on all orders over $150*
on all orders over $150*
An interview with Tony about the Upcoming SmartPro and what to expect from them at ALOA, post of the week, and comment of the week. Get a Topo Chico because this is going to be epic!
INTERVIEW WITH TONY P.
Tony: Tony, how you doing? Hey, I couldn't find any either. So I'm stuck with Sierra Mist.
WHAT IS TONY DOING?
PJ: Sierra Mist hey, why not? Right? Why not? So, Tony. So I want to first say, you know, I mean, I know you're actually on vacation right now. And the fact you're going to come on and hang out with us for a few minutes is pretty cool. Now, I kind of know what you're doing. But you want to tell everybody what you're doing right now.
Tony: Actually, I'm with longtime golf group, friends from school, relatives, and just acquaintances over the years. And we track over to Nevada from Northern California or the Nevada. Carson City, Reno area, and we play for four rounds of golf. And we've been, we have a prime rib dinner coming up tomorrow night. And it's just a good time, we've been doing it for actually close to 30 years now. So it's a good group of guys. And I'm not a very good golfer, but I have fun. And it's just a chance to get away for a little bit and so I burned a week of vacation. But I didn't want to miss the opportunity because, PJ, we've known each other for a good amount of time. And the mutual respect that we have for each other in the positions that we do, and work that we do. I want to take this opportunity because we're coming or burning down close to ALOA show and had some important information that you have allowed me to come on and talk about so people understand what our mission at ALOA is this year.
PJ: Yeah, very good. Anyway, first of all, I mean, for all of you watching you can you can see why Tony and I like we've gotten along so great for - Shoot. I've been doing this 18 years. You're right there with me, right, and so we've known each other. Can you believe it? 18 years, Tony, that's crazy. That's crazy. You golf and I like to golf, one day, you know, we've never golf together. But that's going to be coming up here. I'm sure soon.
Tony: That's a bucket list that I will take care of, I'm sure.
AM I GOING TO LEARN IN CLASS OR IS IT A SALES PRESENTATION?
PJ: But with the ALOA show coming up and you were talking, you know, we were talking on the phone, you're talking about the class coming up. And I thought it would be great for everyone to kind of hear 'What the class is about?' 'What's going on.' And I think the first thing I want to kind of address a lot of times when it comes to a class hosted by a manufacturer like Ilco diagnostics is, 'Am I going to learn some stuff in this class or is it just like a sales presentation?'
Tony: Yeah, I mean, we fight that, you know, obviously development and if it stagnates or what? Sometimes we have to keep evolving and moving forward with class material. And that can be a challenge at times. I'm very excited about this opportunity to do two sessions at the ALOA event this year. It will be on Thursday, the 28th of that week. So it's coming up in a couple of weeks. We have a morning and an afternoon session. Now we'll repeat the same material. So that gives the flexibility of if you are taking a morning class for four hours, or you're taking an afternoon class and you might be able to fit our session in and make it a full day, then that gives you the opportunity. You're not missing anything because you know, we're going to repeat what we've done. And this year, we have some new development, which I'm very excited about. I'm not going to tip my hand right now. But if you attend the class, you will see what it called. Very exciting development for the SmartPro and key programming. We will also have new development that we're going to speak about in the cloning section of business. So yes, I think that this class will bring enough pot to it; enough material to it to make it really feel like you are learning something new. And that's really our goal. We are challenged with that, though. Obviously, we're stagnated at times with the Automobile industry in the manufacturers, that if changes aren't made on their side, then we have really nothing to change on our side. So that's a great question. And I would say that, yeah, we're going to meet the challenge of that, in this in these two sessions. Especially we have some guest speakers, one being Alan Morgan from Minneapolis, who does a rail yard up there and sees a lot of different and weird oddball stuff that he can give a lot of good tips on being at the cars every day. And Randy Mize, guys know him by 'Hick in the hat.' And he's been associated with the ILCO for over 20 years. And they just bring a present to them and they experience of the tricks of the trade as I call them. So these will be guest speakers in each session. Alan, I believe is doing the morning, Randy will be doing the afternoon. So we're very excited about that. Our MyKey's Pro app is going to be a full review on that, and some of the new features that we've added to it recently. So yes, there'll be a lot of learning, there'll be a lot of stuff that's new. And we're gonna even have your roll up, or people that attend the class, roll up their sleeves and actually experience it. First and foremost at the car programming and what else we can do with our app. These are all the live demonstrations that will be performed in class.
WHO IS A GOOD FIT TO THE CLASS | DO THEY FIND SOME VALUE IN THAT CLASS
PJ: Okay, so, that's, that's good stuff, Tony. And I'm gonna kind of walk through this a little bit. So when it comes to class, who is a good fit for going to the class? Like someone who's interested in automotive key programming? I mean, like, do you think they would find some value in that class?
Tony: Yeah, we're going to. That's a great question. Again, thanks for asking that because we feel that we're blended this class for really all levels. So we're going to make sure that we don't lose somebody that's brand new, that's thinking about investing and start and start up in key programming to those that are experienced enough and been using type of equipment, whether it's ours or somebody else's. So we welcome the those that are on the fence, think about investing, and getting moving in key programming and key cutting. Strictly automotive, and we feel that we're going to touch the intermediate level. And even with what we're going to show, we're going to touch the advanced person too. Because with guys like Alan Morgan and, and Randy Mize, we're going to be able to feel a lot of different questions that I myself because I'm not on cars every day, would be able to feel. So having these special guests and even Thomas Clark from our tech support is going to play a role in this class. So he'll bring some new ambiance too and features from the tech support perspective. And what you have to be aware of and know about. So we feel we have a very well rounded group that's going to conduct the class. It will even be able to translate it in Spanish, with Elton Toledo involved. So we're very excited about what's going to take place that alone.
DURING THE CLASS, CAN SOMEONE HOLD AND USE THE SMARTPRO IF THEY WANT
PJ: Very cool now. So if I get this right, like if someone goes like they will actually be able to hold the SmartPro, plug it in and program a key if they want?
Tony: Yes, that's the exciting part about. This is our new development, which we plan to unveil at this class exclusively, and that we're not given the green light. I haven't been given the green light that we'll be able to do this because of the positioning of the booth and the constraints that we have there. Where we could actually have a vehicle in on the show floor for two days of the show. So those that attend this class will exclusively see this new development and get to experience it.
PJ: Cool. Yeah, that's awesome. I think that's one of the best parts. You know, classes are great, and they can be helpful. But being able to hold and do something really helps, you know, it's all fun and games until you get to plug it in. And you know, and go get to the last step and it either is a success or a failure. Right?
Tony: Exactly. Yep. So yeah, so we're prepared for it, we're taking these next two weeks to ramp up, and make sure that we've got our game plan ready. Most of it is ready or ready at this point now, but we'll finish it off, and our guest speakers, and those that are involved in the class and the material. So this should go off like clockwork. We're just looking to make sure people know about it. And if you're within driving distance of Las Vegas, or you're planning to come to the ALOA show, it's a two day show, Friday and Saturday classes. I believe that all that week, for the most part, and ours is on Thursday. So it's leading into the show, and allows you not to spend a whole week in Las Vegas if you don't want to, but taken you know, a day or two of the show, but do take our class, I think you're you'll be well rounded with the information that we were going to provide.
IS THERE STUFF THAT YOU THINK THEY CAN STILL LEARN OVERALL ABOUT PROGRAMMING AND HOW THINGS WORK?
PJ: Awesome. Tony, I got two more quick questions for Tony. And I'll let you go here. So first is if someone right now maybe has competitors machine and they don't have a SmartPro? Would there be any value for them to go to the class? And see like, is there stuff that you think they can still learn overall about programming and how things work? You know, that sort of thing?
Tony: I do. I do. And I think that, again, with the special guest speakers that we have, and what we're unveiling, I do believe that those who have not experienced working with a SmartPro, and maybe working with something else, because there's a number of other machines on the market. We understand that. But I do believe that it would be very beneficial for you to see the what we're up to, what we're really doing, and where we're going with the product.
IF SOMEONE WANTS TO SIGN UP, HOW DO THEY GO ABOUT DOING THAT?
PJ: And then I guess Lastly, if someone wants to sign up, how do they go about doing that?
Tony: Yes, very important. Thanks for asking. It's obviously run by the host, ALOA. So the ALOA site is pretty easy to navigate, and you would register with them. But if anyone's having problems with that, please email myself. I have a simple email address. And I'm working fairly closely with gentleman Jim Hancock, who runs the educational part of ALOA. And I get emails from him. In fact, I got one from him this morning. So if anyone's having trouble registering for our class, specifically, or any class, for that matter, you know, ping me or email me, let me know that you're not able to find wherever; go wherever. And I'll get the ALOA's attention on that so that they get you signed up.
PJ: Cool.
Tony: My email address, by the way, it is very simple. It's been like that for almost 20 years. It's tony@adusa.us.
PJ: Good stuff. So anyway, I look forward to learning about whatever development it is and seeing it there myself. If I can on Thursday, I'll try to do drop by to one of the classes based on how the booth set up is going. And I look forward to seeing you here in a few weeks.
Tony: Yep. And I wish this was the Topo Chico but again, guys, thank you very much. Thank you, PJ, for allowing me to come in and be safe out there. Hope you guys do take the chance to come see us in our Thursday class or the two sessions at ALOA, Las Vegas, Nevada. July 28.
PJ: Good stuff Tony. Hey, have fun. Get back to golf and we'll talk to you soon.
Tony: Thank you, PJ. Have a great week.
POSTS OF THE WEEK
I'm curious you know what would you guys actually win at or I should say take home the gold in the Locksmith Olympics? Here are some comments from the community about the Locksmith Olympics:
Thank you for these great suggestions, guys!
The Infinity of doors to be rekey which is always very profitable for sure, but the hard part and even go into the comments a little bit. It's about the scheduling. Right? It's like well, you know, I scheduled a couple hours for this. It's going to take me about six. Do I come back and finish? Do I come back entirely? Do I push my other jobs? Right all the fun stuff that goes with it.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
sciguy98, that's so true. That's a good comment and a good perspective. I tell you what, like, one of the things I love most about like this comment and all of your comments on that Smart key video is that there's just so much value to sit there and read through. Like from my perspective, if someone who was trying to figure out how to price for Kwikset Smart key or maybe they had some weird, awkward customer experience with one, something like that. If they were to watch the video, and then read the comments, I tell you what, like, you're gonna be able to walk away really feeling equipped to make the best decision you can because like I've talked about so many times like something can be more true than untrue or less true than true, right? Like there's so much nuance in it all. And I sincerely appreciate all the comments that you guys took the time in and wrote because it just so much value. And man, it's one of the things I love most about the lockboss community is everybody's contributing, right? Because at the end of the day, we're all in this together, right? So think it's really awesome. Great job on the comments on that.
