WHY GARAGES MUST BECOME MORE FEMALE-FRIENDLY IN 2021
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Going to a garage can be an intimidating, confusing, and anxiety-inducing experience for some women, with many avoiding taking their car in for a service or MOT, regardless of the risk to their safety. There is a selection of garages that work hard to create a safe, comfortable environment for women and all gender identities, but unfortunately, some still aren’t making this a priority.
Why do garages need to better cater to women?
Car garages should be doing their bit to make every individual, regardless of gender, feel welcome.
As mentioned above, fear of visiting a garage can lead to someone putting off necessary repairs. These repairs could be the difference between being safe or a danger to those on the road.
What makes a female-friendly garage?
Here’s an example of three qualities that a female-friendly garage should have:
- Clean and tidy reception/waiting area
The reception or waiting area is usually the only space you’ll see when visiting a garage. If you’re a woman – or man, or someone who identifies as another gender – who has had a bad experience with garages in the past, or is visiting one for the first time, walking into a dark, grubby, cold reception area isn’t going to put you at ease. This space must be kept clean and tidy – it shouldn’t have any bad smells (!) and it should offer somewhere relaxing to sit and wait for your car if you need to.
2. Helpful, understanding staff members
We’re not just talking about the front-of-house team here – although they should be extra smiley! All staff, whether on the reception desk or in the workshop, should treat every customer with respect and compassion. If you don’t know much about cars and how they work, you’re not going to understand the jargon. Both reception staff and mechanics should explain any problems with a car and proposed repairs clearly and in layman’s terms, without being patronising.
3. Good communication with customers, and at the right times
No garage should conduct any work on a car before quoting the cost to the customer. This is just common decency but can go a long way to making women especially feel fairly treated and less anxious at a garage.
You may have heard horror stories about women being taken advantage of when they came to a mechanic for help, perhaps being overcharged for work, or having more work done than was discussed and still being charged for it. In fact, according to a study performed by The Times, women are much more likely to be quoted higher prices for car repairs than men, for the same services. It’s important to note that this isn’t always the case, however.
Definite and potential costs should be laid out and explained to the customer before work on their car commences, and no work should be undertaken unless the customer has given consent. And, of course, all customers should be treated equally, particularly when it comes to costs.
A lot of changes need to be made to ensure all garages are safe spaces for all gender identities but thankfully, there are already a lot of businesses, such as ourselves, that consider this a priority. As a family-owned business run by a male and female team, Keith and Tamsin Brown, we have always treated all our customers with the same courtesy and care, regardless of their gender.
Chat to our all-female reception team to book your car in today and experience our friendly garages and MOT test centres for yourself.