For a customer, the most memorable bad experience that can happen is when a trailer breaks down halfway to or from a rodeo, halfway from a car race, or halfway to a job because something wasn’ t repaired correctly. If customers know they can bring their trailer to you and it’ s going to be fixed right, they come back.
Q: You’ re leading education sessions at this year’ s NATDA Trailer Show. What are you most excited about?
Bill: One thing I appreciate about NATDA is how committed dealers are to learning and improving.
I’ m excited about the expansion of classes this year. Mark Podeyn’ s electrical class is going to be great. He will present a firm understanding of direct current electricity, practical info that is foundational for trailer technicians. We also are going to present a class on trailer electrical systems, trailer lighting and the electrical side of trailer brakes. Sparks, arcs, and electrical ghosts can really cost a dealership time, money, and patience. These are the kinds of topics that help technicians understand not just what to do, but why they’ re doing it.
I’ m also excited that some technical sessions are being recorded by NATDA this year. Not everybody has been able to physically attend every class, and a lot of dealership owners and managers want to bring training back to their teams.
These NATDA tech session recordings will be evergreen. The kind of material technicians can learn from online and keep earning credits toward certification even if they don’ t have the time or budget to attend every class in person.
Q: Can online training really help develop technicians?
Bill: Absolutely.
One advantage of professional video training is that people can go back and revisit concepts, validate what they learned before, and reinforce good habits.
Now, hands-on training still matters. One thing about hands-on training is if somebody puts something together upside down or backwards, they usually never do it wrong again. That’ s how people learn.
Video training can reach a wider audience, but hands-on experience is still critical. Many techs chose the profession because it is hands-on. Working through real-world problems, like stuck bolts, damaged wiring, and troubleshooting challenges can really teach lessons that stick.
Bill’ s Bottom Line
“ Just because something worked once or twice for somebody doesn’ t mean it’ ll work 100 jobs in a row. We’ re trying to teach systems, so what comes in the door, gets efficiently and properly fixed, and leaves properly fixed every time.”
Keep Learning After Nashville
Can’ t make every technical session at the NATDA Trailer Show?
All B-Level sessions will be recorded and added to a new service-department-specific sub-group on NATDA Connect hosted by Dealer Academy, allowing technicians to continue building skills and progressing through the NATDA Trailer Service Professional Certification program long after NATDA Trailer Show ends.
58 The Haul www. natda. org