Author Topic: Any Other Women Have This Problem? (Read 4945 times)

Ton13 · « **on:** 26 October 2011, 02:03:46 pm »

Ive been from garage to garage to get a simple problem sorted yet they all seem to talk to me like im a complete imp?!?!

they are like well have u done this... or that.... er yes hense the reason i am coming to you...

I know what is wrong i just dont know how to fix it....

and after 2 different garages and another one right now seeming to be taking me for a fool i seem to have given up any hope of getting my wheels balanced properly!

RANT OVER .........

bigralphie · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 October 2011, 04:09:40 pm »

My wife was a full time motor bike instructor and I instructed part time and almost every time people would talk straight pass Dee and come and ask me their questions, I took great delight in telling them I was just the oily rag and they needed to speak the engine driver :-)

BBROWN1664 · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 October 2011, 04:10:04 pm »

Easy, its becasue you are a woman, you obviously do not know the science behind anything mechanical

I had a car many years ago that had a bent drive shaft or something after I hit a kerb (didnt tell the lease company that though) which meant the only way I could stop the steering juddering at any real speed was by getting the wheels balanced on the car rather than the normal machine. The lease company hated this becasue it cost them a lot more.

easy · « **Reply #3 on:** 26 October 2011, 09:21:50 pm »

*ahem* Easy Rider 13 may be a woman, but I can assure you, I'm aaaaaall man.

born to be mild · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 October 2011, 09:43:53 pm »

They must be like, oh my god,its a girl? asking technical questions?and you must be like, seriously hacked off?

Farjo · « **Reply #5 on:** 27 October 2011, 12:07:31 am »

If it's any consolation, whenever I go into a flower shop to get a few bunches for my flat they are all over me pushing me towards the overpriced bouquets of past-their-best flowers, whilst leaving the women alone to make up their own mind.

Keep trying. Everywhere I've lived there's a florist that will let me get on with it so presumably there will also be a garage that accepts spannery ladies.

Robbie8666 · « **Reply #6 on:** 27 October 2011, 09:15:11 am »

I suppose it depends on where you live?!
I live in Portsmouth & my land lady has an R1 & a Vauxhall VRX turbo so is very mechaniclly minded, she has found a good Garage that knows not to treat her like a dumb blonde!
however when I see my girl friend in Cornwall she found that main dealers treated her like she was stupid but again found a good garage that knew what she meant when she went in and said the car's making a noise like "cough, splutter, fart, bang!"

jon · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 October 2011, 10:11:29 am »

have you tried changing the air, love?

bigralphie · « **Reply #8 on:** 27 October 2011, 01:10:29 pm »

it needs the 710 topping up lol

Ton13 · « **Reply #9 on:** 27 October 2011, 05:54:55 pm »

ha thank you all for your input here...
i have to admit im not amazing with things but once ive been taught something i very rarely forget it. i just have theory that if i do work on a wheel/tyre etc and it fails its my fault.... if a garage does it and it goes wrong, i have the satifaction after to go hit them with the part that has come off!

locksmith · « **Reply #10 on:** 27 October 2011, 06:03:32 pm »

and she never asked what 710 is?

Tori · « **Reply #11 on:** 28 October 2011, 01:44:10 pm »

You should read my blog! I went to a bike shop for some parts a couple of years back with a male friend. I asked the sales guy about a hayabusa headlight and he looked straight through me and spoke to my friend! How rude! Me being the shy and retiring type, I proceeded to tell him how rude he was and told him I probably knew more about the part I was after than he did! Very, very rude. People should not assume like that, and when they do, they need to be put right!

ernst · « **Reply #12 on:** 29 October 2011, 09:45:43 pm »

hi easy rider 13,i used to sell cars saxo,s 106,s aimed at young people,and having young sons of my own i know not everyone has a mechanical outlook,so i used to sell them a car and give them a course on how to change wheels and check oil ect ect,and believe it or not those who understood the least were the boys,we all have something we are good at,i am good with my hands,others are good in the head (brainy)and it gets me so anoyed when i read things like your post that some think they are above anyone male or female,and talk to you like you are an idiot,just think of it like this they think you are stupid ,why because its them who are stupid ,because there outlook is narrow to say the least,next time you need your wheels balancing just tell them to do the job they are paid for,ok rant over,but i am sure you know were i am coming from,keep it shiny side up,cheers.

ps great chioce of bike i have a 1999 600 fazer good machine,

Just Anne · « **Reply #13 on:** 30 October 2011, 07:08:11 pm »

I find that allowing them to drivel on trying to convince you that it's something altogether much more expensive then speaking softly and gently, in the most ladylike way, about the exact problem in a technically accurate way renders them speachless. At that point ask them quietly if they'd reconsider what they think may be required and how much it would be reasonable to charge. In my experience this does the trick. Unlike women who skwark and flap and wonder why they're not taken seriously. Then I go home and skwark and flap to myself when no one is looking

Anne

helen · « **Reply #14 on:** 30 October 2011, 09:34:26 pm »

I'm the world's least mechanically minded person

But I always try to find out what needs to be done to the bike and roughly how much it should cost before I go talking to the garage.

Can't remember ever having a really frustrating time getting a garage to fix something on the bike. Usually bike garages are helpful. Now car garages..... treat me like a complete imbecile!!!!

I've given up taking the car in to garages unless they're run by friends.

Ton13 · « **Reply #15 on:** 30 October 2011, 10:34:00 pm »

having a father like mine i have always had no choice but to know about things as he usually forces me to watch him do something until i never forget.

Car wise im sorted as the fatehr in law is a mobile mechanic so i just cook him tea and buy him a few cans of lager as payment.....

my bike on the other hand, well, i have a LOT of bike friends who all say yeah i'll do it, i can do this and that,... then they come round my house complaining that "the break isnt working quite right" or "it keeps clinking and i dont know why?" <<<< all men may i add!

As much as i love them all i like to know whats wrong, take it to a garage, watch them repair it and make sure i get a receipt for it..... if something goes on my car then i have wheels to keep me stable, if its on the bike then as you know im likely to be killed...!

i have given up with the wheel for the time being as i am waiting to service the thing and want to change a lot of parts so that they are nice and shiney new.... i cleaned a bolt the other day and found out that most in my bike are blue?!?! i thought they were all black.... thats just dirt from the previous owner!

ALSO !

can someone also tell me why a lot of garages will only deal with LOOSE WHEELS?!

cheers!

Captain Haddock · « **Reply #16 on:** 31 October 2011, 07:34:31 am »

Quote from: Easy Rider 13 on 30 October 2011, 10:34:00 pm

ALSO !

can someone also tell me why a lot of garages will only deal with LOOSE WHEELS?!

cheers!

They don't know how to re-fit them

There may be an insurance issue at some car based garages about working on bikes.

Janet · « **Reply #17 on:** 31 October 2011, 07:37:27 am »

It's a problem I'm very familiar with. My dad was a mechanical engineer and I'm far more technically minded than my husband (not to say that he's lacking there), but I've seen it time and time again. Back in 1985 I actually gave up biking for a while as my bikes always seemed to be unreliable (mostly because service departments didn't take me seriously, so problems never got resolved on the first visit). When I came back to biking in early 1987 I bought an MZ ETZ250 from a dealer who would routinely call me "love" but in such a way that I didn't mind. He always took me seriously when I said I had problems with the bike and was also very good about trying to find ways to make the bikes he sold easier for women to manage (option of smaller back wheel, etc). I learnt a bit more about working on bikes while I had the MZ, and found that most things could be fixed on the roadside with a bit of know-how and confidence. My confidence grew to the extent that the MZ was the first bike I took touring overseas.

Since the MZ I've not had any problems with dealers. I've chosen them as carefully as the bike and will walk out and look elsewhere if I don't like their attitude. To some extent I think dealers have moved on a bit since 1982 when I started biking. But I also found it to be a bit of a chicken and egg situation. If you lack confidence and come over that way they assume you're a dumb blonde, if you exhude confidence they usually don't (there are exceptions in both directions). But, if you've been badly treated by a dealer a few times it can destroy your confidence and set you up for more mistreatment in the future.

Back in 1998 I got an R1. In fact I think it possible that I was the first woman in the world to own one. My husband had a Bandit 1200 at the time. Being the lovely husband that he is, he bought me a proper R1 jacket to go with the bike. However, he was then set up for disappointment, as every time I walked into somewhere and the jacket was noticed some guy would turn to him and ask him about his R1, and he'd have to say "why don't you ask her - she's wearing the jacket".

Slaninar · « **Reply #18 on:** 01 November 2011, 05:39:59 pm »


Why Mechanics Love Women

born to be mild · « **Reply #19 on:** 02 November 2011, 08:22:05 pm »

Car wise im sorted as the fatehr in law is a mobile mechanic so i just cook him tea and buy him a few cans of lager as payment.....

Nice piece of irony there, Easyrider 13.

1967fazer · « **Reply #20 on:** 02 November 2011, 09:30:03 pm »

ALSO !

can someone also tell me why a lot of garages will only deal with LOOSE WHEELS?!

Cos' they're lazy buggers!

Ton13 · « **Reply #21 on:** 04 November 2011, 12:34:57 pm »

Quote from: born to be mild on 02 November 2011, 08:22:05 pm

Car wise im sorted as the fatehr in law is a mobile mechanic so i just cook him tea and buy him a few cans of lager as payment.....

Nice piece of irony there, Easyrider 13.

Haha, yeah i know but Car wise its brand new with all computers etc, you only have to look at it wrong and it says "ooooooh computer faillllled"

plus i dont wana wreck the warranty!