As business evolves, shop members of the Automotive Aftermarket Retailers of Ontario got up close to the latest changes and challenges taking place.
They gathered in Mississauga, Ontario, at the Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Airport West for the AARO Trade Show & Training Event to hear from industry leaders and get both business management and technical training.
The three-day event starting on Sept. 12 kicked off with Alan Beech from Beech Consulting and an occasional contributor to CARS magazine. He gave a training course on handling the busy season and the chaos that comes with it. He dove into strategies to improve your business and be better prepared for the fall and winter by offering strategies for better inspections, tire sales, customer service, labour rate and more.
After lunch, Murray Voth from RPM Training talked about the management process shop owners need to undertake. He gave insights during the program into how to take a measured approach and ensure processes are in place to meet customer expectations, including 14 points for management to run the business successfully. He outlined expectations for techs and service advisors — but also what they expect from their boss.
Once that wrapped up, it was on to the tradeshow, which featured Cam Capriotto of Remarkable Results Radio as the opening speaker. Attendees then got to visit the booths exhibiting and take in the latest in products and offers.
The next two days featured Lindertech training. Scott Shotten gave two sessions, one on engine mechanical diagnosis with electronic equipment and a second on efficient and effective network diagnosis.
The final day on Sept. 14 featured Brenden Steckler, whose presentations included a focus on a streamlined approach to diagnostic dilemmas.
Many attendees commended the training program with some noting it was some of the best they’ve received in some time.
Check out the Instagram reel highlight above and the photo gallery below.
AARO Training & Trade Show 2024
