The motor industry has long been dubbed a boys club, where men talk the talk and govern the sales floor, while women take on the back office roles. More and more garages, however, are reaping the rewards of the female touch on the frontline but it's not always an easy task. Áine Flynn reports.
Averil McGarry is one lady who is well versed in the role. Most of her experience was gained on a three-and-a-half year stint in an Opel garage during the boom period of 2000 and 2001. When the lull emerged, however, Averil missed the buzz of the bustling workshop and moved on to her current job at Faichney Ringwood where she enjoys a "steady trickle" of business.
In her dealings with both male and female customers, she has been treated with some indifference from time to time. "There is the odd guy that will try to pull the wool over your eyes and try to dominate a conversation," she says. "They can have a much more forceful manner and it can get a little bit intimidating."
"In most cases the reality is that you never had a chance of getting a sale with these type of people. They are just showing their arrogance. You just have to try and not let them get the better of you."
On occasion, some of the male employees have asked for her advice on certain car features. "Customers can look a little confused about the situation. They are wondering what the garage secretary could possibly know about cars!"
Although most of Averil's customers are of the male variety, she says the amount of female interest is on the increase, and that women in general are quite content to meet other women.
"They expect you to tell them exactly what they want to know," she says. Essentially, women still want the "girly features" as well as the "high-tech stuff" and often feel more comfortable communicating these preferences to another woman. But while Averil believes that women are "more than capable of hacking it" in the business, she says that a brass neck is a distinct advantage, if not an absolute necessity.
"If you're confident in yourself, and don't see the gender issue, I think being a woman in this industry can actually stand by you. You stand out and you are one of only a very few," she adds.
Jennifer Canavan, a director at Tom Canavan Motors says that although most areas of the business are still very male dominated, there is little or no internal gender conflict. Jennifer blames "public perception" for blowing up a falsified gender war in the industry.
"I've never experienced any bad attitude because I'm a woman, except on the sales floor," she says. "I asked a man in the showroom could I help him, and he said that he was looking for a salesman. . . not woman."
Marketing manager with Joe Duffy Motors, Linda Sutcliffe, has been in the business for 20 years and remembers how she was in a distinct minority when attending her first Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI). "But that's changed to some extent," she says.
"There were very few females back then. But that didn't stop me. I had an idea in my mind about where I wanted to go and went for it," Linda says. "Now marketing, PR and event management is dominated by females."
"You had to be better than the men and had to be a step above them," she says. You have to play on your strengths she adds, like in any industry. "No obstacles were put in front of me, and women bring something new to the arena."
Apprentice mechanic Marie Mulhall is outnumbered by 30 to 1 by her male colleagues at Belgard motors. While Marie says that she would love to have another girl on the team, she is quite content with her lot. "They don't treat me any differently. I think they just see me as one of the lads," she says. "It's not always easy as a woman to get into the trade, so I feel very lucky."
Jacki Stafford, a sales executive with Gowan Motors, began her career in the industry seven years ago as a receptionist. Before long though she developed an interest in sales and successfully established herself in the area.
"I was nervous initially," she admits, but was quick to learn the ropes. "I know what I need to know now and have the same product knowledge as all the male salespeople."
But the hours are long, which can confine family life she says. "It is like being self-employed, you have to put the hours in to get the rewards." Although Jacki's main dealings are with women customers, she says there is always going to be a "small percentage of people" who will refuse to talk to you. But that is something that she has learned to deal with and work around.
Suzanne Kellett quite literally grew up in the family car sales business Gordon Kellett Motors, and now works as a sales executive, where 80 per cent of sales are to men. "When people walk in they don't tend to walk towards you because they find it hard to believe that you're the salesperson," Suzanne says, a situation which can be quite amusing. "Normally, they will test you with a few questions to make sure you're the real thing."
And the presence of a woman on the sales team in any garage offers a definite advantage she insists: "I think that people are more relaxed and at ease when you're female. The man can say openly that he has to go home and 'talk to the wife'. There's no pretence or bravado involved."
Another lady who began her career as a receptionist is successful business woman Brenda McKeon, who fell into the business in the early 1970s when it was completely dominated by men. "It was unusual for women to be in the business," she says. And often, customers did not trust that a woman could offer the same degree of knowledge as a man.
It wasn't until Brenda became one of the first women in Ireland to establish her own car sales business in 1989 that she was fully accepted. "It all changed then," she admits.
Despite this, Brenda never actually employed a car sales woman. "It wasn't that I wouldn't. I just never had the opportunity to," she says, maintaining, however, that most people prefer to deal with men.
Not surprisingly, the business environment and the mindset of customers have changed somewhat over the years. What is also not surprising is that the myths about a woman's role within the industry still linger. Although most girls don't typically exhibit the same interest in motor cars as the boys from an early age, they are a valuable sales segment that should not be overlooked.
As the female contingency continues to grow, misconceptions about their ability and interests are likely to dwindle with every passing sale. And although none of the ladies admit to using it very often, they possess the female charm that can help twist a customers arm around a deal. As Averil McGarry says: "Well, if the men can turn on the charm. . . we can do it."