March 6, 2014—A new non-profit paintless dent repair (PDR) trade organization called PDR Nation launched this month to educate and certify independent PDR professionals worldwide.
PDR Nation is a PDR certification organization that offers continuing education in proper repair strategies and business practices, as well as customer service indexing (CSI) to bring accountability to the PDR industry. The purpose is to help shops identify PDR technicians who are professional, accountable and quality-driven to provide high-quality repairs and customer service.
Through the organization, PDR technicians must complete a series of classes in ethics and proper repair procedures. Technicians are required to take new classes annually to maintain their certification.
In addition, PDR Nation said PDR technicians must maintain positive CSI ratings and reviews provided by repair facilities, employers, clients and consumers. Reviews for all PDR technicians are listed on the certified technician’s profile page at pdrnation.org.
PDR Nation created a Tech Finder database that allows service providers, repair facilities and consumers to search for PDR Nation certified technicians in their area. Users can search the database by market or service speciality, such as retail, wholesale, local hail repair, traveling hail repair, international traveling hail repair, large dent repair, and motorcycle dent repair.
“This organization has gone from idea to reality rather quickly. The initial response has been overwhelming,” said Ryan Hampton, chairman of O’Fallon, Mo.-based PDR Nation. “We believe that is due to the deep desire for professional and educational platforms that have been lacking in the PDR industry.”