Real vs Fake: How To Distinguish Your Business From The Dent Nomads

How To Show PDR Customers You’re The Real Deal

From now until the middle of September, we are in what’s known as “hail season.” Hail is one of the biggest reasons vehicle owners need PDR services for their car. Dents caused by hail can sometimes be as big as a golfball. The last thing car owners need to worry about is someone ripping them off, right? Unfortunately, there are a group of fake PDR technicians known as “dent nomads” who are notorious for exactly that.

According to www.thedentologist.com, “Dent nomads make a living out of pointing out your damage in parking lots as you go to do your shopping and pressure you into letting them fix your car on the spot.” Sometimes they even use business cards of actual auto repair shops in the area, claiming they are employed by that shop but they’re just doing some extra work “on the side.”

After they’ve convinced the customer into letting them fix their car right then and there in the parking lot, they’ll get to work on their nasty scheme while the victim shops, goes to a movie, eats a meal, etc. When they are finished, they’ll tell the customer to wipe off the thick wax coating or paint that is hiding whatever they did (or rather, didn’t do) to your car after a 24-hour period. This gives the illusion that these cons performed some sort of repair that needs a “processing” time when in actuality, all they did is rub a boatload of wax on the panel and called it a day. Or rather, payday.

This type of business practice is an insult to every professional working in PDR, or any SMART repair service for that matter. It’s because of these con artists that when the real professionals aim to get more business, such as hail chasers seeing that we just entered hail season, it’s going to be that much harder to earn a customer’s trust. So how do you prove that you’re the real deal in a world of make-believe? Here are some quick and easy tips:

Proof:

That’s right, proof. Be able to pull up on your smartphone photos and videos that actually show you and/or your technicians working. Actions speak louder than words, after all, and when you actually have visual proof of the repair being performed, that will instantly give you credibility to your customer.

Online Presence:

Does your business have an online presence, whether that’s social media or a website? According to business mogul Marcus Sheridan, 70% of a customer’s decision is made online before they even contact the company.

If you’re a hail chaser who has a mobile office, chances are your customers may not have a chance to research your business like someone sitting at home on their computer. But they can certainly Google your business right away from their smartphone right there in the parking lot to make sure you’re not full of BS.

Just because these potential customers are not at home, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a website and/or professional social media page. It instantly gives you and your business verification that you are the real deal. This also goes for PDR technicians working at an auto repair shop. (If you want to read how to make your Instagram professional, read this article).

Customer Reviews

Are you passionate about your work? Do you have a genuine care for the customer or are you only looking at the dollar signs? Have people given good reviews online about the service they’ve received from you and your technicians? Prove this, as there is nothing more valuable than honest reviews from your customers.

You can share customer reviews in a variety of different ways, from Yelp reviews, Facebook & Instagram posts, tweets, and even videos. One very successful service provider we know even carries a 3-ring binder with copies of thank-you notes, reviews, and testimonials to use in his sales pitch.

Team Photos

It’s important to show the people you are working with, whether you are a PDR technician on the road with fellow hail chasers for the next several months or you work at an auto repair shop. It’s reassuring for customers to see that you’re part of a professional team and when you have photos of the team, whether it’s professional headshots or videos of the actual repair process, it confirms that you (and your team) really are who you say you are.

All in all, it comes down to asking yourself one simple question: how can I earn this person’s trust? When you keep that in mind, everything else will speak for itself and you’ll be known as the real deal in a world of make-believe.