Why do car garages treat women so badly

[Boldernow]

Ok massive generalisation, but I’m currently waiting for my car to be checked and it’s yet again been such a frustrating and belittling experience. When my husband booked it they were super friendly to him, said it would take no time at all etc, I’ve arrived and dropped the car 2 hours ago, they wouldn’t give me a timeframe of when it would be done, spoke to me like I was an idiot, I just called them and they still haven’t looked at the car. It’s Halfords, this has happened to me at multiple locations so it’s not just one bad one. One time at another location I had an MOT booked, turned up and they said our MOT machine is broken so we can’t do it. By this time everywhere was booked up for MOTs for the next two weeks so I couldn’t get my car done before it ran out. I said to them, your machine has been broken for a week and you didn’t call your customers to let them know so they could book elsewhere? They didn’t even say the word sorry once. I just couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t have let me know earlier or even just that morning before I drove all the way there? Another time at a Farmers Autocare they massively overcharged me for work after an MOT - I was young and it was my first MOT so I think they took their chances, I realised in hindsight how I’d been taken for a massive fool, I had no money at the time so it was a massive blow, and to top it off they all hid in the office and sent out their apprentice to charge me the bill. I felt so humiliated and silly for not knowing better but didn’t feel like I could question it.

I would say I have only ever had 1 good experience at a car garage - Shout out to KJL Motors near Sawston, they were so kind, literally walked me under the car to show me exactly what was wrong with it before I agreed to the work, it was like a whole new world of being treated like a proper person as a customer, so I’ve never forgotten that standard of service that is possible.

Anyway, is it just me? Anyone else get this kind of treatment?

And if you’ve been somewhere in South Buckinghamshire that treated you well please let me know your recommendations!!

Small dick energy

Many do but I found one that didn't talk down to me over 30 years ago and still go there even though it's some distance away.

Me ? 😂or the garages

Ah that’s the dream! I had to move away from the one I found that was so lovely

They're not ALL like that but enough are that when you find a good un, stick to them!

I actually pay ULEZ partly because I darent change car as I'd probably need to change garage. Ridiculous I know.

Hmm maybe we should recommend on Mumsnet?

I find chains are not quite so bad for this but the absolute best thing is just to find someone you trust and stick to them,

I took my car to get a new tyre the other day as I had a flat and he started saying "these tyres are all bad, see, come here, I'll show you, look at this"

I said "no, I just want a new tyre on the flat one"
He started up again. I had to be really firm in the end. The funny thing? I work for a car dealership.... he shut up after I dropped that in

We are a heavy female leaning dealership which I think helps and everyone gets treated the same

What I would do to be able to come to a dealership lead by women, that would be amazing

I'm still looking.

Ive been using one that I thought I could trust. I recently put the car in because something was wrong with the brakes. It was driving me mad as my husband couldn't see it. The garage said the brakes were completely fine, it was so frustrating that all the men around me just weren't listening.

Last week the brakes failed completely. Some cylinder thing on the back had popped and there wasn't a drop of brake fluid in the car. Luckily it was in town so the handbrake was enough. But if it had been on a fast road I would have been screwed.

The garage took it that day and fixed it that day and the words that were said was 'nobody could have known that was going to happen, it could happen any time' even my husband is saying the same thing to me.

The fact I knew something was wrong with the brakes just wasn't important at all. I'm just a daft woman who doesn't know what she's talking about.

The only places that seem to be trustworthy are the big chains that get as much money out of you as possible. It's so downhearting.

WAT - woman added tax, quite common, particularly in white male owned independents, for the prices and attitude. The local one here still has page 3 type calendars in the office and various other taxes for different members of the public

@Boldernow the sales side is still heavily male but service side is female led, female manager etc
Funnily a lot of the older male customers don't like it and "want to speak to the service chap, the manager"
Sure you can but she's female and 29...

I use a garage for my own car, I found that's really good and honest and also brilliant value

We are big chain users... our local Ford tried the "only speak to the man" stuff... 3 separate salesmen. We moved to VW and are very happy

YANBU, it is actually quite vile.

Tradesmen and mechanics have been almost universally misogynistic in my experience.

Trying to charge higher prices, telling me I can't agree before talking to my husband, sneering or laughing with each other when I talk, taking way longer than the job should take and then talking down to me when I politely enquire.

Seeing how they treat me vs DH is such a contrast they should be embarrassed.

Usual story OP, they do it because they can.

Do you know what I do? I MOT my car at the council place. They don’t do repairs, it’s not in their interest to come up with shit.
I’ve been doing this for years. If there is a problem, I ask the garage to sort that one problem, nothing more.

That's what I used to do but they seem to be closing those places now

Can't you stick with KJL? Or have you moved area?

I managed to find a good one and went to them for 10 years until the owner retired. I then had three who pissed me off and couldn't trust. One of them caused damage to my car which took a long time to sort out. I finally found one last year who I'll stick with. The first garage won me over when my electrics failed despite the battery working and I was towed to him. When I went to pick it up I asked what I owed him, and he said nothing because he didn't actually do anything, they just started working again. Second garage helped me to unscrew a light fixture that was stuck because the threads were worn out. It took ages. I'd brought the bulb with me but he put one of his own in, and when I asked what I owed him he said nothing.

For what it's worth, two of the three who pissed me off were bigger garages, the kind with reception areas and magazines. The two good ones have been small backstreet independents.

My friend was telling me about a programme he saw where people marked things like timing belts with UV pen then went to get them replaced. They found that some garages weren't even doing the work they charged for.

A diagnostic machine is a valuable tool for women. It would have alerted you to low brake fluid levels.

Basic car maintenance course is worth it too. You know your car better than a mechanic, arming yourself with knowledge of the common problems helps imo.

I only use the same two garages, one is Halfords and I've never had an issue. I've gone in at least having a rough idea of the problem first.

Your situation is slightly different, you drive the car regularly and so you would notice slight changes. Sometimes garages can't replicate the problem when the car on the ramps so unless there is any sign of a problem, leak or engine code it can be difficult to diagnose.

I had a similar thing when I said my car sometimes smelled strange, like more petroly than normal. My husband and garage couldn't find a problem then a few months later it caught fire. I don't think they brushed it aside because I'm a woman, I genuinely think they couldn't find anything wrong.

Them!!!! 😂

I took my car to kwikfit a few years ago for its MOT. When I dropped it off I gave them a heads up that it needed one of the headlight bulbs replacing. 2 hours later a mechanic rings to tell me it needs a new headlight bulb and goes “that’s the big lights at the front of the car sweetheart” 🙄

It definitely happens the other way too
I have male customers mansplaining parts of the car to me. Like.. this is my job?
And then you do something and get "good girl"

So many shite garages about.

When I was in Berkshire I had a fabulous one. Never did more than they needed. And in fact did a couple of quick fixes for free for me. Used them for over 15 years while I was there. But they were off the beaten track (quite literally) and very spit on the sawdust kind of place. Not great customer service manners, but I don't blush easily, and they got the job done with no fucking around.

Luckily when we moved we seem to have found another very trustworthy one in our small village.

YANBU op. I use a fantastic mobile mechanic now who does everything to my car on my driveway. No more garages. If anything needs doing that he cannot do himself, such as MOTs and tyres he takes the car to suitable places and returns it all sorted

I think it’s a man thing. Male dominated workplaces can often be sexist.

I find KwikFit awful, they always “find” hundreds of pounds worth of jobs “now lovey, I can’t let you leave here with your brakes as dangerous as this” type thing. Luckily I know what I’m on about so can hold my own, but they are know locally as KwikScam.

I’m lucky to have an excellent mechanic, and a local tyre place who I trust 100% to be honest.