We have spent hours and hours researching other PDR Web sites to clarify our own business ethics. Below are some things we'd like to make clear, and some things other people have asked us. Some of these may come across as rude or facetious, but after all these years we're starting to see a lot of humor in this business. We try to answer our questions as straightforwardly as possible; no repetitive, copy-and-paste answers from other Web sites.
(In fact - and not to brag - but we've noticed some new sites that sound awfully familiar ...)
1. Why should I take my car to you and not a bigger, more well-known company like the franchise down the street from you?
Good question. We've talked on this Web site about ways we keep our prices down - low overhead, cheap rent, not accepting credit cards, no middlemen, no mobile service. We've talked about being a locally owned and operated, independent business (not a franchise). Now let's talk about quality. The big guys pump a lot of trainees through the system as fast as they can, making them sign a contract while paying them not a lot of commission. Basically, one quickly trained tech at a franchise may have to do several cars to make the same money we make from one car. Pretty soon that tech won't be satisfied and may try to get out of his contract. When he can't, he might try to open a fly-by-night mobile service. But now he has to buy his own tools, which is a pretty hefty expense, and he may not even realize he wasn't very well trained to begin with.
We remember about 10 years ago when we first heard about some of these big guys coming to town. Jennifer said, "Pretty soon, there will be a McDents on every corner." Michael replied, "No way, most people can't do dents even after they're trained." As it turns out, we were both right.
Michael has never worked for a franchise (See our About Us page). We've built our own business on our own principles from the beginning.
2. Do you offer a guarantee?
Well, yes & no. We see PDR techs nationwide offering them, and what's the point? If the dent is fixed correctly, it's fixed. It will not come back. Period! That's all the guarantees usually cover. But if you insist on one, our daughter has a brand-new box of crayons and she knows how to use them.
In the late '90s there were rumors everywhere that if you had PDR done, the dents came back. Wrong! These were shoddy repairs and it just took the customers awhile to figure it out, or they were parking next to the same inconsiderate person who kept giving them the same door ding.
Our guarantee, then, is this: If you're not happy with the dent repair or a detail ... ever ... you don't pay.
3. How much experience do you have?
Michael has been detailing for 24 years (he started at Family Truck & Van at Broadway and Wesley) and doing PDR for 20 years. Yep, we're old.
4. Do you offer mobile service?
Sorry, no. Lighting is important to the quality of our work, especially PDR. We want your car to look just as good at home in the garage as it does outside on the street. Also, going mobile would increase our expenses, and therefore yours. Another reason is that we actually have a shop. Some PDR companies we've seen tell you to visit a body shop for an estimate, then someone else will do the work later. We do everything ourselves in house, no middleman, so you always know who you're dealing with - and where to find us again if you need us. Which leads us to the next question ...
5. I had some hail damage fixed by some guys in a tent down the street, and I just noticed the clips holding up my headliner are broken. I went back to see if the PDR company would fix it, but now the tent is nowhere to be found. Can you fix my headliner?
Yes, and we'll do it for free because you were most likely a victim of "hail chasers." These are dent techs who scan the Weather Channel and the Internet for reports of hail, then arrive from all ends of the earth to make a quick buck off of a big storm. When it's over, they pack up their tools and their profits and head off to who knows where. While we have nothing against people making money, we're proud of our connections to the community. Almost all of the money we make here stays here. We donate to local charities and support the local merchants association.
Also, if you notice a problem with our work, you know where to find us. Out-of-town companies may be long gone with your money by the time you notice those broken clips, missed dents or any other problem.
6. Do you ever hire hail chasers?
Silly question. See No. 4 above. Absolutely not. We only work with local people we know and trust. One thing we promise is that during hail season, you'll never pull into our parking lot and see license plates from Texas, Kansas, Nebraska or anywhere else. And if there's ever a tent on our property, it's because Michael is airing it out to take the kids camping.
7. Have you ever chased hail?
Well, now we have to tell you our dirty little secret. Michael used to, back in our younger days. But we kept realizing that when he got home from being the Prodigal Son, we had lost all of our regular customers - the bread under our butter. Imagine that.
He still occasionally travels to Lamar, Colo. He followed a storm there in 1994 and ended up with a lot of new regular customers, some of whom still drive to Littleton to see us. One of our best customers is John Ogden, a.k.a. "Big O," at Colorado East Auto Sales, just east of Lamar on Highway 50. John is a skilled PDR estimator, so if you're in his neighborhood and need our services, contact him at 719-336-6822. He'll set up a time that's convenient for us all. We're always happy to make the drive for a steak at the Cow Palace!
8. Do you ever have to drill to access a dent?
Sometimes, as a last resort and only with your permission. If we have to drill, all holes will be sealed and plugged to prevent corrosion.
9. Why aren't you a member of the Better Business Bureau?
Been there, done that, for several years (look up Carriage Tech on the BBB Web site). In Michael's opinion, our $400 a year could be better spent. The BBB reports negatives regardless of whether the business in question is a member. It doesn't report positive feedback. Same with Tom Martino - a lot of people don't realize businesses have to pay for his endorsement. (But if he ever stops by our shop to get a dent fixed, we're pretty sure he'll approve. We'll keep you posted.) Instead of paying for kudos, we rely on word-of-mouth advertising and our reputation.
10. Are you VALE certified?
Well, no. No, we're not. We checked the Internet to see what that means, and it looks like VALE started certifying PDR techs in 2003. Michael's been doing PDR since 1991. We don't remember VALE calling and asking him if their standards were high enough. Yes, we know that sounds like a slam, and it just might be. But there are several "PDR certification" companies nationwide taking $400-$700 from unsuspecting dent techs to give them a nifty little, probably laminated, certification card (maybe we're in the wrong business). Other PDR Web sites will give you the history on how long PDR has been around - pretty much since cars have been around - but this certification thing is pretty new. So is the Internet, but here we are. We're getting old, and we don't really understand any of this. If you want to know if we're "certifiable," just ask around town. If you want to know if we're any good at dents, stop by for a free demo.
11. Do you do dentless paint repair?
We always giggle a little when we hear the phrase "dentless paint repair," but somehow that's what "paintless dent repair" often morphs into. So don't be embarrassed if you found our site by Googling "dentless paint repair" or "dentless repair" - we've heard those often enough to make sure we included them on our Web site. "Paintless dent repair" means we fix dents without paint, fillers or any other kind of conventional body work. We can also fix minor chips and scratches in paint without denting, "dentless paint repair," but we generally refer to that as "paint touch-up."
