The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) is gearing up for another exciting NORTHEAST Automotive Services Show March 15-17, 2024 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, N.J.
Although the show is scheduled for March 15-17, attendees will also want to mark their calendars for March 14 since AASP/NJ is enhancing its educational offerings by adding a full-day “Know Your Numbers” workshop on Thursday with David Luehr (Elite Body Shop Solutions). The NORTHEAST 2024 educational slate will kick off early Friday morning with the first-ever Collision Advice NORTHEAST Workshop series, featuring industry icon Mike Anderson and his team of expert speakers.
But that’s not all. NORTHEAST wouldn’t be NORTHEAST without a little extra fun and a chance for a celebrity sighting or two. Fans of MotorTrend TV’s Bitchin’ Rides won’t want to miss the chance to meet Dave Kindig at AkzoNobel’s booth on Friday and Saturday.
“This is my first time attending NORTHEAST, so I am excited to see what the show has to offer,” said Kindig. “I am also excited to be joining AkzoNobel this year, celebrating our continued partnership together, as I am now the brand ambassador for their flagship premium brand, Sikkens.”
It may be Kindig’s first time at NORTHEAST, but past experience shows that one visit to Secaucus is never enough, as demonstrated by Luehr’s return.
“I had a blast last year,” Luehr said. “I attend industry events around the world, and it is hard to attend them all, so I really try to attend ones that are fun and where the shop owners are willing to take action to improve their businesses instead of sitting around complaining. I really love the people up there: the shops, vendors and the incredible team who puts this event on every year. I am so honored to be asked back to NORTHEAST, and I am really excited to bring our Elite brand of education to shops that can really benefit from it.”
Hours before the trade show floor opens on Friday evening, Anderson and Sheryl Driggers will be bringing Collision Advice’s renowned brand of enlightenment. Looking to deliver an extraordinary customer experience? Driggers’ “Game Changer CSR” program focuses on how to best communicate with customers based on their personality, allowing customer service representatives to positively transform their relationships with everyone who enters the shop.
Whether you’ve attended Anderson’s “100 Percent Disassembly” in the past or not, this workshop is sure to offer a refresher on creating the right shop culture to support 100% disassembly.
“One of the most common things I see while traveling over 300 days a year and visiting so many shops is that most people believe they’re doing 100% disassembly, but they’re actually doing more like 80 or 90% disassembly,” said Anderson. “Repairers need to realize 100% disassembly is the foundation for so much. It’s necessary and required to write an accurate repair plan; it’s critical for capturing all the items that can be removed and installed, improving the quality of your repair plan and minimizing supplements. It’s also critical to the parts mirror-matching process. If we don’t remove everything, it’s much more difficult for the parts person to mirror-match the parts.”
Pre-registration for NORTHEAST 2024 is now open. To pre-register and stay up to date on all the latest information and announcements, visit aaspnjnortheast.com.
