Why women don't like dealers

Most Irish women don't enjoy buying cars because of the patronising and forceful approach of the mostly male sales staff, a survey has found.

Women were highly cynical about car dealerships, feeling in many cases the need to bring a male colleague to avoid being confronted by endless jargon.

Other major complaints by women about car dealers were the frequent lack of a courtesy car, rudeness, and poor information about finance packages. These complaints applied equally to new and second-hand dealerships.

Pearse Flannery, chief executive of Pragmatica Business Solutions, the independent consultancy that carried out the research, said between 90 to 95 per cent of women felt car dealers were patronising to women, leaving them feeling cynical in their dealings with the sector.

The survey, which has not yet been released, has been forwarded to 10 large car dealerships, some of which have acknowledged the need for change.

"There are not enough female staff in showrooms," says Flannery. "To an extent, there may be an issue in terms of young women having an early interest in cars and using that as a starting point for a career. But they are hugely capable in all other sales sectors and motor sales is selling a mode of transport."

Volvo recently displayed a concept car designed by an all-female design team for the female driver. It followed research that showed female customers have increased by 50 per cent in the past five years.

The Irish survey found female motorists wanted clean, modern showrooms, refreshments and prompt after-sales service. They also used websites to help their research and were keen to build a working relationship with their car dealer.

Women also have different priorities when evaluating a car. While men get excited by a car's brake horse power and top speed, women are more concerned with safety and visual appeal. "Women don't want, and don't like, the hard sell," says Flannery. "This is the key difference. They want to build a relationship with their motor dealer. Effective female friendly customer service is crucial."

Pragmatica surveyed more than 2,000 women nationwide. It found that more women were happy with services on breakdowns and repairs than with the sales service.

In an unrelated study, Britain's Trading Standards Institute (TSI) yesterday called on garages to improve their service after research showed three quarters of garages service cars incorrectly.

TSI officials sent 88 cars for service and only 21 were repaired properly. More than a third of the vehicles had major faults, such as brake failure, which were not repaired.

The TSI called on British garages to improve because consumers were suffering by paying for work which was not done properly and vehicles which were left unsafe.

The issue of women customers of the car industry has also reached the boardrooms of some of the world's largest car-makers. General Motors, acting on research that showed women bought 35 per cent of its vehicles and influence 80 per cent of purchases, recently formed the GM Center of Expertise on Diversity.

This arm of the motoring giant aims to deliver products and services that appeal to women and minorities. It also established GM's Women's Retail Initiative, which aims to attract more women sales staff into car dealerships.

GM expects female buyers in Europe to increase by up to 40 per cent over the next 15 years.