Results

A couple of weeks ago, as I was driving my family home from a soccer game, an engine warning light came on in our Suburban. When we got home, I read the owner’s manual for the meaning of the light. It indicated that I needed to get the vehicle in to the dealer as it might be a problem with our emissions system.

Because I was leaving town on business, my wife took the Suburban into the dealership the next morning. This is when the frustration began. She told a young twenty-something mechanic that an engine warning light was on and that she wanted it checked out. In his best “women-don’t-know-anything” voice, he told her that that light was always on and that it was nothing. She insisted on showing him, so she opened the door and turned on the ignition so that the instrument panel would light up. As she did so, the mechanic told her, “That light always comes on when you turn on the ignition.”

Finally, in her exasperation, she spun around, looked him in the eye, and said, “I AM NOT AN IDIOT!”

He mumbled something about having to set up a follow up appointment to get this checked, which she did. And upon returning, and the running of some diagnostics, now another mechanic told her, “The problem is that you didn’t put the gas cap back on properly after your last fill up.” Though she didn’t tell me what she said, I can imagine the look that this mechanic received. After a little more checking, it was discovered that the gas cap was defective.

A similar occurrence happened in the same span of time with a contractor for some work on our house. As my wife told the contractor what color stain she wanted, he kept looking at her and insisting on another color. She told me that he kept looking at her with the “you don’t know what you are talking about” look on his face. When all was said and done, and she came back, he had stained the work with his choice, not hers.

She has encountered this sort of attitude not only as a customer, but also as a business woman dealing with suppliers and service providers. She has encountered this with doctors when discussing our kids’ illnesses. And she has experienced this from leaders of Christian ministry organizations.

It’s remarkable in a pathetic way that I can go back to that service provider or doctor with my wife, ask the same questions, and receive a completely different experience.

Now before you think it’s her problem, let me explain. It took a lot to set her off. She is one of the most soft-spoken, merciful, and humble people you will ever meet. That is an almost universal opinion of her. And she is unbelievably gifted and capable and business savvy. She grew up in a prominent business family and had national and international business experience by the time she was 16. She owns one of the most respected interior design businesses in our area. She is a well respected conference speaker who has spoken all around the country. She is also a key leader in a large not-for-profit organization. And she’s pulled all this off while raising three unbelievable kids. In other words, she is not an idiot.

Getting back to the Al Serra mechanics, let me put it bluntly: They are the idiots. And their attitude at best represents a deficiency in the recruitment and training of the personnel. Such behavior is never acceptable for reasons of basic courtesy.

But, they are idiots for business reasons, too.

My wife was the one who bought the Suburban from them. (And I wonder if she would do so the next time…?) This is not an anomaly but representative of the fact that women purchase 60% of new cars outright and are influential in 85% of the buying decisions.

And lest you think that businesses need to sharpen their “initiative” to be more savvy about selling to women, consider this. Worldwide, women have contributed more to global GDP growth than either new technology businesses or the new economic powerhouses of China and India. Overall, women make 83% of the consumer buying decisions. And yet, whether it is in the service experience or the marketing messages, the emphasis is on men. (And we are not even addressing how women are treated IN the workplace. One of the best compliments I ever received was from a female coworker at a former company, who upon my departure told me, almost in tears, “When I worked with you I always felt that I really was your colleague.&#201D)

A women’s initiative? Forget it! How about the leading edge of your business strategy, one that leaves the rest of your good ol’ boy competitors in the dust? Al Serra should be thinking about how they can transform their whole car buying and service experience to focus on their real customers…the ladies.

From a biblical perspective Christ raised the dignity and status of women in a revolutionary and counter-cultural way. He converses with an outcast woman at a well with dignity and respect. Women were a vital part of his small band of followers. Women were recognized and treated as full citizens in the Kingdom of God when their status in their own countries was dubious. He acknowledged their gifts and contributions. There is never a hint of condescension. The fledgling church that later emerged recognized the gifts and contributions of women and exhorted all to regard women with dignity and honor at a time when women were considered "property" by many.

But it’s apparent that much more still needs to be done.

And lest you think the tailgate of my Suburban hit my head too hard, I’m not arguing for radical feminism, but I am challenging us men to a radical respect for women in the marketplace. It’s not only the right thing to do, but it’s also brilliant business if we face the facts about who really makes economic decisions…all over the world.

Come to think of it, Ford might have been much, much better off to have hired a woman as CEO rather than an aerospace guy to transform and turn around that company.

So, guys, who are the idiots?