Automotive Repair News Today

Braxton Critcher [00:00:05]:
You ready to sleep yet?

Mark Bogdansky [00:00:07]:
You know, we're getting there. When I get home, I can get through until I fly out Saturday. Saturday night, I'll get a good night's sleep.

Braxton Critcher [00:00:14]:
Where's home?

Mark Bogdansky [00:00:15]:
Outside of D.C. in Maryland.

Braxton Critcher [00:00:16]:
Okay.

Mark Bogdansky [00:00:17]:
Yeah.

Braxton Critcher [00:00:17]:
So you gotta go back in time.

Mark Bogdansky [00:00:19]:
I go. I go back. No, I go back in time coming here. Oh, shoot. I go back in time coming here. I go forward, going there. I will tell you gain in the hour this year I was here already Saturday night.

Braxton Critcher [00:00:31]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:00:31]:
That was nice little treat.

Braxton Critcher [00:00:32]:
Yeah. But. But the thing is, now that I've just figured out my sleep schedule, I did. I didn't wake up at 6 this morning. That was the first time. I'm done.

Mark Bogdansky [00:00:40]:
Oh, no, you're.

Braxton Critcher [00:00:41]:
Forget it. Yeah. I'm thankful that I get back. We leave early tomorrow. Friday.

Mark Bogdansky [00:00:46]:
Okay.

Braxton Critcher [00:00:47]:
And so Lucas told me, just tough it out. You'll be exhausted. Friday.

Mark Bogdansky [00:00:52]:
But just go to bed, sleep on the plane.

Braxton Critcher [00:00:54]:
Right.

Mark Bogdansky [00:00:54]:
That's.

Braxton Critcher [00:00:55]:
I don't know. I might take me a little nap. A little nap?

Mark Bogdansky [00:00:57]:
Hey, look, you know, it's. I'd much rather not sleep on the plane. Know that I'm going to get home and crash earlier. Even if it means to wake up a little bit earlier than I normally would. Just get back on a cycle to.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:08]:
Reset it through the weekend.

Mark Bogdansky [00:01:09]:
Try. Yeah.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:10]:
Yeah. I don't know.

Mark Bogdansky [00:01:11]:
But it's. Yeah, it's a little bit of adjustment. And then the other thing is, you know, you're running on a lot of adrenaline all week.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:17]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:01:18]:
You know, so your body is naturally. Yeah. Caffeine, adrenaline, whatever it is. But, you know, there's a lot of energy, you know, from everybody here. Right. That's one of the great things about being here. It's just how much energy is all over the place.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:28]:
I'm feeling it today, though.

Mark Bogdansky [00:01:30]:
Yeah.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:30]:
Like today is the day. I'm like, ooh, yeah. I'm off my schedule. This is a lot.

Mark Bogdansky [00:01:34]:
You came in Sunday or Monday, I forget.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:37]:
Monday.

Mark Bogdansky [00:01:37]:
Okay.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:38]:
Yeah. We got in Monday morning, fourth day.

Mark Bogdansky [00:01:40]:
It sounds about right.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:40]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:01:42]:
Anything more than about a day or two in Vegas will take a lot out of you.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:45]:
Right. Yeah. Because it's so, you know, you have these late nights and it's also, even.

Mark Bogdansky [00:01:49]:
If you don't gamble, it's just a lot of ambient noise and all the lights and, you know, you go out to eat anywhere and nothing is close. So.

Braxton Critcher [00:01:58]:
Yeah, it's close, but it's not exactly.

Mark Bogdansky [00:02:00]:
It looks close.

Braxton Critcher [00:02:01]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:02:01]:
It looks like it's across the street. Except every hotel here is about three city blocks. So. Yeah.

Braxton Critcher [00:02:06]:
Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:02:08]:
So it takes, it takes more out of you and you think, but you keep yourself going on adrenaline and keep going. Okay, I'll be all right. I'll be all right. And then you finally start to hit that point. So.

Braxton Critcher [00:02:16]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:02:16]:
From your last interview. I'm glad.

Braxton Critcher [00:02:18]:
The last one.

Mark Bogdansky [00:02:19]:
That's great. Yeah. Take, take. You know, you can use all the low energy you need to on me. I'm fine. I'd rather you get all big energy out on the people.

Braxton Critcher [00:02:26]:
You just talk. I'll just be here. You just, just be right here. So this obviously you're gonna, you're gonna crash reset. Do you take a vacation after? Do you just like. I know that I know people. So a good friend of mine started a big Christian music festival a couple of years ago and they have like 40,000 people show up to this one day.

Mark Bogdansky [00:02:50]:
Sure.

Braxton Critcher [00:02:51]:
And that one day takes all year to plan much like this. And after that day, which he doesn't sleep for the week leading up, and then that one day is just adrenaline and so he crashes, takes a vacation. Do you, do you check out for a while?

Mark Bogdansky [00:03:07]:
I check out for a couple days, but not too much. I'll probably try to grab a vacation around Thanksgiving or maybe December or something like that.

Braxton Critcher [00:03:14]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:03:15]:
So it's also kind of tough. So I'm divorced and I have shared custody of my son.

Braxton Critcher [00:03:20]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:03:21]:
So I get home Saturday. He comes to me on Monday. He's probably gonna wind up coming to me on Sunday, which is fine. But it also mean I'll have him next week. So this is just another week where I can't really completely down downtime myself. But then that following week is when I'll probably.

Braxton Critcher [00:03:37]:
How close are you to D.C. half.

Mark Bogdansky [00:03:39]:
An hour, 45 minutes.

Braxton Critcher [00:03:41]:
So you're, you're, you're leaving here, going right to the epicenter.

Mark Bogdansky [00:03:45]:
Oh, I'm far enough out.

Braxton Critcher [00:03:48]:
So maybe you want to stay in Vegas for a while, you know, fly your son out here Sunday.

Mark Bogdansky [00:03:54]:
If he wasn't, if he wasn't 13 or 14, I would, I'd consider it, but I have no interest in bringing a 13 year old boy out to Vegas right now.

Braxton Critcher [00:04:01]:
That's true too.

Mark Bogdansky [00:04:02]:
But I say, you know, I, Yeah, I'm far enough out of DC that I don't have to feel DC on a regular basis. I used to live a little bit closer and you would actually feel everything going on in D.C. on a regular basis. I live far enough out now where sometimes, but not all the time.

Braxton Critcher [00:04:16]:
How Long you lived there?

Mark Bogdansky [00:04:18]:
Been down there now 20, a little over 20 years.

Braxton Critcher [00:04:21]:
So you like it because I visited the area two or three, four times maybe, and I like it for a visiting setting, but I don't know if I'd want to live in that area.

Mark Bogdansky [00:04:33]:
I feel like I'm gonna sound like David for a second, but I'm gonna.

Braxton Critcher [00:04:36]:
Turn your mic down.

Mark Bogdansky [00:04:38]:
No, I like it. If I had my choice, I don't know that I would live exactly where I live. Just circumstances have dictated that that's where I'm going to live for a little while. It's not the cheapest place to live.

Braxton Critcher [00:04:50]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:04:51]:
You know.

Braxton Critcher [00:04:51]:
Well, nowhere is now. But.

Mark Bogdansky [00:04:53]:
No, but even, you know, there are places I'd rather. I'd rather have a little bit more room, a little bit more land, you know, a little bit. A little bit more space. I mean, I do like it. I, you know, love my community, love my house. It's great. My son has a great group of friends. It's a great area to grow, keep to retreat, to raise him.

Braxton Critcher [00:05:11]:
Yeah. Now is not the time to move.

Mark Bogdansky [00:05:12]:
No. And that's why we're there. Right. Because we knew it was a great place to have a family and to have kids. So as far as that goes. Absolutely. Do I think I'm going to stay there forever? Probably not. But, you know.

Braxton Critcher [00:05:23]:
But, you know, your job, career isn't holding you there.

Mark Bogdansky [00:05:26]:
No, no, no, no. And just.

Braxton Critcher [00:05:28]:
Just situation of life.

Mark Bogdansky [00:05:30]:
Yeah. Especially now since COVID you know, everybody.

Braxton Critcher [00:05:32]:
You can work anywhere.

Mark Bogdansky [00:05:33]:
Well, unless you're actually in this line of work. Unless you're in the line of work where you actually have to repair cars.

Braxton Critcher [00:05:37]:
Yeah, it's. Yeah. But outside of people physically being in a repair shop, this industry is very remote.

Mark Bogdansky [00:05:43]:
It is unbelievable how remote it is. So it's. So it's interesting you say that because, you know, as we look at the show and we're always marketing the show and trying to figure out how to reach more people throughout the ecosystem.

Braxton Critcher [00:05:55]:
Right.

Mark Bogdansky [00:05:55]:
Not just, you know, one type. And we got away from direct mail years ago. Right. Like, people feel like nobody wants mail anymore.

Braxton Critcher [00:06:02]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:06:03]:
Well, I was talking to even check mail anymore.

Braxton Critcher [00:06:05]:
I check it, like, once a week.

Mark Bogdansky [00:06:06]:
Totally.

Braxton Critcher [00:06:07]:
And then just shred it all.

Mark Bogdansky [00:06:08]:
Exactly. I know. I check my mailbox once every week, week and a half.

Braxton Critcher [00:06:11]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:06:11]:
Look, I've been on here for two weeks. I didn't even stop my mail. I just, you know, all right, I'll pick it up when I get home. It's going to be maybe one thing I want to open after two weeks.

Braxton Critcher [00:06:17]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:06:18]:
But my marketing folks were saying, hey, you know, we think we might want to try to throw one or two pieces direct mail in next year. I said, okay, so here's the problem. Other than the shop owners, service advisors, technicians that we're marketing the show to and trying to get here, I said, we don't have an address for anybody's working anymore. I said, nobody goes to their corporate office anymore. Nobody's working. So how am I going to market? I'm going to send a direct mail piece. I don't care. Manufacturer, distributor, retailer, whoever you are, you're, you know, I'm going to send it to your office.

Mark Bogdansky [00:06:50]:
You're going to see it maybe in six months. So nobody gets mail anymore because, you know, because like you said, everybody's remote. You get on a call now, everybody's remote. Every once in a while. I go in the office once a week, twice a week, whatever. But for the most part, everybody can work remote, you know, And I think that's great because you can get the best people.

Braxton Critcher [00:07:08]:
Yeah, right, right.

Mark Bogdansky [00:07:10]:
We're a lot more remote. You know, my team now, I've got somebody in Detroit, I've got somebody in Indiana. I've got somebody right outside of Chicago. You know, that's very different than it was before. COVID But it also means we're able to hire the three best people, not just the three best people who live within, know, 40 miles where our office is, which is fantastic.

Braxton Critcher [00:07:28]:
Oh, yeah. It really opens things up.

Mark Bogdansky [00:07:29]:
Oh, yeah. No, and that's fantastic.

Braxton Critcher [00:07:31]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:07:31]:
You know, it's creates other challenges sometimes, you know, because I'm a big believer in face to face. I mean, hell, I put together meetings for a living. I better believe in that. But I'm a big believer that, you know, being able to walk by an office every once in a while and pop in, you just learn things. You see things, you learn things. You were able to have a conversation you wouldn't otherwise have, you know, that could be really helpful. So there's some other things you have to learn how to do from a nuanced standpoint. But we're hiring the best people because it doesn't matter where you live anymore.

Braxton Critcher [00:07:55]:
How many people come to this show.

Mark Bogdansky [00:07:57]:
So between this and sema, because we share registration with sema. So I'm gonna break it all down.

Braxton Critcher [00:08:02]:
Okay.

Mark Bogdansky [00:08:03]:
Bring it down. So between this and SEMA, we have.

Braxton Critcher [00:08:07]:
Because I reported 160.

Mark Bogdansky [00:08:08]:
Yeah, I was gonna say. So it'll be somewhere probably between 155 165,000 people coming into Vegas for what used to be known as Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week is now really more known as Apex CMRC by Apex. We say there's about 40 said this year will be about 47, 48,000, what we call targeted buyers, meaning that all the different buyers who come to the show or come to Vegas, there's a segment that our APEX folks want to talk to, and there's a segment that really only does things at sema. And we get that, we understand that that's great. They stay over on that side of the street. We try to bring in, you know, there's going to be about 45, 46, 47,000 registrants that were. That we are actively trying to get to make sure they come into APEX and see our exhibitors and go to our sessions and network with each other.

Braxton Critcher [00:08:56]:
How many of those are shop owners, technicians, service advisors? Because that's the people you said you wanted to target.

Mark Bogdansky [00:09:02]:
How many of those actually are here somewhere this year?

Braxton Critcher [00:09:08]:
Because you know, you see people's names on their name tag, but you can't always read the third line, which is where they are. So I don't know how many people are actually shop owners.

Mark Bogdansky [00:09:16]:
So in Vegas this week, there should be somewhere between 17, 18, 19,000 shop owners.

Braxton Critcher [00:09:21]:
Okay.

Mark Bogdansky [00:09:22]:
Shop owners or people who work in shops. So shop owners, technicians, service advisors, you know, that kind of thing.

Braxton Critcher [00:09:28]:
And that's a good percentage.

Mark Bogdansky [00:09:29]:
Yeah. And look, a lot of them will only go to one show or the other, but we're trying to get more of them to come here also.

Braxton Critcher [00:09:35]:
Yeah, I haven't been to sema. I've just hang out here.

Mark Bogdansky [00:09:39]:
So my whole thing is come to Apex Tuesday. SEMA is open on Friday. We're not open on Friday. Yeah, come to Apex Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, go to SEMA on Friday. Or come to Apex Tuesday and Wednesday if you want to see someone else. If not, go to see. You know, I would never tell anybody not to go to sema. It's a great show.

Mark Bogdansky [00:09:54]:
It's a great experience. Great show. It's different. It's a very different experience. It's a very different show. I. From what I've heard from so many of the shop owners that I know and even and the technicians and everybody else is. That seems a lot of fun.

Mark Bogdansky [00:10:09]:
Not that APEX isn't fun, but seems a lot of fun, but they're going to get their business done and their training done over at Apex.

Braxton Critcher [00:10:14]:
Yeah, it's almost more entertainment to go to sema, Whereas here I mean, this garage over here is epic.

Mark Bogdansky [00:10:21]:
Right?

Braxton Critcher [00:10:21]:
That's really cool.

Mark Bogdansky [00:10:22]:
You know, that's like semen again, it's a great experience, but it's a lot. Almost like a music festival.

Braxton Critcher [00:10:27]:
Yeah, you need a little bit of both.

Mark Bogdansky [00:10:28]:
Yeah, absolutely. And so over here we're doing, you know, we launched this garage over here a few years ago and the whole idea is that the shop owners and technicians come in and they can actually see on a car that is running or that is being worked on how these things work.

Braxton Critcher [00:10:42]:
It's almost like too, if you're thinking about purchasing some piece of equipment rather than, you know, testing it or going to a shop somewhere in your area, you can just come here and see how it works. That's really cool.

Mark Bogdansky [00:10:53]:
You know, and not just in the garage, but surrounding areas now they've got, you know, a lot more of the tire changes and the lifts and everything else.

Braxton Critcher [00:10:59]:
So many parts I've been, I've been really impressed at how many parts suppliers are here.

Mark Bogdansky [00:11:04]:
Oh yeah, every, every major part supplier is here. Yeah, Even the not major ones. And then, you know, we've expanded this year so with everything we were doing down here to focus on the shops, we expanded and gotten great feedback from that. You know, the folks who want to be able to source internationally are able to go do that now in our expansion, which has been great. But what it's allowed us to do is really grow this area that we're building out for the shop owner and technician. That's been just great and we're so excited and happy with it.

Braxton Critcher [00:11:32]:
I think it was 60 countries represented, something like that. Do you know the numbers?

Mark Bogdansky [00:11:36]:
Yeah, there's 60, there's 61 or 62 countries. Countries exhibiting. Yeah, there's about 130 countries represented here.

Braxton Critcher [00:11:46]:
I believe it.

Mark Bogdansky [00:11:47]:
Yeah.

Braxton Critcher [00:11:47]:
So that's wild. I was in LA a few weeks ago and that city more than any other city I've been to, including New York. I heard so many different languages in la and it almost feels like at this event I'm in LA again because there's just so many different languages. It's really neat having all these cultures here bond over one thing, automotive and that.

Mark Bogdansky [00:12:10]:
You know, it's really funny you say that because one of the things we're constantly talking about is Apex is the industry homecoming.

Braxton Critcher [00:12:17]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:12:17]:
It is the one place every year you know that you can come and you are going to see everybody world round, you know, anybody you want from, you know, we have, we have literally people from every, almost every country on the map that are here. And you get. This is where you get to see them. This is where you get to catch up with them. You get to make new friends, see old friends network. Aside from all of the training you can do, aside from all the buying you can do, everything else is good food, Everything else you want to do here in Vegas. But you get it, you know, you really get a chance to network and see, make new friends, see old friends. It's a great thing.

Mark Bogdansky [00:12:50]:
And I'm sure you, as a first time at the show, you know a lot of people, right. You know, Lucas, Lucas is introducing you to everybody. Lucas knows everybody here. But you just see, you know, all of a sudden, Lucas talking to somebody. Oh, I know this guy in California. I know this guy in New York. I know this guy in Maryland, this guy in Florida. They don't get a chance to get together and have a drink or have a meal or even have a conversation, you know, but they get to here, which is really part of this.

Mark Bogdansky [00:13:13]:
It's part of the energy that everybody feels and it's part of what makes this so special and part of the reason that everybody wants to come.

Braxton Critcher [00:13:18]:
Yeah, I think it was Kevin Robinson with Shopware. Yesterday, I was talking to. I was like, you know, I mentioned the homecoming thing because I had Lisa Fauche on, and she talked about that, and I was like, you know, that's true. That's really true. And this is my first one, like you said. So this is like, next year it'll be homecoming for me. This one's like an introduction, but that's it.

Mark Bogdansky [00:13:36]:
But next year, you're going to come back here, you're going to see everybody you met this year. You know, whether you got to. Whether you get to talk to them during the year or not, you're going to see everybody met and you're going to meet more people.

Braxton Critcher [00:13:44]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:13:44]:
You know, and that's. It's just so. It's a great thing in this industry, I'll tell you. I. So I've been working for auto care now for about eight years, and I've worked for different associations on different trade shows over the years. This industry is tighter and more collaborative and more almost like a family than any other industry I've ever seen.

Braxton Critcher [00:14:06]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:14:06]:
Especially when it gets down to the shop level.

Braxton Critcher [00:14:10]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:14:10]:
You know, and it doesn't matter. You have owned one shop, own 12 shops on 100 shops, technician in one shop, whatever it is, they are so collaborative, so willing to help each other. So looking to have a conversation. It doesn't matter if you're a shop and you're talking to a guy who's got a shop across town, that theoretically would be a competitor. Everybody in this industry, it's incredible to me, everybody in this industry is really trying to look out for each other, especially on that shop owner and technician level. It's amazing to watch. And so when they come here, they get to see all those people again. They get to, you know, whether it's commiserate talk, whatever it is.

Mark Bogdansky [00:14:47]:
And like I said, you know, you'll, next year you'll be here. You're going to see all the same people and you get to see, you know, meet some new people. So great.

Braxton Critcher [00:14:53]:
It was really cool. So I ran into someone. So I do. Part of this podcast is every Wednesday we release like an NPR style highlight of around the industry, what the top 10, 15 stories are. And so as I am learning about the industry, I read names of companies and people that I've never heard of before. And I read the news, I learn about what's happening, but it doesn't really become real until this week when I've met some of the people that I've read about and talked about. And it's been a little surreal to meet these people or you see the.

Mark Bogdansky [00:15:28]:
Companies that you, hey, I just read a press release about this company and I listened to it. I know exactly what you're talking about.

Braxton Critcher [00:15:34]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:15:34]:
I listen to them. And yeah.

Braxton Critcher [00:15:35]:
Yeah. And so it's been, I'm like, twice I've walked past an exhibitor and I'm like, you know, I know that name. And I've learned now when I have that feeling, I know I've talked about them so I can say, hey, you've.

Mark Bogdansky [00:15:49]:
Been on my podcast.

Braxton Critcher [00:15:50]:
And so it's, it's cool. It's really cool.

Mark Bogdansky [00:15:52]:
No, and I'll tell you. So I listen to all of your podcasts.

Braxton Critcher [00:15:55]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:15:56]:
And that news podcast has actually helped me a few times because every once in a while.

Braxton Critcher [00:15:59]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:15:59]:
Because I'll be in a conversation with someone. Hey, I just heard on his podcast.

Braxton Critcher [00:16:02]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:16:02]:
This happened or this happened. I was like. And it helps. Absolutely.

Braxton Critcher [00:16:05]:
Well, you'll have to tell me what I got to do better because I'm learning, I'm growing, figuring things out. First year.

Mark Bogdansky [00:16:10]:
I think you're in a great job.

Braxton Critcher [00:16:11]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:16:11]:
I love the good stories.

Braxton Critcher [00:16:13]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:16:15]:
One of the things about this industry. So my last job was in the retail industry. Retail industry loves to talk about themselves. They love to talk about everything they're doing. Right. They love to Talk about all, you know, all this. This industry, for whatever the reason, especially in the shops, we don't brag. We don't like to really promote what we're doing.

Mark Bogdansky [00:16:37]:
You know, we're going to do it. We're going to do it quietly. Yeah, we do a lot of great things, but it's, you know, it's not something we like to necessarily talk about or get a whole lot of compliments for anything. And I think that's something that this industry really needs to do a little bit better. You know, we're trying, honestly, it's one of the things we're trying to do with some of the new things that we have here also is, you know, we. Sustainability is a big buzzword in the. In the aftermarket right now. Right.

Mark Bogdansky [00:16:58]:
And so one of the things is we have. We have seen. Excuse me. We have the sustainability stage. And what I kept saying is, I want you to say what you're doing. Get up there and brag about what you're doing from a sustainability standpoint, because the more you brag, the more other people are going to learn about what they could do. Yeah, but I think it's the same kind of thing. Right.

Mark Bogdansky [00:17:16]:
I love the Good Story podcast that you put out, because people don't always talk about that.

Braxton Critcher [00:17:21]:
Yeah, well, you know, I like that about the industry. There does need to be more of the self promotion. I agree. But at the same time, I like that because that, to me, shows the kind of character in a real humble, genuine person. Not talking about themselves.

Mark Bogdansky [00:17:38]:
Absolutely.

Braxton Critcher [00:17:39]:
So more people like me that just need to just talk about them because, you know, most people aren't comfortable patting themselves on the back, and that's, I think, a good thing.

Mark Bogdansky [00:17:47]:
I. Oh, I agree.

Braxton Critcher [00:17:48]:
But I'm with you. You know, sometimes you do need to pump yourself a little, so.

Mark Bogdansky [00:17:52]:
Yeah, no, I agree with you. 100. I love the humility about it.

Braxton Critcher [00:17:55]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:17:56]:
The area that I look at is, you know, sometimes. Not all the time, but sometimes people still look at the industry or look at the mechanic that they go to or the shop that they go to to get their car fixed, and they think they're going to get screwed as soon as they walk in.

Braxton Critcher [00:18:08]:
Oh, yeah, no, that. That's a thing.

Mark Bogdansky [00:18:10]:
But that's. That's where I think if they knew a little bit more about the personal stories behind what's going on.

Braxton Critcher [00:18:17]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:18:17]:
And they'd realize that these guys are not to get them.

Braxton Critcher [00:18:20]:
Yeah. You know, well, it's just, you know, it's a. It's a Perpetual conversation, absolutely. About that issue, because it is real. In a local community, let's say Lucas's hometown of Boone, North Carolina, there's 20 to 30 repair shops that most people know about and only two to three of them are actually good.

Mark Bogdansky [00:18:41]:
Right.

Braxton Critcher [00:18:42]:
And so that's consistent with every area. And so there needs to be more of a commitment to run your shop the way it should be, to do things the right way, to treat people the best way and treat your customers, but also your technicians the right way. There's a lot of work to be done. This industry does have a great community feel. They're tight knit, they help each other, but there's still a long way to go. And so, you know, when you have this homecoming like this, this is kind of when the meetings behind closed doors, the meetings here in the exhibitors hall happen, that start to make some of that stuff churn in the next year. So, like, I think I asked this to Kevin yesterday. When you have those meetings, does it give you hope? What kind of energy does it give you? Because that's what propels the shops that need to get it together.

Braxton Critcher [00:19:34]:
Get it together.

Mark Bogdansky [00:19:35]:
Yeah. I think here, you know, it's interesting the way you put that because I think here what we found is that the shops who are coming here, so, you know, like in Boone, let's say it's 10%, right. You have 10% good shops. Those are the, those are the shops that are interested in coming here or going one of the other, you know, big training shows or whatever it is. Those ones are going to invest in their people, they're going to invest in the shop, they're going to invest in their people. So that, look, we were doing EV training six years ago. Yeah, Six, seven years ago. And we had some shops who said, I'm never going to see a hybrid, I'm never going to see an ev.

Mark Bogdansky [00:20:05]:
I don't need to. It's selling warranty for another five years. Why do we need to. But the shops that understood why we were doing it five, six years ago, even though they weren't going to see it yet and are investing in that, are the ones that are now succeeding in those areas. Yeah, those are the ones are going to be successful moving forward. You know, so I agree with you. They probably somewhere in the neighborhood of, you know, 10, 15, 20% of the shops are what you want to say is a good shop.

Braxton Critcher [00:20:30]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:20:31]:
And those are the ones that are investing and investing. And it doesn't have to be coming here. It could be going to any of the training events, you know, any. But those are the ones that understand what it takes to be a good, you know, a good employer or good business, whatever the good, you know, good for your customers, whatever it is. Those are all the classes we have. You know, aside from the technical training stuff, we have classes about being good for your employees, being good for your customers. Not just marketing and getting more customers, but how to be good for your customers.

Braxton Critcher [00:20:57]:
So here's something that people have talked about, and I think this industry will do more of, but I think some of the training might need to be about how do you, at your repair shop, help someone else in your community, Another repair shop, because those 80%, most of them will never come to a show. Because I just talked about this with Cecil Bullard, are in the cycle of I'm too busy, I'm not charging enough, I'm losing text, all this stuff. And so they're just so focused on their little world that they won't ever reach out, go to training. So maybe a repair shop that's doing it right can be trained, encouraged to find someone in their community that they can help along, and that might bring the industry up.

Mark Bogdansky [00:21:45]:
I think that's a great idea.

Braxton Critcher [00:21:46]:
I love heard it here first, folks.

Mark Bogdansky [00:21:49]:
And Cecil definitely would be one of the people that would know about that better than me. I. I think, you know, I think it's a great idea. I think it's very smart.

Braxton Critcher [00:21:57]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:21:57]:
You know, I do. I think again, and this is a community that probably would. Right. Like, the shop owners here all want to help each other.

Braxton Critcher [00:22:02]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:22:02]:
You know, it's not just Lucas. Right. Lucas. Lucas didn't start this podcast to get, you know, didn't start his podcast to get rich.

Braxton Critcher [00:22:08]:
No.

Mark Bogdansky [00:22:08]:
Lucas started his podcast to try to help the industry learn more, get better, do better as an industry, you know, whether it's in your shop or in your community or whatever it is. Right.

Braxton Critcher [00:22:18]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:22:18]:
And Lucas is amazing, but he's not the only one. There's so many people like that that they might not do a podcast, but they want to do other stuff. I think it's a great idea. If we could figure out a way to, you know, adopt a shop, kind of a program like you're talking about, you know, find it. Find a local shop. I think that'd be great. And there are. There are some groups who do that.

Mark Bogdansky [00:22:38]:
You know, it's really interesting. It seemed to come together in times of need.

Braxton Critcher [00:22:41]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:22:42]:
So.

Braxton Critcher [00:22:42]:
Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:22:43]:
You know, so with the hurricanes recently, you know, and I had reached out.

Braxton Critcher [00:22:45]:
To it's been a big deal with that.

Mark Bogdansky [00:22:46]:
And I had reached out to Lucas about some stuff and I said to him, you know, we'll make sure he's doing okay. He says, yeah, but you know, all these other shops are in trouble. I said, well, you know, here's some information we as an association may be able to help you with. And he's like, good, I gotta get this to all the other shops. He's not worried about, well, hey, all these other shops closed, which means I'm gonna make a whole lot more money. Yeah, that is, literally, it's not. But it's not any of them. I had the same conversation.

Mark Bogdansky [00:23:07]:
People in Florida, you know, it's not. That's what I'm saying is it's just a good example of they know, you know. Yeah, they got very lucky. Their shop wasn't hit in Florida, but they know five, six, seven shops that got flooded have to close for a week, two weeks, three weeks, whatever it is. And their immediate reaction is, how do I help them? Yeah, not, hey, how do I get their customers to come to me and make more money? Which again, is just an incredible thing within this industry. And I think, you know, you've got, you and Cecil are definitely onto something as far as figuring out how to, community wise, you know, help each other more. Yeah, I love the idea.

Braxton Critcher [00:23:41]:
Well, the industry, there's still a piece of this. But from what I've learned is 20 years ago it was more competitive. You saw other shops as a direct competitor to you. But I think more shop owners are realizing there's a dang lot of cars on the road and we don't gotta fight for them. And so I think that's helping people realize that you don't have to try and compete with other shops because they're just gonna come to you anyway.

Mark Bogdansky [00:24:08]:
And I think that helps. Rather come to them or another shop than go to the dealer or whatever it is. You know, they realize that the competition shouldn't be amongst themselves. Let's figure out how to, how to.

Braxton Critcher [00:24:17]:
Keep each other, how to help each other, and that helps with it. And I think maybe we'll see more and more of that community relationship in the, in the future.

Mark Bogdansky [00:24:26]:
I hope you're right.

Braxton Critcher [00:24:27]:
Yeah, I do.

Mark Bogdansky [00:24:27]:
I really, I hope you're right. I think that's, it's a great thing. I wasn't here 20 years ago in this part of the industry, but, you know, I think I was eight. Neither was I. Man, you're young.

Braxton Critcher [00:24:37]:
Yeah, but good to get in. Good to get in young, though.

Mark Bogdansky [00:24:40]:
Yeah, I guess. There was an 80s party last night. There's an 80s party somebody was hosting last night. We. We were laughing because so many of our staff weren't even born in the 80s and they were dressing like the 80s. And I was like. I started doing the math.

Braxton Critcher [00:24:51]:
I don't.

Mark Bogdansky [00:24:51]:
I don't want to do this math. Yeah, forget it.

Braxton Critcher [00:24:53]:
Yeah. 80s was a little bit of ways now. A little bit of ways now.

Mark Bogdansky [00:24:56]:
But no, I think you're right, you know, and I think it's important for the industry to do that, you know, and anything we can do to help that or foster that would be great. You know, I don't know. I don't know if training here. I think there's a way to approach it, you know, maybe. Maybe a couple of classes here about how to talk to other people in your community.

Braxton Critcher [00:25:13]:
I think so. I mean, because like I said, a lot of those folks are just not going to come.

Mark Bogdansky [00:25:17]:
Right. That's what I was going to say. Like, those people aren't coming here no matter what I offer.

Braxton Critcher [00:25:20]:
You gotta. You gotta talk to the people who do.

Mark Bogdansky [00:25:23]:
Exactly.

Braxton Critcher [00:25:24]:
So they can talk to those who don't. Yeah, yeah. What's your biggest takeaway from this year's event?

Mark Bogdansky [00:25:30]:
Just how strong the industry is, you know, despite Covid, which, you know, again, I want no party here in the pre. Covid. Covid conversation anymore. But despite everything that's gone on in the last, you know, say, four, five years, no matter what happens politically, no matter who's in office, no matter what happens with the economy, ups, downs, whatever, this industry is really dang strong. And this week really helped reinforce that to me again, just how strong this industry is, how great it is, how much they want to learn, how much they want to be innovative and be able to keep pushing forward, which has just been, you know, it's nice that this happens every year because, you know, so I'm planning this every year. And like you said when we started, you get done and you get a little wiped out, but it's also a little bit rejuvenating because you remember why you do this and why it's so important that we have this, you know, and it's invigorating, again to see everything that happened and how well everything has gone. Not from a. Not from a logistics standpoint of the show, but from an industry standpoint, you know, how important this is, that everybody gets together and how important it is to get a chance to see everybody and see all the new products and see Everything that they can do to help their shop move forward.

Braxton Critcher [00:26:44]:
How much does this show change year to year? And I'm assuming you take suggestions, you take notes yourself and you're like, ah, next year we could do a little better in this area, whatever.

Mark Bogdansky [00:26:55]:
So I will say I did not ask you to ask me that question, but that is an excellent question. I didn't even feed you that one. You know, typically what happens with this show is you're always thinking, okay, what can we do better next year or maybe the year after? We've actually, we, as we as show owners have taken a very, very big picture approach in what we want the show to look like in seven to 10 years.

Braxton Critcher [00:27:18]:
Oh, so you're looking that far out?

Mark Bogdansky [00:27:20]:
Yeah, so we, we've done a lot of research and conversations and a lot of work to figure out what we want this show to look like. 2030, 2033.

Braxton Critcher [00:27:32]:
So 2025, 2026 are kind of already planned.

Mark Bogdansky [00:27:36]:
No, it's. No, no, no. So I, I say that. So, so 2030. So I use, let's say right now use 2030 or 2033 is kind of goalpost. There's a roadmap to get there. So every year now between, you know, 24 to 30 or 24 to 33, there are going to be enhancements, changes, modifications, thing we can do better. To me, everything we try to do has to either enhance the overall attendee experience, no matter who the attendee is, whether you're a shop owner, a distributor, a retailer, a media, a podcast, you know, we want to enhance your experience or from an exhibitor standpoint, we want to help bring more value to the show.

Mark Bogdansky [00:28:17]:
You know, whether it's bringing more buyers or helping them find more value in your booths or what, you know, their experiences or whatever to helping them be better for their customers. So there's going to be a lot of changes in the show over the next few years. You know, we're planning some major changes for next year already that have been, that we've been working on.

Braxton Critcher [00:28:33]:
You let that stuff out of the box yet?

Mark Bogdansky [00:28:35]:
Or it's more, that's more on the, on the manufacturer exhibit side.

Braxton Critcher [00:28:38]:
Okay.

Mark Bogdansky [00:28:38]:
Right now. Than in the attendance side. But for example, this is your, this is the first year we actually did free buyer lunches. We know how expensive you go get a hamburger in the city, it's going to cost you 50 bucks. Yeah, it's crazy. So we did free buyer lunches every day this year.

Braxton Critcher [00:28:51]:
I bought this water bottle on Monday and I've just Been refilling it because.

Mark Bogdansky [00:28:54]:
I'm holding the same.

Braxton Critcher [00:28:55]:
Hey, look at that. How about that?

Mark Bogdansky [00:28:56]:
I'm holding the same one. Hey, if I'm gonna pay 750 for a bottle of water. Yeah, you damn right that. I'm just gonna keep refilling it as much as I can.

Braxton Critcher [00:29:03]:
When I. My wife, this is an unhealthy thing sometimes, but she has notifications for when I spend money on a credit card. And so on Monday I bought a water bottle, a roast beef sandwich and a coffee at the place in the lobby. And it was 30 some dollars. And she called immediately. She does this sometimes. She's like, what the heck cost $35? I was like, lunch? Did you buy lunch for two people?

Mark Bogdansky [00:29:28]:
It's not.

Braxton Critcher [00:29:29]:
No.

Mark Bogdansky [00:29:29]:
And that is why one of the first things as we were doing this, when I talk about it, when you.

Braxton Critcher [00:29:35]:
Can'T feed people, I mean, a lot of shows feed folks. I know, but I bored it.

Mark Bogdansky [00:29:39]:
But I'm still doing free buyer lunches. Yeah, I've got, I've got buyer lunches now, so. Because again, you know how expensive it is, you get a water roast beef sandwich or whatever for, you know, on a coffee for 30 something dollars. Well, if I'm trying to convince a shop, a single shop owner, right, to come in and bring in a tech or two, that's an expensive. And in Vegas staying here even, you know, we get better hotel rates you're going to find on Expedia or online or anywhere else. Still not cheap. Flying here sometimes can be expensive. Yeah, we know all of those.

Mark Bogdansky [00:30:10]:
And those costs are coming right out of a shop owner's pocket.

Braxton Critcher [00:30:12]:
And that's the main reason why folks don't come.

Mark Bogdansky [00:30:14]:
And that's. And that's why we want to help give them as much value as we can once they're here. I want to enhance their experience and give them as much value as we can so that they say, okay, you know what, I can bring somebody because I don't have to worry about feeding them breakfast and lunch. Excuse me, because, because we did it already. And so it's those kind of things, you know, and we're going to be like you said, Joe's Garage has been great. People touch, feel, whatever. We're going to try to bring in more of those experiential elements. So you're not just walking through booth to booth.

Mark Bogdansky [00:30:41]:
So there's going to be a lot of changes over the next few years. Look, podcast. You watched this this year, right?

Braxton Critcher [00:30:46]:
Oh, this is new.

Mark Bogdansky [00:30:47]:
This is, this podcast show. That you're in is brand new this year. We've had one podcast, has been here for the last few years. We've had another podcast. Lucas has been upstairs in the lobby for the last couple years. We have a couple of others that kind of sneak into a corner here and there.

Braxton Critcher [00:30:59]:
Right this year.

Mark Bogdansky [00:31:00]:
We said, look, let's help them out. Let's give them space. Let's give them a space where they can record. You know, everybody can see who's recording. Gives you a little extra branding. So this way, somebody walks in, hey, I. I didn't know there was, you know, automotive repair news today. I got to go check that out.

Mark Bogdansky [00:31:15]:
You know, I don't know what changed in the industry is. I got to check that out.

Braxton Critcher [00:31:17]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:31:17]:
And so, you know, gives you a little bit more branding. Hopefully you get pick up on your. On your listenership and your downloads and everything else, and it just. Again, it helps the industry. Yeah, but, you know, we're trying to. We're trying to help everybody. I feel.

Braxton Critcher [00:31:29]:
I said. I walked in here, I was like, it feels like I'm at the super bowl because they have, like, a radio row that is.

Mark Bogdansky [00:31:34]:
Exactly.

Braxton Critcher [00:31:34]:
And there's a podcast row here. There's. I mean, there's. Between our four shows and the rest here, there's like, you know, 12 to 15 podcasts represented.

Mark Bogdansky [00:31:44]:
You know, we have.

Braxton Critcher [00:31:45]:
Cool.

Mark Bogdansky [00:31:45]:
Absolutely. You know, we've got eight of these. I think we've already been approached by a couple more. Said, hey, I didn't even realize I can get in here. Yeah, I.

Braxton Critcher [00:31:52]:
Actually, you're gonna have to have a whole nother sector of your building just for podcasts.

Mark Bogdansky [00:31:55]:
Hey, look, you know, if that's what it is, that's what it is. But, you know, I only reached out to the ones who I knew. You know, I didn't even know about some of these other ones that call me. Hey, how do I get in there? Well, give me your card. Give me.

Braxton Critcher [00:32:03]:
You know, it's a booming part of the industry space.

Mark Bogdansky [00:32:07]:
I love podcasts.

Braxton Critcher [00:32:08]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:32:08]:
You know, I commute. I go to work most days. I go into the office to and from work. I'll listen to podcasts almost exclusively.

Braxton Critcher [00:32:14]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's wild. It's. The podcast industry is really growing. I do that. I mean, I. I work for a radio station on the side. I do an overnight show, and I listen to podcasts.

Braxton Critcher [00:32:24]:
Yeah, yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:32:26]:
It's also how you learn more about the industry.

Braxton Critcher [00:32:28]:
Absolutely.

Mark Bogdansky [00:32:28]:
I learn more from listening to the podcast than probably anything else, including newsletters. You Know, trade magazines, anything like that. I learned more from just. You pick up stuff in conversations.

Braxton Critcher [00:32:39]:
Well, that's why we started mine.

Mark Bogdansky [00:32:41]:
Right.

Braxton Critcher [00:32:41]:
You know, Lucas said that's the one thing the industry is missing. There are podcasts happening, but nothing is really covering the news to keep people informed. And there's the Ratchet and Wrench, and all the other publications do a fantastic job and people take time to read them. But when you're in the car and you listen to a podcast and you want to stay informed, where do you go? So this has really been a really neat venture to be on to help.

Mark Bogdansky [00:33:03]:
I'm glad you were able to come. I hope. I hope you've enjoyed. Hope you're gonna come back.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:06]:
I've loved it.

Mark Bogdansky [00:33:07]:
You're gonna.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:07]:
Hey, if you'll have us, I'll be.

Mark Bogdansky [00:33:09]:
I will have you. Yeah, no, this is great.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:11]:
I'll save you for last again next year. We'll do like a recap every year.

Mark Bogdansky [00:33:15]:
Sounds. Works for me.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:16]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:33:16]:
Works for me. Well, I'm glad you guys are here. I'm glad you got a lot out of it. I'm glad I could finally meet you.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:20]:
Yeah, man. Yeah. This has been really cool.

Mark Bogdansky [00:33:22]:
It's been great.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:22]:
It's been great.

Mark Bogdansky [00:33:23]:
And really like the whole. The whole thing has been great. And I'm glad that Lucas and David have really enjoyed everything that we do. And, you know, we're trying to. Again, it's all about just getting the name out there. And for a long time, I don't think that the shop owners ever and the technicians ever thought about Apex. You know, they think about going to CMA if they're going to have some fun. They don't think about coming to Apex.

Mark Bogdansky [00:33:42]:
So that's something we've been working on for a few years. We continue to work on things like this. Help.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:47]:
Yeah.

Mark Bogdansky [00:33:47]:
Obviously not going to solve it, but we're getting there. You know, the training has been really helpful, but we're trying to get more and more shops to understand, hey, come to Apex because you're going to want to see what's going on there. You want to help your business and everything.

Braxton Critcher [00:33:59]:
Well, I see it. And we've been talking about this show. I talk about this show more than sema, Right. And we've been doing it since June, so I love what you guys are doing. So I'll do it again next year.

Mark Bogdansky [00:34:09]:
Fantastic.

Braxton Critcher [00:34:09]:
Thanks, man.

Mark Bogdansky [00:34:10]:
Can't wait.

Braxton Critcher [00:34:15]:
Hey, if you're still here, thank you so much for listening to this episode of Automotive Repair News Today. If you enjoyed the show. Please take a moment like share. Subscribe to the podcast. That'll help us out a big deal and help grow the show. And you know what? While you're at it, slap on a review too. If you feel like this content is helpful for the industry, don't forget to follow us on all your favorite social media platforms. We're on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Braxton Critcher [00:34:41]:
Stay connected and be the first to know about new episodes, behind the scene, content and more. And until next time, let's make the industry better together.