An all-female run auto mechanic shop near Philadelphia is changing the game for women working in the industry and those who need its services, while also making it a one-stop shop for car and beauty needs.
Owner Patrice Banks opened Girls Auto Clinic Repair Center in 2017, which is a full service auto shop operated exclusively by women, with a lounge called Clutch Beauty Bar inside.
It's mission is to educate and empower women through their cars.
'We're not going to change the way women feel about their cars, or change the relationship they have with their cars until we see more representation of women in [the industry],' Banks told Rise Up.
'This is not just for the guys. It's not rocket science.'
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Girls Auto Clinic is an all-female run auto mechanic shop owned by Patrice Banks (right) near Philadelphia where ladies can feel comfortable, free of intimidation, and can get their hair and nails done
It might not be rocket science, but Banks just so happens to be an engineer. She quit her six-figure job in that field to make Girls Auto Clinic a reality.
In addition to providing a space for women who may have felt intimate in male-dominated car shops, it's also not a bad place to hang out.
While ladies have their automotive services taken care of, they can multi-task with a manicure and pedicure or a blowout while they way, thanks to the addition of Clutch Beauty Bar.
'This is just kind of like a club house for women,' Banks said. 'Just come and hang out. We want women to feel like they can be themselves and just relax.'
While ladies have their automotive services taken care of, they can multi-task with a manicure and pedicure or a blowout while they way, thanks to the addition of Clutch Beauty Bar. The nail bar is shown
'This is just kind of like a club house for women,' Banks said. 'Just come and hang out. We want women to feel like they can be themselves and just relax.' The hair services section of Clutch Beauty Bar is shown
Banks said the idea for GAC started while she was still working in engineering at a chemical company, and was looking to start a blog on the side.
The focus of her blog, called 'Banks On It,' was going to be her take on things that women typically needed to pay men to do.
While surveying ladies for topics she could write about, Banks said she overwhelmingly got 'my car' as a result.
Banks said women told her, with regard to their automotive struggles, 'I feel taken advantage of,' and 'I don't know what to do.'
Her next step was to google 'female mechanic' but the results, she said, were not helpful, and only returned 'women in bikinis next to a fancy car.'
She couldn't find any female mechanics to turn to, she said, adding 'That's when I decided that I'm gonna learn.'
Banks said the idea for GAC started while she was still working in engineering at a chemical company, and was looking to start a blog on the side about things that women typically needed to pay men to do. Banks is shown while working at Girls Auto Clinic
She couldn't find any female mechanics to turn to for the common 'car care' topic that her survey subjects kept bring up, she said, adding 'That's when I decided that I'm gonna learn.' Technicians are shown working on a car Girls Auto Clinic
As it turns out, Banks wasn't the only person who wanted to get her car care needs met from a member of her own sex.
Girls Auto Clinic customer Dorothea Tuwalski said in the past, she's felt afraid and self-conscious about going to mechanic shops run by men, and appreciates having the option of going to another woman.
'They explain it to you on a level where they're not trying to make you feel bad about yourself or feel stupid,' Tuwalski said. 'So I think it's great to have a shop like this.'
Banks said that the more she got into the automotive industry, the more she realized what a crucial role women play in it.
'We are the number one customer by far in the automotive industry. Women spend $200 billion a year buying and repairing their cars,' she said.
Once she learned that, she added, 'That's when this idea got to be bigger than "I want to have a shop." It's "I want to reach every woman driver."'
To achieve that goal, Girls Auto Clinic offers car care workshops, free of charge, every month.
Girls Auto Clinic also offers car care workshops, free of charge, every month. Banks is shown giving a free workshop to a group of women
'I believe education should be free to everyone, and I want people to have access to it,' Banks said. 'The goal is to make [women] smart consumer[s] and confident driver[s].'
To Banks, it's more than just a business. It's a movement.
'I decided to make Girls Auto Clinic not just a safe space for women drivers, but a safe space for women who want to work in this industry, and also to represent this is what a mechanic looks like, this is what an owner of a repair shop looks like,' she said.
Colleen McClure, one of Girls Auto Clinics' technicians, explained what makes the space unique for her.
'When I worked at shops before with all men, I just kind of felt like my back was against the wall, and I really didn't have any support,' McClure said.
'That's when I left, and I met Patrice, and now I'm here. It's great. I would never leave the industry again. I want to stay here because this is everything that I want to do to make a difference in the industry with helping women and empowering women.'
To Banks, it's more than just a business; It's a movement. Banks is shown in Girls Auto Clinic showing her dirty hands while working on a car
Banks has coined her own hashtag: '#sheCANic' which s deal directly with car upkeep, but also extends beyond that
To that end, she's coined her own hashtag: '#sheCANic.' The term does deal directly with car upkeep, but also extends beyond that.
According to Banks, a 'sheCANic' is someone who 'treats her car as she does her own body' and 'no longer fears the auto repair shop or the auto mechanic!'
More broadly speaking, it's also 'a female of any age who has mastered the mechanics of "yes I can" and uses them to get to "yes I did."'
There's even a Facebook community for 'sheCANics,' as part of the Girls Auto Clinic page.
Those that want to get in on the fun in real life, and maybe have a mani-pedi among friends, can visit the business in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, bordering on Philadelphia.
Those that want to get in on the fun, and maybe have a mani-pedi among friends, can visit the business in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, bordering on Philadelphia
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/16/all-female-run-auto-repair-shop-in-philadelphia-comes-complete-with-beauty-bar-inside/
Main photo article An all-female run auto mechanic shop near Philadelphia is changing the game for women working in the industry and those who need its services, while also making it a one-stop shop for car and beauty needs.
Owner Patrice Banks opened Girls Auto Clinic Repair Center in 2017, which is a full...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/15/17/7465768-6499203-image-a-59_1544893665935.jpg
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