A tyre shop isn’t an obvious place for an evening out, but that’s just what Bridgestone Tyre Centre Te Puke became recently.

“We like to give back to the community where we can, so we do lots of sponsorship and things like that,” said owner Tracey Waller.

The women’s drive night was another. It was a women-only evening demonstrating “basic stuff that women should know about their vehicles”.

“Back in my generation, dad made me change a tyre and where the oil was and I think that’s kind of forgotten these days.”

The most recent event was not a new initiative, but was the first since the pandemic.

“So the basis of it was, if they are stuck on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, they know how to change a tyre, know where to put the jack safely, all the tricks of the trade, like if the nuts are on too tight, this is how you can get them off.”

Things then progressed to what’s under the bonnet and included how to check and top up the oil and water.

“And things like, if you stop and the radiator’s steaming, don’t touch the cap.”

Advice on how to check oil levels.

Also covered were the meanings of the different warning lights, how to jump start a car and what uneven tyre wear might signify.

Waiting list

Waller said when word went out that another women’s evening was being held, she was inundated.

“We have a waiting list for the next one.”

However, those on the list or anyone else wanting to go will have to wait until spring as it is now getting dark too early in the evening and there is insufficient space inside the workshop.

The latest women’s drive night attracted 25 women.

“We got a lot of mums, a lot of mums and daughters and people that are on their own and they learned a lot about their cars because we used their cars, not ours, so they [learned to] change the tyres on their own cars.”

One person found her jack wouldn’t be able to do its intended job and another found that her oil was so low it could have caused a serious issue.

“We got our team involved and they loved it and we had great feedback.”

Knowledge and advice

Among that feedback was that some people didn’t attend because they didn’t want to appear to be asking silly questions or were embarrassed about their lack of knowledge.

But Waller said the whole idea was to give those people the knowledge that could help them if they are ever stranded by the side of the road and advice on the things they need to check regularly.

“I just want to try to get it out there that we are there to help people, it’s not all about charging and money, people can rock up and ask questions or get their tyres checked for free.”

Bridgestone Tyre Centre Te Puke has a female tyre technician and Waller said this also sparked interest in some of those at the women’s drive night.

Waller said the drive night was part of the business’ philosophy of making sure women are made to feel comfortable in what can be seen as a male-dominated environment.

“If we fail a car on a WOF we explain to the lady what that means so she can make the decision about what to do. We have quite a big female following because of that.”