The All Access From Dent Repair Now

Gene Fetty
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Welcome to The All Access Podcast from Dent Repair Now — where the paintless dent repair and automotive appearance industry comes to learn, grow, and level up. Hosted by Gene Fetty, technician, trainer, and founder of The Institute @ Dent Repair Now, each episode dives deep into the tools, techniques, and business strategies that drive real success in today’s PDR world. From glue pull repair and estimating to marketing, mindset, and community events — this show gives you full access to the conversations, insights, and stories shaping the industry’s future. Whether you’re a seasoned tech, a new student, or a shop owner building your brand, you’ll find practical takeaways and fresh perspectives in every episode. 🎧 Subscribe and join the conversation — Because at Dent Repair Now, the industry learns here.

  1. 3d ago

    #93 When is Enough, Enough

    Episode #93 — When Is Enough, Enough?  No outline, no prepared notes — just Gene working through something that's been weighing on him. A big Phoenix hailstorm and a few conversations with friends who aren't sure they even want to chase it lead to a bigger question: what drives us to always push for more, and is the growth actually worth it? 00:00 — Intro & the New Background  Episode recorded Monday afternoon, dropping Tuesday morning Panel Beaters Club shirt on the wall — Thad's Discord community. Stickers and merch started after the haul at PDR Expo Keith Cosentino surprised Gene with an LED Dent Repair Now logo sign for the set. It needs a dimmer (blows out on camera); new lights are coming next episode 01:55 — Phoenix Hail  Big, massive hailstorm hit Phoenix and the surrounding area, including some rough Scottsdale damage DRN had a similar storm back home in 2016 — "not a good time," though there are always pockets of good repairable work 02:20 — When Is Enough, Enough?  DRN's default when a storm hits: jump on it and capture as much as possible A couple of friends in the Phoenix area aren't sure they want to capture everything — the stress may not be worth it Throwback reference: on PDR College, Keith and Shane opened the books on a storm in Redding, CA — numbers, damage, and workflow On medium storms where DRN brought in techs: great top-line revenue, but after body shop cuts, paying subs, and all the management, Gene has crunched numbers where he'd have been better off doing 10–20 cars himself "If you're not growing, you're dying" — does that actually hold up after 24½ years in the trade? Words of wisdom from a loyal listener: it's not how much you make, it's how much you keep. Live within your means so a storm is a choice, not a necessity Tying back to last week's mindset episode — the "it's all mine" scarcity thinking Hiring rethink: a couple of tech hires didn't work out — in hindsight, maybe the better answer Gene's answer at the PDR Expo roundtable: he wouldn't trade his life, but starting over he might not scale the same way — he might work hard, keep his dollars, and invest in real estate, stocks, or funds instead 09:55 — Capacity & Choosing Not to Chase  Last year's storm: DRN was simply at capacity — Jake was gone, Dave was at reduced capacity, and Mack was 14–16 months greener than he is now Gene's friends are choosing not to pursue the big storm for lifestyle and stress reasons — "maybe they have something figured out that I'm still trying to learn" Honest take: with the training side of the business growing, he probably still can't say no to a hailstorm. "Not my first rodeo" 11:30 — The Simplicity of a Tech in a Truck  Sometimes Gene looks at the shop overhead — payroll, insurance, tools — and misses the simple days The original plan: $3,000 in tools in a gun case in a Chevy S-10, a fog board, a light, a Nokia (Snake!), and an aluminum clipboard with three-part NCR invoices Today he has $3,000+ in hammers alone. "It's a sickness." But the "good old days" weren't perfect — no vacations without the money stopping "Is this my midlife crisis?" At 50, if this is mid, he'll take the run to 100 13:20 — Volume vs. Writing Each Car Right  The same question applies to estimates: take cars as field-written and blow through them (Gene strongly recommends against this), write a really solid sheet, or write every car to the moon and squeeze every nickel Fewer cars for more money, or more cars for a little less — where do you fall? "Deep Thoughts with Gene Fetty" — cue the Jack Handey SNL bit 14:55 — Why No Show Yesterday  A horrible night's sleep and a foggy day — not even a nap (and Gene is an elite napper) could fix it. Rather than put out a bad show, he waited a day 15:55 — Throwback: PDR Marketing Minute, Episode 12  Originally created November 1, 2016 — almost exactly 10 years ago The message: every tactic is about driving leads to you. Own your market with all the branches — website, Google listing, Yelp, Facebook page, and reviews It's a marathon, not a sprint 18:55 — 10 Years Later: Owning Your Market  Back then, DRN held roughly 8 of the 10 first-page Google spots — 100% organic — so Gene turned his ads off Then a customer said they couldn't find him: paid ads (even body shops) were sitting above him. Ads went back on, and DRN has advertised consistently since 2016 You still need the pages — even Yelp still ranks in Google. Just tell them to put you on the do-not-call list 21:05 — AI Search Is the New Frontier  ChatGPT has reportedly started showing paid ad results in search queries (Gene hasn't seen them on his paid plan) Now you need to create content that feeds what the AIs pick up — someone needs to build a masterclass on it Keith did a presentation on this for the 20 Group 22:15 — New Tool of the Week: Milwaukee M12 Palm Nailer  Spotted on Instagram: John Kallenbach from A-1 Tool talking up the Milwaukee M12 palm nailer History: around 2004–05, auto hammers (Gene thinks Craftsman) were adapted for PDR with custom tips. Gene ran a knockoff Ridgid version with tips he made on his own lathe — hard tips, not enough soft ones What's old is new again — TikTok and Instagram have people using auto hammers again A-1's 3-piece set drops right in on the magnet: a large mushroom/planishing-style blunt tip, a rubber cap tip, and a threaded shaft (5/16-18) that takes your standard tips Live demo: the harder you push, the harder/faster it hits Cost: $159 tool-only at Home Depot (Gene already had M12 batteries) + $99 for the A-1 tips ≈ $258 — almost 10% of his original $3,000 tool budget Not a fixer, but promising for big gnarly stuff, wholesale work, roughing, and maybe crown work holding tension while working with big soft tips. Report to come Milwaukee M12 Palm Nailer: https://www.milwaukeetool.com/products/details/m12-cordless-palm-nailer-tool-only/2458-20 A-1 Milwaukee 3 Piece Tip Set: https://www.pdrtool.com/products/dent-slayer-cold-snap-set-of-4-tips-copy 28:05 — MTE 2027  Gene is giving a talk at MTE (after a brief scare that it wasn't on the schedule — now fixed) The roundtable is back for its fourth year: Gene, Matt Moore, Don Kavanagh of Dent Kraft, and Greg Van Winkle of Dent Masters of Arkansas MTE 2027: February 10–13, 2027, Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando 28:45 — Wrap-Up  Gene wants your take — is enough enough, or do we want more and more? To the Phoenix crew: thanks for the perspective, and best of luck on however much of the storm you choose to capture Thanks again to Keith for the sign. The outro broke again — stay tuned

    #93 When is Enough, Enough

  2. Oct 19

    #92 All About Mindsets | No Quit, Abundance, Burn the Ships & the Gene Fetty Effect

    Gene almost didn't record this week. Between his mom's broken leg, a surgery delayed by a day, and eight-plus hours in a hospital waiting room, he was running on fumes. But you don't only do it when you want to do it. So he sat down, and what came out was a rapid-fire tour of the mindsets he believes separate the techs who make it from the ones who don't. 00:00 Intro: what a week Gene walks through Thursday's X-ray, Friday's 6 a.m. "my leg's broken" call, and Saturday's long surgery. Mom is doing well. A missed duck hunt and some bad Saturday cafeteria food were the price of admission. 04:30 Showing up when you don't feel like it He nearly pushed the show. He doesn't phone episodes in, so the question became: what's the lesson here? The answer was mindset. 05:45 Mindset #1: There is no quit Gene doesn't understand quit. He'll die on the hill first. He believes the reps it takes to learn PDR filter for people who don't give up, and he points to a story from last week's Dent Slayer episode: a group of techs at a restaurant after a toy drive got mistaken for veterans because they looked like a brotherhood that had been through war together. 08:45 "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right" The Henry Ford line, and the Little Engine That Could. If you think you can, you'll figure it out. If you think you can't, you'll find the reasons. 11:00 Doubting a dent, and why your price feeds your mindset Even Gene looks at a dent and starts stacking doubts: tough access, deep, aluminum, sharp body line. He switches himself back to "you're gonna fix it." Then the tie-in to pricing, from the training at The Dent Demon with Derrick: sell a brutal edge repair for $1,200 and the end of a hard day one sounds like "I'm not making anything, I should be doing something else." Sell it near replacement cost (around $3,000) and that same moment sounds like "rough day, but it's coming back. Back-to-back $1,500 days doesn't suck." Same tech, same repair, different dollars behind the decision. 16:15 Zig Ziglar and the moral obligation to sell Gene's favorite Zig Ziglar idea: if you truly believe in your product or service, you have a moral obligation to sell it. He admits he used to think he didn't need that because he "could sell." He couldn't. Once he wholeheartedly believed in PDR, he started walking out the door to every customer, hailstorm, and dealer from that place. 18:45 Believing in what you sell: the KECO system Back when he worked for KECO, Gene still believed nobody had a more complete, well-thought-out glue pull system, and that made it easy to sell. He feels the same about DRN's work. Find your moral belief in what you do, and you can't be stopped. 21:15 Mindset #2: Scarcity vs. abundance Scarcity says hide it, don't show anybody. Abundance says there's enough for everybody: the more techs out there, the more people find out PDR exists. Gene says every decision he made from scarcity or fear went bad, and every time he trusted abundance, he won. 23:00 Chris White and the KECO Tabs 10th anniversary Gene met Chris White at a seminar and got invited as his guest to a training in Oklahoma City, followed by the KECO Tabs 10th anniversary celebration. (KECO Inc. itself just hit 60 years; the tab and body repair division started in 2009.) He booked the flight that day. Chris's abundance-focused speech stuck with him, and Gene credits that mindset as part of KECO's growth. He announced on-air that he's going to get Chris on the show to tell how they hooked up. 25:45 Mindset #3: Burn the ships The pirate flag on Gene's bay wall says "Burn the ships." Land on the island, burn the boats, and now it's win or die. Nobody's actually dying (you can always call Dent Wizard or CarMax), but going all-in changes how hard you fight. MeLissa is the backup-plan person. Gene is not. 28:45 Mindset #4: The Gene Fetty effect MeLissa, Dylan, Dana, Shannon, and Mack named it: Gene expects things to work, and they usually do. Customers come in, the computer gets fixed, it works out. 30:30 The Amsterdam airport story Coming home from Venice on KLM, a delay blew their Amsterdam connection. Kiosk offered tomorrow. A number-and-line desk sent them through passport control (where Gene's passport wouldn't scan) to Delta, which was literally taking the open signs down. What MeLissa didn't know: their daughter had a surprise 25th anniversary party set for the next day. One extremely nice Delta agent and about ten minutes of keyboard-banging later, they had a flight to Boston that night and Pittsburgh the next morning. ⚑ REVIEW: Your daughter is transcribed as "Elena." Confirm spelling. I only used "our daughter" in the public copy. 36:00 Throwback: PDR Marketing Minute #11 An old-school Marketing Minute on professional image: a clean modern website, a real uniform (no cutoff camo shorts and flip-flops), a clean vehicle, organized tools, and a welcoming voicemail. Treat your business like a franchise and people will ask which franchise you bought into. Gene notes Derrick and Grace at The Dent Demon get that same question. 40:30 Tool of the Week: Finesse #155w & #154w Two 7" long, 3/16" diameter hook T-handles from Finesse, sold separately. Gene's purple-and-black one gets the most use (his first one, a yellow-and-black "Bumblebee," dates back to when Louie started). Great through brace holes, in through the end of the door at the handle-release plug, out to the edge, and up through drain and weep holes. Tiny tools, a ton of drive.  #155w (slow bend, tight access): https://pdrfinessetools.com/product/155w-7-long-3-16-diameter-hook-t-handle/  #154w (tight access): https://pdrfinessetools.com/product/154w-7-long-3-16-diameter-hook-t-handle/ ⚑ REVIEW: On air you read "155W" clearly and guessed the second as "154 or 159." Your link confirms #154w. Both listed at $40.00 and in stock as of Oct 18. The site also shows a Black Friday banner (10%/15% off, 11/23–11/27) that may be last year's, so I didn't mention a sale. Corrected "Bonnie" to "Bonnee," which is how the Finesse site spells it. 43:45 MTE and PDR Life updates MTE is coming up and Gene is speaking on glue pull again. Thanks to everyone who's given feedback on the new PDR Life beginner podcast.

    #92 All About Mindsets | No Quit, Abundance, Burn the Ships & the Gene Fetty Effect

  3. Oct 15

    #91 Play The Long Game

    t's Wednesday night and Gene's just now recording — but the weekly streak doesn't break. Here's what's in this one. 00:00  Intro — the streak survives — Episode 100 is in sight, and Gene isn't missing a week to get there. 01:00  Fort Lauderdale: The Dent Demon — A few days with Derrick and Grace for advanced training plus a 20 Group mastermind meetup. The crew included Jack Bucknell, Jon Videen, the Dent Reaper, and Nick Prang from Michigan. ⚑ EDITOR FLAG: Verify spellings: "Jack Bucknell" (and the "Woo man" nickname — keep or cut?), "Nick Prang," and the real name or handle for "the Dent Reaper." None are in the show-links list. 02:00  Sales coaching with Grace — Grace runs the shop side at The Dent Demon while Derrick handles wholesale. Gene spent a day walking her through his customer-interaction and price-anchoring techniques. 03:00  The one-sentence anchor — On significant damage, before quoting anything, Gene asks in passing: "Have you talked to your insurance company yet?" Without saying a number, it tells the customer this isn't a cheap fix. Delivery matters — casual, not loaded. 05:00  Advanced training recap — Carrier plate R&I (a BMW made the glass interesting), lateral tension and unfolding hard-hit metal, sharp creases, shrinky box, aluminum, under-brace and edge repair. Shout-out to Derrick's techs Andy and Paul, and a shop with a seriously good customer lounge. ⚑ EDITOR FLAG: Confirm "Andy" and "Paul" as the Dent Demon techs. A late-night bar story was mentioned as not podcast-friendly — intentionally left out of all notes. 08:00  Teaching week & PDR Life launch — An advanced collision glue pull class, interviews with potential hires, and the launch of the new PDR Life podcast — 10 episodes on getting into PDR, released all at once. pdrlifepodcast.com 10:00  Listener of the Year: James — A friend and client tagged Gene on Facebook listening to the All Access drop at 7 AM — from the hospital room, the morning after his baby was born. Congrats to James and family. 12:00  PDR College: the labor-rate card — Keith's solo episode on a hard dealer repair with no price set up front. Gene's favorite move in that spot: "What's your shop labor rate? I'll just match it." Two hours at $200 is $400 — and it's hard for the dealer to argue with their own rate. Required listening if you do wholesale. ⚑ EDITOR FLAG: Gene said "I'll see if we can drop a link" — need the URL for this week's PDR College solo episode. 15:00  Dent Slayer w/ Jeremy Nadeau — Matt Boyette and James Ricci talked content: pushing dents is right-now money; making content is building the commercial that brings future work. Listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dent-slayer-podcast/id1763729902 16:00  Play the long game — Dent Repair Now's philosophy from day one: lose a job, lose an account, take one on the chin — the long game always wins. 17:00  Model Y week & the gear trap — Three '26 Model Ys in the shop. Gene admits he gets hung up on multi-cam setups and mics. Meanwhile Mack's phone-shot "my ladies" video is past 42,000 views. Go give Mack's "my ladies" video some love — find it at @dentrepairnow on any social channel. 20:00  Shooting a PSA in real time — Gene walks through the exact Model Y video he shot: hook to camera, flip to the dent, show the buckling inside the aluminum panel, call to action, done. The '26 liftgate is a redesign and doesn't crown up like the '25-and-older. 22:00  Shoot now, edit later — Even if you can't edit, capture the clips. Edit and schedule them when things calm down. 23:00  PDR Marketing Minute #10 — Marketing is everything that happens before the sales call. Take an educational approach so customers show up primed to buy. Gene points to Brice Kelly's edge-repair video as a model. ⚑ EDITOR FLAG: This Marketing Minute is a replay from ~10 years ago (the "hailstorm came through town" line is from then). Gene skipped #9 on Yelp. Confirm Brice's YouTube channel is "CFL Dent Repair" and add the edge-repair video link if you want it. 25:00  Education in the age of AI — Gene's take today: educational content matters even more now, because AI tools like Claude, Gemini, Grok and ChatGPT pull from it. An educated customer is the best customer. 27:00  Tool of the Week: Super Straight tabs — Shannon's pick. Black Plague's Super Straight tabs lock into a pyramid-shaped adapter to force a straight pull — and the straighter you pull, the stronger you pull. Thin-face green and thick-face yellow. Not an everyday tab, but nothing pulls a sharp dent sharper. ⚑ EDITOR FLAG: Pricing (blackplaguepdr.com, checked Oct 14, 2026): Super Straight Glue Tab System $229; individual tab packs $31.99; Puller Adapter $24.99–$25.99; Puller Kit (closed & open) $45; Robo Legs $49.95 (listed sale from $149). Confirm before publishing. Gene also said "deadrattabs.com" as a backup URL — verify it resolves. 31:00  The stretched-tab effect — Veterans know it (even Chris at KECO can't explain it): a tab that stretches without breaking pulls better than anything else from the same box. The Super Straights pull like they're pre-stretched — one-pull results on a sharp door ding. 34:00  Housekeeping — PDR Life is on YouTube, Apple and Amazon (Spotify pending). MTE is about three months out. Anson's toy drive and open house is October 24 — Gene's sitting this one out after a travel-heavy year. ⚑ EDITOR FLAG: Confirm PDR Life Spotify status before publishing. 35:00  Episode 100 goes live — The 100th episode will be a live stream, likely a weekday evening, with listeners joining in. Want on? DM, text or email Gene.

    #91 Play The Long Game

  4. Oct 5

    #90 PDR Expo Tool Haul

    Ten shows away from 100, still not missing a week, still dropping Mondays at 7:00 AM Eastern. New additions to the set: a pink Dent Reaper shirt from the expo, Mack's second-place trophy, last week's Tool of the Week from Alex at PDR Original, the wood knockdown from Thad at Dentproof, Gene's judging badge, and new Dentproof and Black Plague hats (including the "Make Metal Flat Again" hat).  EDITORIAL FLAG: "Thaddle" and "the pecker" — Gene's on-air nicknames for Thad's wood knockdown. Kept as spoken in the transcript. Confirm whether the tool has an official product name you want used in notes.  01:50  The (short-ish) PDR Expo tool haul  Not a giant haul — a mix of brand-new tools, old favorites, and "old things that are new again." No Tool of the Week this episode because the whole show is tools.  02:30  Dentcraft OG Ultra Thin Whale Tails are back  Dentcraft changed the Ultra Thin Whale Tail head a while back to a design with two little tips instead of the fanned-out shape. Not bad tools — just not the same. At the Dentcraft booth, Jennifer confirmed the original-style head is available again. Gene picked up his two favorites: the 10" and a roughly 30–32" in the OG head. Great for getting down in doors, through tight braces, and out to panel edges; bend in an S-curve to bounce off the glass and get out to the panel.  Original 10" Ultra Thin Whale Tail (OGWT10) — $64.95 as of 10/4/26: https://www.dentcrafttools.com/10-ultra-thin-wt-1.html  Dentcraft Whale Tails: https://www.dentcrafttools.com/whale-tails.html  EDITORIAL FLAG: Dentcraft's homepage lists the OG 10" (OGWT10) at $64.95. I could not confirm a product listing for the ~30–32" OG-head version or its exact length. Gene also wasn't sure if more sizes came back. Verify before naming a size/price for the long one.  EDITORIAL FLAG: "Jennifer" at the Dentcraft booth — last name/role not stated. Fine as-is unless you want to credit her fully.  07:15  VIP Traction Tips  Picked up for Mack after looking at his beginner dent. Screw-on tips with a collar and a small print, similar in concept to Black Plague's micro tips or Dent Slayer's R4-style tip. What makes them special is the cast texture right at the tip — it bites just enough to keep the tool from dragging when you're pushing up and in at an awkward angle. Think micro-hedgehog, but for traction, not shrinking. Gene uses them weekly at minimum.  VIP PDR Tools — Traction Pushing Tips (#2, #4, #6, #8 sizes; from $40 each): https://vippdrtools.com  EDITORIAL FLAG: Gene calls it a "three-piece set" in small/medium/large. VIP's site currently lists the 3/8" Traction Pushing Tips individually as #2, #4, #6, #8 (plus "Mini" versions), starting at $40 — I didn't find a 3-pack listing. Confirm which product to point to.  EDITORIAL FLAG: "Peter" — VIP's founder. VIP's own site references him as "Piotr." Keeping "Peter" since that's how Gene says it on-air; your call for written notes.  10:00  VIP chain hunt + the purple leather knockdown tip  The team went looking for VIP's hanging chain for Mack's leverage point, but Andre, solo at the VIP booth, had sold out. They borrowed one from Anson instead. Then a slightly underused VIP gem: the purple leather tip. VIP labels it a blending tip, but Gene uses it as a knockdown nearly daily — it "murders" medium crowns like a standard fender crown or a hip check above a door body line. It's essentially a pool cue tip: when the leather pops off, re-glue it, or order a pack of pool tips and replace/shape your own. A new set went into Mack's kit.  VIP PDR Tools — Leather Blending Tips set ($75) / Hook Chain & Captain Hook Set ($43): https://vippdrtools.com  EDITORIAL FLAG: Gene says "I think Mack bought like a three-tip set" of the leather tips. VIP's Leather Blending Tips Set is listed at $75; set count not confirmed. Also listed: Leather Heads set ($145) and individual L/XL leather heads — confirm which one is "the purple" tip.  EDITORIAL FLAG: Transcript: "Is DBAP still there?" — unclear what "DBAP" refers to (sounds like a glue/adhesive name). Please clarify or cut from written notes.  12:20  OG Glexo full cold glue set (via Anson PDR)  Ironically, for all the cold glue pulling Gene's done, he'd never owned the full set of Glexo steel tabs — he ran the plastic KECO/Glexo tabs from his KECO days. Christina at Anson PDR loaned out a full cold glue spread for Gene's expo talk, and the one item he used that wasn't brand new was the original Glexo set, so he bought it. Skinny crease, fat crease, small round (~1¼") and big round (~2"). Black Glexo is still a weekly shop staple — light creases, finishing, and the right kind of bigger dent. Gene believes he's still on the same black stick he bought in 2019. Reminder: cold glue isn't for starting every dent. Be smart about it.  Glexo Full Set — 4 tabs and cold glue, Anson PDR ($290 as of 10/4/26): https://ansonpdr.com/products/glexo-cold-glue-pdr  EDITORIAL FLAG: Anson's Glexo Full Set page showed $290 and a backordered note when checked. A cosmetic-blem "DISCOUNTED" version was listed at $260. Confirm stock before publishing.  EDITORIAL FLAG: Retailer listings describe the Full Set tabs as 40mm and 30mm round plus 75x30 and 75x15 rectangular. Gene estimated the rounds at "maybe 2 inches" and "inch and a quarter" — 40mm is closer to 1.6". Fine as an on-air estimate; just don't print the inch sizes as specs.  EDITORIAL FLAG: Gene mentions other cold glue tools in passing: Sergio's Bull Kick, a small and large "shotgun," the AR auto-return hammer "from Matt at Dent Slayer," the Cold Snap, and Anson's mini slide hammer kit. Sergio Bull Kick kits are listed on dentcrafttools.com; Dent Slayer lists AR-9/AR-10 hammers and the Cold Snap. Your notes file has James Ricci at Dent Slayer — confirm who "Matt" is. The "shotgun" maker wasn't identified.  15:15  Little birdie: big-tab cold glue upgrade coming  Gene got a text (not from Kevin Bird — a different little birdie) hinting that big cold glue on bigger tabs may be getting an upgrade. Stay tuned to future episodes.  17:00  Gene's PDR Expo cold glue talk — headed to YouTube  The crew at Convexx, who recorded the PDR Expo presentations, is supposed to send a copy of Gene's cold glue talk. When it arrives, he'll post it free on his YouTube channel.  17:45  Black Plague glue-on straps + the new double-wide  Gene's been using Keith's glue-on fabric strap tabs for a couple of years — lots of glue lessons, multiple quarter panels saved from replacement. It grabs two planes and has a metal bar so the KECO tab track adapter (the blue T) slides on, and you can U-bolt it or grab it with lateral tension adapters or Mo-Clamps. Because it's fabric, it follows a door jamb return so you can grab the outside and pull. At the expo he found a double-wide version — every bit of four or five inches of throat — which replaces doubling and tripling up. Perfect for heavy collision and lateral tension pulls (think the Level Up BMW hatch). Reasonably priced: "if you don't pay for the whole order on the first job, you're not charging enough." Gene's wish: a throwaway version, since they're hard to clean.  Black Plague PDR: https://www.blackplaguepdr.com  Black Plague Lateral Tension Tools (edge straps, Big Freakin' Green Straps, adapters): https://www.blackplaguepdr.com/collections/lateral-tension-tools  EDITORIAL FLAG: Couldn't match the exact products Gene held up. Black Plague's Lateral Tension collection lists Green Edge Strap ($29), Yellow Edge Strap ($49.97), "Extended" versions of both, and Big Freakin' Green Straps, 2-pack ($42.76) — the double-wide may be one of these. Most showed "sold out" on 10/4. Confirm product names before linking directly.  EDITORIAL FLAG: Gene says "available at blackplaguepdr.com or deadrattabs.com if you can't spell plague." I didn't verify deadrattabs.com resolves to Black Plague — confirm before printing it.  23:00  Training trip to Fort Lauderdale  This week Gene heads to Fort Lauderdale for a couple of days of training at Derrick and Grace's shop, The Dent Demon. The straps are coming along for heavy pulls. Also on deck: an advanced glue pull training for body men back at the shop with a new junker teaching car.  23:20  Dentcraft x Jon Yeager x Brandon Schmitz collab tools  Saved for last: a four-piece set from Jon Yeager, Brandon Schmitz, and Dentcraft. (Mack opened the box and had them on a hail truck before Gene even got in.) Offset handle similar to Hail's Angels / Excaliburs for good drive left or right, shaved down, same feel as the whale tail material — maybe a hair thicker and a little stiffer than the Ultra Thin, but you can still put an arch in them. Built for driving out toward panel edges, like a Dent Slayer butter knife. Rough sizes: orange ~14", yellow ~16–18", blue ~24", and a ~30" that might shoot through taillights up under the sail panel. First impressions only — feedback to come.  Dentcraft Tools: https://www.dentcrafttools.com  EDITORIAL FLAG: Name spellings unverified: transcript had "Jon Jaeger" and "Johnny Yeager" for the same person — standardized to "Jon Yeager" throughout. Also confirm "Brandon Schmitz." I could not find a product listing, official name, or price for this collab set on dentcrafttools.com — confirm the product name and link if one exists.  EDITORIAL FLAG: "Hail's Angels and the Excaliburs" — transcript rendered "Hale's Angels." Confirm the tool names/makers you want referenced.  28:00  Honorable mention: Anson BLE light stand  Got it right before the expo, launched at the expo, and Vinnie covered it last week. First full week using it: love it, and there's probably a second one in Gene's future.  Anson PDR BLE Light Stand: https://ansonpdr.com/products/ble-anson-pdr-x-portable-dent-repair-lighting-stand  EDITORIAL FLAG: Transcript: "my two main stands instead of th

    #90 PDR Expo Tool Haul

  5. Sep 28

    #89 The PDR Expo and The Competitions

    Episode 89 — PDR Expo 2026 and the Competitions  Gene recaps PDR Expo 2026 at the Rio in Las Vegas, recorded the day after a red-eye home, and brings back six interviews from the show floor plus a Tool of the Week and the competition results.  00:00  Intro — Recorded in the basement after the red-eye home. Heads up on audio levels: the on-camera mics were running hot at the show, so some segments may be louder or quieter.  00:01  PDR Expo 2026 at the Rio — Likely the biggest PDR Expo yet and the first at the Rio. Comparison to the Plaza and Fremont Street. Lunch in Chinatown, the food hall, the lobby bar where everyone gathered, and the rooftop cigar bar.  ⚑ FLAG: "Dave Chalotte" (lunch in Chinatown) — first-time name, spelling unverified.  00:03  Shout-outs and the small-show advantage — Thanks to Mike Glidewell (Dent Mate) for the cigar and Jon Videen for the drinks. Why smaller shows give more networking and unhurried education.  ⚑ FLAG: Verify "Mike Glidewell" spelling and whether "Dent Mate" is his company (it's also the name of estimating software referenced later).  00:03  Round table and glue pull talk — Friday round table of about nine techs, led by Keith Cosentino and organized by Kevin Bird. Saturday: Gene's glue pull double session, roughly an hour and 45 minutes with plenty of Q&A. Feels like old-school MTE in the early 2010s at the Caribe Royale.  ⚑ FLAG: "Kevin Bird" — verify spelling.  00:05  Competitions preview — GOAT competition damage was brutal; beginners damage much harder than last year. PDR Marketing Minute returns next week.  00:06  New shaved tools from DentCraft — John Yeager and Brandon Schmitz collaborated on a new set of shaved tools through DentCraft. Gene ordered a set after seeing them in the elevator line; expect a future Tool of the Week.  ⚑ FLAG: Verify "John Yeager," "Brandon Schmitz," and "Deacon" (one of Matt Boyette's sons). Also confirm Matt's surname spelling — the transcript uses both "Boyett" and "Boyette."  00:07  Interview: Žan Vidic — GOAT competition — The GOAT competition is open to top-three finishers from Dent Olympics in Orlando; five competitors. Sixty seconds to view the damage, no lights, no touching, no photos. Two hours of repair split into two one-hour blocks with a 10-minute break. The damage: a hood hit perpendicular to a body line with a tight, sharp crown driven down into the concave and a secondary impact, roughly 8" x 4". No wet sanding. Žan's plan: glue-tab tension on the body line to help the metal flow, with soft pushes, the same approach taught at Level Up. Tension costs setup and cool-down time, but without it push marks are almost guaranteed.  ⚑ FLAG: "Wei Wu" (competitor, won in Canada) — spelling unverified. Žan's "Trying to stay ahead of Jack" joke left as-is — not sure who Jack is.  00:12  Interview: Vinnie D'Alessandro, Anson PDR — BLE X light stand — Debut of the BLE X light stand, a year-long collaboration with BLE, who flew in from England. Height range roughly 3.5 to 9.5 feet, strong locking joint, push-button height adjustment, integrated battery tray and water ballast bag. Works with X-Factor or Stuckey lights.  Pricing (from ansonpdr.com): stand only $849. Combos with Elimadent lights and Never Loose run $1,675 to $1,751. Listing specs a 45" minimum and 9.5 ft maximum height; batteries not included.  ⚑ FLAG: Product listing still says "Available Mid September" — confirm it's shipping. Vinnie says 3.5 ft on-air; the listing says 3.75 ft. The blog says "about three and a half feet" per Vinnie; adjust if you want the spec.  00:14  Battery on board and plug lock — The Elimadent battery on board (previously the Hail Stand Receiver Adapter) is getting a clamp mod to fit the new stand. The plug lock keeps the light's male plug from popping out while you adjust.  ⚑ FLAG: Transcript had "Limidant" / "IllumiDent" — corrected to Elimadent (the brand Anson carries). Confirm "plug lock" isn't the same product Anson sells as "Never Loose."  00:16  Tequila Compact HUB line — Grew from about two tools to around 130–135 in six to eight months, heading past 200. The Econoline handle locks solid with no play, converts to a mini T-handle, and gives a thumb-push position Gene likes on hand tools. 3/8" shaved tools deliver strong drive on European cars.  Swoop Compact HUB Interchangeable (link provided): $99 (17"), $109 (21"), $119 (24"), all 3/8" diameter, with a Black Gold morph tip.  ⚑ FLAG: The Swoop link is a 3/8" compact hub tool. Verify: "Econoline" handle name, "Hail's Angels" (Dent Reaper — transcript says "Hales Angels"), and "Craig Dyer."  00:19  Anson app — Order through the Anson PDR app to get the glue of the month.  00:20  Interview: Noah Hebert, Dent Ops — Match-O-Matic — Built internally to match insurance approvals against your estimate line by line, even across formats (MobileTechRX or DentMate to CCC or Mitchell). Spot the gaps, generate a supplement, get a documentation checklist of photos and invoices needed, and use Payout Splits to allocate line items to techs, glass, or body shop. Works for PDR and body shops; free trial available. Dent Ops estimating and claim services also have free trials.  ⚑ FLAG: Noah said "match-o-matic.io" on-air, but I couldn't verify that domain. Links above point to dentops.com only, per your list. Add match-o-matic.io if you can confirm it.  00:23  Interview: James Ricci — Dent Slayer and Dent Repair Jax — On pronunciation: the family says "Ritchie," but Ricci is the spelling. Dent Slayer started when Matt designed a one-off tool with A1 that turned into a product. Friends for 20+ years; Matt got James into PDR. Matt designs the tools; James handles videography, design, web, and podcast production.  00:26  Color blindness and the gray card — Both James and Gene are color blind. Gene's wedding-photography hack: shoot a gray card at every new venue and set white balance from it in software.  00:28  Making the Dent Slayer podcast — James refused at first because of the editing load. The fix: hire a production company that sets up, films, and edits. Around 22 episodes so far. Gene's approach: no heavy editing, just sit down and talk.  00:31  Glass cleaner for cold glue — James picked up a tip in Gene's cold glue class: clean the panel with glass cleaner. Gene learned it from Ryan Campbell out of Cleveland.  ⚑ FLAG: "Ryan Campbell" (Cleveland) — verify spelling.  00:32  Process over intuition — James on Gene's class: the value is a clear, repeatable process. Gene's veteran philosophy: like a race car driver, you're chasing the tip that gains a hundredth of a second per lap, and it compounds over a career.  00:34  Dent Repair Jax — James's local PDR company. 50K+ on YouTube and about 96K on Facebook. Future episode planned on his social media strategy.  00:35  Interview: Mack — beginners competition — Mack felt less nervous but more intimidated than last year. The damage moved from a hood to a trunk lid on a stand: harder light setup, harder positioning, a bigger and wider dent. His advice to future competitors: be ready for anything, and if you did the best you're capable of in 30 minutes, you won.  00:38  Interview: Keith Cosentino — ClaimConnection — Keith built the company he wanted for his own shop. Scope the car, fill out a simple form, submit photos through the portal. The ClaimConnection team writes the estimate in CCC (catching R&I operations techs miss), submits it, and becomes the adjuster's point of contact, with status visible in the portal. Written PDR or conventional, depending on your preference and state. Working name was Back Office Bulldog.  Pricing (as stated on-air): $1 card verification to sign up, $199 per estimate written, 6.9% of total claim value for full claim support.  ⚑ FLAG: ClaimConnection's site is a login app, so I couldn't verify pricing on the web — figures are from Keith on-air. Also: the estimator's name "Tammy" is unverified, and the site brands itself "ClaimConnection" (one word) — I used that in written sections.  00:44  Thad, Dentproof and the Panel Beaters Club — Sticker haul, T-shirt, hat, and a "thaddle" from Thad. The Panel Beaters Club Discord feels like old-school PDR forums: organized by topic, no algorithm feed. Join: https://discord.gg/7DUezhDBS  ⚑ FLAG: "door ding dot com / doording.com" — the old PDR forum Gene references. Verify the name before it goes in any written copy (I left it out of the blog).  00:46  Coming up — Plans to interview Sheldon (PDR Expo and MTE) and possibly Casey about the shows. Gene will teach glue pulling again at MTE.  ⚑ FLAG: "Sheldon … Convex" — transcript is garbled here. Confirm Sheldon's surname and company, and Casey's full name.  00:47  Tool of the Week: PDR Original custom tool — Custom hand-built, hand-ground tool from Alex at PDR Original (https://pdr-original.com/, https://www.youtube.com/@pdr-original, and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pdr_original_canada). Arched shape for reaching into braces and panel edges, rolling-style tip, custom-stitched black leather handle, copper ends with a Canadian flag, plus a red tool hanger in Dent Repair Now colors. Alex works with Josh Kidd in Canada; Miroslav used one of Alex's tools in the GOAT competition.  ⚑ FLAG: Verify: "Alexander Yefremenko" (Gene says on-air he's not sure of the pronunciation), "Josh Kid/Kidd," "Bryce," "Miroslav/Miro," and "Ken Clark, the Man of Steel."  00:52  Competition results — Honorable mention to Seth for an incredible door repair on stretched, smoked damage. Gene encourages him to enter Dent Olympics.  00:53  Awards announcements — Full results as announced at the show — watch or listen for every placing.  01:00  Wrap-up — Congrats to Vladimir, the new GOAT. Gene did play-by-play with Lee Roth and jud

    #89 The PDR Expo and The Competitions

  6. Sep 21

    #88 Mentorship

    Episode 88 - Gene's Back to the Future joke included. He and the team leave in a couple of days for PDR Expo, which he says feels like old-school MTE: you can slow down, sit and talk with friends, and not feel like you missed everybody.  Roundtable Friday morning with a stage full of knowledge  Saturday: two-part cold glue class - classroom talk first, then live demos pulling people up from the audience  If you have not bought tickets yet, what are you waiting for?   02:00 - Shout-outs   Eric, the Bearded Dent Guy - Gene picked up some gear from him this week and is wearing the hat  Hat tip to the Ginger Bros, specifically Brandon Schmitz and his wife Mandy. The industry is stepping up to help them; Gene encourages listeners to check out Brandon's social media and lend a hand if they can   03:00 - Topic: mentorship  A 10-year technician came in for a class this week. Good tech, but like so many of us, he went through training and then spent his career trying to figure it out. He told Gene, "You've got this." Gene's answer: he spent 14 years (2002 to 2016) not having it figured out - and is not claiming to have it all figured out now. These are just dent guy problems and we all have to solve the same stuff. 04:00 - Keith Cosentino and the 12-week program   Gene and Keith connected on doring.com, saw each other at MTE, and Gene is a big fan of the PDR College podcast  When Keith announced business coaching, Gene signed up - he thinks it was a 12-week program  Gene calls it perhaps the most formative 12 weeks of his career. Not so much on the physical repair side - on the business side and the life side; it changed a lot of his processes  Big takeaway: you can beat your head against the wall, or you can find a mentor and buy your way into knowledge  He says he would not have made it into the shop with employees without Keith. Hiring Jennifer to answer the phones and take phone work off his plate was 'priceless'   06:00 - Elite performers have coaches  Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan both leaned on coaches. If the elite still rely on coaches to improve and stay sharp, why aren't more of us investing in ourselves? Gene recalls a conversation with a friend, Dave: in PDR you go to school, maybe have a mentor for a while, and then you get kicked out of the nest to figure it out on your own.   07:30 - The student who had never used a shrinky box   The class was all physical skills. The student had never seen or used a shrinky box  Shrinky boxes have been out about 8-10 years (Gene bought his around '17-'18) and many techs still do not know how to use them; most do not come with instructions  Gene credits the Black Plague box for shipping with instructions, and thanks Keith for putting one out there that works so well  Glue pull: on nearly identical damage the student needed about 12 pulls to Gene's one. After Gene showed his technique, the next dent took a couple of pulls instead of a dozen   09:00 - Training options at every level  You do not have to pay for advanced training - but you do need to know you can be better and faster. Gene names a range of places to learn:  Advanced training: a week with Bryce, or a day or two with Gene or Matt Boyett  Hail: a program from 'Jean' called Hail Pro, packed with the tips he uses to be an efficient hail tech. Gene says the guy shuts shops down because everyone wonders how he moves so fast, and a friend said he is like having three really good hail techs in one  Myke Toledo's Dent Trainer - tons of tutorials  Advanced Skills Seminar - Gene has been to all but two. The last one, at Anson, may have been the best yet; he learned a lot watching how Bryce worked. Not sure Keith and Chad will bring it back. Skipped: the first one, and the one at Corey Kleinfeld's shop in Sacramento  Business coaching: Gene's own coach Becky, who was in Pittsburgh for years, has hung it up and is splitting time between Florida and Pittsburgh - so he needs to find a new business coach   12:00 - Discussion: are you investing in yourself?  Gene thanks everyone who texts about the topic of the week - it is why he does the podcast. The question for the week: are you investing in yourself and learning, and if not, what's holding you back?  PDR pays so well that it is easy to think we are better at business than we actually are, and get lulled to sleep  You can make more in a day and work fewer hours by building skills - physical, and business (sales, marketing, advertising, bookkeeping, finance)  The trade gives us a really big shovel (Dave Ramsey line) to make big moves when we are smart about it 14:00 - The rant, and the moral  Gene calls it a ranty episode, but only because he cares. He wants more people to make the changes he sees in his students and mentees - and is not saying they have to come to him. Some conversations have changed people's outlook on business and life, how they run their shop, brought more money through the door, and gotten rid of their head trash. Moral of the story: find a mentor in business and in life, use them, and let them help you be a better human. 15:45 - Tool of the Week: Elimadent X-Factor Flip Light   Warm and cool LEDs, use one or both. Gene says it is still a very misunderstood tool  Yes, it works as an inspection light or an R&I light set on the dash - but its real job is seeing down inside a deep, dense dent  Gene says it is around $219 on Anson's site and will pay for itself on the first job. Regular lights (he names Stuckey and Limit Dent) cannot get down and show the bottom of the dent  How to use: set it on the panel (magnetic ring; suction cup option for aluminum), fold it down, and flood the dent with light so you can watch your pushes  Tech tip: use it to see, not to do too much pushing. Bring the bottom up, move it back a bit, then get rid of it and go back to your regular light - overworking with it takes a little detail away  Available at ansonpdr.com   19:15 - Coming up   Brand-new light stand Anson is carrying: Gene has not unboxed it yet but plans a build video and first look on the Dent Repair Now socials. Christina says he will use one in his Expo class, and they should have them in the booth  A Limit Dent X-Factor setup with the battery  Gene admits that after a two-week vacation and getting sick, motivation was hard to find this week - now back on the regular schedule   21:15 - PDR Marketing Minute #7: ask for the review  Replayed from the archive (Gene listened to it because he had audio problems). This installment of the review series covers the simplest strategy: just ask.  Everyone uses reviews to shop but few of us leave them. Build rapport during the sale and repair, then ask  Pick the platform to match the customer: Yelper -> Yelp; Gmail address -> Google; older, less tech-savvy customers -> PDR Nation   23:45 - Gene on reviews today   Google is where all his reviews come from now  His old text (phone text replacement 'PDRV') thanked the customer for letting him repair the car, and linked to a website page with Google, Facebook, Yelp and (back in the day) PDR Nation review links  No CRM? Set up a keyboard text replacement on your phone. But the best way, hands down, is a CRM - $100/month gets you started, and it can automate the ask and send multiple reminders  In person: when the customer picks up, confirm they love the result, then say Shannon will send a link and ask for a quick review  Hundreds of reviews is run-of-the-mill; the ones killing it are in the thousands. Gene lost his Google listing when they moved into the shop and is behind where he would be  Dad joke: it's the word of mouse, not word of mouth  28:00 - Sign-off  Thanks for all the messages. Next week's show is not live from the Expo but interviews shot there - flying with cameras and mics. Until next week, or when Gene sees you at the Expo.

    #88 Mentorship

  7. Sep 17

    #87 We Need More Passion

    Timestamped notes for episode #87, “We Need More Passion.” Editorial flags call out anything that needs Gene's eyes before this goes out. [00:00] Welcome back  Gene kept the once-a-week streak alive despite the show going out a couple of days late. He and MeLissa just got back from a trip to Europe, capped off by both of them getting sick with some kind of bug partway through and Gene running a fever for the first time in 15–20 years. [00:02] The KLM/Delta travel saga  A delayed flight out of Venice, a missing bus driver, a plane that “has to kick-start the engines,” and a missed connection in Amsterdam turned a planned Sunday recording into a Thursday one. Gene and MeLissa ended up rerouted through Boston and got home Sunday afternoon instead of Saturday night — and came home to a surprise 25th anniversary party Elena had put together. [00:06] This week's topic — the PDR reach problem  Gene's core frustration: most people who walk through the door have never had PDR before and don't know what it costs or what it can do. He believes that if the world understood what PDR could really do, the industry would need far more technicians than it currently has. [00:08] Story #1 — the Rome butcher shop  On a Rome food tour, tour guide Giordano brought the group to a third-generation butcher shop and deli open since 1970. The grandson running the tasting — passionate, animated, all-in on describing where the meat and cheese came from — is what stuck with Gene, more than the tour guide himself. EDITORIAL FLAG: “Giordano” is the tour guide's name as Gene said it on the recording — spelling unverified, please confirm before publishing.  [00:12] Story #2 — Francesco and the Chianti winery  On a Tuscany wine tour, the first winery felt rushed and unenthusiastic. The second stop, led by a guide Gene names as Francesco, was the opposite — passionate about the wine, the winery's concrete aging tanks, and the estate's aged balsamic and olive oil. Gene called out how engaging and infectious that passion was for the whole group. EDITORIAL FLAG: The winery owner is referred to only as “let's call him Michael” — Gene used this as a placeholder name, not a confirmed one. Also confirm the spelling of “Francesco.”  [00:14] Story #3 — Chef David's pasta class  In Florence, Gene and MeLissa took a pasta-making class with Chef David, who taught using his nonna's recipes. Gene singled out how contagious Chef David's passion for teaching was — especially his enthusiasm for pappardelle, which Gene says he'll now associate with the class for the rest of his life. [00:18] The challenge — more passion in PDR content  Gene ties the three trip stories together: what made each experience memorable wasn't the information, it was the passion behind it. He references a recent content challenge — the Great Yap Challenge, run by a coach he names as Jesse Jean — that taught him hooks and on-camera delivery techniques that improved his video performance. Gene is challenging himself and his audience to bring more of that raw passion into PDR content instead of just before-and-after shots. EDITORIAL FLAG: Coach's name given as “Jesse Jean” — spelling unverified, please confirm before publishing.  [00:20] The Maverick story  Gene shares a recent repair on a customer's newly-purchased Maverick with door damage. When he brought the customer out to see the repair before the door panel went back on, the customer asked for a hug. Gene uses this as the kind of moment he wants PDR content to actually capture. [00:22] PDR Marketing Minute — reviews (rerun)  This segment is a rerun of an earlier PDR Marketing Minute episode focused on reviews as modern word-of-mouth. The four places named to focus on: Google (My Business), Yelp, Facebook, and PDR Nation. The host in the rerun clip introduces himself by name. EDITORIAL FLAG: The rerun clip's host introduction is transcribed as “Gene Fedde” — corrected to Gene Fetty per house style before publishing.  Fresh commentary after the replay: Gene now says to focus mainly on Google reviews, since Facebook reviews are hard to find, PDR Nation no longer exists, and he's not a fan of Yelp. He also shares a tactic from his outside-sales days — screenshotting reviews, printing them at Walgreens, and handing out physical copies in sales folders — along with his standing advice to reply personally to every Google review. [00:27] Tool of the Week — Keco K-Power Gen 2  Gene's pick this week is the Keco K-Power line, with a focus on the Gen 2 full-size lateral tension tool. He prefers the full-size over the mid-size for shop use because it offers more reach, though he notes the mid-size is a better call for mobile techs. Key upgrades from Gen 1 to Gen 2 that Gene calls out: angled (rather than straight) legs for roughly three extra inches of reach on each side, and a replaceable set-screw pin design that fixes a failure point where Gen 1 units would break at the leg threads. He also walks through the tab strap attachments — glue-don't-glue markings, long and short straps, double-wide blades — and an adapter (included with the system) that lets the K-Power pull Black Plague straps (Gene refers to these as “Keith's straps”) for jam and return-edge pulls. EDITORIAL FLAG: Keco K-Power Gen 2 full-size lateral tension tool priced at $944.95 USD on kecotabs.com at time of research — web pricing can go stale, please confirm current price/availability before publishing. Black Plague strap pricing was not independently confirmed for blackplaguepdr.com/deadrattabs.com.  [00:32] Wrap-up — PDR Expo 2026 preview  Gene previews next week's PDR Expo 2026 (September 25–26, The Rio, Las Vegas). He'll be on the Friday morning round table and doing a cold glue talk with live car demonstrations on Saturday morning. He also mentions lunch plans in Las Vegas beforehand.

    #87 We Need More Passion

  8. Sep 7

    #86 Part 3 PDR Shop Life

    Episode 86 — Part 3 of the Mobile vs. Shop trilogy. Recorded from the Atlanta airport en route to a vacation in Italy. Gene covers the evolution of the shop over six and a half years: which add-on services worked, what the new location and build-out changed, the biggest operational mistakes, and how the approach to scheduling repairs has shifted. Intro — Live from the Atlanta Airport (00:00)  [00:00] Gene opens from the Atlanta airport, on the way to Rome with MeLissa. Frames this as Part 3 of the shop-vs.-mobile series — after Part 1 (shop vs. mobile comparison) and Part 2 (opening the shop, pitfalls and wins) — now covering what the shop has evolved into six and a half years in. ⚑ EDITORIAL FLAG: Transcript renders the name as "Melissa" — corrected to "MeLissa" per house style.  Adding the First Shop Tech (02:00)  [02:00] The first big evolution after opening the shop: bringing on Dave as a technician, which freed Gene up to work on the business instead of just in it. Gene notes he's bummed to have lost Dave as an employee but glad he's still around in the industry — calls it a catch-22. The shop is currently down a tech and actively looking for apprentices. Trying to Supplement the Shop (03:00)  [03:00] No matter the model — mobile or shop — bad weather kills demand. The team tried a few add-on services to diversify revenue during slow stretches, with mixed results. Add-On #1: Ceramic Coating (03:30)  [03:30] High margin, short learning curve — but the shop only had two real working bays, and coatings needed roughly 24 hours to cure. In bad Pittsburgh weather that meant tying up a bay for a full day, the opposite of the added production they wanted. Gene also says he never found a coating brand or warranty program he fully believed in. Ceramic coating was a no-go. Add-On #2: Paint Protection Film (05:00)  [05:00] Gene first tried PPF in Pittsburgh back in late 2006/early 2007 (around when Mack was a baby). Found a good product and got decent at installs, but struggled to sell it — customers balked at a $2,000–$3,000 full front wrap. Years later, with better patterns and materials, he and techs Dave and Jake gave it another shot: Dave picked it up quickly, but low volume meant the team stayed rusty, and selling it was still a fight. They eventually scrapped it a second time. [07:00] At an MTE round table, Matt Moore mapped out the numbers and found the runway to get a tech proficient and profitable in PPF was almost identical to the runway to train a new PDR technician — reinforcing the decision to invest in PDR talent instead. ⚑ EDITORIAL FLAG: "MTE" is used without expansion in the transcript — likely an industry round table/event name. Confirm the full name/spelling before publishing.  Add-On #3: Window Tint (08:00)  [08:00] An employee who wanted hands-on work rather than office tasks tried PDR first but didn't take to it. The team pivoted to window tint, found a trainer about two hours east, and brought in Dave and a team member for the full class, with Mack sitting in on part of it. Tint turned out to be the easiest add-on by far — short learning curve, cheap materials, low-cost mistakes. ⚑ EDITORIAL FLAG: Transcript names this employee "Dana" — spelling unverified; not previously confirmed in the roster. Please confirm before publishing.  [09:00] Mack eventually stepped up and took over tint, but once he got fully absorbed into PDR, there wasn't enough tint volume to justify a dedicated employee. The team dropped it as a service and now refers tint work out. ⚑ EDITORIAL FLAG: Transcript consistently spells this technician's name "Mac." Corrected to "Mack" per house style.  Growing Into the New Shop (10:00)  [10:00] The move went from roughly 1,500 sq ft total to a shop of about 1,700–1,800 sq ft, plus a customer area and a studio, with better parking and a better location. Location: Reachability vs. Walk-In Traffic (11:00)  [11:00] The prior shop had great reachability but poor walk-in visibility — Gene used to believe you could just advertise your way out of a bad location. The new shop sits on a main secondary north–south route in the South Hills, in a higher-income area with strong schools, next to a busy gas station, Sherwin-Williams, and other retail neighbors. Walk-in traffic matched six years' worth of the old shop's growth within the first week. The Build-Out (14:00)  [14:00] Unlike the short-term-lease first shop, this location came with a 5-year lease and first right of refusal for another 5 — a real runway to invest in the space. The building had 30 years of embedded mechanic-shop grease that took serious scrubbing (one door frame never fully came clean). The team built a proper customer lounge with bar-height tables, comfortable seating, Wi-Fi, plants, and a picture window looking into the shop floor, plus a dedicated studio space for filming and training separate from repair work. [18:00] Gene shares a story about a tricky one-inch dent on an Atlas that took roughly 15 passes to get flat, with the customer watching the whole repair through the shop window — and how being able to watch built trust even though the repair took longer than expected. Go Big If You Can Swing It (20:00)  [20:00] Gene's take: if the new shop's expense level had been attempted back in 2018, the business likely wouldn't have had the runway to survive while still learning the ropes on repairs and insurance workflow. His advice for anyone shop-shopping today is to go big if the numbers support it. The Estimates-Only Phone Mistake (21:00)  [21:00] A previous front-office employee, Jennifer, chose not to continue with the company when the team moved to the new shop. Shannon stepped into the front-office role. Early on, the team tried switching the phone close to a body-shop style — "come in for an estimate" instead of quoting over the phone. Gene calls it the second-biggest mistake in shop history (after a bad Google Ads outsourcing experience), driven by high no-show and cancellation rates on scheduled estimates. ⚑ EDITORIAL FLAG: Confirmed against the team roster: Shannon is front-office and non-technical, consistent with prior notes.  [23:30] The team re-trained on phone skills through Keith's phone skills course and moved back to quoting over the phone, which is working well now. Could AI Scheduling Be Next? (24:00)  [24:00] Gene mentions a peer, Dan ("the dent guy" in New York), who's testing a self-service scheduling window for estimates. Gene is intrigued by the idea of a customer-facing qualification chat/AI flow but isn't sold on it yet, especially after how badly the estimates-only phone experiment went. Holding Cars Longer (24:30)  [24:30] Over the last 18–20 months, the shop has shifted from trying to complete every car in a single day to holding bigger or more difficult repairs across multiple days. Benefits: a no-show doesn't wipe out a full day of revenue since the job is spread across days, and repair quality has improved because Gene isn't grinding through smashes while exhausted. He notes body shops rarely turn cars in a single day either. Wrap-Up (27:00)  [27:00] Gene signs off ahead of a vacation trip to Italy, noting the episode may get uploaded from Rome depending on Wi-Fi. Tool of the Week: DJI Mic Mini (27:30)  [27:30] Gene's pick this week is his own gear: the DJI Mic Mini and receiver. He keeps it on the workbench for quick run-and-gun videos where a phone mic alone isn't good enough, especially outdoors or in a noisy shop. The kit includes a charging case, chargers, magnets, and windscreens ("dead cats").

    #86 Part 3 PDR Shop Life
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4 Ratings

About

Welcome to The All Access Podcast from Dent Repair Now — where the paintless dent repair and automotive appearance industry comes to learn, grow, and level up. Hosted by Gene Fetty, technician, trainer, and founder of The Institute @ Dent Repair Now, each episode dives deep into the tools, techniques, and business strategies that drive real success in today’s PDR world. From glue pull repair and estimating to marketing, mindset, and community events — this show gives you full access to the conversations, insights, and stories shaping the industry’s future. Whether you’re a seasoned tech, a new student, or a shop owner building your brand, you’ll find practical takeaways and fresh perspectives in every episode. 🎧 Subscribe and join the conversation — Because at Dent Repair Now, the industry learns here.

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