When The 'Old' Buddy Is Boss

CARLENE Smith and her husband, Terrence, have been close pals of Dormehl Phalane Group (DPG) founder Owen Dormehl and his wife, Amanda, for almost 36 years - yet Carlene has got even closer since last year.

In February 2021, after nearly two decades of Owen trying to elbow her into doing so, Botha's Hill-based Carlene waved adieu to a long and fruitful career in IT to try her hand at sales at DPG's Upper Highway branch in Gillitts, where Owen is principal. So her longtime buddy became her boss.

"I am absolutely loving it, and I am surprised I didn't consider doing this years ago," the mother of two says of her role as one of 22 agents at the branch, one of the property group's 65 franchises countrywide. Carlene is doing pretty well, too, and was named as DPG's 'Agent of the Month for Referrals Sold' in December.

"Owen is an amazing boss. He always goes the extra mile and wants to instil in us agents a pride for DPG and to be the best we can be. A well-looked-after agent will stay. I, for one, and not just because of our history, am proud to be a DPG property practitioner and will try my best to keep the DPG flag flying high. I want people to think of DPG first when looking to buy or sell."

Carlene opted to give the property world a whirl, she says, because of Owen's enthusiasm and inspiration: "I thought if I could just be a little like Owen and keep my integrity, learn the business and understand the market, I could possibly bring something of my own experience and knowledge to the 'new' venture. So here I am today - trying to make a success of yet another career I have embarked on."

A good agent does not rest on laurels, believes Carlene: "You have to know the sellers, and understand the property you are selling. Listen and read between the lines. You have to take full responsibility because when a buyer purchases a property you are 'responsible' for everything.

"You need to know your buyers as well. Be very careful to disclose everything. Do not hide anything. Be honest and upfront. Rather lose the buyer than have a remorseful seller or buyer."

Carlene was born in the Upper Highway area of Monteseel (Outer West Durban) and grew up on a poultry farm. She had the surname Hodder - her father was of Italian/British decent and her mother was South African.

She attended Pinetown Convent Junior School and Pinetown Girls' High, matriculated in 1982, then worked in a textile factory before joining the Milady's human resources department.

After that she worked at a training college her brother owned, training various short courses. "Once the government contract ended there I applied for a job as a software trainer and Girl Friday," she recalls.

There is a funny story attached to her software trainer job: "I thought I was going to be a kind of Tupperware consultant and clerk. Remember, this was back in 1988. This wonder man, Mike Steward, interviewed me and told me the company was rolling out computers to all office workers. They wanted me to learn this new technology and train the staff.

"I was shocked ... not only had I not worked on computers, I had not really seen one either. So I said there was no way I would be able to do the job, and left. He called me the next day and said I had the job, and he wanted me to come in and chat. I protested, but went back.

"Unbeknown to me this was the IT head office of Anglovaal Limited. I was introduced to the most amazing team of IT engineers and programmers and they promised to help me learn 'the computer'".

Twenty years later and Carlene had studied to become an IT engineer - software trainer - and headed three provinces: KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Free State.

She was also the first in the team of six area managers (four men and two women) to get her IT engineer certification. And she achieved this while raising two small children - daughter Chardonne, now 31 and living in Australia, and electrician son Teigen, now 29, who lives in South Africa.

"I travelled South Africa extensively and was very blessed in my job. However, I started getting burnout. I just could not carry on with the pressure and being on call 24 hours a day."

So Carlene got a job as a franchise computer-skills trainer for Acutts, where Owen was a director at the time, then later spent two years as an operations clerk for an IT company. Then the opportunity arose for her to study as a Kronos Consultant, offering workforce solutions to engineering companies, and this saw her travelling all over Africa.

When she reached the age of 55 she decided she'd had enough and started her own website development company. This was relatively successful until Covid-19 struck... and Owen approached her to be a sales agent.

"My husband and I have been friends with Owen and Amanda forever," she explains, pointing out that the two men met in 1983, when both were in their first year with the police force and worked at Malvern Police Station in Durban. They later moved on, as constables, to the city's Fingerprint Department.

Owen left the police force for the Army before entering the world of property, while Terrence stayed in Photography and Fingerprints until 1998. After 18 years in the force, he left with the rank of captain, and is now repping.

Carlene and Terrence were the maid of honour and bestman at Owen and Amanda's wedding and they continue to often socialise together, sharing a love for music and dance. In fact, the Smith-Dormehl team often enjoyed regular ballroom dancing, says Carlene.

"Back in the day, it was important to learn how to dance properly. When I met Terrence he dragged me to the Arthur Murray dance studio - and Owen danced at a more professional dancing school," recalls Carlene. "We used to go out dancing at local hotels and Owen used to love doing the jive with me, and throwing me through his legs (he was that good)."

She laughs when recalling that Owen once caught her unawares, sending her shoe flying. "It nearly hit someone on the head! Very embarrassing. I am weary about dancing with Owen these days. Thank goodness we are older and not so agile!," she adds, with tongue firmly in cheek.

Carlene says Terrence and Amanda are the sportier ones, "while Owen and I prefer to sit, or 'skinner', or eat... and we like to cook together".

Terrence and Amanda really click with their love of sport, she adds. They started running together and Terrence trained for the Comrades and Two Oceans, among many other races, while Amanda ran shorter races, she says.

Terrence completed six Comrades and nine Two Oceans marathon, but a broken foot in 2005 put a stop to his running. A few years later Amanda took up cycling and Terrence followed.

Carlene describes herself as "determined, an achiever, patient, a teacher and enthusiastic" and says that to her detriment sometimes she can be "strong-willed, controlling and close-minded".

Away from the property world, she enjoys cooking, music concerts, the beach, walks, camping and going away with friends as much as possible. She also dabbles in painting and craft work.