NORTH ANDOVER — Mary McLaughlin is no stranger to being the only woman in her field.
McLaughlin, the owner of Independent Tire, has been in the tire industry for over 40 years now.
“It was harder back then to be taken seriously, quite frankly,” McLaughlin said.
She grew up in Lawrence and took classes at St. Mary’s High School. A nun told McLaughlin she would be a filing clerk at Schlott Tire.
McLaughlin worked her way up, first in charge of accounts receivable and then running her own store in Lowell as well as the main store in Lawrence.
For the past 25 years, McLaughlin has had her own company at 20 Old Clark Road in North Andover. And she wanted to change the way women were treated within the tire industry.
“I’m a woman. I know what it’s like to go somewhere and be ripped off or be treated as an idiot,” McLaughlin said. “I take the time to try and explain it.”
McLaughlin said she tries to match a driver to the right tire, since “they’re not all the same.” She’ll ask about driving styles and take into consideration the weather and other aspects that might affect the wheels. McLaughlin said she tells her customers the truth and makes sure she gives the Merrimack Valley customers the best option possible.
Yet, she’s still not always treated like she knows what she’s doing.
McLaughlin mentioned one customer who has been coming to her shop for years now but still always asks McLaughlin where her husband or the man in charge is.
“I would have to say about 80% of these customers actually had the audacity to ask if I was the owner’s wife or daughter,” McLaughlin wrote in an article in 1992 for “Modern Tire Magazine.”
There’s now “about 10% more women in the field,” McLaughlin said, noting there are more women becoming mechanics but not as many female tire business owners.
“I don’t know why. Women might be more emotional, but they also have more empathy,” McLaughlin said. “That means you get treated better in the end.”
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