Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Shop Talk Her Way is where former shop owner and coach JeanAnn Saint Grace opens up the books on what it really takes to run a profitable, sustainable, and well-balanced auto repair business.
With decades of experience in bookkeeping, operations, and leadership, JeanAnn brings an honest, no-fluff approach to shop management — all from a woman’s perspective. From financial systems and staffing to communication and culture, she shares insights that help shop owners (and especially women in the industry) take control, build better businesses, and enjoy the ride.
Whether you’re turning wrenches, balancing the books, or scaling to your next location, you’ll find encouragement, strategy, and a healthy dose of “you’ve got this” in every episode.
Shop Talk Her Way is an AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching production — helping shops thrive, her way.
Thanks to WorldPac and the WorldPac Training Institute (WTI) for sponsoring Shop Talk Her Way. Visit worldpac.com for the latest in auto parts distribution and wtitraining.com to explore training programs that can take your career to the next level.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:00:00]:
There are husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, women who have just chosen this industry because they've fallen in love with it and they really want to see it do well or they want to do well within it. I think there's room for all of that. This is Shop Talk Her Way with JeanAnn SaintGrace. I have had a lot of people ask me what it's like to be a woman in the automotive repair industry. Mostly because it is male dominated, has been for a long time. But I think there's some changes coming and I'd like to share my experiences. So stick with me for this episode of Shop Talk Her Way.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:00:41]:
This is JeanAnn SaintGrace and I'm going to talk a little bit about not just my experiences, but experiences that I've seen people that I know. But it's important to encourage people to, to open their eyes to kind of what it is like to be a woman in this industry. And especially as we want to welcome and include more women into the industry, I think it's important that we see where we've been, where we are and where we might be going. So thank you for joining me for this episode. It's kind of funny because I honestly never thought of myself as being anything but a person in the automotive industry. I did, didn't, I didn't really think that I was doing anything out of the ordinary. You know, I grew up in auto, in self employment, so my parents ran their business together. My dad had like, you know, most of the operations and then my mom did the bookkeeping, that kind of stuff.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:01:47]:
And that was kind of the model that I grew up in. And I knew a lot of husband and wife businesses so those were things that I was used to. I was always kind of idealistic. So I never really took anything, you know, too personally. I was never one of those, you know, like soft shelled people. A lot of stuff just kind of bounced off. You know, I grew up around truck drivers. Like you can't, you can't be a kid growing up around truck drivers and not understand that, you know, the, the, they, they, you know, there are, you know, there's guy talk, there's past guy talk, there's, you know, things that we would talk about.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:02:36]:
Right. You know, now is like, you know, probably misogynistic talk, you know. And I there, I grew up in the 70s, like those were things that were not talked about. You know, I always thought it was cool when I ran across a, a woman in business. You know, agriculture was very much a male, male dominant business as well, but there were some really standout women that were becoming leaders as I was getting into the industry, going to school and being influenced by that. You know, I was, I was raised in and around strong women, so it never really dawned on me that I was at any kind of a disadvantage. And, and I, I just never felt that way. The challenges of being a woman in a male dominated industry are sometimes you're going to run up against the, the guy who wants to what I call little lady you.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:03:44]:
And it's like, oh, come on now, little lady, you can't possibly know this, that or the other thing because you're not a dude. There can sometimes be a perception of weakness, especially if you're like me. And when you get really mad, you start to cry. And, and not for, you know, not for sympathy, but just because my emotions get so big sometimes that, that I have to excuse myself and go cry somewhere and wipe the mascara off my face and go back in. But the, the ones that really surprised me the most honestly were the women who treated me as less than when I was there to serve them. And it happened more than once. And there's a few standout experiences when, you know, I had, I had multiple, you know, men and women walk in the shop and be like, I want to talk to a technician. As an advisor and as a shop owner, you know, our techs are there to work, our techs are not there to be our public face.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:04:54]:
Some of them are really good at it. And there were times if it was important for me to have the tech come and explain things, I would. But in general, what those people were asking were, I need some advice about my vehicle. And as a service advisor, I was the one to give it to them. In any shop, we don't want to be diagnosing things over the counter. And technically, technicians are really good at sharing their information and bless their hearts for that, but sometimes we need to charge for that. And that doesn't always happen in a conversation. And, you know, the techs also are not, you know, they don't know what the schedule looks like, they don't know when we can get the vehicle in.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:05:34]:
So as an advisor, building that relationship with the client was really, really important. And I did have a reputation in our small town that I was the one who wouldn't let somebody talk to a tech. And you know, they probably meant that as an insult, but I was like, you know what? I pay my tax to work. If they're talking on the phone, they're not, they're not Producing and if they're flat rate texts or if they're, you know, base plus commission, they're not making any money doing that. And so we can't expect them to be that part of the business if they don't have a reward for it. So I was protecting my techs, I was protecting my shop. And it just wasn't appropriate a lot of the time for people to be asking technicians any kinds of questions over the counter. So, yeah, that earned me the, you know, which, that starts with a B.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:06:30]:
And hey, you know what? I don't care. I didn't care then and I really don't care now. You know, you, you learn how to let those, those things go because a lot of times the source. But it was surprising when I was confronted by a woman who wanted to talk to a man and, and would really get mad when I wouldn't let that happen. And it's not like I was, you know, authoritarian and just like, oh, no, you can't. You know, there were times when it was appropriate, but there are times when it wasn't. I had one on a regular basis, would walk in and ask me a question and then want to talk to my husband. And it took me a few times to figure out his game, but he would ask me the question.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:07:25]:
And then my husband would come in the, into the office and he would ask him the same question and then be like, oh, that's what she said. And it got to be really annoying because my husband trained me. Like everything I learned about cars, I learned from him. So of course the words that came out of my mouth were his knowledge, just in my voice. And it got to be after, you know, three or four times when I figured out the game because it's really what it was. The guy never wanted to spend any money. He was just in there busting my chops more than anything else. And I just start, I'd, I'd like walk out in the shop and be like, oh, no, peace on the phone.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:08:05]:
Can't come in. Sorry, Bye bye. But it was, that was insulting. That was really insulting and just a waste of our time, right? Like we had bigger, way bigger fish to fry than playing stupid games. And there were also those times where, and these are probably the most rewarding for me when people have underestimated me and, and then given me a chance and then figured out that I knew what I was talking about. And it happened more than once in the shop, right? That, that they would come in skeptical and then be my biggest fans and telling their Their friends and family, hey, you got to go see that girl at. At Colony. She's.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:08:53]:
She knows what she's talking about. And, you know, I had. I think the best ones are the older men, you know, that were old enough to be my dad and granddad that would come in and. And rib nature way and put me through my paces. But I had one gentleman who would come in and he. He was always. He didn't know a lot about cars, but he was a real sweetheart. And he, He, Every time he walked out, he's like, don't forget to.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:09:20]:
To rotate my muffler bearings. So that was our big joke. That was really sweet that he, that was his, like, line every time was, don't forget to rotate those muffler bearings. So, you know, building rapport, cracking those, those barriers, those were always my favorites and getting them to understand that I knew what I was talking about and that if I needed backup, I had it. More recently when I stepped into the coaching realm and, and when I was doing, which I still do, but when I was doing this more as my main line of coaching individuals, I really wanted to coach men because a lot of men, you know, don't seek help. They don't go out and actively look for a coach or somebody where they can unload their stresses in a setting where they can just talk and maybe get some advice and, and learn how to grow as a person, improve their leadership skills. There's not a lot of avenue for that, you know, in the, in the private sector, but I always wanted that. And so when I was offered an automotive coaching job, it really ticked that box that I would get to work with men and help them not only make their businesses better, but also grow their leadership skills, grow as people learn about themselves and other people and build better culture in their shops.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:10:52]:
That was really, really, really rewarding. And really, I felt like huge opportunity. And there were. There were some gentlemen who put me through my pieces. They. They didn't make it easy for me. And I'm not asking for it to be easy, but I'm asking for an opportunity, right? There are those people who are just like, ah, she's a woman, she's a girl. She doesn't know what she's talking about.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:11:21]:
And once they got past that, then I really earned their respect. And there was more than one and more than one who wasn't afraid to tell me. You know, when we first started together, I was really skeptical, and I didn't know how this was going to go. But you've really proven Yourself to me and given me good advice. And, you know, the reward was that a lot of times we were seeing them have their best weeks, their best months, their best years. And, you know, you. You may or may not be able to tell my coaching style is very much, you know, this is what I see for you. What do you think about that? How can we implement this? It's shop talk her way, but it really has always been your shop, your way.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:12:08]:
I'm not the one in the shop, day in and day out having to implement these things. And it's important for me to remember that it is their business. And it's important for every coach to remember that, that it's not as much as you may care, as much as want to see them grow, until they're ready to. To adopt whatever you're asking them to do, they have to figure it out. So, you know, having maybe a softer style of coaching where I put out ideas and we talk about them and they maybe choose to adopt them, I kind of have to credit my husband with that, my first husband, because he, he told me at some point, he's like, you got to plant the seeds. And I think he was talking about himself with that because I don't exactly remember the conversation, but he's like, you've got to plant the seeds. You've got to let those seeds, you know, be planted, be watered, have that conversation a couple times and then let them grow. And he, he was definitely talking about himself and things that we needed to do because, you know, telling him what to do was probably not going to happen.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:13:20]:
But if I planted the seeds, then they might come to fruition. And so a lot of that is my coaching style. I see this, I see that. What do you think? How do you think we can implement that? Do you need some help? Do you need some ideas? But when I was leaving my first coaching job and having to say goodbye to all of these wonderful people that I had been working with, who then told me, you know, we were skeptical, we didn't really know how this was going to go and, you know, whether I'd proven myself to them or I'd help them or been one of the best coaches they'd ever worked with, and I don't say that from ego. I'm saying that from, you know, I was able to overcome their skepticism and get to that point where I had become a trusted advisor to them, that that meant the world to me. I, honestly, I. I didn't. I didn't ever register that.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:14:11]:
I, I never doubted myself I never doubted my expertise. I, and I didn't realize that they thought I was a lot younger than I am, that I might not have the business chops, that they might have, you know, gotten hung with somebody who had the title of coach but didn't have the expertise to back it up. So, you know, and then you also get the ones that are just never gonna let you be. They're, they're never going to trust you, they're never going to accept you, they're never going to do that. And in that case, they need a different coach, and that's okay. And for other women in the industry, you know, like I said, I've seen everything from the, the husband and wife team, the father daughter team, the, the female owned shop. There's, there's a number of those out there, women who get into the industry for what, for through whatever path, whether they started off in parts and moved into service or moved into operations, because they were good at what they did and they were able to walk both sides. You know, I hate to say this to you and to, to the audience, but I want you, I want to be clear.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:15:36]:
You know, sometimes working with men, they're not always the softest creatures, right? And sometimes you have to separate their language from their message. And, and women too, like there are times when you might lose your, your stuff, you might lose your temper, you might say something the wrong way. But, you know, and it was funny, when I started with the big coaching company, their HR person was like, well, you know, sometimes it can get a little rough. And I, I didn't really know what she meant to say, but she was talking about the language, you know, the, the, the way people talk. And you know, I've had, I've had clients call me honey or sweetheart or, you know, those, those terms of endearment. But, but none of my clients have ever done that in a derisive way or in a inappropriate manner. It was always came from a place of genuine respect and, and affection. And you know, a lot of people can get topsy turvy with that, think they're being harassed or talked down to.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:16:50]:
And, and it is all in the delivery because like I said, I've had that little lady treatment. Look here, little lad. And I've had that experience being a customer, right? I've, I've walked into two auto shops on my own. I've walked into dealerships, I've walked into parts houses, and I've been given that little lady treatment and it doesn't feel good, right? And it doesn't feel good from either side of the counter. But as things are opening up now, and my point in talking about the language and the environment, you know, this. This stuff isn't for the faint of heart. And does that mean that we shouldn't try to elevate? Maybe. But also, we also need to meet people where they're at.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:17:37]:
And does it sometimes mean that a woman has to prove herself a little bit harder than Amanda's in the same position? Sometimes it does. Is that right or wrong? I'm not here to be the judge of that. I'm telling you it can be done. My failures in my shop for myself were when I lost my temper and didn't. Didn't go to my team calmly at that time. I had not learned to let my emotions kind of filter off and then go and have the discussion. So sometimes I think my message was lost in the delivery, and I regret that. There are several times that I remember that I did that, and I really do regret it.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:18:24]:
That was a failure in my leadership, and I try now to do a lot better. Anytime I'm dealing with someone, you know, if I'm still in my emotions, I stop, gather myself up, let all the emotions pass, and then have the conversation. Because like I said, the, the bitch word gets thrown around pretty liberally sometimes, and it. That that message gets lost in the emotion. I think there's a lot of opening up. There are a lot more women coming into the trades. I think there's room for it. You know, I think with tooling and detail orientation and problem solving skills, I think, you know, women can work shoulder to shoulder with men in the industry.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:19:15]:
I think they, they're, you know, if they've put the time in and, and they're who they are, then. And they bring the quality and the integrity and the authenticity to it, then, then awesome. I know there are a lot of really wonderful female service advisors and service managers. And I think sometimes, you know, women can bring a level of empathy. Men can too. Like everybody. There's no absolutes. Like, everybody can, can do the things that they do well.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:19:48]:
And I think it's more propensity to do that thing than what your gender is. But, you know, it is, it can be comforting sometimes to have a woman on the other side of the counter, especially, you know, if they've, they've been abused in other places. Like sometimes having a different, a different frame of reference or a different somebody of a different gender behind the counter, being the person to help them can be, can be good. But no matter who you are or what gender you are, you have to bring quality. You don't receive respect just because you're there. You need to earn respect. You need to earn people's trust. You need to show your skill and ability.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:20:39]:
And you can't hide weakness behind whatever makes you different behind your gender. And I think it's important that we own, own our space and move through it. You know, for those of us who are our daughters, who are number one sons, you know, a lot of time those less lessons were hard won. A lot of times there was a lot of pressure and we moved through it, right? And we've become who we are because of our experience. And now we learn to make sure that we're doing those things again through integrity and authenticity and not from trauma, and make sure that we're, we're doing better than we were trained. You know, I often joke that I was raised in the Genghis Khan school of leadership, which was do what I say and then keep doing what I say. But that was, that was the top down leadership model that, that our parents and our, our grandparents were raised in. And they, they just followed that along.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:21:44]:
And in our generation, learning to move through that and evolve our leadership skills are equally important for both men and women. So I am, I have, like I said, honestly, never really considered myself different except I knew that there were a few extra challenges sometimes. One of them was my husband was, you know, six foot one, I'm five foot seven. And so he never thought anything about putting things up on high, on high shelves. And I used to kind of complain and be like, dude, you're like half a foot taller than me and you've got better reach. Like, I can't reach that. But here I am doing inventory and pulling stuff off shelves with a, a pry bar because I can't reach it. And maybe that's a, that's a height thing, not even a sexist thing, but he just never could hear me.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:22:34]:
One thing that I think we do need to be aware of, and I think this is important, is that anytime, whether we're men or women, and we feel intimidated, threatened by a customer or, or by somebody on the team or by a prospective employee, I, we need to be aware of that. We need to make sure that if, and this happened to me, where there were times when I was getting a bad vibe, for lack of a better term, off of a customer, and I would tell my husband, I don't want to get in a car with that person, or I don't want to be alone with that person in the office, even with the counter between us, like, I need backup. And I would go out and tug on his sleeve and be like, could you come in and do something in the office while I help this person? Because I don't want to be alone with them. Whether. And it was legit. It wasn't just because I didn't like them. It was because I felt there was some kind of a threat coming towards me. And I think if you have female employees, they need to know that there's people in the shop that they can count on for backup if they're feeling uncomfortable.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:23:54]:
And if you are hiring and you are bringing in a prospective team member, I think important that you have both a man and a woman there doing the interview to make sure, because men will often not register threats that women register. And, you know, we really can't afford to have that kind of questionable energy in our shops, especially if there's somebody that's going to be going on the counter. But even if they're on the tech team, right, if they're raising what I call my antenna, you know, they don't have a place in the shop. And a perceived threat that never comes to fruition is better than a threat that's ignored and. And does come to fruition. And I'm not being judgmental, I'm not typecasting anyone. But. But we've all been there, right? We've already always.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:24:44]:
We've all been in situations where maybe we didn't. We ignored that, that little voice or that. That feeling of lack of safety and something bad happened. So, you know, for the most part, as women, we need to show up. We need to be ourselves. We need to. We need to be willing to meet our co workers where they're at, and, and as long as they're being respectful, you know, give them a little leeway. Because sometimes it gets a little rough.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:25:22]:
Like, we've all, all been around men who are, you know, rough with each other, either verbally or physically, and it feels like, wow, that was a lot. But, you know, sometimes, you know, there's a level of play in that. And, you know, there can be times when maybe it gets out of hand, but for a lot of the time, we need to give the benefit of the doubt. But I encourage women to come into this industry. I really do. There's a lot of room and we need, we need that, I think, helping to shift the leadership paradigms and to bring different levels of customer service into it, to bring their gifts and talents for problem solving and pattern recognition and level of detail that a lot of women are really good at. And they can excel in the shop environment because they can become experts in their field. And especially given the room and the chance, I think that's awesome.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:26:31]:
And there are some really, really strong women leaders in this industry and I really love seeing them excel in hearing their stories. So if you know any strong person in the industry, but especially a strong woman who'd like to come on and be a guest and tell their story and we can celebrate their successes, that would be wonderful. But said anybody's welcome. We're all here to celebrate everybody's experience and celebrate their wins and hear about their challenges so that we can all do better. But you know, there are, there are husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, women who have just chosen this industry because they've fallen in love with it and they really want to see it do well or they want to do well within it. I think there's room for all of that. And, and I've been blessed, I've been super blessed by this industry and as always, I want to give back, but I have been asked to tell some stories in the past and I thought this was a good time to do it. But you know, there, there's room for everyone and as always, my segue is to move into.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:27:41]:
Thank you to World Pack and World Pack Training Institute for being our loyal partner in not only in the industry, but in supporting the podcast. Both WorldPAC and WorldPAC Training Institute have been excellent partners to me, both in when I was in the shop and now that I'm here in the podcasting and coaching world. So however, you can support them by being their customer on the part side, getting into the training and seeing how that can help your. Your team team. There are both wonderful male and female trainers at World Pack Training Institute and they're there to help you get your shop your way just as I am. So I want to thank you for listening. I know this is kind of a ramble, but I think exploring this topic a little deeper, especially getting some guests, will be a lot of fun and celebrating everyone's success out there is great, but especially hearing the, the female voices in our industry, I think will be a fun project. So as always, thank you again for listening and watching shop talk her way.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:28:54]:
Please, you know, like subscribe and share the show. If you have any questions about coaching. If you have a challenge in your shop and you need some help and just want to ask a quick question, the first call is always on me. And I really love to help shop owners, male or female, out there, learn and do better in their businesses and have their shop their way. So thank you again. Go out there and love your team till it's weird and we'll see you next episode. Thank you so much.