Porsche celebrate International Women’s Day

Posted 25th May 2019

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With International Women’s Day around the corner, we have taken a moment to celebrate some of the amazing women that work in our Porsche Centres. There are many job roles within the motor industry, and at Dick Lovett we pride ourselves on acknowledging the hard work that our employees do for us.

We have been to visit the women who work in customer facing, administrative and managerial positions to find out more about what it is like to work for an Official Porsche Centre.

If you have been thinking of a career in the motor industry but are unsure where to start, what better place to find out than from the women who fill these positions?

Tina2

Name: Tina Wheeler

Job Title: Bookings Team Manager

Location: Porsche Centre Cardiff

Education Level: Can’t remember - too long ago

Time in job: 30 years between Porsche and Ferrari

Favourite Porsche: Porsche 911 (993) Turbo S

What does your job involve?
Making sure we keep our workshops busy and ensuring the customer journey is smooth. I look after a bookings team and we look after 6 dealerships, Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati and Aston Martin.

How has your career progressed?
I started as a Receptionist and worked my way to the Service Reception desk. From there I progressed to Service Manager for Ferrari and now I look after 6 dealership workshops.

What’s your best memory of working here?
When I looked after Ferrari, I won the first customer service award. I remember Peter Lovett saying he was very proud and told me to always remember that we sell customers dreams, not cars.

What would you say to someone who wants to work in the car industry?
The automotive industry is at the forefront of technology and you get to meet a vast mix of people. It is such a diverse industry from selling cars to fixing them, or working in an administration role. If you have a love for cars there is no better job.

Steffi

Name: Steffi Engelmann

Job Title: Trainee Sales Executive

Location: Porsche Centre Bristol

Education Level: BSc (Hons)

Time in job: Two years

Favourite Porsche: Macan GTS

What does your job involve?
Selling cars, webpage photos, driving cars to and from customers’ homes, organising demos, showroom organisation, covering reception if needed, trade part exchange, generally mucking in wherever is needed and whenever I can.

How has your career progressed?
Fast, which has enabled me to get much more confident in the role. I now have more knowledge and familiarity with systems, processes and details.

What is the next step in your career?
Sales Executive

What would you say to someone who wants to work in the car industry?
Do it! It’s a very motivating and forward-thinking industry; and it is not just men who can do this job!

Emma Dunkley

Name: Emma Dunkley

Job Title: Service Advisor

Location: Porsche Centre Swindon

Education Level: GCSE’s and horsey ones.

Time in job: Just over 15 years

Favourite Porsche: 996 C4S with a sports exhaust

What does your job involve?
Making sure that when a customer brings their car in for service it is as smooth a process as possible. No one ever expects their car to breakdown and it’s always at the worst time. If I can make that process a little less painful then I have done my job well. 

How did you start in the motor industry?
Before starting at Porsche Swindon, I was working at a riding school. I taught in the morning and did their admin in the afternoon. Horses are my passion but I quickly realised that if I wanted a car and a house I would have to earn more money, and as my dad said ‘Get a proper job’. I saw the Service Administrator job advertised and went for it. 15 years later I am still here.

How has your career progressed?
I started as a Service and Warranty Administrator. I then merged into a Service Advisor over time. I am currently enrolled on the COHORT Talent Pool so we shall see where that takes me.

What would you say to someone who wants to work in the car industry?
It’s great fun, and we have a great team here at Porsche Centre Swindon. It is hard work and can be challenging at times but if it were easy, we would be bored. 

Alison

Name: Alison Owen

Job Title: Showroom Manager

Location: Porsche Centre Cardiff

Education Level: School

Time in job 2007: 12 years

Favourite Porsche: My first Guards Red Boxster

What does your job involve?
Showroom standards, looking after customers, telephone call handling, supervising the Meeter Greeters, co-ordinating onsite and offsite events, database management, preparing for audits.

How did you start in the motor industry?
I was a customer and had my first Boxster in 1999. Then through visiting the Centre and a friendship with Tina (Service Manager) I started working on reception and then progressed to managing the team.

What’s your favourite thing about your job?
Meeting people and giving customers an experience that I would like to receive myself.

What would you say to someone who wants to work in the car industry?
Go for it! There are lots of areas where a woman’s perspective can add to the role.

Donna Cropped (1)

Name: Donna Hemmes

Job Title: Sales Administrator

Location: Porsche Centre Bristol

Education Level: GCSE

Time in job: 7 and a half years

Favourite Porsche: 911 Targa 4S

What does your job involve?
My job involves organisation, multitasking and high volume of work. I process all New and Used cars sold by the dealership and delivered to customers. I also look after invoicing and taxing of customers cars.

What’s your favourite thing about your job?
Definitely the lovely customers.

What’s your best memory of working here?
So many really. Attending Silverstone Carrera Cup, fun Open Days for the customers and showcasing what being part of the Porsche Brand is all about.

What would you say to someone who wants to work in the car industry?
The motor industry is rewarding. You have to be customer focused and be prepared to go the extra mile for exceptional customer service.

Emma

Name: Emma Watkins

Job Title: Marketing Executive

Location: Bristol, Cardiff, Swindon and Tewkesbury

Education Level: University

Time in job: 9 months

Favourite Porsche: 911 Targa

What does your job involve?
I look after the marketing for the four Dick Lovett Porsche Centres, which involves social media, email marketing, events, data analysis and reporting.

What’s your favourite thing about your job?
No day is ever the same, I love going to visit the Centres and being part of such a big team.

How has your career progressed?
After university, I got an admin job for Mercedes Benz and progressed into a marketing role with Porsche which was based in Northampton. After 3 years, I moved back to Bristol and then got the same Porsche Marketing job with Dick Lovett. I was over the moon to have my dream job and be closer to home.

What would you say to someone who wants to work in the car industry?
There is always something happening in the car industry; new models, events or training so you always have something to look forward to. If you are looking to start a career which has scope for progression, there are so many different job roles and opportunities with Dick Lovett.

Claire

Name: Claire Pleass

Job Title: Trainee service advisor

Location: Porsche Centre Bristol

Education Level: A Level, and taking a course outside of work for learning sign language which I’m currently level 3.

Time in job: 2 months but have been with the company for 2 years at BMW

Favourite Porsche: Macan, it’s a nice size but still sporty

What does your job involve?
My Job involves looking after customers whilst their cars are in for a service or repair.

What is the next step in your career?
After joining the team as a trainee, the next steps for me would be to become a fully-fledged service advisor.

What is your favourite thing about your job?
Having only been with the Porsche team for 2 months, I’m enjoying being able to spend more time with customers the friendly and inviting atmosphere Porsche has.

What would you say to someone who wants to work in the car industry?
The people in the car industry are lovely, it’s like one big family. The days go quickly as there’s always something to do.

Womens Day

While these are just a few of the women who hold key positions within Porsche, we appreciate the commitment and excellent service that everyone contributes to their roles.

Alongside Porsche, Dick Lovett also works with respected brands such as Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, BMW and MINI. We aim to recruit new team members who share our passion for getting things right the first time and ultimately will put customers first.

So if you are looking for an opportunity to join the Dick Lovett and become part of the family, please visit our careers page, where all of our current vacancies can be found along with information about how to apply.

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