The auto repair industry is dominated by men. But on Madison’s northside, Dutch’s Auto Service veers from that reality. As Christina Lieffring tells us, the women-owned auto repair shop may be unique but it faces universal struggles in a changing industry.
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By the time Crystal Rossman and Nan Mortensen met working at an auto repair shop, they both had plenty of war stories from working in their field.
“It’s alienating, it’s uncomfortable, it’s still very much a man’s industry,” Mortensen said from the office area in the lobby of Dutch’s Auto Service, the independent auto repair shop she and Rossman opened in 2011.
The lobby has air conditioning, a play center for kids, and of course, a shop dog. Rossman’s dog, Gabby, is often found lounging on her dog bed.
Out in the garage, Rossman has a car on a lift. She uses a stethoscope to listen to the car’s axles. For a small, mostly two-person shop, Rossman said, they stay busy.
“At first when we got going, we just had our friends and family as customers. So sometimes we’d just close up and go have lunch, which we miss these days,” Rossman said laughing.
That success led to them buying their current shop on N. Sherman Ave. in Madison, which has a steady customer base.
Every auto shop needs a shop dog. Dutch’s shop dog is Gabby, who is often found in the lobby. Photo by Christina Lieffring
Rossman went to college and got an office job, but realized it wasn’t the right path for her. Mortensen grew up fixing cars, and anything else mechanical. The two share a love of the challenges that come with car repair.
“I like puzzles,” Mortensen said. “There are 33,000 parts on a car. There are seven different systems, eight different systems on a car, it’s a puzzle. You get to see your positive results when you do a good repair. (It’s) instant gratification.”
“What I really love is that you’ll never know everything. There are so many different makes, models, systems and all that stuff. You don’t get a chance to work on everything. There’s always going to be something new to learn, some new challenge,” added Rossman. “Every time I learn something new, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I remember, this is why I’m doing this.’”
While the two of them love auto repair, the industry has not always loved them back. They and their business are doing well now, but they remember how hard it was working in other shops where most of their colleagues were men.
“It’s always a situation of us and them. It’s difficult sometimes to form partnerships and friendships. It’s difficult sometimes to feel safe in a shop environment with people who don’t want you there,” Mortensen said. “I’ve been lucky. I’ve worked in some good shops, I’ve worked in some pretty horrible shops.”
“One shop, I would never be full-time because I’m a girl. I was dedicated to doing the oil changes, the brakes, the simple stuff and ‘Oh, by the way, you’re the only one who’s going to clean here. So if you want to work in a clean environment, guess who’s going to do it?’” Rossman shared. “The other shop was a little more organized, a little more structured. It had a lot more disciplinary rules and if they didn’t like you, they would go after you for all the little things. So I ended up leaving because I was keeping track of everything in a notebook so that I had proof that I was doing my job.”
Dutch’s Auto Service co-owners Crystal Rossman (left) and Nan Mortensen (right). Photo by Christina Lieffring
Rossman and Mortensen wanted to open a garage with a good work environment, not just for themselves and their workers, but for anyone who feels intimidated or unwelcome at auto repair shops.
“We wanted to start our own shop so that we could provide transparent auto repair service so that women would feel comfortable and safe coming into a shop,” Mortensen said. “Women are treated like they don’t know anything about cars, like it’s somehow genetic that you either know about cars or don’t know about cars. A lot of women are discouraged from thinking forward about their cars. A lot of women are discouraged from learning about how to maintain their cars.”
“I always felt like I was being taken advantage of when I would take my car in,” Rossman said. “So that was the other side of it: I really wanted to know more so that I could be a better-informed consumer and take care of my cars.”
But they both worry that small independent shops like theirs will die out unless serious changes are made in the industry. They got the run-around while trying to get financing but were able to open their shop thanks to a flexible landlord and an angel investor. Now business is booming, but they have a hard time finding mechanics and technicians. Shop classes are increasingly rare at high schools and some programs at technical colleges train for working at dealerships.
“I was trained by old school mechanics. I’m not a technician. I’m a mechanic. I can fix a lawnmower. I can fix a car. I can fix a bicycle. I mean, I can fix a snowmobile. It doesn’t matter what it is, I can fix that,” Mortensen said. “I have a variety of skill sets but not everybody has that variety. People will end up specializing in things. They’ll get tunnel vision of things and not have such a broad range of knowledge.”
Mortensen said unlike other trades, automotive repair doesn’t have journeyman or apprenticeship programs, and technicians are expected to have their own tools. And it certainly doesn’t pay well enough to make up for those up-front expenses.
“I think that automotive is behind the times as far as the trades go. We need to pay people better. We need to provide better benefits,” Rossman said. “As a small shop, we can’t even get health care. We can’t get that stuff unless we want to pay triple my mortgage for it.”
That system creates an incentive for technicians to bill customers for unnecessary procedures. As part of their customer service, Mortensen and Rossman try to explain repairs to customers so they know why it’s necessary.
“I’m not going to sit here and pontificate about a car with a customer all day long. I’m not an education facility. But what I am is an honest person who’s going to tell you this is why we’re replacing your brakes,” Mortensen said. “My priority is good service and honest repairs. My hands are dirty, my money’s clean and I sleep well at night.”
