An all female dealership – would it be a success?

V Eight

The motor in industry has in the past been accused of being a misogynistic male preserve. Female buying experiences in dealerships unfortunately can report a patronising attitude from male staff....

Imagine this concept in Ireland......
A female dealer principal, female sales people, female receptionist, female service advisor, female Aftersales Manager, female mechanics........

So a female dealership for females? :eek:

Would it be a success?

dr.fuzzenstein

Must....resist....

R.O.R

Don't see why it would do any better or any worse than any other dealership really.

I buy cars off a dealership with a female dealer principle, my main contact in a few dealerships in the past have been female. I work with a lady who used to be a service advisor in a main dealer, and no-one ever sees the mechanics so it doesn't matter if they are sub-human ape types (;))

If your name is above the door, then you could be all of those in the family dealership.

johnos1984

I'm saying nothing because even with the best of intentions it'll still sound sexist

KTRIC

I used to get a flagship model Kawasaki superbike serviced by a female mechanic. She was f*cking meticulous. I'd rather one than a male to be honest.

Oh and they look sexy dressed in overalls and oil

smash

There are women in all these positions across Ireland already, just rarely any female mechanics.

I fail to see the point in having and all female dealership. It's also illegal to discriminate.

EPM

If all people can do is throw in Sexist comments ill close this thread. There won't be anymore warnings.

Idiotic posts deleted.

I fail to see how it would make a difference. If women have been patronised by a male sales person (it does happen) then I would take that as an indication that the person they are dealing with isn't fit for the position they are in. A good salesperson should be able to deal professionally with all clients, not just men.

Stainless_Steel

This whole concept is sexist!

corktina

My wife would use it.

In the past she has had me accompany her to look at cars to buy and will NOT buy from any dealer who ignores her and talks to me (and thats most of them!)

i'd bring a guy with me anywhere because while they've been nice to me and not talked down to me in the past, i'd still be wary

i think an all-female dealership is silly though

V Eight

EPM wrote: »

If all people can do is throw in Sexist comments ill close this thread. There won't be anymore warnings.

Idiotic posts deleted.

I fail to see how it would make a difference. If women have been patronised by a male sales person (it does happen) then I would take that as an indication that the person they are dealing with isn't fit for the position they are in. A good salesperson should be able to deal professionally with all clients, not just men.

I was flagging this as a genuine concept that I believe could actually be a success - it would be a great marketing concept and in fact the sexist comments just add to the validity. A good salesperson should be able to deal professionally with all clients, not just men, agreed - However this is an ideal and not a reality.

Jimmy Bottlehead

It's honestly another example of how females desire not equality, but favouritism. Men are consistantly treated like suspects, whether it's a male mechanic, car salesman, doctor, teacher... the list goes on.
We've also seen how much cheaper insurance is for females - I guarantee if it was the other way around, and women were dismissed as inferior drivers, there'd be a protest quicker than you could burn a bra.

This idea is just as rotten as those above, and I think it's a sad state of affairs that this situation is not getting better, but instead getting worse.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

It's honestly another example of how females desire not equality, but favouritism..

a guy asks if it would be a good idea and that's an example of how all women want favouritism?

johnos1984

I've found female sales staff very good and very friendly but a pain to negotiate the price with.

Having said that my sister and mother have both been given shabby treatment by sales men to the point where the were ignored. Problem was solved by none of the family ever returning

EPM

V Eight wrote: »

I was flagging this as a genuine concept that I believe could actually be a success - it would be a great marketing concept and in fact the sexist comments just add to the validity. A good salesperson should be able to deal professionally with all clients, not just men, agreed - However this is an ideal and not a reality.

There are plenty of salespeople perfectly capable of treating everybody equally. There just is not enough of them.

Jimmy Bottlehead

bluewolf wrote: »

a guy asks if it would be a good idea and that's an example of how all women want favouritism?

If you go for a check-up to a male doctor for a 'female issue', then by law there must be a female present in the room. This does not apply the other way around.

I should clarify, I don't think it applies to all women but I do genuinely believe a majority of females would show a sexist bias if quizzed on a range of questions & beliefs.

thirtythirty

Ok a constructive comment this time.

I would worry that you'd immediately be cutting your potential market in half - where "normal" dealerships serve both men and women, I would wager mostly women would just go to the all female dealership (assuming prices / service are the same as a normal one and the USP is the "all women" factor").

There's also an assumption in the business model that this dealership would attract more than the usual numbers of women - which is an assumption you absolutely can't make. Women are still buyers, and buyers shop where the goods they want are.

Anan1

I'd no more give money to an all-female dealership than I would to an all-white one. People are people.

28064212

So if a male applies for a job in this dealership, you're going to turn down their application on the basis of gender? Yeah, that's not going to work

Jimmy Bottlehead

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

If you go for a check-up to a male doctor for a 'female issue', then by law there must be a female present in the room. This does not apply the other way around.

I should clarify, I don't think it applies to all women but I do genuinely believe a majority of females would show a sexist bias if quizzed on a range of questions & beliefs.

i think you sound like you have a chip on your shoulder about this considering it's a guy asking about a marketing idea

never heard of that law tbh, got any links? i cant find anything

28064212

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I have found that sexism lark only applys if its against a women :pac:

Fortunately, that's not what the law says

corktina

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

If you go for a check-up to a male doctor for a 'female issue', then by law there must be a female present in the room. This does not apply the other way around.

.

thats to protect the male doctor you realise....

Anan1

corktina wrote: »

thats to protect the male doctor you realise....

From himself, presumably?:)

Tea 1000

R.O.R wrote: »

... and no-one ever sees the mechanics so it doesn't matter if they are sub-human ape types (;))

Actually I'm beginning to think most of them are!

On another note, I don't see how it would work successfully, but a half-way house where a dealership had to have at least 1 woman for each of the roles so that the customer could request which they wanted to deal with may work better.

On a lighter note again, would your original all-female garage work better if the receptionist was male?

Eoin

smash wrote: »

I fail to see the point in having and all female dealership. It's also illegal to discriminate.

As smash says, it would not be allowed under employment law. Well, hopefully not, if the laws are supposed to work both ways.

From a marketing point of view - yes, I think it could work. I think a lot of women are a bit intimidated (perhaps more from the servicing point of view than sales), and are afraid they'll be conned.

smash

Tea 1000 wrote: »

On another note, I don't see how it would work successfully, but a half-way house where a dealership had to have at least 1 woman for each of the roles so that the customer could request which they wanted to deal with may work better.

Because it really matter what sex the person is who's changing your timing belt? ffs now I've heard it all, what matters is their level of expertise, and forcing a garage to hire someone will lower skill sets just because they need someon of that sex could land them in major fkn trouble.

Jimmy Bottlehead

bluewolf wrote: »

i think you sound like you have a chip on your shoulder about this considering it's a guy asking about a marketing idea

never heard of that law tbh, got any links? i cant find anything

I've a chip on my shoulder when it comes to inequality, yes. That runs both ways, for the record.

With regards that law, it apparently applies regardless of gender, but I feel it's safe to say it was brought in with an emphasis on perceived female safely rather than as an equal or male-orientated law.

http://www.mop.ie/news-and-insight/insight/pages/chaperones-in-the-medical-profession?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=print

Jimmy Bottlehead

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

I've a chip on my shoulder when it comes to inequality, yes. That runs both ways, for the record.

With regards that law, it apparently applies regardless of gender, but I feel it's safe to say it was brought in with an emphasis on perceived female safely rather than as an equal or male-orientated law.

http://www.mop.ie/news-and-insight/insight/pages/chaperones-in-the-medical-profession?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=print

“where an intimate examination is necessary, you should explain to the patient why it is needed and what it will entail. You should also let the patient know that they can have a chaperone present if they wish...irrespective of the gender of the gynaecologist/obstetrician”. ”

where exactly are you getting "male doctors need female chaperones by LAW" from that?

28064212

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

I've a chip on my shoulder when it comes to inequality, yes. That runs both ways, for the record.

With regards that law, it apparently applies regardless of gender, but I feel it's safe to say it was brought in with an emphasis on perceived female safely rather than as an equal or male-orientated law.

http://www.mop.ie/news-and-insight/insight/pages/chaperones-in-the-medical-profession?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=print

Regardless of the reason for it being brought in, it is equality. Laws brought in against racism were mostly brought in to protect minorities, but they protect the majority from being racially discriminated against too

Anan1

Eoin wrote: »

From a marketing point of view - yes, I think it could work. I think a lot of women are a bit intimidated (perhaps more from the servicing point of view than sales), and are afraid they'll be conned.

In fairness, most men are too!

Eoin

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

With regards that law, it apparently applies regardless of gender, but I feel it's safe to say it was brought in with an emphasis on perceived female safely rather than as an equal or male-orientated law.

http://www.mop.ie/news-and-insight/insight/pages/chaperones-in-the-medical-profession?SQ_DESIGN_NAME=print

This is all going a quite a bit off topic, but those are just guidelines that have been recommended, not law. And also there to protect the doctor as much as the patient.

Eoin

Anan1 wrote: »

In fairness, most men are too!

Yes, that's absolutely a fair point! But given the attitudes that seem quite prevalent, you wonder how many would any more at ease by going to an all female garage. The same way you see a few grimaces on a plane when a female captain's voice comes over the intercom.

biko

I think the concept would be a success for two reasons.
They would be able to sell cars on matters that concern women more e.g. not so much "how fast is it?" as "is it easy to park?", "can I fit a buggy and 3 kids in here etc?".

Girls wouldn't feel as awkward asking "stupid" questions about what's wrong with the car when they bring it in.

Anan1

LIGHTNING wrote: »

From a mechanical point of view smaller female hands would be of benefit in the modern tight engine bay.

Not all women have small hands, you know.

Tea 1000

smash wrote: »

Because it really matter what sex the person is who's changing your timing belt? ffs now I've heard it all, what matters is their level of expertise, and forcing a garage to hire someone will lower skill sets just because they need someon of that sex could land them in major fkn trouble.

I didn't say that, did I? I said "So the customer has a choice".
Customers range from clever to thick. You need to pander to cater for their needs.

JoeA3

I'd settle for a dealership which had staff (male or female!) that were

- as knowledgeable as possible about the cars they were selling
- who had actually read their own catalogs
- who didn't leave you standing out waiting in the showroom like a spare pr1ck while you finish picking your nose in the office
- who didn't make derisory offers / joke comments about your proposed trade-in
- who phoned back when you said you would

I've yet to meet a salesman / woman that comes close to even meeting half these criteria!

Jimmy Bottlehead

bluewolf wrote: »

“where an intimate examination is necessary, you should explain to the patient why it is needed and what it will entail. You should also let the patient know that they can have a chaperone present if they wish...irrespective of the gender of the gynaecologist/obstetrician”. ”

where exactly are you getting "male doctors need female chaperones by LAW" from that?

This proves to me I shouldn't listen to my student psychiatric nurse girlfriend, who had told me earlier this week it was required by law.

I'll back down on the law requirement.

Tea 1000

JoeA3 wrote: »

I'd settle for a dealership which had staff (male or female!) that were

- as knowledgeable as possible about the cars they were selling
- who had actually read their own catalogs
- who didn't leave you standing out waiting in the showroom like a spare pr1ck while you finish picking your nose in the office
- who didn't make derisory offers / joke comments about your proposed trade-in
- who phoned back when you said you would

I've yet to meet a salesman / woman that comes close to even meeting half these criteria!

I'd agree with all of that and add
- Who don't show their ignorance by lambasting you when you mention what other cars in that range you were looking at.
This stupid "You were looking at an ALFA? YOU DAFT BASTID!! HA HA HA!!" type lark drives me mad. Be f**king man enough to admit that the competition is often as good as your own car rather than run all other makes down. It's unprofessional.

Tea 1000

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

This proves to me I shouldn't listen to my student psychiatric nurse girlfriend, who had told me earlier this week it was required by law.

I'll back down on the law requirement.

She was only testing how gullible you were... it's what she's trained to do! What you need to do from now on is before replying, think of your answer in your head, reverse it then say that!

Jimmy Bottlehead

Tea 1000 wrote: »

She was only testing how gullible you were... it's what she's trained to do! What you need to do from now on is before replying, think of your answer in your head, reverse it then say that!

She better have one hell of a sandwich ready for me this evening to make up for this.

EPM

Closed. It's already gone way off topic.