash flooding ripped through the Texas Hill Country. Dooley says she was on the phone all afternoon and evening to see if any team members were affected.
“You don’t know whose child is at sleepaway camp,” she says. Employees’ families were OK, but team members did know other affected families. The dealer donated water and other resources to the relief effort. They also set up angel trees and have myriad other holiday donation drives.
“Anywhere we can give back, anywhere it makes sense for us to be present, we’re really big in giving back to the communities,” Dooley says.
The Vernon Gene’s experience also crosses international borders. Both customers and employees live and sometimes work in Mexico, including the dealer’s mobile technicians. Because of that, Logan says reshoring is a phenomenon the company is watching closely.
Dooley says Vernon Gene’s is well poised to take advantage of opportunities to grow.
“I am more than certain there’s going to be a massive pop-up of Vernon Gene’s locations in the next 5-10 years,” she says.
The Trailblazer Award was created in 2023 recognize and honor North America’s trailer dealer community for their essential support of the transportation industry. The Trailblazer Award is graciously sponsored by Hendrickson and Procede Software. To learn more about the program, go the award page.
