Can we talk about the 'paintless dent repair' booth at the state fair in Springfield

I watched them for an hour and honestly think the push for it as a cure-all is setting unrealistic expectations for customers on what we can actually fix. Has anyone else had to explain the limits of PDR on a complex quarter panel crease after a client saw a demo?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan2893mo ago

I spent twenty minutes watching that Springfield fair booth last year. They made popping a shallow door ding look like magic. I used to think showing that off was great advertising. Then I had a guy bring in his F-150 with a deep crease along the wheel arch, totally convinced we could fix it like the demo because he saw it at the fair. Took me forty-five minutes just to explain why metal has a memory and that sharp line wasn't coming out without filler and paint. Those demos really do set people up for a letdown.

hayes.tara3mo ago

Yeah, that "magic" demo is basically a car repair infomercial. Sets expectations so high you'd think they could fix a crash with a plunger.

taylor.phoenix1mo ago

Metal has a memory" - that's gold, I'm stealing that. So basically the fair demo is like showing someone a YouTube video of a guy flipping a pancake and then expecting them to cook a five-course meal. Next time a customer brings in a Fair-Demo Special, I'm just gonna hand 'em a plunger and say "go for it, champ.