This year, the shop stays running

Why we changed the way we do Customer Appreciation Day, and what that means for you on October 13.

Every year around this time we open the doors of the Chandler shop to say thank you to the agencies and fleets we build for. In past years that meant clearing every vehicle out of the bays, setting up the booths, and shutting the shop down for the day. It made for a clean floor and a good party. It also meant the shop went quiet on the one day of the year we had the most people in it.

This year we’re doing it differently. On Tuesday, October 13, our technicians will be working on the vehicles in their bays right up to the start of the event and through the afternoon. We’ll still clear the center of the shop for our vendor partners, but the bays around it stay live.

For you, that means something we’ve never been able to offer at an open house: you can see the work. Not a finished vehicle with everything buttoned up, but builds in progress. Wiring being routed and heat-shrunk. Consoles being fitted. Lightbars going on. Final inspection against the sales order. If you’ve ever wondered what actually happens between the day your vehicle arrives and the day it’s ready for duty, this is your chance to watch it and ask the people doing it.

The technicians who build your vehicles are the best people to answer questions about them, and on October 13 they’ll be right there on the floor.

Outside, we’re adding tents in the fenced yard with more vendor vehicles and a bigger static display of completed builds than we’ve ever put together. Whelen, Federal Signal, and SoundOff will have demo vehicles on site all day, and Whelen will be demonstrating their Cloud Platform. More than 20 vendor partners are confirmed, with more coming.

The rest of the day is the part you’d expect from us: lunch from Rudy’s at noon (thanks to Westin and Havis/Pro-gard for sponsoring), the Old Fashion Ice Cream truck from 12:30 to 2, door prizes every half hour, a raffle for every attending public safety member, an overstock yard sale, and a dunk tank raising money for the 100 Club of Arizona. If you’d like a shot at putting a few of us in the water, this is the day.

Whether you’ve had vehicles built here for years or have never been inside, you’re invited. Come for an hour or stay for the whole afternoon. Bring anyone from your agency who works with the fleet. And RSVP online before you come: everyone who does gets an extra raffle entry at check-in.

We’d like to meet you.