what’s happening
myself walking through the store, things I was used to seeing stuck out at me. I come in every day and don’t see some things because it’s routine. When I watched the video, I saw little things throughout the store that I needed to fix,” he explained. Smith advised having a good friend or a good customer walk around the store, “and tell you what they like, what they don’t like—what sticks out to them. Have them be honest with you.” He feels some businesses don’t have a good support system in place for their employees. Such issues may cause otherwise passionate technicians and salespeople to leave the industry entirely. Business owners should therefore work on cultivating an environment with a positive store culture and ample growth opportunities. He noted that forging more connections with distributors and manufacturers reps and at trade shows, including smaller shows, might be one way of reaching additional retailers to encourage them to attend trainings. “If you can get into distributors that are putting on shows, and get to their salespeople, you might have a larger impact,” he said.
STILL LEARNING? TAKE IT ONE STEP AT A TIME Rookie of the Year Jeremy “Taco” Peterson of Speakerbox Autosound & Accessories in Huntsville, Ala. said that store culture and work environment will always be top priorities in any field. In relation to the 12-volt industry, he said, “the sheer amount of information to learn” is a challenge. To keep from getting overwhelmed, Peterson focuses on sections or “phases” of information, trying not to do too much at once. “Two short years ago, I didn’t know the difference between a data harness and a DSP,” he said. “I started learning to cross-reference dash kits and wiring harnesses for radio upgrades. That took several weeks to get the hang of, and then we added speaker sizes and
16 Mobile Electronics November/ December 2023
