The first Top Ten UK dealership group to sign up to the FOXY Choice approved FEMALE FRIENDLY garage network scheme is Vertu Motors plc.

If you don’t recognise that name, chances are you’ll know them better by their trading names Bristol Street Motors, Macklin Motors, Vertu Honda and Motor Nation.

This dealership group is clearly committed to getting things right for women customers.  They employ an impressive number of female staff in customer facing roles which reassures wary women in what many perceive to be male dominated environments.

Women feel more at ease seeing ‘women like them’ that they can talk to if they wish. I think this traces back to our deep-rooted concerns after hearing so many stories about women being overcharged, patronised and baffled by unnecessary jargon in other garages.

Vertu Motors is also keen to employ women in a wide range of exciting careers in the UK motor industry.  That’s another indication of their FEMALE FRIENDLY commitment  because it’s surely easier to recruit men who are more likely to have industry experience (thus perpetuating the 80:20 male:female gender ratio of motor industry staff) and it must be tempting for men to recruit in their own likeness.

So it has been refreshing to meet Vertu’s Group Aftersales Manager, Cath Thompson, and to see a high percentage of the participating dealerships nominate a Female Business Ambassador to act as the eyes and ears of their women customers in future. We all agree that women want to be treated like women, not men, and have different needs and expectations in many instances.

For example, women like to see genuine signs of quality (the more the merrier in this industry), we don’t like fog-factor jargon, we expect clean washrooms and, if we decide to wait for our car, we want to know we can have a drink and read some female friendly magazines whilst we do… And because Vertu Motors dealerships tick these boxes and more, this goes a long way towards making them FEMALE FRIENDLY businesses in FOXY Choice’s UK network.

Needless to say all motorists benefit from courtesy car and car collection services but I am confident that women will be reassured by Bristol Street Motors and Macklin Motors  promise of a ‘free and no obligation inspection of any car that is causing concern’. This is part of the evidence FOXY Choice looks for that the business in question is going that extra mile for its local customers. And that they are prepared to stand up and be counted by our independent monitoring services that encourage garage feedback via the FOXY Choice website.

Nobody’s perfect of course, and this is a big Group with lots of employees, but it’s good to sense a business that not only wants to get it right for its women customers and staff but also grasps the business imperative that being FEMALE FRIENDLY is all about customer loyalty and future referrals at the end of the day.

FOXY Steph

A new survey confirms that 3 out of every 4 male and female customers feel ill at ease in new car showrooms. Yet they are out to spend £10,000+ and often a lot more.

Carried out by Auto Trader whose extensive online presence may suggest a vested interest, this confirms what women drivers say.

Women who influence the majority of car sales and feel that pushy and poorly informed sales people make new car shopping a daunting experience.

“There’s no denying that entering a new car showroom can be overwhelming for buyers” said Matt Thompson, Group Marketing Director at Auto Trader. “In today’s testing economy, cost conscious consumers are spending cautiously and investing in a new car is a significant purchase decision to make. There’s a real opportunity for new car dealers to help put buyers at ease in the showroom. By making the buyer feel relaxed and giving them the breathing space and time to browse at their leisure they are far more likely to go ahead with a sale.”

The research also showed that half of those surveyed (50%) cited ‘perceived attitude of staff’ as further reason to feel uneasy followed by a lack of obvious price tags or costs (47%). When asked what would make the shopping experience more pleasant, half the sample wanted to browse at their leisure whereas 37% wanted more knowledgeable sales staff.

Speaking personally I don’t like the glass bowl atmosphere of most car showrooms today. Why are they all so similar?  If I am wearing heels you can hear me tapping my way around so I feel self conscious with eyes upon me; from the same floor and often looking down on me (which is coincidentally often the feeling I get from this!)

But the thing I like least of all is the fact that car buying novices like me are expected to do our buying homework outside the showroom (where the experts are) and then go through the same shopping experience in each of several shortlisted model showrooms. This takes ages and can be such a waste of time. The likes of Top Gear and car buying magazines are rarely written for me (I don’t do torque or jargon remember and I have different needs…) yet most websites seem to think equality means I want the same as men…

I don’t.

Why can’t showrooms be more like travel agencies instead? With a friendly local face to help you make the best model choice based on quality awards, performance surveys, my needs, expectations and budget. We’d chat over a cuppa and she (I’d prefer a female face given a choice…) could then tell me what my best makes/models/deals are; then introduce a sales person to take over.

And I’d like a female member of staff to take me on my test drive – that is if I can’t have the car to test over a weekend of course…

Were this all to happen, chances are many makes/models wouldn’t make it into most shopping shortlists, truth be told. Who would buy makes that languish at the bottom of safety and reliability leagues when they can choose ones that are always at the top and are clearly better value for money? They are only bought nowadays because too few motorists know they have a better choice.

But this business model could work in future and even now there are foxy dealerships providing more female friendly services and amenities than others, identifying Female Business Ambassadors for starters and employing personal shopping assistants to reduce the stress levels and minimise the time this all takes for men and women motorists alike.

One thing is for certain in my opinion – the shopping solution is not faster online services because buying a car is a major investment and one where we deserve the luxury of personal service and being spoiled. Unless you can afford to treat a new car like a disposable commodity of course or are getting a fleet car to order, it’s always best to have a known name and a local friendly face to talk to in the event of any delivery complications or future concerns. And that person becomes your loyalty link with a view to future aftersales and new car business in future, of course.

FOXY Steph

If you want a more personal car shopping advisory service, join the Club and we’ll hold your hand during the entire process…

I saw and enjoyed the feel good film Made in Dagenham recently and came away wondering if things have really changed all that much since 1968 for women and those working in the UK motor industry.

Yes of course factory conditions are more female friendly nowadays but women still haven’t earned wage parity and seem just as stressed, overburdened and short of time in 2010 whilst we juggle work, career, family and personal lives.

I don’t know all there is to know about Ford, Dagenham and working practices in the UK motor industry in the 60s, nor do I know how much of the film’s commentary is authentic but I am assuming that the important bits are true. Important bits like Ford US sending their oxymoronic industry relations guru to the UK who threatened the then (female) Secretary of Trade that if she didn’t sort out the female strike at Dagenham, Ford would take its assembly plant elsewhere. What a bully.

But thanks to a combination of factors including the determination of real life battleaxe union leader Rose (a million miles removed from the film portrayal of the quietly spoken and pretty Rita apparently), PM Harold Wilson being out of communications range (no mobile phones or internet communications then remember) and HM Government’s representative being feisty Barbara Castle, the female workers got a settlement at 92% of the male wage. 100% would have been too much for men to stomach at this stage, apparently, but the action did herald the 1970 Equal Pay Act and all that promised for the future.

Yet 40 years on, in 2010 women working full time in Britain still earn on average 16.4 per cent less per hour than men. How can this be justified?

I listened to the real female strike leaders in a recent Woman’s Hour programme. They explained that it wasn’t equal pay they started fighting for; what they wanted was equal recognition for their machinist skills alongside the men. Of course they soon learned that the only way to measure this was financially, hence the massive significance of this battle for women worldwide in future. Just think of it – in 1968 they were earning less than half the wage of men whilst doing the same job for the Ford Motor Company.

I find it interesting that the UK motor industry is still such a male dominated environment where more than 80% of the workforce is male. Is this the case for machinists nowadays I wonder? Could it be that this widely publicised strike deterred women from joining the motor industry and encouraged testosterone fuelled male union leaders to recruit in their own male likeness – both things could have contributed to the male dominated and distinctly un-female friendly image of the industry today.

It’ll be interesting to see whether Ford Motor Co reacts to the film to remind women how it is a female friendly business today. Like most manufacturers they seem to feel the need to treat men and women customers the same in franchised dealerships which is missing the point – men and women are different, with different needs and expectations.

I think Ford UK would do well to look at ways to satisfy these different gender needs. Time saving services (their Direct internet offering with female friendly extras perhaps?), Female Business Ambassadors, moneysaving and preferential deals in female friendly garages and franchised dealerships – these will all attract the female purse if packaged correctly and ahead of other brands.

Needless to say (sales plug coming…) FOXY can help because it’s a female brand meaning shrewd, canny and astute; exactly what women need to be to get a fair deal in the male dominated motor industry today.

And ‘female friendly’ has to be the future for leading businesses in the motor industry because women influence c80% of car and garage sales, because the industry has such a poor image in female minds, because women trust women in such a male dominated world and because female job applicants (that the industry needs many more of) want to work for a female friendly employer knowing there are many of the rest out there…

FOXY Steph

FOXY Choice subscribers sign the female friendly FOXY Promise to ‘never overcharge, patronise or sell women services they don’t need or want’. They are then introduced to members of FOXY Lady Drivers Club in bi-monthly Member Newsletters. Women wanting to work in the UK motor industry would do well to choose a FOXY Choice subscriber as evidence of their female friendly employer credentials.

It would be wrong to dismiss dealerships for female friendly garage services and truly foxy prices in Nuneaton.

The recent Which? garage survey confirmed that Motor Codes garages were on average about £2 cheaper than Bosch Car Service independent garages for the work Which? commissioned. As far as workmanship was concerned, Bosch garages did a bit better than Motor Codes subscribers (both picked up on c60% of faults) and both are operating to the OFT Code of Practice.

NB: Bosch garages have reached Stage Two of the OFT Code and can use the OFT logo whereas Motor Codes service and repair subscribers (88% dealerships) are still at Stage One and can’t use the logo.

So the common impression that independent garages are always much cheaper than dealerships ain’t necessarily so…

Certainly not when it comes to the latest car servicing garage offers charged by Listers Volkswagen – £119 for a minor car service and £229 for a major service. Plus, an MOT for £30 with nothing hidden.

It’s good to see open and transparent pricing in car dealerships. So many seem to doubt their competitiveness? Well done Listers.

Terms apply as you’d expect – these prices are for VWs aged 3 to 10 years with a 2.0 litre or smaller engine and include parts, labour, oil and VAT. Other vehicles will be quoted for as requested.

If you want to be sure of a female friendly garage welcome it’s Listers VW at Nuneaton that has signed the female friendly FOXY Promise to date. To book your VW in for its MOT or annual servicing visit just call the bookings line on 01789 403828 or email VW Listers Nuneaton via their FOXY Choice page.

And tell us how you get on afterwards – there’s a Garage Feedback link on FOXY Choice’s home page.

FOXY Steph

Yet another survey to tell us that many cars driven by women drivers aren’t as safe on our roads as they should be. Last week it was Kwik Fit telling us this and now it’s the Ford Motor Company, relayed to us by female friendly car dealership Hendy Ford in Southampton and environs.

Ford has found¹ that millions of male and female motorists (another massively extrapolated survey mind you) are taking unnecessary risks by scrimping on essential car maintenance in an attempt to reduce their overall motoring costs. Nearly one in five motorists interviewed had no breakdown cover and 15 per cent say they have skipped or postponed routine car servicing to save money.

This situation is worse among younger drivers including students living on a meagre grant. One in three 18 to 24 year old drivers are making do without roadside assistance, with drivers in London most likely (22 per cent) to take this risk.

Mike Weatherston, Group Marketing Manager at Hendy Ford, said: “Whilst trying to avoid the cost, many of these drivers could regret skipping basic maintenance and roadside cover.”

How true Mike. My concern is that this lack of regular maintenance and servicing could be the cause of an unnecessary accident which injures someone (what price economy then). Few motorists realise that if a car is seen to be unroadworthy, the insurer can withdraw cover as well.

I’d also add two further considerations to this important debate.

1 Many women drivers dread going to garages or dealerships because they don’t consider them to be female friendly places.

2 Many motorist, male and female alike, think that the industry MOT is a safety check for the year when it’s only a snapshot on the day.

Yes they should know these things but if they don’t because the industry doesn’t welcome them (as in 1) or explain this well enough (as in 2), whose fault is that?

The answer is that there is a massive communications gap and opportunity for the industry to get these messages across to the general public not just petrolheads, so that all motorists, including women drivers, have absolutely no doubt in their mind that

• regular car maintenance keeps them, their family, other motorists and potentially pedestrians safe
• annual car servicing doesn’t have to be expensive (depends on the mileage)
• female friendly garages are best (see FOXY Choice)
• members of FOXY Lady Drivers Club can claim free car fitness checks from participating female friendly garages and dealerships.

Surely it’s time for the industry to do something about all this, not just produce more me-too research, year in, year out?

One positive way forward would be for a leading insurer to offer cheap car insurance for women drivers (in this instance) who can prove they have maintained their car regularly by having it checked by a professional foxy approved and female friendly UK garage. I mention this because FOXY could organise this for them of course and our Car Fitness Checks are free. Cars would be safer, motorists would visit appointed garages more often and the best garages are likely to get her work and referrals.

FOXY Steph

Find out about other female friendly UK garages

Find out about motoring advice, a club helpdesk and special offers for foxy lady drivers

¹ = 2,245 UK adults, interviewed by YouGov for Ford Motor Company Limited, between 14-16 April 2010

Whilst Toyota is taking one day at a time to cope with major quality and image problems, Ford is quick to present its special Spring car discounts of up to £5,000 for new car sales including many sporty Zetec models – many of these offers are bound to attract women drivers and their families.

Surely this is Ford’s opportunity to move back into the Number One position – it’s a known brand, these are good deals and anyone selling a Toyota might be tempted to change brands as things stand…

The following prices are for new car orders confirmed by March 31, bought via a participating Ford dealer,  registered by June 30 and subject to taking out a Ford Options deal (which may be worth taking even if you don’t need the finance).  Other sales offers in 2010 still stand, subject to terms and conditions and similarly guaranteed to the end of June.

The underlying message from Ford is clear – tell us what you want and we’ll be flexible. More flexible in March because the scrappage scheme* has been extended until the 31st but still flexible until the end of June.

NEW FORD PRICES (guidelines at least)

*The scrappage discount of £2,000 also applies to these prices other than the Ka where the additional scrappage discount is reduced to £700.

If you are looking for a female friendly Ford car dealership in Bracknell, Farnborough, Guildford or Wokingham visit FOXY Choice subscriber Inchcape Ford.

If you are looking for a female friendly Ford car dealership in Southampton visit FOXY Choice subscriber Hendy group.

If you are looking for a female friendly Ford car dealership in Cambridge visit FOXY Choice subscriber Marshall Ford.

If you are looking for a female friendly Ford car dealership in Scottish Border towns Peebles and Galashiels visit David Harrison.

Hyundai’s stylish cars, low CO2, low costs and depreciation and 33,000 new customers as testimony to all this during the scrappage scheme (which is rapidly coming to an end by the way)…

But never fear, Hyundai is continuing their own kind of scrappage scheme, offering £2000 in part exchange against seven to ten year old cars in Britain.

And all because they know that foxy lady drivers do not want to have to haggle for a good price when we go out to buy a new car. It’s to do with trust and Hyundai is busy building this relationship.

And they haven’t forgotten their recent customers either.

All the 33,000 customers will get a Hyundai voucher to give to family or friends to save money on a new Hyundai and if they themselves want to upgrade to a 10 registration they can do this for £499 for an i10, £599 for an i20 or £749 for an i30.

Once more, this is what women like to do; assuming feedback is favourable, they are natural networkers and happy to share their good fortune with others.

Women drivers in the Bristol area especially can also look forward to a visit to female friendly Hyundai dealership Berkeley Vale; they have signed the FOXY Promise to ‘never overcharge, patronise or sell customers anything they don’t need or want’ so that is an added bonus for women drivers looking for reassurance when they go to buy a new car.

FOXY Steph

Find out more about a specialist motoring life assistance association for women drivers including information and advice about buying a new car in 2010…

I am delighted to see that Sir Michael Marshall of the Marshall Group of car dealerships has been recognised with a knighthood in the recent New Year Honours for his good works to local charity.

Marshall Motor Group is one of the big industry players in Europe and represents some 22 motor manufacturers through 48 retail outlets.

Cambridge car dealerships Marshall Ford, Marshall Nissan, Marshall Peugeot and Marshall Land Rover have all signed the female friendly FOXY Promise to ‘never overcharge, patronise or sell women services they do not need or want’.

This means we can help them promote theirselves as female friendly to local women drivers (online and offline) because they have met the FOXY Challenge in terms of quality workmanship, value, cleanliness and welcome standards.

As you would expect with a knight of the realm at the helm…

FOXY Steph

“What I know is that if you do work that you love, and the work fulfills you, the rest will come.” Oprah Winfrey

To be genuinely female friendly in my book any garage, dealer or dealership has to be one of the very best there are and be able to prove this to discerning foxy ladies in their area.

It’s all too easy to say ‘we are female friendly’ or ‘we are a good garage’.

What’s to stop bad and unfriendly garages, dealers and dealerships from using this as a marketing ruse? And some do, believe me without understanding what women want (which is not colouring a male product pink…).

Well I thought long and hard about this before I set up FOXY Lady Drivers Club and again before launching the female friendly FOXY Choice garage website last year because whoever sets out these standards must be totally independent and not influenced by an owner or sponsor that has a vested interest in spinning the marketing message in their direction. Which must be tempting.

You could say, for example, that Forte Oils has a vested interest in signing up any garage that will sell a lot of their oil and fill in gaps in their UK network. But they have a brand image to preserve so presumably they are weeding out any chancers as they go…

Similarly you could also say that the Motor Codes service and repair scheme, sponsored as it is by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders who represent the new car manufacturers, have a vested interest in promoting franchised dealerships over independent garages, which this scheme does in the ratio of some 80:20 still, despite knowing that dealerships carrying out garage services will charge motorists up to 30% more than they’d pay otherwise in a quality independent garage. But you could also say it was a brave attempt, they have tried (albeit long after the dealerships got their towels down first) and this ratio might be improving slightly by now…

But the real way to judge a quality or female friendly business is surely by giving the customer (in this context the female motorist) the information they need to make the right buying choice for them. I find that women drivers want to be reassured by ‘feeling’ the quality and customer service in advance, be this in terms of doing their homework online concerning business facilities, services, amenities, awards, values and other female satisfaction levels.

The only problem with testimonials, I find, is that they can so easily be written by anyone or those with a vested interest again, and to order. I know this happens because we follow up the many recommendations we get and very often the surnames are the same as the business owners so it isn’t rocket science to spot this!

The best way for the moment is surely through self-certification where the business promises quality performance which is much higher than just ‘work completed as agreed’, ‘invoices that match quoted prices’ or ‘we use a job checklist’ <yawn>.  These should all be minimum standards in the motor trade and if one thing has shocked me as an industry outsider it was the low standards in this area when our personal safety is at risk, should a mechanic be one screw short in his personal tool kit for example.

What FOXY does instead is to ask garage and dealership subscribers to sign the female friendly FOXY Promise© to ‘never knowingly overcharge, patronise or sell women services they don’t need or want’. They then get marketing materials from FOXY Choice to prove this.

We also share female feedback within the Club, act as a backstop if anyone needs our female ‘welly’ to get things sorted out and ultimately we are prepared to eject any ‘couldn’t care less’ or worse behaviour from our network of female friendly garages and dealerships across the UK.

The next stage will be to prove that a business is female friendly, much in the same way as the OFT Code of Practice (stage one ‘I promise’, stage two ‘I can prove’) and this is what the femalefriendlyapproved.com website will do in 2010 including consultancy advice, female friendly training, a managed and approved status scheme and ongoing monitoring of standards including mystery shopping and a home for stressed out and confused women drivers – all looking for independent and trustworthy advice and tips about where the best value and female friendly businesses are to be found.

FOXY Steph

Thank goodness for some good news.  Some new car manufacturers are adopting bullish tactics in this recession! This is such a great opportunity to grab the bull by the horns and beat the competition to the future!

Take Mazda Europe for example who expect to appoint more than 100 new dealers to its European network this year. That’s some motoring!

And when you know that cars like the MX-5 are so popular with women and see the emphasis they are placing on quality and recognising best practice, this is encouraging news for female friendly service levels for women drivers in future.

Take Mazda Romford, for example, where Amarjit Shokar has just won the Motor Trader Dealer Principal of the Year Award and is described as “the inspirational figurehead”.

Amarjit says that his philosophy is that the company “belongs to every individual that works at the business and that everyone benefits from its rewards.”

Jeremy Thomson, MD of Mazda UK used this award to show how [sic] ‘Mazda is now the franchise of choice for entrepreneurial dealers.’

Needless to say there are new models Mazda2 supermini and Mazda3 to tempt dealers too.

These are all signs of female friendly service levels and car dealerships like Mazda Romford deserve to be promoted by FOXY Choice and then introduced to members of FOXY Lady Drivers Club.

Well done Amarjit and Mazda UK.

FOXY Steph

“Find the good, it’s all around you. Find it, showcase it and you’ll start believing in it.” Jesse Owens, Gold Medal Olympic Track Athlete.

PS   I’d also like to mention Accountant Julie Oliver who is Group Finance Director at the Mitchell Group, Cheshire Oaks, Chester. This is a multi-franchised dealership selling Lexus, Mazda and Skoda cars. Once again quality will shine and the good new car dealerships deserve to be recognised as female friendly, head and shoulders above the rest in a very competitive market-place. Well done Julie.