Not a rant - but I did leave shaking my head

Went to the local O'reillys this week to get a replacement dash light bulb for my 66 C10. Handed the counter guy my old bulb (with numbers clearly marked on the side ), and told him I needed two of them.

After examining the bulb for a while he then goes through the dragnet routine of whats it out of, what year, a/c, automatic, power brakes, etc. Shortly after the question and answer session he tells me its not listed, insinuating that I am out of luck.

In all fairness, another counter guy did walk by, glance briefly at the bulb, walked to a shelf, and found what I needed.

Wonder why the big name auto parts stores keep guys like the first person beyond the first pay period, or how they get hired at all? Do the big guys have to maintain a certain number of employees at each location, regardless of ability??

 

All I can tell you is that you gotta find a good parts guy. Once you got him, follow him no matter what store they are at. That's what I ended up doing. Its unfortunate that they would hire people who don't know anything about cars but that's life right?

 

I use the computers myself at the stores I use now. Better for them and better for me.

 

Nobody who knows their stuff is going to work for $8 an hour. Look up your parts online and go into the store with a part number, gets me in and out fast. If you need a bulb just give them their part number for it.

 

Gotta start somewhere... on the other hand, put the new guys in the back to pick the parts for a month or so, so they get a clue

 

Often I will tell them where to look something up, try this or that for a part im looking for because they have no clue, alot of times im mixing parts to fit what i need so not always thier fault but over all not to auto educated.

 

Agreed with the whole part number idea.

I would have lost all faith in the guy the second he asks me if has an auto or PB etc etc.

( ITS A GENERIC FRICKIN BULB!!! .....Im sorry but the options the truck has doesnt matter)

 

HE GAVE HIM THE BULB WITH THE NUMBER ON IT !!!!! Duh...

 

EXACTLY...I worked at an O'Reilly's for a while, and they CAN look something up by the part number you bring them, even a competitor's part number. They do NOT need to know anything about what it goes on...I still go to the local one and use their computer myself to find what I need.

 

Thought I was the only one who does that. Seems like it. Avoids a lot of HAMB ranting. And stuff like bulbs are usually found on the store floor, not behind the counter or in the back room.

 

Hell, the kid bobbing for fries at mickey d's makes more than most auto chain store counter men. And he gets to eat what he fucks up, so he's getting bennies too. Maybe we better stop complaining about the shitty service, and just be happy they got the bodies there so they have to keep the doors open to cover their nut every month. Not many mom and pop parts stores left, and most of those ain't open on sundays, or till ten o'clock at nite. What you're all wanting is a return to the good old days, but those are gone, hence the term 'good old days'.

 

So sad but you are so right.

 

I use oriellys and usually am a huge pain in the ass customer.. brings that Itypically need parts for old cars and usually mixing and matching parts but anywho I've become "friends" with the people behind the counter now I walk in and off to the back and just do all the hunting my self the other thing ive learned.is don't take no for an answer they can usually get what you need they may have to open dare I say it.....YES THE BOOKS and they have the books they just dont like using them.

I can rant about the ignorance of big chain parts house people for hours like... one time I needed spark plugs for a one ton, woman behind the counter asks "is it a diesel" after I tell her no she says ford didn't make a 460 in 1991 for which my dad gets super excited thinking he may have some sort of factory prototype.....LOL

I think hunting down the parts at the parts store has become sort of like fun to me now every piece is a frigin challenge...While I'm on this rant though the worst thing to me is when orielly has to order common gaskets like 302 sbf water pump gaskets thats the worst to me that a big store don't stock that got the pump but not the gasket...guess they think you should use silicone for everything...IDK

 

I used a few tail light bulbs in my newer Silverado and they would last a week and kept burning out. I bought one fron Napa and has worked since. And they knew they how to use the book to get the part number and got the right part the first time. Sure it cost abit more but you get what you pay for.

 

So I guess you could say you never saw the lightbulb come on over the counter guys head !

 

We have 2 parts stores in my hometom Napa and Orielly's - They have real unfriendly staff at napa, They arn't real fond of having to look up anything! SO If I need parts from there I look them up online and call them with the part numbers and pick them up the next day - At Orielly's they just hand me the book if they can't find it on the computer, that's fine with me I'm 31 and I've been doing this since I was 18 so I have gotten pretty good at it, way faster than their newibes and just as fast as the manager. All the guy there know me and some of them just tell me to " have at it " when I walk in!

 

these auto parts store rant threads are getting old. if you are all so fucking smart , please do us all a favor and get a job at one . then you will have stories of dumb customers to post

 

+1, but you do run into gems once in a while.

When I retire, I'm going to go work at a NAPA as they are more into parts than selling wax and air fresheners.

 

Orielly's had the Battery I needed on line but not in the store 1200 CCA every other counter person told me no can't get it long story short I found one brain in all of Chicago land and he had it routed to the store in my town the rest of the people I encountered should have been made out of cardboard. Absolutely no help.

 

Must work at an auto parts store.........

 

Not a rant...
sounded like a rant.

 

I have had to spell things letter by letter before so they knew what to search for. Illiterate counter boys!

I also had a counter boy tell me they didn't have a basic relay I was looking for. I started looking around the store while he told me he KNEW they didn't have them......I bought two.

 

Had the exact same thing happen to me at AutoZone for dash bulbs for my '61 Suburban.

I asked if they had a catalog I could look through, and Spaceman Spiff behind the counter acts like I just asked for a buggy whip, and then explains that it'll be in the computer--they can look up everything in the computer!
sigh...

As he's going down the list, he sees that I'm getting more irritated with each question... 2 or 4 wheel drive... (really? Why does it matter? It's two-wheel-drive) engine displacement (he asked in liters... I said it was a 283 v8... he said it needed to be liters... I asked what my options were... he said there was only one V8 and it was 4.7 liters... "well there you go.")... Automatic or manual... (manual)... 3 or 4 speed (grrr... 4-speed)... 2 or 4bbl carb (SNAP!) "What fucking difference does it make what carburetor it has??? I want a dash bulb, not an engine part! Just type something in that gets you to what dash light I need!"

After getting unflustered, he finishes hitting the keys, reads it for a little while, then says "it's saying we don't have one of those."

-Brad

 

They'll hire better counter help when you agree to pay more for parts.

 

Maybe the kid ought to give you his cell phone number so you can text him what you need. They seem to pay way more attention to the cell phone than they do to the computer.

With that said, I have found where all the good counter people have gone, there are even 2 girls that show up most of the guys amongst them!!

You can train someone to look on a computer screen, you cannot teach them to think.

 

Its on the bulb isle. Why did you need help to find that.

 

I have a damn good working relationship with the O'Reilly parts store I use in work and at play with my hotrod.
Any parts store can hire a person that would be better serving you with a cold cheeseburger and soggy french fries. They are just as immune to people that don't want to work, or misrepresented themselves to be able to do that job, as we deal with in the workplace. That flu isn't weakening from the way I see it, BOTH SIDES described.

 

a whole thread because you needed the counter guy to show you the bulb aisle? Or do they keep those behind the counter now.

 

Haha I was just thinking the exact same thing!

Well just dont expect too much. I guess they need to learn too. Are counter guys trained at some sort of Autozone Academy before they're let loose on customers?

 

we find that if you stick to one store they get friendly with you and will let you look up your own parts. shoot ...are local parts stoke koi auto parts keeps saying they are going to give my dad and i an employee number so we can bill our selves out. haha. most of the time what we all are building here on the hamb is pieced togther from a few cars. newer guys at the counter have no idea where to start.