A day in the life of a female parts counterman....

[MotorcykleAsh]

As if this isn't 2006, can you believe there are still people out there that think woman are all dumb and shouldn't be doing certain jobs that are predominatly male dominated.

I am a 26 year old female. I ride a 2005 ZX-10R 88 miles each way to my job as a parts counter person for one of the largest motorcycle and watercraft dealers in south florida. I have been in the motorcycle industry for 6 years now and before actually getting paid for working, I helped out around my mothers highperformance motorcycle shop. My stepfather raced at all the local FL tracks and the conversation at dinner was always about bikes....needless to say, I created a sense of knowledge about motorcycles that most people could not believe.
I pride myself on my knowledge and I use it to help other riders or even non riders. I love my job.

Now, the thing that really bothers me is when I pick up my phone at work "part, this is Ashley"...and I get the man on the other end that says "yes, I need someone in parts"...ok, so maybe he didn't hear me, "yes, I'm in parts, my name is Ashley how can Ihelp you?"..."well, I'm not sure if you can help me, but I'm looking for a part for my bike"..........WTF?!?!? I can understand some people may think that maybe I haven't been there that long, maybe I might not know what they are going to ask....but ASK...don't assume because I am a female that I won't know about the carburator jeting or the stator cover gasket....

I know this is my first blog...and its a bit negative....but I'd really love some feedback on why you guys think that some of the men that call the parts department would think that way....

Until tomorrow............ride safe..........

[VermilionX]

yeah, that's just rude.

i see you really love your job.

88 miles one way. WOW! just WOW!

i really hope you get the recognition you deserve.

[HOOPTY388]

I don't pay attention if the person is male or female because it seems I always getting the biggest retread in the place anyway. lol. I'll ask for an alternator for an 86 blazer and they bring me a carburater for a 63 edsel??? or it's that young kid just out of tradeschool that has never seen under the hood of a car over 3 years old... I tell him I need parts for my 20 year old beater work truck to get to the next job and he asks if I'm almost done restoring it.
o.k. I'm done spouting off too! keep up on the good work and hope to see more posts soon

[Nalian]

They do that in tech fields too - I can't count the number of guys who have been astonished that yes..I do know what I'm talking about. Only had one request to actually speak with a male..which I was all too happy to let him do!

On a side note, the title of your blog might confuse people a bit. The first time I read it, it came across as a male selling female parts over the counter.

[Z (fka Sweet Tooth)]

They think that way because like you said it's a male dominated industry, but that's changing fast. This happened to my husband when he bought his Gold Wing the girl that sold it to him was 19 years old maybe 5'2" and a petite little thing that drove a CBR1000... It took him a little bit to get over it, after the inital shock he loved her because she knew her stuff!

Looking forward to your perspective of things behind the parts counter.

[CNF2002]

I dont know why anyone would be upset about a female working at a parts counter. All the parts are listed on the computer. Being knowledgable about cars is just a bonus. Besides, unless its a common part like an alternator or something, you cant expect the counter folks to know every little thing for the 50 some different models of cars they deal with.

Cant wait to hear about your customers though

Answering your question, I think they give you a hard time because they assume you don't work in parts. I dont assume you need any special car skills to type in a search for "throttle positioning sensor", find a part number and shelf number, get it off the shelf, and punch it into the register, and tell me to have a nice day. I wouldnt assume personally that a great many females work with parts, they are usually into sales (mostly because of interest and thats where the real money is). My wife, mother, mother in law, sister in law, and 3 girls at work couldnt change their tire and could care less about cars...its just one of those things.

[dr_bar]

You see Ash, they can't even read let alone accept a girl in a "MOTORCYCLE" parts dept... lol. It seems everyone thinks it's a auto parts counter.

I work for the Canadian post office where women drive forklifts, are employed in the maintenance and tech trades, and are accepted as equals by everyone. My union encourages women to take up non-traditional positions within the work place.

My niece is a successfully self employed, journeyman welder fitter. At a towering 5'4" tall, it's amazing what she's able to achieve.

My daughter, (the artist) can weld, even though it's just for sculpture. Her favourite present she got for her birthday last week, a new wire feed welder... lol.

It's good to see that you were positively influenced as a young woman. Keep up the good work and don't let the idiots get you down, not all us men are like that just most...

[DivideOverflow]

I understand your point, but normally when I call a service shop and a female answers and I try to ask her about anything, she will just transfer me.

I would say probably 95% of the time the women working in MC shops around here are receptionists. It is really too bad that you get stuck with that assumption.


I have a question for you though! You mentioned that "My stepfather raced at all the local FL tracks"... Where are these FL tracks? I've been looking, and can only find a handful, and they are all pretty far away from me. Do you know of a list of all the tracks in florida by any chance? Thanks

[MotorcykleAsh]

OK, so today....

I get to work...I'm in a great mood...the 88 mile commute wasn't as bad as it normally is, I guess cause school is out and traffic is less.....

Anyway....probably my second customer of the day is someone elses customer who is picking up his parts....this is very normal for us...I go to the back to grab his special ordered radiator guards, they are in a factory honda box....(probably way more money then the should be) but anyway...I wasn't really paying attention as he took them out of the box and I was printing out his final invoice....I went to hand him his paperwork and he looks at me and then looks down and says "these are scrathed, and it looks like someone opened them and touched them"..."OK, sir...let me see them...", I look and they are slightly scrathed....(my dealership is probably one of the best customer service places in town, well the parts dept. anyway)...so I said "well, let me take them to my boss and I'm sure we can get you a new set here tomorrow, I'm sure I can get honda to pay the red label"....the boss says that is not a problem and that honda will usually warrenty anything once....so, I go back to the customer and explain everything....
let me back up for a second....the scratches were so minor that i probably could have buffed them out with some mothers polish and a microfiber shammy.....
as I get ready to go back to my area to do the paper work, the customer stops me and says....well, if you give me a good deal I'll take these.....

OF COURSE YOU WILL!!!!!

Seeing as how I wasn't the original salesperson I didn't know that he had ALREADY gotten a deal...so I go to the computer and put in the discount code that is allowed without getting in trouble and it's only 6 bucks less then he paid for them.....turns out he had already gotten a super duper discount!!!!
The freakin jerk was just trying to pull a fast one on me and get the damn things for cheaper!!!!!!
Well, I got his original salesperson and told him what was up and he wound up just getting a new set ordered from honda....
I guess I just looked like a sucker to him!!!

The day went well other then that.....and then on the ride home I got a bug in my eye when i had my shield cracked about a 1/2 inch!!!! The sucker did some damage in there...my freakin eyeball is swollen!!!!

I'm goin to bed......talk to you guys tomorrow!!!!

Oh, the tracks are Moroso and Homestead........(his name is Kevin Blais...of Blais cycle in Miami)

[CNF2002]

Are you going to the doctor?