We here at Shige's Premier Auto Service are always eagerly trying to engage and stay up to date with all the new information out there on the web. The Automobile Industry is constantly evolving due to so many things such as consumer tastes and expectations, safety standards, and more efficient low emission vehicles. And, really, this is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the ever changing industry. Then I stumbled upon an article entitled, Are Women Charged More For Car Repairs? 6 Tips To Help Women At The Mechanic by Carla J. Behr, on Axle Addict. This article caught my eye right away because it was just updated again on January 3rd, 2017. We have all kinds of amazing technological advances throughout our society, but this reminded me yet again that gender inequality sadly still prevails throughout all areas of our lives.
The Author, Carla Behr, begins by sharing her story about her struggles to find a reputable Auto Technician to repair her daughter's old Ford. There is Behr background story beside the statistic that states, "9 out of 10 women believe they are treated differently at auto-repair shops than men are." Nine out of 10?! This survey was a national study performed by the Car Care Council, an association who's endeavor it is to encourage consumer's to educate themselves about their vehicles. Behr expounds further on the subject by giving another example that involves a Nightline Prime television series entitled, "The Lookout". Nightline Prime went undercover to local mechanics in the area, as well as to chain establishments. They found that the majority of the time women would be lied to about unnecessary work that needed to be done on their vehicle and that most times they paid excessive prices for this unnecessary work. Worst of all, it was found subsequently that the work they had paid for, in excessive amounts, was not even completed. Simply outrageous!!!
We at Shige's Premier Auto Service would like to address this issue directly because it is to the utmost importance that everyone in our family of long time customer's or the many future customer's that will someday visit our shop know how we feel on this particular subject matter. Gender is insignificant when we perform inspections or when we are making recommendations for services or repairs on your vehicles. We base everything we do off of the safety of the vehicle, as well as, reliability. Safety is extremely important to us because it means your life, the lives of everyone's family and friends on the road. This is always critical when it comes to servicing vehicles. And, we will recommend that if you have major safety issues with your vehicle and cannot afford to fix the issues, that you ground the vehicle until you can afford to fix it or can purchase a new one. Gender notwithstanding, insufficient funds is never an excuse when you put yourself and the lives of others at risk. That being said, all of us here at Shige's Premier Auto want all of our customer's to feel welcomed, no matter what gender or cultural background! Everyone will receive the same level of service and we guarantee this.
Behr does go on to admit that not all Mechanics are out to deplete everyone's funds and claims that she is only writing to educate and help women be prepared for the day they need to negotiate a fair deal. And, that is a noble endeavor and it should be commended. However, perhaps Behr could have began with the forewarning. Most will only see the title or take the time to read through a portion of the article and in some cases it will only serve to perpetuate negative beliefs regarding the automotive repair industry. Nevertheless, Shige's Premier Auto Service is working tirelessly to extinguish these negative beliefs that surround our industry! We want you to know that we are a progressive auto repair shop. We are constantly striving to evolve and take our industry to all new superior levels!! We will do all that we can to keep your vehicles safe and reliable at an affordable price, so that they may stay on the road for as long as possible!! It doesn't always have to be about gender or money. Lets make it about safety, community and teamwork. We want everyone to LIVE THE LEGACY!!!
Questions, concerns or comments? Please feel free to message us and let us know what you think! We would love to hear from you!