What's the dumbest thing you've heard at a parts store?

Hahahaha I've done this.

 

One parts store I used to go to had a bucket of water next to the counter. if some one wanted a starter or alternater checked they would say 'Put it in that bucket. If it floats, it's good.' always got a fun reaction!

 

Fat black female store manager: May I help you?
Me: I need a heater hose shut off valve
Fbfsm: What is that?
Me: uhh, I just told you!

 

how about those of you who insist on sending the ol' lady/lil' miss in for your parts because you can't spare the time to interrupt whatever it is you're rebuilding this weekend? i know you guys. you give the missus a vague description of whatever it is you need, and hope it makes it to the store mingled in with cell phone conversations and pampers and smokes and more brews.... so when the little lady bellies up to the counter and blithely asks for a destippler cam rotary for "the old man's blue pickup", we know EXACTLY what the hell she means... after she calls you and gets you on the phone, while she's riding herd on your kids, and while a line of other customers are patiently waiting their turn.

i don't know what most of you actually DO for a living; i don't care. but i do PARTS for what i call a "living", thank you very much, and for one, i'm not the most patient or polite sonofabitch that stands behind a counter and listens to smartass MF'ers with egos. i can, i will, and i have told stupid asses to leave the store.

 

had a tech school student "parts associate" argue with me that the C-6 trans in my old f-100 did not come out of a '70 ford because she just had a class where they went over ford casting numbers and since it was a C-6 it could have only come from a '66, she refused to look up parts for a '70 because she knew it was wrong..... only time i've ever been asked to leave a Checker.

the best one might have been when a friend and i walked in, sat a rocker arm on the counter we just pulled out of his biscayne about 20 min ago and the parts guy asks "whats that out of?" so my buddy responds " a chevy 327". word for word the parts guy says "no its not".

 

"I'll get the Manager"

(only applies to corporate stores)

 

I take it, your'e not the Manager then.

 

i walk into an autozone and need a 32 inch belt. i ask the guy behind the counter, prolly 5 years older than me so thatd make him 26 just about.

anyway i ask him, 'hi there, i need a 32 inch belt', and all of the belts are directly behind him. he starts asking me for all the car and engine info, i just tell him i need a 32 inch belt, i already measured and thats the size i need. he looks stumped..

so he grabs like 5 belts and a tape measure, tries measuring the belts WITH the tape measure, bending the tape measure, trying to roll the belt along it and crap, and i can clearly see the size is marked on the side of the package. i didnt say anything because i wanted to see where he was going with this.. plus i saw a little instrument behind him where you can put the belt on there and measure it that way.

after 4 failed attempts he asks his manager, and his manager started doing the same thing 'hi sir sorry for the inconvience, whats the year and model of the vehicle?', i tell him, i just need a 32 inch belt. he grabs the tape measure too and i just shake my head and walk out pretty pissed off. went to kragen down the road, 2 minutes later walked out with what i needed.

 

ahaha thats just too funny.

 

Chick walks up to counter, ask for a 710 for her honda. Parts guy, puzzled, goes thru his spill, what year, model, bla bla bla. She explains to him where it used to be on the engine and he and the rest of the team try to figure out what she insist to be a 710! They finally walk out to the car for her to show them what she needs.... turns out to be the "OIL" cap! Haha

 

My local REPCO has a couple of real good blokes behind the counter, with a young lass being trained up. Someone in an earlier post said the kids need to be taught. Never truer words spoken! Of course they're not going to know what '55 Stude is, or what a big-block camshaft looks like. This is because the ones who do know are standing in someone's shed, swilling piss (beer in Oz), swapping self-serving stories about how dumb the kids are today because they don't know what a........etc, etc.

Someone took the time to teach me, a long time ago. Lack of knowledge is not a crime, nor is it an indicator of IQ, attitude or ignorance. Take a few minutes to swap some knowledge, a wee bit of info, it'll stick in their minds like it did ours and make both your days better.

Cheers folks, Matt

 

Usually works but not always... I needed an Edelbrock 1406 gasket set. I found the number on the O'Reilly website, wrote it down, took it to the store, showed it to someones mom there, SHE ROLLED HER EYES AT ME and ordered me a Mr. Gasket hood pin kit...and I only had to wait two days to get it....The manager actually told me that he could understand how she had done that.

 

I went to a Canadian Tire store the other day and asked for a 47" V belt so the kid goes to the back and comes back and asks me how many ribs are on the flat belt? So I repeat my self and he goes away and talks to a guy who looks about 50 and the older guy comes to me and asks how many ribs I need and I tell him it is a V belt which he replies that they do not carry V belts and to go to the out door section!!!!
My buddy called an auto parts store looking for a part for his 454 and was told that they did not put those engines in his car. Computers, junk in junk out!!!!

 

I GOT A PART NUMBER ONLINE AND TOOK IT to O'reilly, and they told me their part numbers online are different from the ones in the store..whats the point?

 

I had problems with my 59 Edsel Ranger.

They always wanted to know if it was 2 or 4 wheel drive.


I've got pretty good at knowing what to ask for on mishmash cars. "What engine is it?" It's a 21-RU Toyota motor....just look it up as a 20R...trust me, it's the same.

 

no , the part numbers are the same online and in store. problems sometimes happen when that same part number is used by 2 or more suppliers. i assume that Belchfire wanted an Edelbrock # 1472 gasket set. that same number is used by Mr Gasket for a hood pin kit , Spectre for bolt caps , Raybestos for a brake drum. line codes are used by O'Reilly to indicate what suppler . she simply used the wrong line code.....that is probably why the manager said he could see how that could happen

not that i'm making excused for anyone , just explaining what i believe happened

 

I work at a parts store,and personally I hate the computers. They do make SOME parts look-up convenient,but most of the time it's a little easier to look in the books. Sometimes the questions they ask on the computer system are pointless,usually ending up at the same part number. Hell,one time I was looking up parts for a newer Toyota or something and it asked me if the car had 4 wheel drum brakes(?!). I usually keep hitting "don't know" until I see that there might be an actual difference in the parts,then ask the customer the needed questions.

On the other hand,about a year ago I was helping a friend work on his old F250,we needed a new fuel filter. No big deal right? We walk into the advance that's a block away,and ask for a plain old 5/16 inline fuel filter,to which they reply "they've been put away with the performance parts for the spring"

We ended up going to auto zone down the street and they had them out on the main floor. Actually,they had a carb kit for the truck in stock as well,imagine that!

 

" There is no such thing as type A transmission fluid"

 

yep! ph5 is frams. or the ph30 is the shorter one.

 

shut your pie hole

 

BWAHAHA HA HA!!!

Doc.

 

When it comes to parts stores, I just look up the part number(numbers if its something where I don't care which company manufactured it) online, call up the store, ask them to look the number up to see if its in stock (ask politely) and if they don't have it I try somewhere else. If they have it in stock (make sure its actually there and not just in the computer) tell them you'll be there in X minutes to get it. Its simple, makes their day working a minimum wage job easier and it works 99% of the time.

Although I can relate to some of these stories.

On a slightly different note; one thing that is always frustrating is dealing with an insurance company that is owned an run by the gov't (ICBC). Combining insurance with bureaucracy is a very very very bad idea. Filing a claim for your car will make you want to bash your brains out on the wall.

 

Customer: I need a cadillac convertible for a ford lincoln mercury!

Me: A catalytic converter for a what model Mercury sir?

...

Me: Do you need any muffler bearings with that?

 

whats a harmonic balancer ? i went into autozone to rent a installer....asked the kid behind the counter for one..in his very broken english he said "whats a harmonic balancer"

 

yeah, i did it too when i was younger. no excuse for not knowing what you're talking about or even listening to what the customer has to say. a lot of parts guys assume we don't know what we're talking about when we go in to buy a part, and you know what they say about assumptions.

whether you like it or not, you're in customer service, and if you're "not the most patient or polite sonofabitch", maybe it's time to look for a new job. i'm sure there are plenty of guys out there that will deal with bullshit all day with a smile on their face. customer service has gone to shit.

 

how about from the other side (sercice not parts) .....

Me: "You need to be careful when putting the ....."
them: " yea yea yea I know. I'm a mechanic!"
Me: " Just trying to save you some time and money...."
them: " I'm not stupid you know!"

3 days later....

Then: " I need some more parts cause' I broke this and that..."
Me: "Tried to tell you."

 

Most parts stores are not made or broken by your old cars. That seemingly inexperienced parts person might be a wiz at engine kits, computer reprograming, etc. that the garages use every day. Installers are their bread and butter. Here's a shocker. Most of the biggest a-holes I ever encountered in my day were hot rodders and ronnie racers. Your kids are hungry and clothes tattered, wife lookes stressed out, and when you back your daily driver up to my shop door to pick up what we machined for you, it's a pile of crap that sometimes breaks down blocking my shop door. Take a chill pill and realize it all ain't about you. The customer is always right but not all customers are quite right. Also, do a f------ search before posting another bash the parts house thread. Pissing off now.

 

I worked in a parts store for 13 years. I agree with what you're saying, but there is a flip side. When Chevy introduced the new body style trucks in 1988, the 4x4 models used a smaller oil filter. I can't tell you how many people got shirty with me when I would ask if it was four-by. I would just give them the old 51061 Wix, when i could see a Z71 sitting in the parking lot. When they came back in, they had a little better attitude.

Having said that, it flies all over me when I get asked those questions by the tattooed twenty-something skinhead at Oreilly's. Half the time I just tell them the part # I need, or ask to look in their books. Most of them don't even know where the bound catalogs are.

 

shut your cocksucker, dickbroom

 

Play nice.
Dickbroom?
What the hell is a dick broom?
I once bought a broom and while walking thru the kitchen I said "hey honey check out your new ride"
She though I was talking about my dick but I handed her the broom.
Closest I can come to dickbroom