Got a call for a hail repair job that turned into a real mess

I was working on a silver sedan at our shop in Phoenix, using a paintless dent repair kit to fix some small hail dings. About an hour in, I pushed too hard on a tricky spot near the roof edge and heard a sharp crack. The metal didn't just pop, it actually split a tiny line about an inch long. My stomach dropped because I knew I just turned a simple PDR job into a full panel repair. I had to stop, tell the customer, and we worked out a deal to replace the whole roof skin, which added like three extra days to the job. Anyone else ever have a PDR attempt go sideways like that, and how did you explain it to the owner?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisayoung2d ago

Honestly the worst part is the customer's trust just evaporates. That sound of cracking metal means you're instantly the bad guy, no matter how you explain the thin factory paint. It's a brutal lesson in knowing when to walk away from a tricky spot.

sam_wood542d ago

Yeah @lisayoung, that cracking sound is basically your five star review leaving the chat.