Meet the female white van drivers

One in every 10 new vehicles registered with the DVLA between July and September 2016 was a van, and they now account for one-fifth of traffic on the road. Before you make any assumptions about who’s in the driving seat, meet some of the female removal and delivery firms bucking the ‘white van man’ stereotypes.

The idea for the company came when Jennifer moved to France from the UK and could only find ‘man and van’ services. ‘It dawned on me that there was a big gap in the market,’ she says. ‘When I speak to clients, there’s a preconception that a woman will take more care and be more thorough. It sounds clichéd, but that’s what I tend to hear.

‘Some of my customers are women who’ve just lost their husbands or been through a break-up, and perhaps they feel a woman will be more sensitive to their situation. Maybe the thought of having strange men traipsing around their home is too much for some.

‘There is absolutely a need for female-only services like mine. People should have a choice.’

A lot of customers (men and women) often request the female team because they assume they’ll be more careful, he adds. ‘But they have to be physically fit too as it isn’t an easy job. They have to lift huge fridge freezers, for example. There’s nothing our team can’t move.’

‘Single females also tend to prefer women to help with long distance moves and full packing services, as they often say they’re more comfortable with another female packing their underwear, for example.’

There’s still a stigma, however, and Shereen and her driver Anika often experience negative reactions. ‘Some customers have made comments such as, “I asked for a man and van service, not a woman and a van,’” she says. ‘They also ask whether we can lift. Yes, we can lift! We do it on a daily basis and we’ve been doing it for years.

‘Once we’ve finished the job, the initial negative is turned into a positive and people often apologise for doubting us. They just makes us more determined to complete the job to a high standard, going that extra mile to ensure we imprint our all-women stamp.’

While she doesn’t exclusively offer women-only courier and delivery services, there is sometimes a demand. ‘We’ve worked quite extensively with Women’s Aid and they’re really our only client that has a legal stipulation (on occasion) for female-only services, due to security protocol on their sites,’ she says.

‘Generally, we get women calling us and we do our best to meet their needs. We have some guys work for us too. I try not to pigeonhole our services based on gender and really just focus on providing the best possible service to all our clients.’

Whether you’re a man or a woman with a van, you still need insurance. Start a quote with us today and see just how much you could save.