All-female auto repair shop is the first of its kind in America, and lets clients get manis and pedis while waiting for their cars.
A little over a decade ago, Patrice Banks was a well-paid engineer working for DuPont, but decided to change her career path and enrolled in a mechanic’s night school, where the 30-year-old was the only girl in a class full of 18 and 19-year-old boys. When she had finished the course, and after a stint working in various garages for free to gain more experience, she opened the Girls Auto Clinic - and has been dedicated to redefining the automotive world since it launched.
The all-female auto mechanic shop, which was the first to open in the US, has since been named the top trusted brand in automotive, reports International Business Times. The shop is based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, where it boasts car care memberships, car care education classes and hands-on mechanic workshops for women.
Before she launched Girls Auto Clinic, Banks knew that she wanted women to enjoy bringing their cars to the garage. "Women, it's like a chore, we hate going in to get our oil changed - it's always a chore, it's always a burden," she said.
The founder revealed that GAC also offers its customers a free manicure or pedicure, snacks and beverages, free Wi-Fi, television, and hundreds of books while they wait for their car to be fixed.
This is breeding a community of “Shecanics” that are not only learning for themselves about the cars they rely on, but quite possibly changing the face of the industry. Indeed, during the dark days of the Covid pandemic, the hands-on industry saw a massive increase in women emerging into auto repair shops, jumping from 4,000 female employees to 19,000 between 2020 and 2022.
The latest statistics, published last year, show that women represent less than 12 percent of auto repair shop employees. Maybe it's because the government-enforced business closures and curfews kindled a desire for greater self-reliance, or maybe it's because of women like Patrice.