The automotive industry has long been known as a “male-centric” business. Not only are car adverts guilty of personifying gender stereotypes, but sexist remarks about women drivers still exist in our progressing society.
This recent video shared on the TikTok channel Superkrazykarens sheds a light on how some customers contribute to the reinforcement of these gender stereotypes.
The video shows a female employee named Autumn from a Central Chevrolet auto service center talking on the phone with a "Karen" customer. The customer demanded to speak to a male mechanic, maddening people online.
The recent video that went viral on TikTok shows how gender stereotypes and sexism in the automotive industry still exist
Image credits: stokkete (not the actual photo)
A customer called this all-female service department with a weird request
Image credits: Rawpixel (not the actual photo)
Image credits: superkrazykarens
Image credits: superkrazykarens
Employee: Central Chevrolet Service, this is Autumn.
Customer: Autumn, I didn't ask for a female. I would like to talk to a male. My opinion is females don't belong in the service department. [They should be] behind the scenes, doing the paperwork.
Image credits: superkrazykarens
Employee: Um, OK, um, there's not a male in our service department.
Customer: Then you can let me talk to Mike Ashford or somebody.
Employee: OK, hang on one second, I'll get you over to Mike Ashford.
Image credits: superkrazykarens
Image credits: superkrazykarens
Customer: Autumn, I need to make an appointment for Saturday morning 8 o'clock. I just hope there's no females on the desk when I get there.
Employee: There's no males in our service department, ma'am, so, unfortunately...
Customer: Oh my God, that is totally messed up. I need my oil changed but there better be a male mechanic that I can talk to.
Image credits: superkrazykarens
Image credits: superkrazykarens
Another employee: We don't have any appointments available on Saturday morning anyway.
Employee: I'm gonna get you [transferred] to a sales manager since there's no males in service, but there's a male in sales...
Customer: As long as there is a male in the shop to change my oil, that will be fine. I do not wanna female working on my car and I'll tell you why, the last time I headed out there to have something done, it was a 5-minute job. I sat there a freaking hour, and I had to go track down a male to get my car because females were incompetent.
Image credits: superkrazykarens
Here is the full TikTok video of the infamous conversation
And this is how people reacted to it
