dumb ass counter clerks.

Used to get real irritated when I tried to find a part and couldn't get any help. Now it's more fun. I tell them what I want, and the good ones go get it. The dumb***es always ask "what make and model is your car". so now I make **** up,"Its a pontiac with a chevy motor olds trnasmission and a dodge rear end. " One schmuck then asked me "what year", like I had just said Honda Civic -. (I had asked for an 8mm 24 inch plug wire). I told him 1941 and he ****s around for a minute and says "we don't stock that". I laughed my *** off. One of the old timers came around, looked at the wire in my hand and said "you know where they are" and kept walking. Maybe us old farts just get to know each other.
You can really tell the car guys. Even if they don't know ****, they will come and peek over the shoulder, ask some questions, just trying to learn. But you wonder where some of them came from, and why they got a job in a parts store. One of the job requirements should be "Have you ever fixed anything on a car yourself".
Changing a tire might even qualify.
Obviously I just came from one of the more productive trips, but I was almost out the door before I guessed the right year, make and model and found the headlight switch I needed. The guy hadn't moved a muscle when I answered his "year/make and model" with "GM"

 

Ive been to the parts store 3 times today. Im only trying to get a seatbelt. When I got the one I was happy enough with (it'll get me the roadworthy cert.) I took it, after putting it in the damn car I find out it doesnt work. Brand new out of the packet. Im pissed off now. Being home sick I thought I'd get one easy job out of the way. I guess not.
I got the same sort of questions, what make model and year. I said this one and showed him the part, he asks more questions, I reply, this one and point to the part again. haha.

 

Auto Parts Counterhelp Is Hit And Miss These Days
I Worked In The Field For Near 20 Year's Sellin , Training And Managing Too
Now I Cringe Goin To Get Stuff As To How Well I Would Be Helped
I Think Alll Parts Personnell Should Be Aware Of Vehicle Functions And Be Paper Catolog Trained First

Like Most Book Learnin The Answers Come From Reading Thru The Book Or Lookin In The Index Or At The Pictures.

I Have Trained Women Who Were Great At It And Had Stubborn Guys Who Could Never Get It Right....
Customer Service To People Typicaly Pissed Off Cuz Thier Car Is Broke Down Is Never Easy (missin Work ..wife Has His Car.. Ruining Weekend Plans.. Etc )instant Communication Of Needs ..
Anticipating The Next Step Or Solving The Car Problem Is Not Really The Parts Guys Job Either
But It Is A Helpful Attribute

Most Do It Your Self Types Are Not Car Guys At All
And Will Screw More Up Than They Fix

I Always Truely Enjoyed Helping Rodders And It Helped Me Be A Better Parts Guru In The Process..most Do Know Their Cars In And Out

One Of My Favorite S Was A Early Sunday Morning Customer Who Needed A Fuel Pump For His Old Carnival Mini Donut Machine.. It Pumped Air To Eject The Donuts Into The Hot Oil...
Year -make- Model ?????
Yes It Was A 54 Chev Six Cyl Pump With A Glide Trans ...
Took About 5 Min To Find Thru The No's

I Was A Proud Parts God That Day
Paperdog

 

THIS is abso****inlutely why I started teaching high school auto shop....

I got sick of going into a parts house trying to find something for the racecar, and getting the "year, make and model" blank stare.

 

Most of the parts chain store does not pay diddly ... for wages ... and you get bumpy faced kids and others who cannot find gainful employment paying a decent amount of money anywhere else ... at least around here ...

A guy I know has a GF who just got a job at O'Reily's ... ONLY because she speaks a little Spanish ( Mother is half - Mexian ) ... No car knowledge at all ( but all least she LOOKS real good ) She managed a Dairy Queen before this .

Car Quest is the BEST ... around here.
Couple of older guys on the counter... stuck there ... too old to change careers and too young to draw Social Security. When they quit or leave, I do not know where I will buy parts ...

 

the one here had a chance to hire me but they didnt... they hired some pretty boy that doesnt know ****. theres only two places ill got to out of the 10 in town.... its pretty bad

 

I've found it takes a little time to "train" counter people. The Carquest I deal with knows enough now to shut off the computers, and open their books. As for bad mouthing counter people, I was in the automotive biz for over 20yrs. As I chained the lot for the last time, I realized all customers were ***holes and a real interruption to business. From that day on, I usually give the help one chance. If it doesn't work out, I'll go somewhere else.

 

Sometimes it's the old guys in the auto parts store that are lost, not just the young kids. The local O'Reilly's opened after they bought out an old privately owned store. Most of the old help stayed on for a couple of years. One guy I always dealt with refused to try looking parts up if he couldn't use the books. When he told me he wouldn't look up my parts, I moved the commercial account elsewhere.

Years later, the night manager is a decent guy, and seems to be trying to train the young guys right. I went in last week to order a master cylinder for my '63 panel, except I'm upgrading to a dual reservoir. when he asked what vehicle, I told him it was a '69 Dodge pickup, 2 wheel drive. The manager started laughing & the guy helping me asked what he was laughing at. Randy told him he knew what I was really working on... The kid figured out real quick what I was doing.

Outta see 'em when I ask for a condensor for a '68 Chevy pickup with a V8, then put it on my '70 Triumph in the parking lot.

Too bad you can't order car parts as easily as John Deere parts. Using John Deere's web site, you can look up the parts using the Model No. to get the correct parts breakdown. Place the order and it'll go to the local store of your choice for pick-up.

 

I stopped in the Canastota NY Napa the other day and the ***istant manager and I think one of the owners were behind the counter. One on the phone, the other comes out and looks in a book up there. I was there like 5 minutes before anyone knew I was alive. Usually you go into these places and someone's asking if they can help you right off. Not here.

So I asked them if the one guy who works there who has a clue, was there, he wasn't, so I walked out empty-handed...

The sad thing is these guys aren't kids. Makes me wonder how the place keeps the doors open - there's an Advance Auto right across the street.

 

I guess Im lucky to know the people in the local parts store well. They know the sort of cars I work on and realy do there best to find parts. The only time I have walked out empty handed is when they havent got a part or cant get what I need. They always take the time to teach the new guys its not jus 'What, make, model and year?" The dead ****s never last very long.
Too bad I have to moove away, they even delivered to the garage if I needed a part in a hurry, no delivery charge!!
Doc.

 

Really guess I'm lucky...4 blocks away is a old time parts house, go inside
and it smells of oil and grease. 2 older guys working there and know by
sight what your holding and where they have it.
They got a bin on the shelf with different types of steering connectors,them
them what you got and they sort through the bin and pick the right one that
fits. On the floor in back is a new fuel cell sitting there for sale.

 

I WAS lucky.

We had a small but extremeily knowledgeable parts house and machine shop in Hartford WI. I bought everything including paint from them for 29 years. The business thrived until it grew into four stores in area communities.

Then they sold to Bumper to Bumper, 'retired' the previous owner, and change EVERYTHING, brands, computer systems, part numbers, part locations, distributors, and sadly most of the help.

Today, they could not find their ***. Good place to buy chrome wiper blades for your Kio though.

As yes, the times they are a changing.

kermit

 

Hell... parts stores have been like this for at least 10 years! This **** didn't just happen. It's pretty bad when you have to make up a ficticious car just to get a fuel line ....I call them fast food parts stores. I still have one store near me, that they know how to look parts up in a book, so I use them 90% of the time. Ever walk into a fast food parts store with a wheel bearing off a trailer? Its funny to watch the fear in their eyes when they see me walk in, because they know I'm looking for something to fit old or obscure ****. So what else is new?

 

I worked part time at an Advance Auto for about three months until I found out that the guys at McDonalds making french fries were making more than I was. Now when I go in and need a part that is not listed in the computer I ask the counter guy to hand me the paper catalog from the rack. They always do and I often get to pull the part from the shelf in the back. The best parts store I ever walked into is in Selma, NC. Sellars Auto Parts is the real deal. The deer heads over the parts counter is also a nice touch.
I walked in there a couple of months ago and asked for a voltage reducer for a heater fan motor( I was changing a 47 Ford from 6v to 12v). The guy walked back and picked it off the shelf in 5 seconds- the counter guy at Advance looked at me like I was crazy.

Reece

 

My favorite guy behind the counter is the paint mixer at the local NAPA....he's color blind. He does it well though, it just caught me by suprise when I heard.

 

O'Reilly only goes back as far as early sixties on their parts search engine on the internet and then it is only for VW's, so probably their computers at the stores have the same database. Napa has a more exhaustive database and seem to have parts O'Reilly doesn't. Like was previosly said, too bad when the counter guys can only use the computer and don't know how to/want to use the paper catalouges.

 

I'm lucky here in town we have an old school guy (even though he grumpy as hell ) that has a repair shop and alittle parts counter, He is a hot rodder and will go to great lengths to look up parts and even bring in more than one so you can see which one fits and bring the rest back. When he's gone then I'll be in the same boat going to chain stores. hope he's around for a long time!

 

I think we've all had similar experiences with dumb clerk which is why I was a little apprehensive when I went into the performance parts store near me to be greeted by a very attractive, 20 something blonde woman. I thought to myself, this ought to the good...So I asked her about some lowering blocks and to my surprise, she asked me what type, if I wanted U-bolts etc and what kind of car it was going into. When I told her it was for my '49 Ford coupe and I was going to run a 401 Nailhead, she immediately asked if it was a 401 or 425 and said she loved Nailheads. I could have picked my jaw off the floor.

It turns out she's the daughter of the owner and really knows her ****.

 

I made the mistake of buying brake shoes at oriely's. The rear end is an 8 inch ford with 10inch brakes off of a 66 mustang. "We don't stock anything that old" was the response I got. I said, ok, how 'old' do you stock. "We only go back to 68. ok, look up the shoes for a 68 mustang or falcon with 10inch brakes. after 10 minutes of searching through his computor he said he couldn't sell me brakes from a falcon because they wouldn't be safe on a mustang. WHAT???? ok, I said. the rear end is an 8inch ford iwth 10inch brakes off of a 68 falcon. Finally, I got shoes.

I may not know a lot, but these guys at these stores are complete retards some times.

 

I hear ya, I've ordered a few simple things for my flathead through the local NAPA.....half of the parts men are older than me and they don't even know what a flathead is. "Do you mean an L-head". Yes.......

 

I work for the Ford Powertrain ***istance center (Motorcraft reman) and recently got Autozone in to a contract with us to purchase powertrain products. I get about 6 calls a day from them asking about what comes on the longblock and what part number they need if they can't find it in their computer. I now tell them to get the catalog and walk them step by step on how to use it. If they tell me they don't have one I tell 'em I can't help 'em. Don't even ask about trying to explain crossing over engines, to them a block is not a block.

That's just the tip though, They call for chevy's, Mopars everything but Ford, I love when they call to ask for the crossover part number for a craftsman lawnmower spark plug. Or a lighter socket part number for a Dodge! Wiper part numbers, headlights all sorts of non-tech questions.

It's a nightmare

 

My dad owned a parts store on east lancaster in Fort Worth for over twenty years. He had part numbers memorized for thousands of parts. He can still rattle off numbers for parts that haven't been used in decades. There was also an in house machine shop. How often do you see that now?

It got to the point though that the chain stores retail prices were cheaper than my Fathers wholesale prices. So, it is all history.

 

I've got a GREAT auto parts guy i deal with, and i swear, when he closes up shop, i'll quit working on cars. He's got me to where if i have to go to Pep Boys or Autozone i'll shoot my self. Of course i'll be standing next to the new parts guy when i pull the trigger, and duck at the last second.

 

I walked into my local autoparts store yesterday to buy a spark plug for my lawn mower. I haven't been there in at least a month. And before that, not on anything close to a weakly basis.
Guy behind the counter looks up, sees me and says "Hi Brad. What do you need?"

Their prices are higher than NAPA, but they're a 10 minute drive instead of half an hour each way, the guy at NAPA has never said "Hi Brad" when I hit the door, let alone go the extra mile digging parts for my '62 Suburban.

Support the little guys!
-Brad

 

The old timers are going away now who cared and wanted to help people.

Today NO ONE WANTS TO PAY for good help, its corporate B.S. a Punk kid making minimum wage could really care less what he sells or dosent sell becuase he probably dosent get any commission either.

There is no difference now between say a person who works the shoe dept at walmart or the counter guys at advanced auto parts.

Then you get the guys who wanna argue with you over a part when you know your right and they dont even know what the part is.

try this, Call up random auto parts stores and ask if they have a radiator instock for a 69' beetle, now see how many will actully go try and find one in inventory.


The local pep boys, I think the manager is the only one that speaks english. I called for brake pads for a ford aspire and the non english speaking gentleman said "for explore"?

 

had an older guy the other day, maybe 50, who's worked at the *unnamed* store the other day ago suprise me. Needed an oil filter for a 396. SO he asks me make, model, year, tell him it's in a 1978 Chevy 3/4 ton, but it came out of an Impala. He stares blankly and asks, so, what was it out of a truck or something? No, an Impala. What? An Impala, a fullsize Chevy car. Guy had never heard of an Impala! WTF

 

Maybe they're too busy worrying if they're going to be held up or sued for beating up the person holding them up . . .


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