September 22, 2023 • 31 mins
Suzanne Stansbury, the Education Chair for the Northeast Regional Carwash Convention (NRCC) and the editor/publisher of Northeast Carwasher Magazine, joins the podcast to preview the 2023 NRCC. She breaks down what attendees can expect from this year’s installment, as well as how to maximize your convention experience. Plus, we get breaking news about the 2024 NRCC keynote speaker!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kevin Zalaznik (00:10):
All right, welcome back to the modern car
wash podcast.
I'm your host, Kevin Zelaznik,here with Shane Groff and our
guest today.
Is Suzanne Stansbury.
Suzanne, welcome.
Suzanne Stansbury (00:21):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
So
Kevin Zalaznik (00:23):
editor, publisher of the Northeast Car
Washer Magazine, but alsoeducation chair for the NRCC,
which is coming up in October.
So I'm glad we were able to geton your calendar.
I know it's certainly a busytime for
Suzanne Stansbury (00:36):
you.
Yep.
We're two weeks out from theshow and we're all very excited.
Kevin Zalaznik (00:39):
So looking at it and just perusing the website,
uh, I think it was like 358boosts last year, record
setting.
But.
Already sold out in July.
Yeah, so it's it seems like it'sgonna be
Suzanne Stansbury (00:52):
a great show.
Yeah, we have 385 booths soldout.
We're about 30 up from last yearVery exciting, we didn't
anticipate it, so we have a bitof a waiting list, which we've
never had before, and as aresult we're bumping up to a
bigger, we're expanding, uh, ourfootprint for
Kevin Zalaznik (01:11):
next year.
So when you look at the, thegrowth of the convention, um, at
some point it, uh, I'll use theICA for an example, you go there
and, There's there's othervendors who necessarily don't
fit into like the car wash, butthey're there because in some
way it makes sense Are youseeing more of that as well
Suzanne Stansbury (01:34):
at the NRCC?
Yeah, not at all.
We don't have any of thoseancillary vendors Unfortunately,
not going to see the massagechairs at the show, at least not
this year.
Um, no,
Kevin Zalaznik (01:46):
not at all.
Okay.
So, um, I mean, you look at thegrowth of the industry over the
past few years.
I mean, do you remember yourfirst show
Suzanne Stansbury (01:55):
and when that was?
I do.
It was an, it was the first NRCCI went to was in Newport.
Okay.
Um, 34 years ago.
This is the 33rd NRCC, but wetook a year off for COVID.
Okay.
So,
Kevin Zalaznik (02:07):
yes.
So, go back 30 some years.
What did
Suzanne Stansbury (02:10):
that show look like?
Uh, I was very new to theindustry and, um, you know, my
boss sent me out there to kindof mix and bangle and spread the
word about the magazine.
I was with Professional CarWashing and Detailing at that
time.
And the NRCC was basically aglorified tabletop with a couple
(02:30):
of educational seminars.
And from that point, it's grownto be what it is today.
Kevin Zalaznik (02:37):
So let's rewind and talk about your introduction
into the industry and youtouched on it with the Car Wash
magazine And before so TomHoffman senior who is our
founder of Hoffman Car Wash Hewas in here briefly saying hi to
(02:58):
you.
I guess small world or whateveryou you're local in the Albany
area, but Yeah.
How do you know the Hoffmanfamily in that
Suzanne Stansbury (03:08):
sense?
Um, well, uh, Tommy and seniorI've known for, you know, 35
years.
Um, when you're with themagazine, you know, you tend to
branch, you know, out and meetdifferent people, you know,
across the country, obviouslythey're local.
So I would have, they would havebeen some of the first people I
met.
Um, but I was also on the NewYork state car wash association
(03:30):
board of directors at At thattime, when I was with
Professional Car Washing, andTommy was a president at one
point, and actually I did somemarketing for you guys for, um,
five or six or seven years.
Kevin Zalaznik (03:44):
Shane, do you remember the first time that you
two met?
Yeah.
Did you have hair?
Uh, yeah,
Shane Groff (03:55):
yeah, because it would have been my first trip
up.
It was the very early 90s.
Okay.
Um,
Kevin Zalaznik (04:03):
1983 maybe?
Yeah.
So it sounds like you'vecertainly, you've found a home
Suzanne Stansbury (04:08):
in this industry.
I have.
I have.
It's um, you know, when I firstgot into it, there really
weren't a lot of women.
So it's easy to kind of standout in the crowd.
Um, obviously there's more womeninvolved in car washing today
than there, there ever havebeen.
Um, we've actually got, um, agreat, um, Um, woman, uh, from
Gleam Car Wash in Colorado isgoing to be one of our, uh,
(04:30):
virtual tour sites.
Um, and she's a great exampleof, you know, where the
industry's going and how diverseit's becoming.
Yeah.
Kevin Zalaznik (04:37):
What, uh, talk about that for a little bit is,
is it still is a very maledominated industry.
It is, totally.
Um, there are, and I thinkprobably like many industries
there have been strides in thelast few years, certainly.
Um, how, what do you think, orwhat's the approach that maybe
an organization like yours hastaken to, to kind of be more
(04:59):
inclusive or, or drive thatdiversity?
Um.
Suzanne Stansbury (05:06):
Well, I mean, we're, we're a group of people
who are very open to, you know,ideas and sharing and you know,
kind of working as a family.
Uh, the NRCC is not anassociation.
It's a trade show.
Mm hmm.
So the five East Coast Car WashAssociations have volunteers
that work on putting the showtogether.
(05:28):
So you really have to be, youknow, um, a cohesive unit.
Um, you have to, you know, beopen to new ideas.
Uh, I, I don't ever really lookat, you know, the male female
ratio in the industry.
I just, you know, we're allcarwash people, you know,
varying levels and differentaspects.
(05:49):
I, I don't focus on the factthat I'm one of however many,
you know, women there are.
Kevin Zalaznik (05:54):
So, uh, the NRCC is October 2nd to the 4th
Atlantic city.
Um, you talked about it being inNewport.
How long has it been in AtlanticCity?
Suzanne Stansbury (06:04):
Um, it's been in Atlantic City for a number of
years, and there's a lot ofreasons behind that.
Initially, the, the mindset waslet's put together, you know, a
trade show that has, you know,education and exhibits, but
let's make it, um, accessibleto...
you know, different areas of theNortheast.
(06:26):
So it's, it's a drivable show.
Um, and we thought, okay, well,we'll start a new, they started
it in Newport.
The second show I think was inthe Catskills.
Then we were in Saratoga.
Then we hit, um, the casino inConnecticut, which was, you
know, obviously if you're maledominated, there's a lot of guys
who like to gamble.
(06:47):
So we were there for a number ofyears because it's very nice
facility big enough for us andwe just kept, you know Slowly
growing and we grew out of thecasinos in Connecticut.
So okay, Atlantic City madesense a little more exciting You
know, mini Vegas you can drivethere.
Okay, maybe that's a Little bitof a stretch, but you can drive
(07:10):
there You know, it's reasonablefor us, the NRCC, you know,
obviously we, we want to makemoney, um, the money that we
make, the profit goes back tothe associations and helps them,
you know, thrive and survive.
Um, but we want it to besomething that's accessible to
(07:30):
everybody, to the little guy whohas one location, who is really
the backbone of the industry to,you know, the multi location
operators like the Hoffman's.
Um, and Atlantic City reallywants us.
They, they give us incentives,we get great hotel rates, uh, we
try to keep our pricing to theshowdown and we try to keep our
(07:51):
pricing to the vendors down.
So, you know, we're not, uh, notout there to rape the vendors.
You know, we want them to besuccessful and we want to be
successful, so we try to make itaffordable.
Well,
Kevin Zalaznik (08:03):
it's, you know, it is a cycle because, like you
said, you want to make money,obviously, and, um.
But by doing so you're providinggreat programming that's helping
the guests of the show then goand Make more money and so
forth, right?
It's it's a it's a lot of yeahvendors get their chance to go
(08:23):
and sell but it sounds like youhave a ton of Educational
programs lined up this year.
Are there any that really exciteyou?
Suzanne Stansbury (08:30):
Um, well, our keynote speaker, Mark Denton,
is, we had a little pre con withhim a couple days ago to kind of
go over, you know, who, whohe'll be speaking to and what
our expectations are, what hisexpectations are.
He hails from England, so he'sgot a great accent, so
everybody's going to be, youknow, you know, listening to
that, um, but he's got a greatmessage.
(08:52):
I mean, he is going to be ableto motivate, I think, our
attendees to, to look deepwithin their organizations.
Um, to, to better, um, drivewhat they're doing and to just,
just create, uh, a culture thatis, is stronger and more.
You know, driven toprofitability, he has raced and
(09:16):
sailed across the country.
He's really versed in, um,taking the common person and
making them extraordinary.
So I think his message is goingto resonate.
I think his story is going to begreat.
I think watching the videos ofhis, his crazy sailing is, is,
attendees.
Are there any
Kevin Zalaznik (09:37):
keynote speakers over the years that really stand
out for you?
Suzanne Stansbury (09:40):
Um, well, everyone who's watching this who
knows me knows I'm a huge fan ofChris Christie.
So I, um, I was beyond withChris Christie.
Um, but I have to harken back toDaryl Hewitt, who was a former
ICA president from Minnesota whocame out in a leprechaun suit in
(10:01):
Atlantic City back when we wereat, um, I think, We might have
been at the former, it was theHard Rock now, but it used to be
the Taj.
So he came out in a leprechaunsuit and spoke about, you know,
how he has grown his businessand he was just a guy huge with
personality.
So I think he'd be right upthere with Chris Christie.
Kevin Zalaznik (10:22):
So Shane, I don't know as uh, you're working
the booth obviously, do you getto sit keynotes or has it been a
few years?
It, it
Shane Groff (10:31):
varies.
It kind of goes in waves whereI'll catch
Kevin Zalaznik (10:34):
a couple.
Yeah.
Is there, did any stand out foryou?
Uh, I was at Chris Christie one.
Yeah.
Um, I'm not a...
Suzanne Stansbury (10:42):
He, he did get a little political.
A little more political than Iwanted him to.
But, you know, you can't controlsomebody once they get up there
and have a microphone.
Kevin Zalaznik (10:51):
Did you ever consider dressing up like a
leprechaun?
Uh, probably not.
Suzanne Stansbury (10:56):
It would take a special kind of individual to
do that, and he was definitely aspecial.
Special, very successful carwash operator.
Kevin Zalaznik (11:04):
So Mark Den, in the past few years, uh, I got a
shameless plug here.
So Hoffman Innovated, MicroLogicare the presenting sponsors of
the keynote.
Um, so we're, we're lookingforward to that for sure.
Um, uh, I'm curious, how do yougo about finding the
Suzanne Stansbury (11:22):
keynote speaker?
It's, it's a process.
Um, is that your responsibility?
I'm very involved in it.
Yeah.
Um, up until Innov8d andMicroLogic became our sponsors,
we didn't really have the meansto go after this level of
speaker.
I mean, we couldn't do itwithout you guys.
(11:43):
Um, you know, we would try tolook within.
I always kind of thought thatgetting an operator who knew our
industry inside and out to beour keynote speaker was the way
to go.
Number one, he knew theindustry.
Number two, we didn't have topay for it.
Um, Um, but I kind of, I changedmy mindset on that and I, I feel
that, you know, our keynotespeaker this year, actually, um,
(12:07):
funny enough, we learned in thepre con that he considered being
a car washer at one point, hestarted researching the
industry.
So when his, when the agencythat represents him reached out
to him, uh, he was veryinterested very quickly.
Let's do this.
Uh, it depends on the level ofspeaker.
Once you get to a certain pricepoint, it's, it's such a crazy
(12:31):
process where you have to reachout to his people and then his
people have to reach out to hisprivate people, there's two
different schedules and, youknow, we don't have the
attendance base that some ofthese, you know, speakers want,
you know, they want a hundredthousand people to see them and.
You know, they, they need aprivate plane and, you know, all
(12:54):
of that stuff.
And it's really not necessary.
I mean, the cat, the level andthe caliber speaker, I think
we've had in the last couple ofyears.
Yeah,
Kevin Zalaznik (13:02):
it's, it seems like it's, it's an, a lot, it's
not like just going to likepublic speaker.
com and like
Suzanne Stansbury (13:07):
picking from a list.
No, I've worked with severalagencies over the years and, and
the agency that we work withnow, uh, I'm going to stick with
because they're very, um,attention to detail oriented.
They're very responsive andthey've been able to help us
find some good people.
Kevin Zalaznik (13:23):
Is, is Mark, uh, Mr.
Denton or however you like to golike on these, um, Kind of
discovery calls or whatever itis anything stuck out to you
just from like behind the scenes
Suzanne Stansbury (13:35):
Well, like I said, he's he almost got into
the industry So as we werespeaking He was like Ken would
be okay if I stayed anothernight and walked a show floor
and I'm like absolutely You knowcome early or stay late or
whatever, you know we'll takeyou around and we'll introduce
you to people and Who knows?
(13:55):
I think this guy is going tofall in love with car washing
and will eventually have hisown.
But I thought that was pretty,pretty cool to find that out.
Kevin Zalaznik (14:04):
So we talked about Mark, uh, Mark Den's
speech, talked about what otherthings can we
Suzanne Stansbury (14:09):
expect this year?
We also have, um, and DRB isgoing to be our habitual sponsor
of the last day seminar, which,um, is featuring Arthur
Greenough with Chick fil A.
So, I dunno if you haven't heardhim.
He is, you know, an expert ontheir secret sauce and what
(14:29):
makes their customer service,you know, consistently
outstanding.
And even their, you know,through throughput process, kind
of like, you know, putting thecars on the conveyor in a
timely, expedient fashion.
They have to do that atChick-fil-A.
You see the lines, theridiculous lines, but you never,
you're never in them for morethan 10 minutes.
So there's some similarities andI think his program is going to
(14:53):
be outstanding and that's onWednesday and includes a
breakfast.
Okay.
Kevin Zalaznik (14:57):
It's interesting.
I think I feel like Chick fil A,like when, especially I know I
see it here is we talk aboutdifferent customer experiences
and they're always near the top,right there.
They've made their way into likethat Disney Ritz Carlton type
thing.
It's the Chick fil A.
And so for the longest time, theonly Chick fil A in our area was
(15:19):
in the airport.
It's Um, but now, behindsecurity, and now there's two,
uh, there's two stores that areopen.
I have not been to them, but,uh, Clifton Park, which is, uh,
maybe what, 10, 15 miles northof here.
I mean, it's just, it's wrappedaround the, around the block
and, but.
Suzanne Stansbury (15:42):
To your point, they know how to work
their production.
I mean, it's amazing.
So how,
Kevin Zalaznik (15:46):
how did you find, um, I forget his name, uh,
Arthur.
Yes.
Suzanne Stansbury (15:50):
Yeah.
Uh, well we were actually WaltHartle and I were, he, he also
helps me with the keynotes.
Um, we were trying to findsomebody customer service
oriented.
That had a recognizable name,obviously, uh, and we, we tried,
we looked at the Disney, um,program and didn't really get
(16:14):
too far into that and just kindof stumbled on him.
Um, I don't know, maybe theSouthwest might've had somebody
with Chick fil A or might'veeven had him at some point.
Kevin Zalaznik (16:23):
How does the approach to the, well, I kind
of, you, you've talked about it,you know, it used to be within
the industry and I guess notjust the keynote, but the
programming in general.
Has there been a shift frommaybe like more operational to
now getting into or marketing orcustomer service or more of the,
(16:44):
like the soft aspect of, uh,
Suzanne Stansbury (16:49):
the our programming.
We try to be diverse.
You know, we try to give alittle something to everybody,
like in our virtual tour thisyear, uh, we're going to have,
um, a variety of locations, youknow, The, the shiny new coin in
the industry is the expressexterior with the Freevax.
(17:09):
So I, I think obviously that's,that's, uh, a model that we want
to explore, but we've also got,um, traditional self serves this
year.
We've got some in bayautomatics, we've got some
Payvax.
Um, which is, you know,something that I'm hearing more
and more about rather than thefreebacks.
(17:30):
Um, we've got the woman in, inDenver, she's like an all
inclusive kind of...
Operation where she hires, um,kids with disabilities.
Um, they, they also do extensivedetailing.
So we've, we've tried to reallycover the gamut with this
virtual tour.
Uh, which is one of our bestattended seminars.
Kevin Zalaznik (17:52):
Marcus, if you haven't been, if you haven't
seen the virtual tour, how doesit work?
Is there, um,
Suzanne Stansbury (17:57):
well, I, I, I line up, um, a bunch of
operators and ask them to shoota video on their phone of their
location.
Um, from soup to nuts, uh, about20, 25 minutes.
They said it to Tom Hoffman Jr.
who facilitates the event.
And, and it's sponsored bySergeant Suds, by the way.
(18:17):
I want to give them credit, um,for supporting us.
Um, he splices everythingtogether.
Uh, it's, it's a long seminar.
It's on Monday in theafternoons, 3.
30 to 6 o'clock.
Um, but you can hear a pin dropin that room.
Like, everybody's glued to thescreen, looking at, you know,
the different aspects of eachlocation.
(18:39):
And each operator kind of willwalk us through what we're
seeing on the screen.
Um, people can ask questions,but, you know, nobody's on their
phone.
Everybody's watching that screenfor hours.
Uh, it's, it's, it's great.
It's, it's really, it's, it'sone of my favorite seminars.
Kevin Zalaznik (18:59):
See you at, um...
You're very involved, obviously,editor, uh, uh, in the Northeast
Car Washer, and you get to goand, uh, visit other locations,
uh, obviously, um, how have youseen or what innovations have,
have really stuck out for you,um, as you've gone to visit
(19:20):
different, uh,
Suzanne Stansbury (19:21):
car washes?
Well, I mean, the expressmodels, they're, they're popping
up everywhere, obviously, um,for several reasons, labor.
Uh, trying to cut back on labor,um, you know, increasing
throughput, profitability, um,they're, they're a great model.
Um, I think we're headed in thatdirection.
I don't think we'll ever get ridof the full serve traditional
(19:44):
car wash in the markets whereit's merited, um, you know,
where they're the, there's theincome level and, and, uh, the
volume.
Um, but you know, obviouslyit's, it's the express exteriors
that you're seeing a lot, a lotof.
Kevin Zalaznik (19:59):
So.
The Northeast Car Washer and,uh, I know we want to kind of
stay with the NRCC and I thinkthat was the point of the show,
but I'm curious and this kind ofgoes back to selecting the
keynote speakers is, I mean,it's a pretty big magazine has
good readership.
You have to come up with contentto fill that magazine.
(20:19):
What does that
Suzanne Stansbury (20:20):
process look like?
Uh, it's not much of a process.
It just kind of happens.
Um.
And because there's, there'sfive East Coast Associations
that are part of this, um, andactually we have some
information from thePennsylvania group as well.
Um, you know, if they havemeetings, they have events, they
have issues, we cover it.
(20:41):
Um, I try to help promote theNRCC, obviously.
My last two issues, um, thecovers were that.
Um, we've really tried to build,um, attendance, uh, get more
people knowing what's going on.
You know, if, if you get themagazine and then you have a
question about the NRCC, you'renot reading the magazine because
(21:04):
there's so much information inthere about it.
Kevin Zalaznik (21:06):
Yeah, it's, it's a, you're probably being modest
as far as it's an easy process.
I mean, it's, uh, I know beingin communications and I know
it's a different type ofcommunication though, but I
mean, that stuff is, you'retrying not to find, be redundant
or create new content or newangles or whatever it is.
Suzanne Stansbury (21:28):
It's, you know, people think it's crazy.
You've got a hundred pagemagazine about car washing, but
there's so much to it.
You know, there are thelegislative issues, there's the,
you know, the associationissues.
There's really neat things thatoperators are doing, there's
weird things that operators aredoing.
You know, there, I, I've got,I've got a A lot of contributors
(21:50):
who have big personalities, sothat's kind of what helps make
the magazine what it is.
You know, short of libelinganybody, or slandering anybody,
uh, libeling with a magazine,uh, you know, they can pretty
much say what they want to say.
And people like to listen tothat.
Uh huh.
Kevin Zalaznik (22:06):
Is it, um, I guess, how's the magazine
evolved in the last few years,or the
Suzanne Stansbury (22:11):
last ten years?
The magazine, um, actually, whenI left professional car washing,
I was in New York State.
Car Wash Association boardmember.
They didn't have any management.
So, I proposed managing them.
They had a little newsletter.
Nobody wants to advertise in a,you know, six page newsletter
that goes to nobody.
(22:33):
So, I acquired New York,Connecticut, New Jersey.
I took their publications.
I thought, you know, it reallymakes sense to have one cohesive
northeast publication.
So, I created a Northeast CarWasher.
And, um, pulled in New England,Mid Atlantic, and then some
information from Pennsylvania.
Kevin Zalaznik (22:53):
Shader, are you an avid reader?
Absolutely.
What, what do you find the mosthelpful out of there?
Or, I guess you're in adifferent position now, but
still.
It's good to keep, see whatother people are doing for sure.
Read what
Shane Groff (23:05):
other people are doing.
You know, see what.
I always also look at all theadvertisements, like who's
advertising what, you know,
Kevin Zalaznik (23:14):
you
Shane Groff (23:14):
know how it affects our business.
Um, but yeah, been an avidreader pretty
Kevin Zalaznik (23:20):
much since it came out.
It's a nice resource too.
When you think of, um, you know,within the, obviously within the
industry and being able to kindof.
I mean, you're all in the sameboat, right?
And just seeing similar,probably the virtual toward the
NRCC is like just gettinginsight into other operators and
how you can build
Suzanne Stansbury (23:38):
on that.
I think the key is like thepersonality part of it.
It's quirky, you know, you'llsee a birth announcement, you
know, which is a little weird tobe at a publication, but, um,
people love to see that becauseeverybody, it's a small industry
at the end of the day.
Everybody knows everybody else.
And if you don't, you should.
(23:59):
Yeah.
Kevin Zalaznik (24:00):
Uh, how far, shifting back now, to, well I
guess for both the magazine butalso the NRCC, how far out are
you preparing for, well I guesswe'll start with the magazine.
So, we're, we just had what the,were the fall issues coming out
or, it just came out?
Which one is that?
Fall's issue just came out.
(24:21):
Is December pretty much wrappedup, or are you?
Oh god, no.
No?
Suzanne Stansbury (24:26):
I am, I kind of have to fly by the seat of my
pants sometimes, because I'vegot the three associations, the
NRCC and the magazine.
So, um, yeah.
Kevin Zalaznik (24:37):
So the NRCC as far as the...
That aspect of it.
Has 2024 already begin
Suzanne Stansbury (24:44):
planning for that?
Um, we have begun planning, uh,our keynote speaker.
Kevin Zalaznik (24:49):
Um...
This is exclusive everyone.
So,
Suzanne Stansbury (24:52):
who's it gonna be?
Um, his name is Will Guerra.
Oh, I
Kevin Zalaznik (24:56):
didn't think you actually were gonna...
LAUGHTER Heard him here first.
Suzanne Stansbury (25:02):
First?
Yes.
Yeah.
Breaking news.
The first time
Kevin Zalaznik (25:04):
we ever broke any
Suzanne Stansbury (25:06):
podcast, he is a restaurateur, um, from the
Hudson Valley who has, uh,Michelin restaurants in New York
City.
And this guy's customer serviceis off the charts and I'm just
gonna tease you with that'causeI'll talk about a, a little
story, um, in the next issue,the magazine to, uh, convey just
(25:27):
how over the top he is, but, Um,he's, he's recently published.
He's phenomenal.
Like I went in my favoritelittle coffee shop recently,
looked over at the bookshelf andthere was his book.
And I'm like, this is meant tobe.
We tried to get him for thisyear.
Uh, he had a conflict, but hereally, again, he, I think he's
familiar with the foam and washchain in the Hudson Valley.
(25:50):
And he really wanted to speak toour group.
So I said, well, let's try tobook him for 2024 now.
So we were able to, you know,finagle the finances and get the
deposit to him and secure him.
So is that amazing
Kevin Zalaznik (26:06):
for, uh, for Denton is the same thing.
Were you this far out for
Suzanne Stansbury (26:10):
him?
No, um, we typically start atthe beginning of the year, um,
because that's when the fundscan open up and we can, um, then
do the deposit for the, thekeynote.
Um, and we go through a lot of,um, you know, we've tried to, to
get some speakers that were justa little out of reach for us.
(26:31):
Um, we could have, thanks to oursponsors, paid for them, but I
don't think we were attractiveenough to them.
Um, so yeah, that's, that's thehard part.
And then coming up withdifferent topics for education,
you know, not trying to do thesame thing.
Um, over and over again, we, um,our marketing panel last year,
(26:56):
uh, one of the things I wantedthem to touch on was the
unlimited program and we didn'tquite get to that.
So this year, um, Chris Brownwith Mer Consulting is going to
be doing a program on theunlimited, um, kind of the good,
bad, not the ugly.
And he's worked with like over ahundred operators, um, kind of
(27:16):
perfecting.
Um, how to get the most out ofthat program.
So I'm, I'm excited about him aswell.
He's going to be great.
Kevin Zalaznik (27:24):
So there's got to be October 5th has to be a
nice day when it's all over.
Maybe the
Suzanne Stansbury (27:29):
sixth.
Yeah, no, it is.
It's, um, it's, it's a lot of,you know, it's just a lot of
little, um, at this point, a lotof little things that I say,
Heather Courtney, who's our, um,show coordinator, she and I are
kind of in the weeds right nowwith all the little details and.
Um, you know, we just try to puton the best product that we can
(27:51):
so that, um, attendees get themost bang for their buck as do
the vendors.
Vendors are very important tous.
And, you know, we try to do whatwe can to pack the floor and get
as many people at the NRCC as wepossibly can.
You talked
Kevin Zalaznik (28:07):
about the number of booths as far as attendees.
Is this going to be a recordyear as far as
Suzanne Stansbury (28:11):
people?
Um, I spoke with Heather on theway over here today and she
said, we're ahead of last year'snumbers.
So.
Um, we're very excited aboutthat.
So if,
Kevin Zalaznik (28:20):
if for anyone who hasn't reserved their spot
to attend, um, what makes the,like a regional show so
important?
Suzanne Stansbury (28:30):
I think it's the networking.
It's the, it's the content ofeducation.
It's the, uh, number of exhibitsand how much, uh, equipment they
bring.
Um, and it's the networking,like making a friend in the
industry who you can call upwhen, you know, you're
struggling with something, be itequipment breakdowns or, you
(28:51):
know, what's your, what's yourrevenues doing or what's your
volumes doing or what you'reseeing, or even, you know,
problem with your dirt, youknow, and your water, uh, just
making friends in the industryis going to serve you well.
Kevin Zalaznik (29:05):
And the accessibility too, right?
It's the, like you said, it'sdrivable, it's not like you're
flying to Vegas or Nashville orwhatever.
Nothing against thoseconventions, it's just a
Suzanne Stansbury (29:16):
much bigger footprint.
Not everyone can afford to dothat.
Not every, like I mentionedearlier, not every company has
40 or 100 car watches and theycan afford to do that.
You know, um, as I mentioned,most of the industry is not the
big guys.
It's the little guys with two tofive locations, and we try not
to forget them.
Kevin Zalaznik (29:36):
Yeah, great.
So one of the things that wealways do is we talk about what
we're watching, what we'restreaming.
That's how we usually close outthe show.
Uh, I'm curious what's on yourNetflix or
Suzanne Stansbury (29:48):
Hulu, or...
Um, well, let me, can I, can Ijust circle back to one thing?
Yeah.
Um, so we do, uh, as far asnetworking goes, we do have two
great options this year.
Simonize has, um, increasedtheir, their celebration to be
open to everyone who attends theshow, and that's on Monday
evening at the Hard Rock.
(30:10):
Um, we very much appreciatethat.
And then our welcome receptionsponsored by ICS.
They've been our welcomereception sponsor for nearly 20
years.
Um, that is at the end of theshow floor hours and um, on the
lower level of the conventioncenter.
Also open to anybody, no matterwhat level of registration you
(30:31):
have.
And there's some great giveawayswith that event as well.
Kevin Zalaznik (30:34):
I'm sure you, and from where you're going,
like, it's, it really is try andmaybe get out of your comfort
zone and meet as many people aspossible.
Don't just hang out with yourpeople and,
Suzanne Stansbury (30:43):
yeah.
They're such informal gatheringsthat, you know, you can just put
it a little effort into it,strike up a conversation and,
you know, make a friend.
All right.
Kevin Zalaznik (30:54):
So
Suzanne Stansbury (30:55):
what are we streaming?
Um, yeah, I don't have time tostream.
I'm sorry, but I am lookingforward to the next, um, uh, the
next edition of Emily in Paris.
Kevin Zalaznik (31:05):
Okay.
All right.
Shane, what do you got going on?
Nothing
Shane Groff (31:10):
right now.
I'm just still
Kevin Zalaznik (31:11):
waiting for Yellowstone.
Yeah, still waiting.
Still, still want to be thatcowboy.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Actually, I think what I juststarted, uh, Ballers.
It's a, it was a HBO, it was setwith The Rock.
Yeah, yeah.
I remember watching it when itfirst came out and then I like
lost interest in it.
But that's like, uh.
He goes from being the ToothFairy to it.
Yeah, hey, gotta give himcredit.
(31:33):
You gotta give him credit.
Anyways, Suzanne, thank you somuch for coming in.
We appreciate it.
I wish you all the best and bigsuccess this year, um, with the
show, but also the magazinemoving forward.
Suzanne Stansbury (31:45):
I appreciate it.
You guys are great.
All right.
Thank you.
All right, welcome back to the modern car
wash podcast.
I'm your host, Kevin Zelaznik,here with Shane Groff and our
guest today.
Is Suzanne Stansbury.
Suzanne, welcome.
Suzanne Stansbury (00:21):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
So
Kevin Zalaznik (00:23):
editor, publisher of the Northeast Car
Washer Magazine, but alsoeducation chair for the NRCC,
which is coming up in October.
So I'm glad we were able to geton your calendar.
I know it's certainly a busytime for
Suzanne Stansbury (00:36):
you.
Yep.
We're two weeks out from theshow and we're all very excited.
Kevin Zalaznik (00:39):
So looking at it and just perusing the website,
uh, I think it was like 358boosts last year, record
setting.
But.
Already sold out in July.
Yeah, so it's it seems like it'sgonna be
Suzanne Stansbury (00:52):
a great show.
Yeah, we have 385 booths soldout.
We're about 30 up from last yearVery exciting, we didn't
anticipate it, so we have a bitof a waiting list, which we've
never had before, and as aresult we're bumping up to a
bigger, we're expanding, uh, ourfootprint for
Kevin Zalaznik (01:11):
next year.
So when you look at the, thegrowth of the convention, um, at
some point it, uh, I'll use theICA for an example, you go there
and, There's there's othervendors who necessarily don't
fit into like the car wash, butthey're there because in some
way it makes sense Are youseeing more of that as well
Suzanne Stansbury (01:34):
at the NRCC?
Yeah, not at all.
We don't have any of thoseancillary vendors Unfortunately,
not going to see the massagechairs at the show, at least not
this year.
Um, no,
Kevin Zalaznik (01:46):
not at all.
Okay.
So, um, I mean, you look at thegrowth of the industry over the
past few years.
I mean, do you remember yourfirst show
Suzanne Stansbury (01:55):
and when that was?
I do.
It was an, it was the first NRCCI went to was in Newport.
Okay.
Um, 34 years ago.
This is the 33rd NRCC, but wetook a year off for COVID.
Okay.
So,
Kevin Zalaznik (02:07):
yes.
So, go back 30 some years.
What did
Suzanne Stansbury (02:10):
that show look like?
Uh, I was very new to theindustry and, um, you know, my
boss sent me out there to kindof mix and bangle and spread the
word about the magazine.
I was with Professional CarWashing and Detailing at that
time.
And the NRCC was basically aglorified tabletop with a couple
(02:30):
of educational seminars.
And from that point, it's grownto be what it is today.
Kevin Zalaznik (02:37):
So let's rewind and talk about your introduction
into the industry and youtouched on it with the Car Wash
magazine And before so TomHoffman senior who is our
founder of Hoffman Car Wash Hewas in here briefly saying hi to
(02:58):
you.
I guess small world or whateveryou you're local in the Albany
area, but Yeah.
How do you know the Hoffmanfamily in that
Suzanne Stansbury (03:08):
sense?
Um, well, uh, Tommy and seniorI've known for, you know, 35
years.
Um, when you're with themagazine, you know, you tend to
branch, you know, out and meetdifferent people, you know,
across the country, obviouslythey're local.
So I would have, they would havebeen some of the first people I
met.
Um, but I was also on the NewYork state car wash association
(03:30):
board of directors at At thattime, when I was with
Professional Car Washing, andTommy was a president at one
point, and actually I did somemarketing for you guys for, um,
five or six or seven years.
Kevin Zalaznik (03:44):
Shane, do you remember the first time that you
two met?
Yeah.
Did you have hair?
Uh, yeah,
Shane Groff (03:55):
yeah, because it would have been my first trip
up.
It was the very early 90s.
Okay.
Um,
Kevin Zalaznik (04:03):
1983 maybe?
Yeah.
So it sounds like you'vecertainly, you've found a home
Suzanne Stansbury (04:08):
in this industry.
I have.
I have.
It's um, you know, when I firstgot into it, there really
weren't a lot of women.
So it's easy to kind of standout in the crowd.
Um, obviously there's more womeninvolved in car washing today
than there, there ever havebeen.
Um, we've actually got, um, agreat, um, Um, woman, uh, from
Gleam Car Wash in Colorado isgoing to be one of our, uh,
(04:30):
virtual tour sites.
Um, and she's a great exampleof, you know, where the
industry's going and how diverseit's becoming.
Yeah.
Kevin Zalaznik (04:37):
What, uh, talk about that for a little bit is,
is it still is a very maledominated industry.
It is, totally.
Um, there are, and I thinkprobably like many industries
there have been strides in thelast few years, certainly.
Um, how, what do you think, orwhat's the approach that maybe
an organization like yours hastaken to, to kind of be more
(04:59):
inclusive or, or drive thatdiversity?
Um.
Suzanne Stansbury (05:06):
Well, I mean, we're, we're a group of people
who are very open to, you know,ideas and sharing and you know,
kind of working as a family.
Uh, the NRCC is not anassociation.
It's a trade show.
Mm hmm.
So the five East Coast Car WashAssociations have volunteers
that work on putting the showtogether.
(05:28):
So you really have to be, youknow, um, a cohesive unit.
Um, you have to, you know, beopen to new ideas.
Uh, I, I don't ever really lookat, you know, the male female
ratio in the industry.
I just, you know, we're allcarwash people, you know,
varying levels and differentaspects.
(05:49):
I, I don't focus on the factthat I'm one of however many,
you know, women there are.
Kevin Zalaznik (05:54):
So, uh, the NRCC is October 2nd to the 4th
Atlantic city.
Um, you talked about it being inNewport.
How long has it been in AtlanticCity?
Suzanne Stansbury (06:04):
Um, it's been in Atlantic City for a number of
years, and there's a lot ofreasons behind that.
Initially, the, the mindset waslet's put together, you know, a
trade show that has, you know,education and exhibits, but
let's make it, um, accessibleto...
you know, different areas of theNortheast.
(06:26):
So it's, it's a drivable show.
Um, and we thought, okay, well,we'll start a new, they started
it in Newport.
The second show I think was inthe Catskills.
Then we were in Saratoga.
Then we hit, um, the casino inConnecticut, which was, you
know, obviously if you're maledominated, there's a lot of guys
who like to gamble.
(06:47):
So we were there for a number ofyears because it's very nice
facility big enough for us andwe just kept, you know Slowly
growing and we grew out of thecasinos in Connecticut.
So okay, Atlantic City madesense a little more exciting You
know, mini Vegas you can drivethere.
Okay, maybe that's a Little bitof a stretch, but you can drive
(07:10):
there You know, it's reasonablefor us, the NRCC, you know,
obviously we, we want to makemoney, um, the money that we
make, the profit goes back tothe associations and helps them,
you know, thrive and survive.
Um, but we want it to besomething that's accessible to
(07:30):
everybody, to the little guy whohas one location, who is really
the backbone of the industry to,you know, the multi location
operators like the Hoffman's.
Um, and Atlantic City reallywants us.
They, they give us incentives,we get great hotel rates, uh, we
try to keep our pricing to theshowdown and we try to keep our
(07:51):
pricing to the vendors down.
So, you know, we're not, uh, notout there to rape the vendors.
You know, we want them to besuccessful and we want to be
successful, so we try to make itaffordable.
Well,
Kevin Zalaznik (08:03):
it's, you know, it is a cycle because, like you
said, you want to make money,obviously, and, um.
But by doing so you're providinggreat programming that's helping
the guests of the show then goand Make more money and so
forth, right?
It's it's a it's a lot of yeahvendors get their chance to go
(08:23):
and sell but it sounds like youhave a ton of Educational
programs lined up this year.
Are there any that really exciteyou?
Suzanne Stansbury (08:30):
Um, well, our keynote speaker, Mark Denton,
is, we had a little pre con withhim a couple days ago to kind of
go over, you know, who, whohe'll be speaking to and what
our expectations are, what hisexpectations are.
He hails from England, so he'sgot a great accent, so
everybody's going to be, youknow, you know, listening to
that, um, but he's got a greatmessage.
(08:52):
I mean, he is going to be ableto motivate, I think, our
attendees to, to look deepwithin their organizations.
Um, to, to better, um, drivewhat they're doing and to just,
just create, uh, a culture thatis, is stronger and more.
You know, driven toprofitability, he has raced and
(09:16):
sailed across the country.
He's really versed in, um,taking the common person and
making them extraordinary.
So I think his message is goingto resonate.
I think his story is going to begreat.
I think watching the videos ofhis, his crazy sailing is, is,
attendees.
Are there any
Kevin Zalaznik (09:37):
keynote speakers over the years that really stand
out for you?
Suzanne Stansbury (09:40):
Um, well, everyone who's watching this who
knows me knows I'm a huge fan ofChris Christie.
So I, um, I was beyond withChris Christie.
Um, but I have to harken back toDaryl Hewitt, who was a former
ICA president from Minnesota whocame out in a leprechaun suit in
(10:01):
Atlantic City back when we wereat, um, I think, We might have
been at the former, it was theHard Rock now, but it used to be
the Taj.
So he came out in a leprechaunsuit and spoke about, you know,
how he has grown his businessand he was just a guy huge with
personality.
So I think he'd be right upthere with Chris Christie.
Kevin Zalaznik (10:22):
So Shane, I don't know as uh, you're working
the booth obviously, do you getto sit keynotes or has it been a
few years?
It, it
Shane Groff (10:31):
varies.
It kind of goes in waves whereI'll catch
Kevin Zalaznik (10:34):
a couple.
Yeah.
Is there, did any stand out foryou?
Uh, I was at Chris Christie one.
Yeah.
Um, I'm not a...
Suzanne Stansbury (10:42):
He, he did get a little political.
A little more political than Iwanted him to.
But, you know, you can't controlsomebody once they get up there
and have a microphone.
Kevin Zalaznik (10:51):
Did you ever consider dressing up like a
leprechaun?
Uh, probably not.
Suzanne Stansbury (10:56):
It would take a special kind of individual to
do that, and he was definitely aspecial.
Special, very successful carwash operator.
Kevin Zalaznik (11:04):
So Mark Den, in the past few years, uh, I got a
shameless plug here.
So Hoffman Innovated, MicroLogicare the presenting sponsors of
the keynote.
Um, so we're, we're lookingforward to that for sure.
Um, uh, I'm curious, how do yougo about finding the
Suzanne Stansbury (11:22):
keynote speaker?
It's, it's a process.
Um, is that your responsibility?
I'm very involved in it.
Yeah.
Um, up until Innov8d andMicroLogic became our sponsors,
we didn't really have the meansto go after this level of
speaker.
I mean, we couldn't do itwithout you guys.
(11:43):
Um, you know, we would try tolook within.
I always kind of thought thatgetting an operator who knew our
industry inside and out to beour keynote speaker was the way
to go.
Number one, he knew theindustry.
Number two, we didn't have topay for it.
Um, Um, but I kind of, I changedmy mindset on that and I, I feel
that, you know, our keynotespeaker this year, actually, um,
(12:07):
funny enough, we learned in thepre con that he considered being
a car washer at one point, hestarted researching the
industry.
So when his, when the agencythat represents him reached out
to him, uh, he was veryinterested very quickly.
Let's do this.
Uh, it depends on the level ofspeaker.
Once you get to a certain pricepoint, it's, it's such a crazy
(12:31):
process where you have to reachout to his people and then his
people have to reach out to hisprivate people, there's two
different schedules and, youknow, we don't have the
attendance base that some ofthese, you know, speakers want,
you know, they want a hundredthousand people to see them and.
You know, they, they need aprivate plane and, you know, all
(12:54):
of that stuff.
And it's really not necessary.
I mean, the cat, the level andthe caliber speaker, I think
we've had in the last couple ofyears.
Yeah,
Kevin Zalaznik (13:02):
it's, it seems like it's, it's an, a lot, it's
not like just going to likepublic speaker.
com and like
Suzanne Stansbury (13:07):
picking from a list.
No, I've worked with severalagencies over the years and, and
the agency that we work withnow, uh, I'm going to stick with
because they're very, um,attention to detail oriented.
They're very responsive andthey've been able to help us
find some good people.
Kevin Zalaznik (13:23):
Is, is Mark, uh, Mr.
Denton or however you like to golike on these, um, Kind of
discovery calls or whatever itis anything stuck out to you
just from like behind the scenes
Suzanne Stansbury (13:35):
Well, like I said, he's he almost got into
the industry So as we werespeaking He was like Ken would
be okay if I stayed anothernight and walked a show floor
and I'm like absolutely You knowcome early or stay late or
whatever, you know we'll takeyou around and we'll introduce
you to people and Who knows?
(13:55):
I think this guy is going tofall in love with car washing
and will eventually have hisown.
But I thought that was pretty,pretty cool to find that out.
Kevin Zalaznik (14:04):
So we talked about Mark, uh, Mark Den's
speech, talked about what otherthings can we
Suzanne Stansbury (14:09):
expect this year?
We also have, um, and DRB isgoing to be our habitual sponsor
of the last day seminar, which,um, is featuring Arthur
Greenough with Chick fil A.
So, I dunno if you haven't heardhim.
He is, you know, an expert ontheir secret sauce and what
(14:29):
makes their customer service,you know, consistently
outstanding.
And even their, you know,through throughput process, kind
of like, you know, putting thecars on the conveyor in a
timely, expedient fashion.
They have to do that atChick-fil-A.
You see the lines, theridiculous lines, but you never,
you're never in them for morethan 10 minutes.
So there's some similarities andI think his program is going to
(14:53):
be outstanding and that's onWednesday and includes a
breakfast.
Okay.
Kevin Zalaznik (14:57):
It's interesting.
I think I feel like Chick fil A,like when, especially I know I
see it here is we talk aboutdifferent customer experiences
and they're always near the top,right there.
They've made their way into likethat Disney Ritz Carlton type
thing.
It's the Chick fil A.
And so for the longest time, theonly Chick fil A in our area was
(15:19):
in the airport.
It's Um, but now, behindsecurity, and now there's two,
uh, there's two stores that areopen.
I have not been to them, but,uh, Clifton Park, which is, uh,
maybe what, 10, 15 miles northof here.
I mean, it's just, it's wrappedaround the, around the block
and, but.
Suzanne Stansbury (15:42):
To your point, they know how to work
their production.
I mean, it's amazing.
So how,
Kevin Zalaznik (15:46):
how did you find, um, I forget his name, uh,
Arthur.
Yes.
Suzanne Stansbury (15:50):
Yeah.
Uh, well we were actually WaltHartle and I were, he, he also
helps me with the keynotes.
Um, we were trying to findsomebody customer service
oriented.
That had a recognizable name,obviously, uh, and we, we tried,
we looked at the Disney, um,program and didn't really get
(16:14):
too far into that and just kindof stumbled on him.
Um, I don't know, maybe theSouthwest might've had somebody
with Chick fil A or might'veeven had him at some point.
Kevin Zalaznik (16:23):
How does the approach to the, well, I kind
of, you, you've talked about it,you know, it used to be within
the industry and I guess notjust the keynote, but the
programming in general.
Has there been a shift frommaybe like more operational to
now getting into or marketing orcustomer service or more of the,
(16:44):
like the soft aspect of, uh,
Suzanne Stansbury (16:49):
the our programming.
We try to be diverse.
You know, we try to give alittle something to everybody,
like in our virtual tour thisyear, uh, we're going to have,
um, a variety of locations, youknow, The, the shiny new coin in
the industry is the expressexterior with the Freevax.
(17:09):
So I, I think obviously that's,that's, uh, a model that we want
to explore, but we've also got,um, traditional self serves this
year.
We've got some in bayautomatics, we've got some
Payvax.
Um, which is, you know,something that I'm hearing more
and more about rather than thefreebacks.
(17:30):
Um, we've got the woman in, inDenver, she's like an all
inclusive kind of...
Operation where she hires, um,kids with disabilities.
Um, they, they also do extensivedetailing.
So we've, we've tried to reallycover the gamut with this
virtual tour.
Uh, which is one of our bestattended seminars.
Kevin Zalaznik (17:52):
Marcus, if you haven't been, if you haven't
seen the virtual tour, how doesit work?
Is there, um,
Suzanne Stansbury (17:57):
well, I, I, I line up, um, a bunch of
operators and ask them to shoota video on their phone of their
location.
Um, from soup to nuts, uh, about20, 25 minutes.
They said it to Tom Hoffman Jr.
who facilitates the event.
And, and it's sponsored bySergeant Suds, by the way.
(18:17):
I want to give them credit, um,for supporting us.
Um, he splices everythingtogether.
Uh, it's, it's a long seminar.
It's on Monday in theafternoons, 3.
30 to 6 o'clock.
Um, but you can hear a pin dropin that room.
Like, everybody's glued to thescreen, looking at, you know,
the different aspects of eachlocation.
(18:39):
And each operator kind of willwalk us through what we're
seeing on the screen.
Um, people can ask questions,but, you know, nobody's on their
phone.
Everybody's watching that screenfor hours.
Uh, it's, it's, it's great.
It's, it's really, it's, it'sone of my favorite seminars.
Kevin Zalaznik (18:59):
See you at, um...
You're very involved, obviously,editor, uh, uh, in the Northeast
Car Washer, and you get to goand, uh, visit other locations,
uh, obviously, um, how have youseen or what innovations have,
have really stuck out for you,um, as you've gone to visit
(19:20):
different, uh,
Suzanne Stansbury (19:21):
car washes?
Well, I mean, the expressmodels, they're, they're popping
up everywhere, obviously, um,for several reasons, labor.
Uh, trying to cut back on labor,um, you know, increasing
throughput, profitability, um,they're, they're a great model.
Um, I think we're headed in thatdirection.
I don't think we'll ever get ridof the full serve traditional
(19:44):
car wash in the markets whereit's merited, um, you know,
where they're the, there's theincome level and, and, uh, the
volume.
Um, but you know, obviouslyit's, it's the express exteriors
that you're seeing a lot, a lotof.
Kevin Zalaznik (19:59):
So.
The Northeast Car Washer and,uh, I know we want to kind of
stay with the NRCC and I thinkthat was the point of the show,
but I'm curious and this kind ofgoes back to selecting the
keynote speakers is, I mean,it's a pretty big magazine has
good readership.
You have to come up with contentto fill that magazine.
(20:19):
What does that
Suzanne Stansbury (20:20):
process look like?
Uh, it's not much of a process.
It just kind of happens.
Um.
And because there's, there'sfive East Coast Associations
that are part of this, um, andactually we have some
information from thePennsylvania group as well.
Um, you know, if they havemeetings, they have events, they
have issues, we cover it.
(20:41):
Um, I try to help promote theNRCC, obviously.
My last two issues, um, thecovers were that.
Um, we've really tried to build,um, attendance, uh, get more
people knowing what's going on.
You know, if, if you get themagazine and then you have a
question about the NRCC, you'renot reading the magazine because
(21:04):
there's so much information inthere about it.
Kevin Zalaznik (21:06):
Yeah, it's, it's a, you're probably being modest
as far as it's an easy process.
I mean, it's, uh, I know beingin communications and I know
it's a different type ofcommunication though, but I
mean, that stuff is, you'retrying not to find, be redundant
or create new content or newangles or whatever it is.
Suzanne Stansbury (21:28):
It's, you know, people think it's crazy.
You've got a hundred pagemagazine about car washing, but
there's so much to it.
You know, there are thelegislative issues, there's the,
you know, the associationissues.
There's really neat things thatoperators are doing, there's
weird things that operators aredoing.
You know, there, I, I've got,I've got a A lot of contributors
(21:50):
who have big personalities, sothat's kind of what helps make
the magazine what it is.
You know, short of libelinganybody, or slandering anybody,
uh, libeling with a magazine,uh, you know, they can pretty
much say what they want to say.
And people like to listen tothat.
Uh huh.
Kevin Zalaznik (22:06):
Is it, um, I guess, how's the magazine
evolved in the last few years,or the
Suzanne Stansbury (22:11):
last ten years?
The magazine, um, actually, whenI left professional car washing,
I was in New York State.
Car Wash Association boardmember.
They didn't have any management.
So, I proposed managing them.
They had a little newsletter.
Nobody wants to advertise in a,you know, six page newsletter
that goes to nobody.
(22:33):
So, I acquired New York,Connecticut, New Jersey.
I took their publications.
I thought, you know, it reallymakes sense to have one cohesive
northeast publication.
So, I created a Northeast CarWasher.
And, um, pulled in New England,Mid Atlantic, and then some
information from Pennsylvania.
Kevin Zalaznik (22:53):
Shader, are you an avid reader?
Absolutely.
What, what do you find the mosthelpful out of there?
Or, I guess you're in adifferent position now, but
still.
It's good to keep, see whatother people are doing for sure.
Read what
Shane Groff (23:05):
other people are doing.
You know, see what.
I always also look at all theadvertisements, like who's
advertising what, you know,
Kevin Zalaznik (23:14):
you
Shane Groff (23:14):
know how it affects our business.
Um, but yeah, been an avidreader pretty
Kevin Zalaznik (23:20):
much since it came out.
It's a nice resource too.
When you think of, um, you know,within the, obviously within the
industry and being able to kindof.
I mean, you're all in the sameboat, right?
And just seeing similar,probably the virtual toward the
NRCC is like just gettinginsight into other operators and
how you can build
Suzanne Stansbury (23:38):
on that.
I think the key is like thepersonality part of it.
It's quirky, you know, you'llsee a birth announcement, you
know, which is a little weird tobe at a publication, but, um,
people love to see that becauseeverybody, it's a small industry
at the end of the day.
Everybody knows everybody else.
And if you don't, you should.
(23:59):
Yeah.
Kevin Zalaznik (24:00):
Uh, how far, shifting back now, to, well I
guess for both the magazine butalso the NRCC, how far out are
you preparing for, well I guesswe'll start with the magazine.
So, we're, we just had what the,were the fall issues coming out
or, it just came out?
Which one is that?
Fall's issue just came out.
(24:21):
Is December pretty much wrappedup, or are you?
Oh god, no.
No?
Suzanne Stansbury (24:26):
I am, I kind of have to fly by the seat of my
pants sometimes, because I'vegot the three associations, the
NRCC and the magazine.
So, um, yeah.
Kevin Zalaznik (24:37):
So the NRCC as far as the...
That aspect of it.
Has 2024 already begin
Suzanne Stansbury (24:44):
planning for that?
Um, we have begun planning, uh,our keynote speaker.
Kevin Zalaznik (24:49):
Um...
This is exclusive everyone.
So,
Suzanne Stansbury (24:52):
who's it gonna be?
Um, his name is Will Guerra.
Oh, I
Kevin Zalaznik (24:56):
didn't think you actually were gonna...
LAUGHTER Heard him here first.
Suzanne Stansbury (25:02):
First?
Yes.
Yeah.
Breaking news.
The first time
Kevin Zalaznik (25:04):
we ever broke any
Suzanne Stansbury (25:06):
podcast, he is a restaurateur, um, from the
Hudson Valley who has, uh,Michelin restaurants in New York
City.
And this guy's customer serviceis off the charts and I'm just
gonna tease you with that'causeI'll talk about a, a little
story, um, in the next issue,the magazine to, uh, convey just
(25:27):
how over the top he is, but, Um,he's, he's recently published.
He's phenomenal.
Like I went in my favoritelittle coffee shop recently,
looked over at the bookshelf andthere was his book.
And I'm like, this is meant tobe.
We tried to get him for thisyear.
Uh, he had a conflict, but hereally, again, he, I think he's
familiar with the foam and washchain in the Hudson Valley.
(25:50):
And he really wanted to speak toour group.
So I said, well, let's try tobook him for 2024 now.
So we were able to, you know,finagle the finances and get the
deposit to him and secure him.
So is that amazing
Kevin Zalaznik (26:06):
for, uh, for Denton is the same thing.
Were you this far out for
Suzanne Stansbury (26:10):
him?
No, um, we typically start atthe beginning of the year, um,
because that's when the fundscan open up and we can, um, then
do the deposit for the, thekeynote.
Um, and we go through a lot of,um, you know, we've tried to, to
get some speakers that were justa little out of reach for us.
(26:31):
Um, we could have, thanks to oursponsors, paid for them, but I
don't think we were attractiveenough to them.
Um, so yeah, that's, that's thehard part.
And then coming up withdifferent topics for education,
you know, not trying to do thesame thing.
Um, over and over again, we, um,our marketing panel last year,
(26:56):
uh, one of the things I wantedthem to touch on was the
unlimited program and we didn'tquite get to that.
So this year, um, Chris Brownwith Mer Consulting is going to
be doing a program on theunlimited, um, kind of the good,
bad, not the ugly.
And he's worked with like over ahundred operators, um, kind of
(27:16):
perfecting.
Um, how to get the most out ofthat program.
So I'm, I'm excited about him aswell.
He's going to be great.
Kevin Zalaznik (27:24):
So there's got to be October 5th has to be a
nice day when it's all over.
Maybe the
Suzanne Stansbury (27:29):
sixth.
Yeah, no, it is.
It's, um, it's, it's a lot of,you know, it's just a lot of
little, um, at this point, a lotof little things that I say,
Heather Courtney, who's our, um,show coordinator, she and I are
kind of in the weeds right nowwith all the little details and.
Um, you know, we just try to puton the best product that we can
(27:51):
so that, um, attendees get themost bang for their buck as do
the vendors.
Vendors are very important tous.
And, you know, we try to do whatwe can to pack the floor and get
as many people at the NRCC as wepossibly can.
You talked
Kevin Zalaznik (28:07):
about the number of booths as far as attendees.
Is this going to be a recordyear as far as
Suzanne Stansbury (28:11):
people?
Um, I spoke with Heather on theway over here today and she
said, we're ahead of last year'snumbers.
So.
Um, we're very excited aboutthat.
So if,
Kevin Zalaznik (28:20):
if for anyone who hasn't reserved their spot
to attend, um, what makes the,like a regional show so
important?
Suzanne Stansbury (28:30):
I think it's the networking.
It's the, it's the content ofeducation.
It's the, uh, number of exhibitsand how much, uh, equipment they
bring.
Um, and it's the networking,like making a friend in the
industry who you can call upwhen, you know, you're
struggling with something, be itequipment breakdowns or, you
(28:51):
know, what's your, what's yourrevenues doing or what's your
volumes doing or what you'reseeing, or even, you know,
problem with your dirt, youknow, and your water, uh, just
making friends in the industryis going to serve you well.
Kevin Zalaznik (29:05):
And the accessibility too, right?
It's the, like you said, it'sdrivable, it's not like you're
flying to Vegas or Nashville orwhatever.
Nothing against thoseconventions, it's just a
Suzanne Stansbury (29:16):
much bigger footprint.
Not everyone can afford to dothat.
Not every, like I mentionedearlier, not every company has
40 or 100 car watches and theycan afford to do that.
You know, um, as I mentioned,most of the industry is not the
big guys.
It's the little guys with two tofive locations, and we try not
to forget them.
Kevin Zalaznik (29:36):
Yeah, great.
So one of the things that wealways do is we talk about what
we're watching, what we'restreaming.
That's how we usually close outthe show.
Uh, I'm curious what's on yourNetflix or
Suzanne Stansbury (29:48):
Hulu, or...
Um, well, let me, can I, can Ijust circle back to one thing?
Yeah.
Um, so we do, uh, as far asnetworking goes, we do have two
great options this year.
Simonize has, um, increasedtheir, their celebration to be
open to everyone who attends theshow, and that's on Monday
evening at the Hard Rock.
(30:10):
Um, we very much appreciatethat.
And then our welcome receptionsponsored by ICS.
They've been our welcomereception sponsor for nearly 20
years.
Um, that is at the end of theshow floor hours and um, on the
lower level of the conventioncenter.
Also open to anybody, no matterwhat level of registration you
(30:31):
have.
And there's some great giveawayswith that event as well.
Kevin Zalaznik (30:34):
I'm sure you, and from where you're going,
like, it's, it really is try andmaybe get out of your comfort
zone and meet as many people aspossible.
Don't just hang out with yourpeople and,
Suzanne Stansbury (30:43):
yeah.
They're such informal gatheringsthat, you know, you can just put
it a little effort into it,strike up a conversation and,
you know, make a friend.
All right.
Kevin Zalaznik (30:54):
So
Suzanne Stansbury (30:55):
what are we streaming?
Um, yeah, I don't have time tostream.
I'm sorry, but I am lookingforward to the next, um, uh, the
next edition of Emily in Paris.
Kevin Zalaznik (31:05):
Okay.
All right.
Shane, what do you got going on?
Nothing
Shane Groff (31:10):
right now.
I'm just still
Kevin Zalaznik (31:11):
waiting for Yellowstone.
Yeah, still waiting.
Still, still want to be thatcowboy.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Actually, I think what I juststarted, uh, Ballers.
It's a, it was a HBO, it was setwith The Rock.
Yeah, yeah.
I remember watching it when itfirst came out and then I like
lost interest in it.
But that's like, uh.
He goes from being the ToothFairy to it.
Yeah, hey, gotta give himcredit.
(31:33):
You gotta give him credit.
Anyways, Suzanne, thank you somuch for coming in.
We appreciate it.
I wish you all the best and bigsuccess this year, um, with the
show, but also the magazinemoving forward.
Suzanne Stansbury (31:45):
I appreciate it.
You guys are great.
All right.
Thank you.
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