My name is Steph Savill. I write FOXY Lady blog for women and usually I find the topic is about motoring matters driven (pardon the pun) by things that have happened in the Club or at FOXY Choice. When the mood takes me I also like to write about female friendly businesses, especially ones that make a fuss of us!
My husband Paul and I set up FOXY Lady Drivers Club when our daughter was treated so badly at her first solo garage visit. Before that I hadn’t realised that garages weren’t licensed, that anyone could set one up and that mechanics don’t have to be qualified to repair our cars. I had found out in one easy lesson how dangerous a bad garage could be. Both Paul and I wanted to do something about this for other women drivers.
In my networking experience I have since discovered that women drivers are often ill at ease in car showrooms and accident repair centres too, so there’s plenty that can be done to make these more female friendly places in future.
So FOXY Lady Drivers Club helps women run safer cars, save money, enjoy better and female friendly motoring (including garage) services and have a friend to turn to at accident time and when motoring gets stressful. It’s about buying and running cars, shopping for female friendly garage and bodyshop services, car insurance and finance products and providing female feedback, motoring advice and support when it’s needed. It’s a passion for me now because I can see how things can and should be much better in this area.
FOXY Choice emerged from the Club, because I had met so many great garages. It’s the only female friendly garage and accident repair network in the UK and where we promote garages and accident repair centres that meet our standards based on measurable quality, services and amenities. The final choice of business is always down to the female shopper and usually to do with the occasion, her car and the budget of course.
The garages and accident repair centres we work with have all signed the female friendly FOXY Promise to ‘never knowingly overcharge, patronise or sell women anything they don’t need or want’.
I am proud to be a Chartered Marketer, a member of the Industry of the Motor Institute and I’ve recently joined their network of Automotive Careers Champions; this combination gives me a professional interest in staying ahead and doing my bit to make the motor industry more female friendly in future.
I am lucky to live in an attractive town, near the sea yet surrounded by the Sussex Downs. I am married with a 18 year old son and a 29 year old step-daughter (who started all this off…) who lives in Australia now.
If any of this rings a bell with you and you’d like to get in touch, by all means email me via FOXY Lady Drivers Club or LinkedIn if you are part of that business community.
Steph Savill
MBA, FCIM, MIMI
Chartered Marketer
http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephsavill
