In today's episode of the Tactical Dent Tech Podcast, I'm diving into one of the biggest decisions any PDR shop owner or hail tech will face:

Do you train your own technicians… or hire experienced ones?

There are pros and cons to both, and after years of training dent techs, running hail operations, and building teams, I want to break down the realities that nobody talks about.

We get into:

• The pros and cons of training your own PDR technicians
• Why experienced techs cost more — and why they're often worth it
• The hidden cost of speed, production, and cleanup work
• Why new techs need years to develop efficiency
• How to spot people worth investing in
• Why hiring people with other valuable skill sets matters
• Training during hail season vs downtime
• The reality of loyalty in business
• Why every business owner needs to hope for the best but prepare for the worst

I also talk about recent experiences training technicians during hail season, how we structure growth inside the shop, and why investing in the right people can completely change the trajectory of your business.

The truth is — building a strong hail team isn't just about finding talent. It's about developing systems, creating opportunities, and understanding where experience actually matters.

Whether you're trying to scale your shop, hire your first technician, or debating if training someone is even worth it, this episode is for you.

Topics Discussed: Paintless Dent Repair (PDR), hail damage repair, PDR technician training, hiring dent techs, wholesale PDR, hail teams, scaling a dent business, PDR shop management, dent repair staffing, technician development, PDR mentoring, hail season operations, building a PDR business, dent technician pay structures, training vs hiring.