I finally got the chance to attend the infamous AAPEX trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the beginning of November. While I heard time and time again from attendees and exhibitors that it was quieter than years past, it still did not disappoint! I was thrilled to meet the companies who make the tools and equipment that help you do your jobs better and see first-hand some of the new innovations revealed at the show. Take a look here to see the products that the PTEN editors thought really stood out at AAPEX and SEMA 2021.
While attendance might have been a bit lighter than before, nearly every exhibitor I spoke with said it was “quality over quantity.” They might have been having fewer conversations, but they were with the right people — shop owners and technicians like yourselves who are trying to find ways to be more productive and are passionate about the work they do. I feel like that is something to keep in your own line of work as well. It is infinitely easier to keep a customer than to acquire a new one, so focus on quality every time you are working on a vehicle or interacting with a customer. At the end of the day, if you provide quality service to a few customers and they trust you when you tell them they need XYZ done on their vehicle, that will likely result in significantly more lifetime sales than giving crummy customer service to a bunch of non-repeat oil-change customers.
One young man who embodies this sentiment is Chris Taylor, the inaugural winner of our Best Young Tech award. Taylor works as a fleet technician at Polk County in Florida and he is lauded for his attention to detail and high-quality workmanship. He does a thorough inspection on every vehicle he works on, finding issues that may have otherwise been overlooked. Being that he works on emergency vehicles, finding a potential problem on an ambulance before it becomes a real issue is a very valuable skill. The quality of his work is so revered that he is often requested by customers to work on their vehicles. You can read all about his accomplishments and more about this new award on page 64.
Also in this issue we have our Top 100 products of 2021. This annual feature compiles all print and online product inquiries submitted from our readers. Through the reader service cards in every issue and our online e-inquiry system, we track what products our readers want to know more about — and then we share our results! We’ve published the first 25 here, but make sure to visit vehicleservicepros.com/2021-top-100-products to download the full list and find out what tools and equipment are piquing the interest of your fellow techs and shop owners.
