#87 We Need More Passion
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Speaker: [00:00:00] One, two.
Right. Welcome back to another episode of the All Access podcast from Dent Repair Now. All right, I'm back. You guys probably thought I was gonna break my streak. Not gonna break my streak. It's only Thursday. Promised you an episode a week. We made it. I should have, in hindsight and figuring how travel goes, uh, recorded four episodes, uh, before I left, you know, but we did three.
We did the, the whole shop series. Anyways, we made it. We're back. Here is what's going on, uh, and why it's Thursday and we're just getting to, uh, the show. Anyways, [00:01:00] the trip was amazing. We had a blast. Um, so many beautiful things to see over there. The food was incredible. Um, and uh, we both got sick on the boat.
Not from, like, motion sickness, like there was something running around that boat, some sort of little virus bastard. And uh, it took Melissa out first, and I thought for sure I was gonna get out unscathed, and I did not get out unscathed. In fact, I'm still just a little bit run down, uh, maybe even a little combo of jet lag and, uh, you know, getting over a ass kicker of a bug.
I couldn't tell you the last time I had a fever, uh, like that. Like maybe 15 years ago, 20 years ago . Like it was, uh, it was not a whole lot of fun, but we survived. Um, we were supposed to get... My plan was to record a show on Sunday, nice leisurely Sunday, like I normally do, [00:02:00] and KLM Airlines had different plans for us and thought maybe it would be cool if we, uh, you know, they tried to get us stuck in Europe for an extra day.
Ugh. So we get out of- so we're in Venice. This is our last day, and, uh, we get to the airport early. Um, about the time we get to the gate, they say there's a problem with the plane, and it's delayed by half an hour. But, uh, it's like a two-hour flight to Amsterdam, uh, and they're like, "Oh, we'll make up the time.
Don't worry about it. We'll still get you there on time." And we had like a one-hour connection, um, and everybody said, like pretty easy airport to get around. Well, delayed by half an hour. Then w-we go to get on, like they scan our tickets, and you go down, and you're going outside, and we think we're gonna walk over to the plane, and there's a bus.
And then the bus driver [00:03:00] is not on the bus. So there's a whole bus full of people, and we're like the first group out onto the, into the bus to get on the plane, and no bus driver. Dude, we s- stood there for, uh, 20 minutes at least. And then finally, this like, it seems like a maintenance guy, who you could tell was getting a little irritated, hops on the bus and drives us, no bullshit, like not 100 yards to the plane.
Like, we coulda just walked. We could see the plane. If they would be like, "Go out the door and turn right, and then your plane's the one that's right there," we would be good. But they made us wait and go. We get on the plane, and the pilot comes over the intercom, and she is like, "Hey, uh, yeah, sorry we're running late, and, uh, our airplane sucks, and we have to like kick-start the engines.
So that takes a little bit longer to get going. We're gonna be late, later than we think we're gonna be. And because of this, the plane can't fly as fast." [00:04:00] Well, son of a bitch , I guess. Ugh. And there's no Wi-Fi on the plane because clearly it's 1998, right? Why would you have Wi-Fi on a modern airplane? Doesn't make any sense.
So we can't scramble. We can't, uh, look at other bookings or anything. Get off the plane, and because technology's so amazing, you can't talk to anybody. "Go, go to the kiosk." The kiosk says, "Well, you'll get home Monday morning at like 1:00 in the morning. Uh, here's a voucher for some food and a hotel. Have a great day."
Uh, just wanna talk to somebody, please. So mad dash scramble, um, we end up going to the KLM desk. Uh, another debacle for another day. Go through all their stuff, and they're like, "Oh, we can't help you because it's a Delta flight. You gotta go to the Delta desk," which is on the other side of passport control.
So like reverse customs into Amsterdam. Uh, "How long are you staying?" I'm like, "As little as possible." Get [00:05:00] hooked up with a dude there who is maybe the best airline employee I've ever run into. Uh, dude, I wish I got your name, but to the Asian guy who works for Delta in Amsterdam that saved the day on Saturday, I would almost fly back and give you a kiss.
You, you made it all happen, thank God. Anyways, couldn't get us home that night, but we did get across the pond, uh, and made it to Boston and, uh, spent the night there. And then we were supposed to fly home Sunday morning, which turned into Sunday afternoon, and then we got back, and Elena had a surprise 25th anniversary party for us
It's been a whirlwind. Uh, and I did not get any downtime to make a, uh, podcast, which is why you're getting this, you know, a couple days late, but better late than never, and most importantly for me, keeping the [00:06:00] streak alive. Uh, and then, dude, Monday I was so jet lagged. Like, my ass was kicked. Tuesday, a little bit better, but eh.
And then Wednesday was just a day, and now it's Thursday, and here we are recording. So this will go out live on... well, not live. This will get published on Thursday. As soon as we get done recording, as soon as I hit end and it processes, uh, it's going to the YouTube machine and the podcast machine, and it will all be out there.
So this week's topic
The biggest problem in PDR, certainly retail PDR, is that nobody, collectively, nobody knows or understands what we do. Like, the reach just isn't there. I truly believe that if the world knew what was possible with PDR, we would need so many technicians that it would be insane. [00:07:00] However, no matter how much I advertise and market and put things out there, most of our customers that are coming through the door have never had PDR done before.
They're not sure how it works. They don't have any idea what it'll cost. They don't know what we can do, but they're here I wanna get more information out there, right? I wanna, I want more reach. Uh, as a whole, I've tried to do more content this summer, and it's worked out pretty well. In a little bit of a lull now, uh, but it was total chaos leading up to the trip, and then I did not work on the trip.
Uh, and now we're back, and I'm trying to knock the cobwebs off, off and remember how to fix a dent. But anyways, I, I wanna dive back deeper into, um, content. And I think I learned a pretty big lesson while we were in Europe
We had some tour [00:08:00] guides that were meh. We had some tour guides that were amazing. We had some presenters at stops that were meh, and we had some that were amazing What I picked up you know when we were looking back and Melissa was getting ready to write the reviews for all the TripAdvisor, Viator, and everything like what is it that made
What is it that made the experience better? And I think it boiled down to passion, right? We had a few people in this trip that their passion for what they did or what they were showing was, like, contagious. So [00:09:00] the first guy, the first one, was... So we did our, our first day in Rome, we did a food tour, and Giordano was our tour guide.
Pretty cool dude. Um, cool story, cool backstory. He was great. Um, but the people he took us to see were better. Specifically this little butcher shop. And this butcher shop, deli... It's a butcher shop. Uh, anyways, they opened in like 1970. It is now third generation. So the, the grandpa, the grandfather who started it happened to be there that night, which was really cool, but didn't speak a lick of English.
Um, but I believe, like, the Pope shops here. Like, the Pope will go there and get meat. Like, that's how renowned this place is. Immaculate, beautiful, like all the prosciutto hanging from the ceiling and all the different meats and cheeses and wines and... All right, I'm going back. I'm hungry. [00:10:00] Anyways, so the, the grandson is the one who's there to, um, do the presentation, do the demo, do the tasting menu.
So this kid, right, probably... He's probably in his 30s. I don't think he's in his 40s. Maybe even late 20s
The way this guy talked about food and wine, or I think we had some, I think we had some nice white wine there. It may have been Prosecco. Not a white wine expert. It popped, so it must be Prosecco, right? Like, he got it going, he's like, "Oh, and this is the sound." It goes boop, uh, of party, right? It's time to party.
Uh, but he brought out all these cheeses and meats, uh, that they sell, like two-year aged ham, right? Which I think is a prosciutto. Oh, my God, it was so good. Like, the [00:11:00] fat just melted on your tongue. But anyways, so as he's talking about everything, he's not just like, "Well, this is my iPhone 17 Pro and blah, blah, blah."
He's talking about how they go out and they find these farms where they've got the, the, um, pigs that they're gonna make this ham from, and it's like this, and then they gotta bring it back here, and they're hanging it up for two years. He's telling the whole story about this, these different cheeses. He's...
How this cheese is made and everything. Like, this dude is 100% in, I mean, like all the way in on his product, products. And it's just great Italian meat and great Italian cheeses and some great Italian wine. Like... But he was passionate about it and animated, and he talked about it the whole time Then, uh, we had [00:12:00] Francesco, our, uh, wine guy at where we went to Tuscany.
So we took a bus tour from Florence, uh, up into Tuscany, uh, to have some Chianti. So I believe we were in the Chianti region, uh, where they made, uh, different Chianti wines, different reserves, different grapes, and everything like that. So we went to two wineries. The first place, like the lady seemed like annoyed that we were there.
Like she wasn't into it. Like more like, "Come on, let's go. Come on, over here. Look, see this? All right, come on over here. See this? Come on over here. Here, do you want a drink? Okay, get the hell out." I was like, "Well, this isn't very fun," right? And then luckily for her, we go to Francesco's place second. And, uh, man, it's like the driveway's long and twisty, and the bus can't make it up, so we've gotta walk, and we get up there.
And, uh, man, this dude is fired up about wine, right? And it's not even his [00:13:00] place. He just works there, and he starts telling the story about, let's call him Michael. He's like, "Oh, Michael bought this winery and started these grapes. And, you know, they're trying to preserve the old way of, of creating this wine.
So instead of, um, big stainless vats and barrels, they have these huge concrete, uh, holding tanks, which allows the temperature to be controlled better. And because it's semi-porous, it lets the wine breathe better." And just, I mean, like dude is in, all the way in. He's passionate about his wine. He's passionate about their 20-year aged balsamic, um, vinegar and their extra virgin olive oil that comes from another one of their farms.
And, like, he's setting it up and tasting it, and he's animated, and he's telling his stories, and he's fired up about wine and cheese and vinegar, and it is [00:14:00] infectious, right? He's engaging with the whole crowd, right? Asking questions. You know, I even raised my hand to, to give my two cents on something
He's letting his passion and love for his product bleed through and show through and make it happen. And then last but not least is, uh, Chef David. So our day two in Florence, uh, we love pasta. Love, love pasta. Melissa's an amazing cook, and, uh, she even did like an Italian, uh, cooking school at the house a couple years ago.
Like Jack Bucknell flew in for it, and Dave and Stacey Stream flew in for it. Like it was a good time. But making fresh pasta from scratch and fresh sauces and everything like that, and it's, uh, amazing. But [00:15:00] there's just something different about the pasta in Italy, right? Like, what's the, what's the secret?
It's just a little bit more... I don't know that al dente is the right word. It's... But it's like al dente, but instead of just a mush through the noodle, there's almost like a... There's a little bit of, it's not, snap's the wrong word, but like a little bit of resistance. Uh, side note, she made homemade tortellini last night.
Just about nailed it. It was amazing. Anyways, back to Chef David's class. So we sign up for this cooking class. Like, all right, let's learn how to make fresh pasta in Italy from an Italian chef and, and see what that's like. So Chef David is probably late 50s, early 60s, um- loves to teach, right? Like the teacher in me could appreciate his passion for teaching [00:16:00] and showing and, and giving the techniques and breaking everything down and talking.
And this dude was not only passionate, like in fact, he said, and I don't see any reason why he has to lie, uh, and if he's not lying, he's a really good actor. Anyways, he's talking about these, these recipes, and there is-- these are his nonna's recipes, so his grandmother's recipes, and he's talking about how when he was a little kid, he'd go over to nonna's house and she's making this, and she's mushing the dough and fold and push and twist and fold and push, and making these amazing, delicious fresh sauces like blistering up the, um, cherry tomatoes with the fresh garlic and the olive oil and salt and pepper.
Oh my God, man, I'm getting hungry. I'm definitely not fasting through lunch today. Like we're gonna get this published and this fat kid's gonna go eat. I'm-- Oh, man. [00:17:00] Anyways, so, so Chef David is like commanding the room. And then the last pasta ma- we make in the class is pappardelle, which is just the s- the thin, like one-inch wide noodles.
Like just I love, I love them. It's not Melissa's favorite noodle, but I really, really enjoy that noodle. And he has the whole class going, right? Talking about his nonna's recipes and making it, and he's like, "Oh, this is my favorite pasta. Pappardelle. Beautiful pappardelle pasta." Oh, his Passion was contagious.
Like absolutely contagious. Uh, in fact, I think for the rest of my life, anytime I see pappardelle pasta, I'm gonna hear Chef David, "Beautiful pappardelle." Oh, oh, man. So I tell you those three stories, uh, to, to paint a little picture of the trip, but [00:18:00] also, a- and man, this episode is, is for me as much as it is for all of you guys.
I want to try and bring my passion for PDR, for repairs into my content. Like that is my goal. So I did a, I did a content class, content challenge, um, maybe a month ago I wrapped it up. Uh, I did not post every day the way I was supposed to, but I learned a ton. It was called a YAP challenge from this chick named Jesse Jean.
Uh, good second half of your name, Jesse. Anyways, it was all about being able to talk on camera and hooks and topics and everything like that. And some of the videos I made using her, uh, techniques worked really well, right? Like I got good views, got better views than normal. Um I'm [00:19:00] challenging you, and I'm also challenging me, to maybe think about changing how we're putting our content out there, our day-to-day, um, content.
Like, I am... It's an open challenge. I want more passion in these repair videos or in these videos talking about tools or the process or what we do. I wanna be less like, right, really, I watch a lot of stuff, and, you know, before and afters are cool, especially if it's something ridiculous like Bryce is doing.
You know? Like, that's just phenomenal work. But I want the passion to come through because I really feel like, man, I'd, I'd fly back to Rome to buy meats and cheeses at that deli, and because of customs, we couldn't bring stuff home. So that sucks. Um, I would go back to Chef David's class and learn how to do more stuff from him, and [00:20:00] maybe we do a sauce class.
Instead of watching him do sauces, we get to make the sauces. Uh, go back to the winery and have some wine with Francesco, uh, and talk about what's going on here. And like, I want our customers, I want our potential customers to see the passion that we all have for this trade to come through, right? You don't get decent, you don't get good at this trade without passion and obsession.
Uh, and I really think that we need to let that flow through, right? I wanna talk about saving cars from body shops. I had this little old dude yesterday or the other day, um, a brand new to him Maverick, right? Not a brand new truck, but brand new to him. He just bought it, still had the temp tags, and something dented the bottom of the door.
This little dude was so happy when I brought him out to, like, before we put the door panel and everything on. I'm like, "Hey, Joe, come on out. You wanna [00:21:00] take a look?" And he got down, and he looked, and he's like, "Can I hug you? Can I give you a hug? That looks amazing." Uh, and, and we hugged it out and, like, I want- I, I want that kind of passion to come through.
I want those experiences to come through. I want the world to see just how special what we do is. Um, so I challenge us to be more passionate about what we're doing. Let our passion that we have for this trade show through in our content. Uh, anyways, keep an eye out and let's see how I do, and let me see you be more passionate too.
So, all right. We're back in the studio. We have time for a PDR Marketing Minute, so let's dive in and see what we've got going on here. Do I have a PDR Marketing Minute section? No, I don't. All right. [00:22:00] Anyways, here we go. Window, sound effects, Marketing Minute
Speaker 2: And now it's time for the PDR marketing minute.
Your weekly quick tip to help you build your PDR business
Speaker: Welcome back, episode six of the PDR Marketing Minute. I'm Gene Fedde, your host. Today, we finish up our checklist from episode one. We're going to spend a couple minutes on reviews. Uh, reviews are the modern-day word-of-mouth. Uh, back in the day, when you had small tight-knit communities, everybody talked about, "Hey, Joe the Barber's the place to go, and this is the grocery store."
Well, we don't have that tight-knit community anymore, but what we do have is a killer online community where everybody spends their time, everybody goes shopping first, and they trust the reviews of people that are out there. When you implement a [00:23:00] good review system and have your reviews across the board and start to get a bunch of reviews, uh, you'll see a difference in your clients that come in who have researched you.
A, a client who comes in who's read about your reviews and, and your experience already knows, likes, and trusts you and, and you're their choice. Um, today, for example, I had a customer who came in on my reviews who literally left me a signed blank check and their car for repair because they felt I was that trustworthy based on my reviews.
I never met the guy. I never met any of his friends. He simply came in that way. That's the power of reviews. There are four main places I like to see dent technicians get reviews. The first place I'd tell you to go to is Google. The Google My Business listing is almost as important as your website, and that's the first place that customers are gonna have a chance to see your business, [00:24:00] and Google prominently displays those reviews right out in front.
After that, second, these are more difficult reviews to get. Yelp, just like we talked about last week. But it ranks so highly, uh, in SEO with Google that it's a must to, once you create that, uh, you know, you're really striving to find that first review. Facebook is the third place. Just about everybody's on Facebook.
I don't remember how many billion members they have, but it's a lot. Uh, it, it's a must. It doesn't necessarily rank that well, but it's where people are spending their time, and they're gonna find you through your page. And, uh, you wanna see the reviews out there. Last but not least, PDR Nation. Uh, it's a cause close to my heart.
Uh, the review system on there is a great marketing tool, and it's also a very simple place for your customers, customers to be able to leave a review. Uh, you don't have to have a Google account. You [00:25:00] don't have to have a Yelp account. You don't have to have a Facebook account. All they need is an email address and a name, and they're able to log in and, and leave a review.
Those are your four places to concentrate on getting reviews. Uh, over the next handful of weeks, we're going to be coming out with, uh, the episodes are going to be starting to teach you how to get reviews. Uh, there's definitely a strategy. I went from almost no reviews, really just a handful, to over 70 reviews in just about a year.
So these processes work, the reviews certainly work, and I can't wait to share them with you. Thanks so much for listening. Next week, get your pen and paper ready. It's gonna be class time. Thanks for listening. I'll see ya All right. Uh, pretty solid advice. Uh, reviews. Reviews, reviews, reviews. [00:26:00] Maybe even more relevant than whenever we dropped that show, I don't know, 10 years ago or something.
Um, just concentrate on Google for your reviews i- is where, is where I would be. Uh, Facebook makes them, like, impossible to find. PDR Nation is gone, and, uh, I don't like Yelp, period. Sorry, not a Yelp fan. Drop those Google reviews. Promote those Google reviews, right? Uh, man, when we were doing some, uh, outside sales, like talking to insurance companies and body shops, uh, I screenshot reviews on my phone and then get them printed in four by six at Walgreens, uh, and then stick physical reviews in our folders that, that we hand out with sales, right?
People love it. People love the idea of that. Um, celebrate your reviews. Reply to your reviews. There's my big advice. If you're getting Google reviews, make sure [00:27:00] you go on and respond personally to each one, uh, so that people know, um, what you're doing. Like, that's what you, that's what you gotta do, for sure.
Um, anyways, uh, that's your PDR Marketing Minute for the week. And I guess next week, next episode, we're going to class, 'cause you're gonna need a pen and pencil. Uh, I don't know what we're gonna talk about, but just like you, it's the first time I've listened to that probably since we published it however many years ago.
So now, because we are back in the studio, it is time for
All right, tool of the week this week. Here we go. The Keco K-Power Gen 2 or Gen 1 if you still have a Gen 1. This is the full size. Um, being in the shop, I, I like the full size, [00:28:00] uh, because if I'm gonna pick... That's heavy. We're not gonna hold that up the whole time. Because if we're gonna pick, um, between like the medium size one and the full size, I can do the same repair of the medium size with the full size, but I don't get quite as much reach out of the mid size as I do the full size.
So it's a little bit more versatile. Uh, if you're mobile, the mid size really is great. Um, this Gen 2 is an upgrade from Gen 1. A, a couple of the upgrades are first, instead of straight legs, uh, these are kicked out, right? So you get a little bit more reach. Uh, in fact, I think it's about three inches on either side, uh, of more reach.
Um, they switched the pins. They used to be machined out of one piece there. Uh, now it is... There's a set screw in the back here. Uh, that is a now a replaceable piece. Um, we broke a couple of the Gen [00:29:00] 1s, uh, where the threads met the leg. Um, so good upgrade there. Incredibly strong. Um, super s- super easy to use.
Uh, these, um, bumpers, these rubber bumpers are for, right, rotating it out of the way and you're not putting metal up against the car
Get that out of the way. Attachments. Um, man, when, when tension and tension tools really started coming on, I was a big fan. I'm still a big fan of straps, uh, but Keco went back to the drawing board and created tab straps, right? So plastic straps. Glue, don't glue. It's upside down. There we go. Right. So don't glue where it says do not glue, and glue where it doesn't say anything and is shiny.
The idea of this is it gives you good adhesion, uh, but you can't get dive [00:30:00] because the glue is not attached here, so this will allow you to pull, and if there's a little bit of dive in, it flows down. Uh, I still have not been able to create any collateral damage with these, uh, whereas your solid feet can dive, right, and can create some damage that you've gotta fix.
Um, the kit comes with long and short, two of each, I believe, um, just for different spacing, and then they've also got their blades, which are like these double wides. Um, you can warm... You can see I had this over a, a body line, right? Heat this, shape it, twist it, smack it up, flip it, rub it down. Uh, anyways, great for grabbing on, uh, you know, like, the edge of a door above the body line, below the body line, and pull.
Uh, you can also... And I have, like, in jams where you get that little return, you can get a good big bite in there to pull straight out. And then this [00:31:00] adapter, which I believe does come with the system, is fantastic because there are still times, a lot of times, where I like to use Keith's straps. Now, I didn't grab the metal bar, but with the metal bar in there, these, right, will pull Keith's straps, uh, or I guess anybody's straps, but I'm a big fan of, of the Black Plague straps for tension.
Um, better for conforming, better for, you know, sometimes you get down into jams and you're pulling, not laterally, but pulling out. Uh, anyways, that adapter really makes, uh, Keith's straps a, a great additional tool to put with that. So the tool of the week this week is the Keco K-Power line. Really the whole line from the Hail Mini, Hail Micro on up to the full size and everything in between.
Fantastic tools. All of those are available at kecotabs.com, and, uh, of course, of [00:32:00] course, Keith's straps are available at blackplaguepdr.com, and if you can't spell that, deadrattabs.com. All right, guys. Great show. Glad to be back. So glad to be home. Uh, it was an amazing trip, but my favorite part of vacation generally is coming home.
Uh, one week from today, uh, actually, uh, by now, I will be in Las Vegas, hopefully having, uh, or on my way to lunch with Dave Chulot and Jack Bucknell. Anyways, PDR Expo's coming up next week. You don't wanna miss that. Friday morning is the round table, a whole collection of people who've been doing this for a long time.
Happy to share our knowledge. Uh, I think that's at 10:00 AM. And then Saturday at 10:00 AM or 9:00 AM, maybe 9:00 and 10:00. I think it's a two-part. I'll be doing my cold glue talk, um, and we're gonna have a car to do live demonstrations and teaching on. In fact, we will be [00:33:00] bringing some of the people in the class down to work on the car.
Cannot wait for that. It's gonna be amazing. And I think that's about it. So guys, thank you as always for listening. Uh, streak is still alive, making it into September. I'm gonna go get this published and set up for you guys. Until then, I'll see you on the next episode.
