#78 Dan Noeltner From Employee to Employer
===
[00:00:00] One, two.
Hey, welcome back to another episode of the All Access podcast from Dent Repair Now. We are not in any of my normal studios. Uh, we're actually out in Highland, Illinois, uh, which is just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, uh, with one of my best friends in the world, Mr. Dan Neltner. Dan, welcome to the show.
Thanks, Gene. Thanks for having me. And thanks for having me to your house to hang out. Of course. Uh, we got to play some golf today. It's been a good day. Went to a birthday party. Yes. Got, uh, got some Jimmy John sandwiches- Yeah ... some cupcakes. Yep. Yep. It's been a good day. My great nephew. One of my great nephews.
Great nephew? You're getting old. Yes. You got [00:01:00] grandkids and great nephews? Oh, yeah. Yep. I love it. Yep, it's a great thing. Um, so, uh, I wanted... I was coming out to do... To see Dan. We're doing another podcast episode, uh, tomorrow, not for the All Access, but for the- the new PDR Life podcast that will be dropping soon.
Um, we're going to- I'm going to Mike Seewald's, uh, in St. Louis, uh, to interview him, and since I was in the area, I was like, "Dan, if you're around, we gotta hang out." Yeah. And, uh- For sure ... so I got to meet Dan, I guess it's about 10 years ago- I think it was a- ... at an MTE- ... an Advanced Skills seminar ... was it Advanced Skills?
Yep. Okay. Yep. Which back in the day, I think was- Complete was '16 ... '16. Yeah. Yeah. And this is '26. Yeah. 10 years we've been friends. Yep. Yeah. That's crazy. Yeah. Uh, well, Advanced Skills used to line up perfectly with MTE. Right. So- Yeah ... met there. It was when it was at that weird hotel. Yeah. Um- It was like- Where the-
a green room in the back ... yeah, the show [00:02:00] was, like, split up into two different rooms and- Yeah ... yeah, it was a, that was a strange place for the show. I remember that's the first Mobile Tech RX was first, like, being shown to us. It wasn't out yet. Yeah. Isn't that great? Like- Yeah, it was, I think, the year before it came out, 'cause I remember Eric showing us, like, the out- And they wouldn't let you touch it.
They were like, "No, we have to push the buttons- Yeah, it was- ... 'cause it'll crash" ... it was really cool. That was the first time I met Bryce Kelly, and he was presenting there for- Yeah ... for them. That was really cool. It doesn't seem like that long ago, but- Yeah ... somehow that was 10 years ago. I still remember seeing him grab a whale tail on, well, that crease- Shane putting that, Shane Jacks putting the door- Yep
of that Explorer, and I'm like, "Oh, that's what I'd grab." I'm like, "Well, that's a good start- Right ... seeing somebody like him" Headed in the right direction. Yeah, yeah. For sure. Um, so I wanted to hop on and have Dan on, and, uh, in case you haven't met Dan, give you a little bit of Dan's backstory and how, how he's got here.
And he's an old-school dent guy. You've been [00:03:00] doing dents a long time. This is my 30th year. 30th year. Yeah. So you started in '96? Yes. Wow. So how did you get started? Where did you start? What, what's that- Um- What's, what's... Where does Dan's PDR career start? I was actually a machinist, and we went to Lake of the Ozarks for New Year's, a bunch of friends, and a friend of mine I went to high school with was doing it.
His dad was a golf coach, and my old boss was taking lessons for golf from his dad. Okay. And he mentioned he was looking for somebody and hired my friend. And, um, he was telling me about it going to Lake of the Ozarks that New Year's, and I'm like, "Man, that sounds pretty cool." I go, "I, I'd be interested to do that if there's another opening."
Right. You know? It just sounded really neat, and I always grew up running tow trucks and been around cars and stuff my whole life, so. Just, just a car guy. Yeah. So- So you, so you meet this dude. Yeah, and they, and then he goes, "I'll let them know." And then they had a hailstorm in Alton [00:04:00] area, and they had a set up area there, and I met him and hired me, and I started training.
And- Nice ... I'd actually go in his garage and train over in St. Louis. So, so let's talk about that. What did your training look like in '96? It was, uh, quite a bit different than... And you, you talked about Mike. I... My son and my future son-in-law trained with Mike. With Mike at Gateway. Yes. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. So- A lot different than what I did.
Like, it was kind of... We would, uh, I think, take a crayon and put marks on the thing, and then try and make a high spot to find our tool. Like in the, in the dot? Yeah. Now this is going back to fluorescent lights, I'm assuming- Yeah ... or were you using fog boards or- Yeah, yeah. It was fluorescent, the tube lights.
The old Lights of Americas? That blind you. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And they were like an old, the barbecue stand wheels, like they were just like an up and down. There was no... It [00:05:00] was either horizontal or vertical. There was no- Nothing in between. So you're either straight up and down or this way. Yes. No... Never Loose wasn't around yet.
No. No, nothing like that- Um ... at all. Now, so Charlie, the guy who got me into the business, you know Charlie. Yes. He had, I don't think he... He didn't do many top panels. It was almost all door dings. Yeah. But he just had his vertical, and he would keep a stripe of tape down the middle of the light. Did you do anything or were you just bare bones?
We, we did do the stripe, and then we found, I don't... And the only innovation back then we seen was like the Anson catalog. I remember a green with yellow lettering- Oh, yeah ... Anson catalog. Yeah, I think they have one hanging up at Anson still. I remember those. Yeah. And that was like... And then when like Ultra came along, 'cause Steve came to St.
Louis one time, we got to meet- Okay ... you know, Steve from Ultra. That's early, ear- early tool days. Oh, yeah. What did your... What were your tools like? Were these all homemade tools or- It was mostly Lacy tools out of Springfield, Missouri, 'cause those guys [00:06:00] helped my old boss run some hailstorms, and that's where I kind of- I've never heard of Lacy tools.
Yeah. They were- Oh ... they were down there. I think they actually, when I... John and I went down to talk to, um- A1. Yes. I guess they were trying to get that before John got it. Okay. They were trying to get Blim. Yeah. 'Cause it was... It wasn't Blim tools- Yeah ... but I think it was Jerry Blim that started that, I believe.
And I, and I think he started looking at that, and he's like, "Well, this makes sense," and they couldn't get it done, so that's how I think he got into it. Oh. Yeah, it was pretty interesting. That's crazy. So, so you did have manufactured tools by then. Yes. Some. Well- At least some ... but whale tails were not a thing.
We would- Right ... we would have little flat thin ri- but nothing was shaved then either. Yeah. So we were... We'd even... Antennas off vehicles, like we'd grind them down, bend them to slide it into spot, and we'd have to heat them up to slide them in under braces. Like we- [00:07:00] That's wild. It was, it was kind of crude, and, uh, you learned how to knock down because you left some snail trails big time.
So, so you went in in '96, and it, and it looked like that. I started in '02. Man, what a difference between just those six years. Like, I didn't have any homemade-looking tools, and then Charlie started in '91. I need to do an episode with Charlie. Yeah. Charlie, you're on the hook. Um- I remember when I started working with Charlie, he had never used whale tails, right?
'Cause he was- Yeah ... pre-whale tail, and he only had shave stuff. And I'm like, "How do you..." 'Cause I had whale tails from day one. Right. Not as good as Dentcraft's now, but- I was like, man, how'd he get behind these braces? And I'm sure there were just a whole lot of holes drilled, and also probably a whole lot of dents you didn't fix.
Yeah. Yeah. And we... I mean, wholesale stuff, we definitely did a lot of drilling on stuff and- Oh, yeah, Swiss cheese, baby ... yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's... And still, sometimes if you wanna get the best [00:08:00] shot on a really bad dent, I mean- It's what you gotta do. Yeah. Well, listen, Anson says, like, nobody drilled holes-
but they sure sell a whole lot of plugs. Yeah. Yeah. So Yeah. Um, so you started with them in '96. Um, how long were you with them? What, what did your- It was- What did your journey look like, and what did you guys do? Did you do... Were you doing rental cars? You doing wholesale? Re- retail didn't exist back then.
What, what did that look like? Um, they had a retail shop. Oh, really? We, we did do some, and they still got the same shop, same location. Oh, that's cool. And they do a lot of wholesale rental cars and stuff, and that's where I kinda got... You know, we'd get rental cars that somebody climbed on a roof and it was all...
It's- I've seen some, but I've heard of so many guys that, like, just- Yeah ... totally cut their teeth fixing- Yes ... walk- nothing but walked on roofs. Yes. Yeah. And that's where I got experience knocking down huge crowns and pushing up big lows and- Yeah. Yeah. That, [00:09:00] that definitely helped me. That's cool. And, and then Shane, who's out of, I think, Springfield area.
Just another PDR tech? Yeah, he was a hail chaser, and he's still there. And he just... He was really good to bounce stuff off of, and he was always looking- Pretty smart guy. Yeah. Yeah. Had it figured out. Yep. Nice. Yeah. How, uh, how long did you stay with that company? 13 years. Oh, wow, that's a pretty good run. So '96 to '09?
Yeah, something like that. Okay. Yeah. Um- Yeah. What, uh, what made you jump ship? What was the, what was the... W- was it just the desire to do something on your own, or did you have a straw that broke the camel's back? Uh, yeah, kinda. Okay. Not, not really. Just, just something... All right. Yeah. Just pushed, pushed to a limit.
Yeah. What was then the... What was the transition like to go from having an employer [00:10:00] and being fed w- right, being fed work, working with your established accounts that you were with for 13 years, what was it like to make that leap? Do you remember... It's- You remember how, how scary that was? It was... Yeah, 'cause I had to just walk away from it, you know, for a while.
Right, like clean break. Yeah. Yeah. And then, uh, yeah, it was just... I can't get into real- Sure ... details- No, that's fine ... all of it, but- But what was it like to, to go and build your own after working for somebody else? It, it was difficult, but I was- kind of doing that a little before I left too to where- Okay ... I was kind of building up the side- Sure
more. Yep. It was kind of where it was. Well, listen, there's a lot of guys that, uh, I think that's a natural transition coming out of bigger companies where people start doing a little bit of side work and then- It wasn't even- ... filter in and- It wasn't even really that. It was just, it, it was time to move on.
It was just tighter for everybody, and then I was doing more [00:11:00] Going routes and stuff, and they were, you know, and then it'd slow up, like, 'cause we'd get all hail-based and we still get caught up in that. I think that's something that all of us- Oh, we'll talk about that a little bit. Yeah. As, as you've evolved over the years- Yeah
and it's a, it's an easy trap to get into. And there was times where they'd be like, "Hey, you need to focus on the hail that's here," and I'm like, "Yeah, but the dealerships are here, too." So- Right ... it's- Just differing opinions and, and a, and a- Right. And then you have a couple years with no hail, and, and then it's some dry years.
Yes. You know? Oh, yeah. So it's- To go from hail regularly to no hail? Yes. Hey, Denver, how's that look for you? Right? Like, they went from- Yeah ... like clockwork to they had a dry spell for several years- Yeah ... with like no hail. Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, it can happen anywhere. Yes, it can. For sure. Except for Dallas. I think Dallas will always have hail.
Yeah. Uh, for sure. Yeah. Um, so you started your own gig in '09. Yeah. [00:12:00] Solo? Were you by yourself then? Yes. Um- I think I did it a year or two... I don't know. After you have a few hail storms, you do lose track- Sure. ... of some of this stuff- Right, it gets all blurry ... over the years. Yeah. Um, but- We're not as young and as sharp as we used to be either.
No. Uh, uh, yeah, I think I went a year or two, and then I had my nephew to kinda train with me part-time. He was working for a local glass company doing, just delivering glass for iron workers that did- Oh, okay ... glass on buildings. Okay, big glass. Yes. Yeah. So he was working there, and then he'd kind of change and, or, uh, he'd work like half-time with me, half-time with them.
So then the year I brought him on fully, that was an eye-opener. You talk about growing pains- Oh ... of a business and stuff. Yeah, absolutely. Well, we based his workman's comp off of his year before, where he worked half-time for me. Then the next year later, when you get that audit- And they're like, "Oh, what was your actual payroll?"
Yeah, that's [00:13:00] always a fun surprise. Yeah, we were thinking we're good. Just something, there's a lot of growing pains of hiring people and having a company versus working for someone. Yeah. Yeah. It's- Oh, absolutely. So that was a little shock in January, which is never a fun time. I think we get ours in April, which is right around tax time, so you're like- Yeah
oh, you get your worker's comp audit and- Yeah ... and wait. Yeah. And your tax bill. But there's more. Yeah, exactly. Um, what was it like training, uh, a tech? Self-training. It... Looking back now, I mean, it was, it drug on longer than- Like it should have. Like having Stu and Chase get trained by Mike and seeing how the progression went with the trainer- So much faster.
Yes. Right? Yes. Yes. It was, 'cause it was what I knew, and there wasn't... And even me- And you're a good tech. You're not necessarily a good t- I'm not saying you're a bad teacher- Right ... but teaching isn't your [00:14:00] focus. Technician was your focus. Well, the, the biggest thing is, is you're still trying to push- That-
make money for the company ... that's what I mean. Yep. So you're still trying to put out product, and yet take the time with them, so it's a distraction for you. Which is expensive. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Because- And you're, and you're not really spending the quality time with them that you should looking back. Because you've got cars to fix.
You've got- Yeah ... "Hey, Dan, we got this unit sold. You gotta get over here. Hey, we gotta go walk this through." Right. You- Like, "Oh, you can't fix that, I gotta fix it. Stand here and watch." So we kind of had a pretty good system going where he'd do quite a bit of lot work and stuff, and if it was over his head where he thought he was gonna mess it up, then I'd- He'd call you
just go do it. Yep. And, you know, or we'd handle it that way. We- it worked out well for quite a few years. Nice. So you brought him on then, what, maybe 2011, 2012? Yeah, something like that. Okay. Yeah, it was- And he's... Side note, he's still with you today. Yes. Yeah. Uh, and has turned into a pretty- Yeah ... great technician, like for- Yep
[00:15:00] not just family, but- Yeah ... an integral- Yep ... integral part of the team. Yeah. Lot of, lot of family dynamic on mine. Right. That's good. That, that's not a bad thing. Um, so what's your next, uh, step? Well, so now we're coming, we're starting to approach when, when I met you, and then you had a big February storm in '17.
Yeah. Yep. And that's when I came out. Yes. Me and Louie's dad came out- Yep ... and worked, uh- Yep ... I think I was here for- Oh, Larry. Lawrence ... six weeks, and Larry, Lawrence- Yeah ... uh, he was around for maybe eight or 10 weeks. Um- I got a picture of him and I drinking a beer right here on this porch. Oh, that's awesome.
Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah, I miss Larry. We'll have a, we'll have a beer to you later, Larry. Yep. Yep. Um- When I came out in '17, it was still just you and Brandon, right? Yes. Yep. So let's talk about the last nine years, because you have made a whole lot of changes- Yeah ... since then. [00:16:00] Yeah. Um, so what, what has your growth looked like since 2017?
Um, I would say the biggest thing, and Brandon said this too, like when I went and met you and the people of PDR College and signed up for that, which I gotta thank Dan Rokicki, who has not been in it as long, but he was helping me on a hailstorm. Yep. Hey, listen, those, those young bucks sometimes pay- Yeah
pay attention to- Yeah ... stuff that these, these old guys, and we're the old guys now. Yes. Like some stuff that we don't pay attention to. Yeah. But I r- I remember Dan, a- and I didn't listen to podcasts or anything like- Well, podcasts weren't even that big of a thing back then. No. You know what I mean? They were sorta, they had been around a while, but they were- Right
just kinda coming more mainstream. But he turned me on to, you know, I'd been doing it, what, 15 years then or something, and he goes- Maybe longer, yeah ... and he goes, he goes, "You ever heard of PDR College?" Or- Almost 20, 25. Yeah. Yeah, 20 years. Well, no, he was- [00:17:00] He was out, what year was it? 15, 16. How old was his daughter?
'Cause his one daughter was born when he, or right before- His oldest is, she's gonna be a junior, so she's 16, 17. Or she is a junior I think it was his second daughter. 12? Okay. I think she's 12, so maybe '14. Yeah. 2014. That sounds right. So that's pretty new, that's early PDR College. So he turned me on to PDR College then.
Okay. So then I started listening, 'cause he's like... I- I'm like, "All right, I'll, I'll listen to it." And it's- And Dan would've been pretty green then. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So I started listening to it, and I'm an old guy. An old guy can always be trained on new things, believe me. Yeah, the old dogs can learn, learn new tricks.
Yes. Yeah. And I, I started listening to that, and it was like Keith was talking to me on that first episode, 'cause we were in a dealership hail gig and it was, what was that? Terrible Insurance Risk Point, I think. Okay. It was like- Yeah, yeah. [00:18:00] They were pretty... I haven't heard of them in a while, but they were like- Me neither- They were-
but it was not a great deal. And, and I'm like, it just got to me, so I signed up for advanced skills, went there, met a bunch of guys, and that's where stuff really changed. And even my nephew goes, "Hey, you went there and you come back," and it was just totally different, like the way we- You started looking at it like a business- Yes
not just like a cool job. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. It was- Um, I think, man, those... I, I, I don't know that Keith and Shane get enough credit. They do not. I- Or, or and/or I don't know that they realize how much they helped shape- Oh ... modern PDR in, in America. Like- Even still, like we went last year to their event, and I was just like, I told, told them both, you know, I'm like, "I hope you guys keep doing this.
I know it's not always a great profitable thing." Right. But the knowledge that gets shared, even I know they get stuff out of it- So powerful ... but it's just- So powerful ... and the networking guys you meet that... [00:19:00] A- and the, everybody's... Like, I always had all these guys up here, which they are. I mean, don't get me wrong, but they're the same as us to go up and talk to.
Yep. Like, I was- Right, we're all just- ... I was nervous talking to them at first ... we're just guys. Now I just go talk to them 'cause they're just like us. They're, they have the same problems we have with our shops and- Yep ... you know, stuff like- They're, they're humans, they're dent guys, they're dent techs. Yeah.
That's it. We all, all go through the same issues with this stuff. We really do. Yeah, yeah. It's amazing how, how similar all of our tracks are. We all have really good highs, and there's some low lows for all of us. There's- No doubt ... up and down, I don't care who you are- No doubt ... in this. But- So, so they changed how you looked at business, uh, and you made some shifts in your business and started chasing some additional retail?
Yes. Started dipping your hat into the, into a shop space? Yeah, 'cause I, I remember, like, talking to Dan Rokicki about- 'Cause he was mostly doing retail, I believe, out of his shop. Mm-hmm. And then, like, doing Google AdWords and stuff like that. Oh, yeah. And [00:20:00] I'm like... He's like, "You're gonna spend money on it a while before you get anything."
And I'm like, "This hurts." Right, right. You're just- And you're not- Where's this money going? Yeah. Yeah. And you're not seeing results. In slow times you're like, "What the heck?" And, uh, that, uh... But no, it's, uh, it's always evolving and I, I decided that we would go after retail more, so we started going after that, and I started out of We're just doing a podcast.
Yeah. We're good. You can hop on if you want. Yeah. You can come say hi if you want. Lisa's in the background. So, uh, anyway, we, uh ... I did a lot of work out of the dealership. They had a Quonset hut- Oh, I remember that ... building out back Yeah, that building that was out back. Yeah. It was still there when I came down- Yes
in '17. Yes. And you were like, [00:21:00] "Oh, this is ... We do our retail work," and I'm like- Yeah ... "They just let you use this place?" And you're like, "Yeah, it's great. They're five minutes down the road." Yeah. Yeah. Perfect. It was, it was perfect. And then Troy, who I seen him grow up through the dealership, and they're an awesome dealership family.
I'm still close to them. They've been very good to me over the years. And, uh- They ripped it down to build a whole new body shop. And I'm like, "All right, I definitely gotta do something now. My shop's going away." Right. And I got a picture of, aerial picture of the dealership, sent to my shop bathroom. Uh- And you're like, "Oh, this was the, this was the building"
and the Quadsa Huts in the picture. Oh, nice. Just kinda where I started. That's cool ... you know. That's very cool. And then you moved, right? We're so small town- Yes ... America here, right? Moved into, I think we're backwards here. It doesn't matter, you won't know what I'm pointing to. We started in- My three-car garage
three-car garage on the house. Yeah. Right? And then- And then- Brandon was working in one side. I remember one day it, it, uh... I'm working the other side, and we're estimating a hail car in the center, and Lisa comes home with [00:22:00] groceries. I'm like, "I don't think this is working anymore" you know? So, so then you evolved into- Yeah, the-
this shop ... the other shop ... right here. Yeah. Do you remember when you broke ground on that? Yeah, because it was, like, '18. '18, okay. So we're- So another year after- It's 'cause- ... I was out ... 'cause I was in the middle of building that when we had the Litchfield storm that you helped me at as well. Okay. Yeah, and that was the end of '18 or '19.
So she goes, "Why are you building this? You're not even here." I go, "I will be." Right. Yeah, that was a freak December storm, right? Yeah, December 1st. You guys said tornadoes came through and up north. Yes. And then we fixed 100 and- Yeah ... some odd car, 150, 170 cars there. Yeah. That was a, that was a great- Yes
Christmas present for everybody. Yes. Well timed. Yes. That was at the end of, uh- '18. It was- 'Cause I didn't know- ... '18 is when I opened my shop, which was, like, that backwards step where- Yeah ... I went from, like, this big Google reach, 'cause I was mobile and I was servicing all [00:23:00] these, uh, zip codes. Mm-hmm. And then we pulled down, and then they treated me like a body shop, and I was then servicing this little five-mile circle.
Man, that was a lean, tight year. Yeah. You, we... I remember me and Melissa were at dinner, um, but the day it hailed, and you texted me and you're like, "Hey, can you be here Monday?" I'm like, "Hey, babe." And she's like, "Bye." Yeah. "I gotta go." Yeah. Yeah. Um, that was a, that was a really good storm. Yes. Um, and that let you get this shop.
And I mean, you can fit quite a few cars in here. Yeah, I can fit four to work on, yeah. Four to work on. Yeah. That's good. Yeah. I mean, to have a shop in your backyard that you can do- And it's nice 'cause we- ... four cars is pretty strong ... use it for overflow, and I've had hail guys help me and do some here too.
Yep. Yeah, Billy was set up in here- Yeah ... by himself. That was a- Yeah ... that was a good gig. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Mike's helped me a few times. Jer. Quite a few guys have helped me. No, that's good. Yeah. That's good. Yeah. So, so the evolution is you had a shop at the dealership, then [00:24:00] your attached garage. Now your purpose-built second garage.
Yeah. Yes. And then fast-forward a couple more years, you made another jump. Yeah. As I'm building this, I find out uptown a building's gonna be for sale, and I'm like, "I wish I would've known that." But I'm still glad I did this Hindsight is 20/20. Yeah. So that took me a little while to get, but then also the whole COVID happened.
That right, right around COVID time is when- Yes ... when that all, was all- 'Cause we had- ... transpiring. Right? Probably '21 you got that? Yes. End of COVID? Yeah, and that- End of COVID, whatever ... that was just an eye-opener because I had dealers tell me that I've went through, went there for years. They're like, "Yeah, don't, don't come until we call you."
And I'm like, "The..." Everybody didn't know what was going- Right ... nobody knew what was going on. Right. And you had a nice hailstorm with COVID too. And thankfully it worked out. Because, because I was supposed to- Yeah ... we laid, I laid everybody off on Thursday Or Wednesday, [00:25:00] whatever day you're sort... You called me.
I thought, I thought Dan butt-dialed me 'cause it was like a 5:00 AM call. Like, you called really early. I'm like, one, why is Dan up? And two, he must have butt-dialed me. I don't think you left a... You didn't leave a voicemail or anything. And I didn't even think I called you back. And then I got to the shop, to my shop, and like Pennsylvania shut down hard.
I don't know what you guys were like here. And I had laid the guys off, and I was getting ready to lay Jennifer off. And I'm like, "Well, I'm just gonna figure it out. I'm gonna do something." And you called and you're like, "Dude, you didn't call me back." I'm like, "You called me at 5:00." "I thought it was a butt dial.
I figured you were stumbling in your bathroom or something," like- I don't even remember that ... then you hit the button. And you're like, "No, I got a hailstorm." And I'm like, "Well, dude, there's like..." I remember sitting... Uh, well, I was talking to you sitting at my front desk at my shop, and this road that is normally like crazy busy is a ghost town.
Like, there is nothing. It was the two [00:26:00] weeks to flatten the curve, like right then. Yeah. And, uh, I'm like, "I think so. Let me call Melissa." And then we were like, "Well, what happens if they shut the borders- Yeah ... down in between states?" And we're like, "Well, I can stay." Like, "I've stayed here before." Right. Like, our families have vacationed together.
Like- Yeah. Yeah ... I'm like, "Well, babe, we gotta do what we gotta do." I'm like, "I'll be out on Monday. I gotta wrap up a couple things here." I called Jennifer and I said, "Hey, I'm not laying you off. I'm going to Illinois. You just gotta field phone calls. It'll be your easiest job ever." And then Saturday- We got hail at my house, and I had to call you back and I'm like, "Hey, dude, uh, sorry, not coming."
I do remember that. I said- I didn't remember the first part- Yeah ... but I'm still lighting people up. Right? But yeah. I sent a picture of a h- I'm like- Yeah ... I can't come. I had a handful of st- literally in my yard. Yes. I'm like, "Dude, I can't come." And it ended up being our biggest year ever. Yeah. Thank goodness- Yes
for the hail storm. Yes. Um, so get through the hail. You buy this [00:27:00] building uptown. Well- Or in town. Yes. '20, '21. Well, and the reason why is, like, we were blessed with the hail, but just being to- I'm like, "Man, I don't... I want to have more of a presence than just wholesale." Mm-hmm. You know? I, I wanted to... So local building car wash detail bay, uh, is there and I got it.
It came available and it took some time, but I got it. You made it happen. Yes. And- And, and that opened up an opportunity for you to add, uh, automatic, or I guess you'd call it automatic. Well, automatic- In Bay, In Bay Automatic. In Bay Automatic Car Wash to your- Yes ... business- Yes ... portfolio. And- Right? And Chase, my son, was starting to mess with detailing a little bit out of this garage.
Mm-hmm. So we're kind of like had our foot dabble in that, and then a buddy of mine helped show us [00:28:00] that a little bit, and then, uh, w- we kind of went down the road to detailing for a while, but then it was just taking up too much shop space and time that we didn't stay in the detailing. Just didn't make sense.
Yeah. Yep. So we ended up, you know, removing the detailing. We still do paint correction, ceramic coating, you know? Little higher end finesse, higher tickets- Yes ... uh, deal. Yeah. It- Gotcha. It just, it was... It, it's tough doing the detail without a setup dedicated space that is ready to pull in your s- equipment.
Like anything, your equipment's gotta be set up. Mm-hmm. If you're not efficiently doing it, you can't- Right. And one, especially with detailing where it's just, like, like just a plain old detail where you just, you really gotta churn through these cars. These gotta be out the door in- Right ... three, four, five hours- Right
out the door for- Yeah ... what you get paid and... Like, I've been down to Andy Otts in Jeff City and seen his, in his... It was just, it's set up for that. That's why it works, you know? They rock and roll. Yes. Yeah. Mid Mo [00:29:00] Dent if you wanna- Yes ... check out some of Andy's stuff. He puts out some cool social media. Yep.
Um- Good dude. Yeah. Real good dude. Yeah. Real good dude. Now you're in the shop, you're in the car wash. The car wash takes off really well. You add a second bay- Yeah ... right, for more throughput and a little bit of redundancy- Yeah ... uh, because it is not as hands-off as you thought it was gonna be. Not at all, and it was very stressful, and still is when the machines break down.
But- We were golfing this morning, and Dan's on hi- he's like, he's like, "Oh, there's an alarm. Oh, it's the maintenance guy" But he's like- Yeah ... it's not a hands-off business for him. Um, now, right, you've evolved. The- you've got the car wash, got auto detailing, you're doing some ceramic coating and everything, and you added two more dent technicians- Yes
to your mix. Yes. So who did you add first? Stu. Stu. So future son-in-law, son-in-law to be- Yes ... um, came on, what, he's... He'll be two years in September, I think we were talking? I think [00:30:00] so. I believe it is, yeah. Two years pushing. Yeah. And then Chase- Yes ... f- also followed. Yes. Um, and where's he at? Who... W- was he a few months behind there?
He was about six months to a year behind Stu. Okay. I think. Okay. Because Mike's classes, uh, how they're- Yeah ... lined up and stuff and- Right, right. It's not, he's not training, he's not starting a new class every week. Right. And, um, yeah. And then he was starting to get his groove a little bit, and then he's serving in the Air Force right now.
Yep. Yep. So. Thank you for your service, Chase. Yep. Yep. Just in case you watch this. Proud of you, bud. We miss you. Can't wait to have- ... you back and have a beer and a cigar with you. Yes. But appreciate, appreciate- ... what you and, and really all the service members are doing for us. Yes. So. Absolutely. Um, so you got yourself a nice little family team of- Yes
techs here now. Yes. All from going to work for some guy that it sounded cool to do 30 years [00:31:00] ago. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a pretty, pretty amazing growth, dude. Yeah. It really, really is. Yeah. That's, uh, you know, just like, I don't remember if it was on here before, we were talking about the ups and downs and, like, gr- really high highs and really low lows- Yeah, yeah
on here. Yeah, yeah. Really high highs and really low lows. Uh, take a minute and step back and look and look at what you guys have built- Yeah ... here and, and the life that it gives you and, you know- No, it's- ... the opportunities- Definitely blessed ... that it's presented. And, like, our friendship and I, some of the, some of my closest friends are in the dent industry.
And I mean, I- Yeah, me too ... you know, and you might not talk to these guys every day, but you see 'em, there's something there you can't explain of the way you connect with these people, and the friendships and the people you trust, that you, you pick up the phone, you haven't talked to 'em, and will lose touch now and then.
Yep, yep. And you just jump right back into it. Yeah, and it's just like... Yeah, it's crazy. Yeah. You can't explain it. [00:32:00] It's, it's special. That's one of the things I love about the, the PDR world is like- You could get dropped in just about any city in the country- Yeah ... and w- I bet within two or three phone calls, you could be sitting down having dinner with another dent tech- Yeah
that you get along with- Yeah ... in a hurry. Yeah. Like, it's just such a rare industry, uh, to, to happen like that. Yeah, it is. It is. Yeah, it's super cool. Um- If somebody is new, new to, newer to PDR, obviously you got a l- a lot of insight looking back. What would be one piece of advice that you would give to somebody who's in their journey, right?
Not just starting their journey, but in their journey. What would be your, uh... That's, uh, Spanky. You can't see him- ... but he's making a racket. What would be, what would be one piece of advice that you would give to somebody who's trying to, uh, [00:33:00] to grow their, their PDR business? I, I would say always be open to learn, no matter how long you're into it, how new you are or how old you are into it.
I would say be wi- be willing to learn. That's pretty... That's fan- that's solid advice. That's good life advice. That's not just good- Yeah, I- ... PDR advice, but- I mean, it's- Yeah ... 'cause there's always, like even stuff Stu does, I'll see him do something or- It's a whole d- ... Brandon or- ... whole different perspective ... Jay, anybody, you know what I mean?
And like I, I'd say the biggest thing is like I didn't realize the little bubble I was in before... I go back to Advanced Skills in '16, but that's my true growth. Right. Because we kind of- That's where you, that's where you came out of your bubble a little bit. Yeah, 'cause I'd meet hail guys, and that was the only time I'd see any new tools and stuff, and I always heard that MTE was a bunch of egos and- Oh, right
Yeah, that's- Yeah. I never heard great things about MTE [00:34:00] until I went in '16. Yeah. And I'm like, "This is not what it's like at all." It's like a life-changing event. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Super cool. It really is, and just seeing, putting your hands on the tools and the people you meet, and the people you see online and you meet them and you're like, "This is a different person than I thought."
The online persona is definitely different than the- Yes ... the in-person persona for almost everybody I know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, and talking to them you can really read a person. That's like, yeah, I'll text, but to talk to someone I really want to do a phone call. Yeah. You know- Oh, yeah ... if you're... Y- you can only...
And text always gets misconstrued. Absolutely. There's no doubt about that. Yeah, but... No, it's- Yeah ... uh, I, I don't know. It... The MTE, meeting people, talking to people- Get out there and network and grow. Yeah, and just seeing the tools too. Like, it's... Like Stu and I were talking earlier [00:35:00] today. He was telling me about the one you were using in one of your videos with- Oh, the nickel tip- Yeah
from Dent Slayer. Yeah. And I'm like, "I haven't seen that." I'm like, "There's almost so many things to stay on top of, tools, but it's neat to go." Yep. But you want to buy everything when you're at MTE. Lisa, you don't know anything about Dan spending too much money on tools, do you? I just know when he goes.
It's not gonna be a cheap one. Yeah, look at the cart when- Right. Honey, we gotta remortgage the house. Yeah. Oh. Well, speaking of tools- Yes ... seems like it's a good time to transition- Yes ... to our, uh, tool of the week. And we're gonna let Dan take over that.
All right, so- All right ... I figured since we were coming out to see Dan, I was gonna let Dan pick a tool of the week. It's kinda hard to see it. Uh, they'll, they'll see it. They can see it. It's showing up pretty well. Yeah. [00:36:00] So what is this tool? Because if we didn't talk about it off camera, I would have guessed that it's from the MT set, the Mark Sircus set from Finesse, but- Which we all use and we love 'em.
Right. Yeah, like, that's, like, the best value in PDR. Yeah, it really is. Like the, the, the MT set- Yeah ... and the door hooks from Dent Craft. And they... But this- But this- ... has just a little bit more kick on it, just a hair. So I would, I would almost call this more of a 90- Yeah ... than, and this is more of a swoop, right?
And I, all of, every guy I have uses that tool, and even the old company. Lacey's made one like this that we got used to. Uh-huh. And everybody who grabs these seems to love 'em. So when I asked Dan, I said, "Hey, you know, we do a tool of the week on here, and you gotta pick one." He was like, "Oh, my Finesse tool."
He's like, "I don't know what number it is, but it's this one." Yeah. Like, it was no question what it is. So let me put my old man glasses on here, and [00:37:00] obviously available at Finesse. And I can never remember the website. I think it's Finesse PD- or is it PDR Finesse Tools? I think it is, yeah. I say it backwards all the time.
Yes. But they know because I picked out some of her 3/8 stuff. This is a 20W, is the tool. So we measured it. It's, uh, 34 and a half inches long. Uh, same tool stock as the MT set. Yes. Um, but it's that, it's that kick or that, that 90-degree kick more so than the swoop- And it's- ... is, is- Yeah, and he, they make another one that isn't in the set, but this one's got that extra little bump on the foot.
'Cause there's one just like that that's a little bit longer- Right ... but that's not it. It's not the same. It's- No- So it's the, it's the- ... 'cause I bought that one too, and it wasn't it. And then I, I think I was gonna have her make this, and she had it, but it's not in the set. Okay. 'Cause I sent her- The Finesse one, or I mean the Lacey old tool that I had.
Okay, yeah. And I [00:38:00] think she had that or may- I don't remember but, and then- But it's, it's there now. Yes, and they weren't at Vegas, and this is what Stu and Chase were looking for. For the beginner's competition. For the beginner's competition. I gotcha. And they, they just... The handle, there's something about the handle- Oh, Finesse handles are great
this, this- They just fit good ... when you're working it- Yep ... it just... And I mean, there are some quick change ones, but the, something about that handle, we all just- It's, it's like grabbing a Snap-on handle. Like a Snap-on screwdriver- Yes ... just feels different. It does. That's all there is to it. Yeah. For sure. So that's the 20W from, uh, PDR Finesse.
Yeah. Uh, Bonnie, there's another shout-out for you. Yeah. So all right, let's get this thing wrapped up. Let me get back to... Oh, we're here already. I gotta work on my, uh, production skills when I'm on the road. All right. So guys, don't forget, PDR Expo is coming up September 25th and 26th at the Rio in Las Vegas.
Uh, we've got our round table talk on Friday. You don't wanna miss that. That's a whole room full of knowledge, [00:39:00] uh, and brains for you to pick. And then Saturday I'm doing that cold glue class, uh, part classroom and most excitingly, is that a word, um, hands-on, right? I get to pull some of you out of the audience and put you on the car and teach you some of my cold glue techniques.
Um, really super excited for that. I hope they come through with a camera crew like they're supposed to. Uh, we're getting some good traction online. I'm doing that, uh, gap challenge, so I'm posting every single day. Shoot, I need to post something today. Uh, anyways, uh, we're getting some great traction.
Follow us at dentrepairnow across the board. Dan, where can they find you online? Dentspecialistinc. At dents.com? Yep. Dentspecialistinc.com, and what about your social handles? Do you know? Are they all dentspecialist? Yeah. All right. Yeah. All dentspecialist, or go to the website and find him there. Yes. For sure.
Working on updating all that right now. I finally got a- Got a crew ... tech, tech company. That's good. Yeah, yeah. It's something- Yeah ... [00:40:00] way of me- More more hiccups and growth and- Yes ... I feel you, buddy. Exactly. I feel you. Exactly. Um, so Dan, thanks so much for coming on. Thanks for having me out. Lisa, thanks for having me out as well.
Sure, sure. Uh, we're gonna wrap this up. I think we're getting ready to go to dinner pretty soon. Um, and I will see you guys on the next episode.
