Hot Rods Went to the auto supply store today OH MY!

I understand the 'loss leader', I understand the current corporate philosophy about the 13th customer, I understand the need for business to make a profit, yada yada yada.... BUT... I will shop for ALL my needs at a parts store that has properly trained employees with a customer-driven attitude even if I can walk into a 'major chain' store right next door and save money!! Why? Because I look at the TOTAL service a business provides!! I respect what goes into running a successful independent business, and the value that good employees bring to the business AND the customer! I can't afford to burn $100 bills on a street corner, but I CAN afford to support a good supplier that helps me in my hobby! If a parts store doesn't respect me and my purchases enough to hire and train good people, fuck them and their business model!!

 

Gimpy's comments about "Loss Leaders" reminded me of when I was a young man. I would read the grocery stores ads, and question the "Loss Leader " prices on some items. My father told me that those prices were to get you into the store to buy the other products that had more realistic prices.

 

Hey!
"Hey!"
You!
"You!"
Get off of my cloud!

 

A "loss leader" in a grocery store or an auto parts store weekly ad is exactly what you said it is. An item priced to get you into the store in hopes that you will buy something else at regular or inflated prices. As noted in a post in another thread, NAPA currently has VR 1 30w oil on sale . It's a loss leader. The first example is NAPA's and the second is O'Reilly's. Both are on sale so, both are loss leaders. Look at their websites and the regular price is 9.99. One is losing 50 cents and the other is losing $4.00 per unit. Now, what am I going to buy at either store to make up for the difference? Neither store has ever had brake hoses on sale as loss leaders.

This discussion started with me trying to find a brake hose which is a regularly priced item and therefore, not a loss leader, in their inventory and requires the same input from the counter person to find as I would have to in order to bring him a printed out copy of the item complete with the part number. At no time was I rude or disrespectful. If that counter person can't use the information I provided in order to find the part, he's useless.

Valvoline VR1 Racing Motor Oil 30W Conventional Racing 1 qt (US)

5.0
(11)
Part #: VAL 822401
$5.99
/ qt(s)
Save $4.00
Was $9.99



Valvoline Conventional Motor Oil 30W 1 Quart - RACE30
Part #
RACE30
Line:
VAL
$9.49 Each
ON SALE
Reg. $9.99
FREE Ship to Store
pick up by 4:45 PM today
Check Other Stores
Deliver by Tue, Apr 18
Order within 24 hours

 

I bought an inner tube at my local big, independent tire store a couple days ago.
The waiting room was crowded with people waiting for tires being changed on their cars, for hundreds and probably over a thousand dollars, in many cases.
The salesman said he made $1.20 on the tube.

Thankfully they tolerate me. And I was wise enough not to ask if I could dig through their old tire pile.

 

can you scuba? there are two million down there

 

No, those are tyres, I need tires!

 

If you were in Tennessee, they would be "tars".

 

After the front office costs, labor, their cost per tire, utilities, rent or what it would cost them to just have the building functioning in order to actually get tires on a customer vehicle, I wonder what their actual profit percentage is per unit?

 

The parts search is most of the adventure now days when putting together a hot rod. But the issue isn't only in auto parts stores. it'd all over. I went into the golden arches, asked what size to nuggets came in, the kid said "4, 6, or 10" I asked for a half dozen, the youngster said, "Sorry, 4 , 6, or 10" I asked, So I can't get a half dozen, he said NO, I told him I'd take 6. He never caught it. Oh well. Old parts stores are going by the wayside, so whenever possible, I buy up more then I need as they get ready to close, keep my friends in parts if they need them, like petcocks, mechanic wire, spark plug gap gauges.

 

Needed some more brake hardware for the Mercury.
Looked up a part. Orelies popped up. Had pics and measurements.
I have a student that works there, he screened shot the part numbers to the store.
Modern parts shopping is super easy

 

I agree with Anthony. Parts shopping has never been easier. I spent my working career in the parts business. Anyone who can navigate the HAMB should be able to walk into any parts outlet with the manufacturer part number needed in hand. Better yet, check the store inventory on line before venturing out. As a manufacturer sales rep, I never would treat an inexperienced counter person poorly. If you’re gonna build hot rods, a great deal of due diligence on determining what you need is necessary.

 

If you have the ability to use this wild and futuristic advanced modern telecommunication technology to read and type words on the HAMB, there's no excuse not to use that technological marvel to search for the parts you want before driving to the store.

There are the 4 major parts store chains within 5 minutes of my house, all with a revolving door of employees. These people don't know as much about cars as I do, but I'm not going to shit on them for that. In fact, I'm going to do my homework and find the exact part number for the part I need before leaving the comfort of my sofa. I'm going to search that part number to find the best deal, then make my decision if its worth shipping, or pick it up locally.

When I walk in the store, I already know if they have the part, and I already know the price. The counter person only has to process my credit card. If it doesn't fit, it's my fault for being a dumbass (it happens). I can even order the part on the internet and have the part sitting there waiting for me to pick up, how insane is that?

Seriously, the customer is the problem, and if people want to keep being dickwads to counter guys because of some twisted superiority complex, wait until there's nowhere left to go to get parts for your vehicle. In the future every parts store will be commercial sales only and not be open to the public except for maybe a drive up vending machine that sells scented trees and skull valve stem caps. How will you fend for yourself? What will you do without the 20yr old gamer behind the counter to blame for your ignorance? Oh my!

 

I was VERY successful in retail for many years and there are a couple things I always trained my employees in. The first one is that the customer ISN'T always right. You just want them to think they are in the end.
The second one is, there are just some customers you are better off not keeping, nor wasting your time with.

 

Tman, I trained my guys to remember that IF the customer is right, it'a often just a coincedence

 

Of course the customers are always right.

If you don't believe it, just ask them and they will tell you so!

 

I count 11 in your description. There are not 13 parts stores because they need YOUR business. There are 13 parts stores because of the other 99.9% of their customers who drive stuff that's more current that they can stock and sell in a reasonable time frame. To me, an HEI Distributor cap, SBC starter, 10SI alternator, v-belts, and SBC 2 and 3-line fuel pumps are regular stock items. Heck, I have 5 vehicles in my garage that use most of those parts. The truth is, those are 30+-year old parts that some parts stores near me have, but most don't stock. What you've mentioned is the exact reason why there are performance and hot rod shops. When certain parts are not mainstream, they become available from specialty shops that cater to a niche. We're the niche.

Heck, about 5 years ago I needed upper control arm bushings for an S10 on a Sunday. I went to four parts stores before I found any in stock. My local town has about 80,000 people. Is it reasonable to expect them to stock parts for a vehicle that is 14 to 36 years old (at that time)? On a weekday, they could be sent from the big city right next door the same day, which works for most people and shops. Our old junk that wasn't that old 30 years ago is old, and we're a small market for chain parts stores.

A product being on sale doesn't necessarily make it a loss leader. A loss leader is something sold below the minimum profit margin. Some retailers price their products higher, then put them on sale. The sale looks great, then you compare to another retailer's regular price and realize it's a marketing ploy, not a sale. I've noticed this with air tools at my local Canadian Tire store. I purchased the same brand and model DA Sander and right angle die grinder for less from another vendor at regular price than their "50% off!" sale price at Canadian Tire. For the oil you show, even though both start at the same price we don't know if the price at minimum margin is $9.99, $8, $5.00, $4, etc. Sales are intended to get us in the store, yes. But not every sale is what it appears. This is why if you watch certain stores, some products are on sale nearly every other week. Are they selling it well below margin every other week? Much more likely they're selling it well above margin on the off-weeks.

 

You are all free to accept or discard my advice.

Whichever you choose, it will have no bearing on the state of the industry.

 

When shopping for parts or services, I don't care what all the great discounts or one time only prices are. Just tell me up front how many of my green dollars need to go into your pocket to get what I want.

 

I was hoping for these stories...guys feeling like a big man for making the kid getting shit pay behind the counter look like a fool.

Some asshole on Reddit was furious about the "idiot girl" who couldn't find his '96 Silverado in the computer. Yes, it's her fault that she doesn't know the exact year GM transitioned from C/K to Silverado, even though she wasn't even born yet. The joke's on you, people.

@anthony myrick said it best: " The parts counter people that speak our language are gone. So I learned to speak theirs. works out well. attitude has a lot to do with having a positive outcome."

 

For over 40 years I was a mechanic, working on Cat equipment and over the road trucks and any other brand equipment. I used the same outfit Cook brothers for over 20 or more years and those guys I saw or talked to 5 and six days a week always somehow got me the parts I needed. Professionally speaking my job would have been a lot harder without good parts guys. I treated those guys with the respect they deserved, and they returned that respect to me.

 

There it is. I get the 15% discount for ordering online and it's waiting on me when I get there.

I do miss the old days where the old farts would be sitting on bar stools, smoking at the counter. It was a thing of magic to watch the parts guy thumb right to what you needed in the catalog.

 

I worked for a parts house in 2000-2001 that was like that. We specialized in engine parts, reman engines, etc. Our only computer was for sales/invoices/receipts, not for looking up parts. We had hundreds of catalogs on the counter and in filing cabinets. The showroom was filled with engine blocks, cylinder heads, pictures of the owners old drag cars, cigarette smoke and the scent of burnt coffee. I watched the 9/11 events unfold on a black and white portable TV in the boss' office while fielding phone calls and handling walk-in counter sales. Usually our customers were pretty knowledgeable and knew what they were after, but this was back before the internet was in every home or pocket and most people could function on a day to day basis without being nannied like now.

 

If the same part or service is more than 2X the price at one vendor versus another, I'm sure you'd care then. These days, shopping around prevents you from giving away too many of those green dollars by buying it at the wrong place.

 

Been behind all kinds of parts counters through the decades; agricultural stuff, auto and light truck, marine, turf, salvage yards and retail outlets; have seen all kinds of counter guys and gals come and go, some real car people and some who just knew how to run the system efficiently. Aaaand a bunch who couldn't figure out how to deal with customers' requests and left the biz. I don't even try to explain to counter people what the application is for weird old stuff, just give them part numbers. New stuff? Same thing. Don't overcomplicate the process.

 

What I was trying to say was I don't care how you get to your bottom line, just give it to me. You're low I buy from you, guy down the road is low I buy from him. There are times I pay a little more for the service or convenience.

 

Just left oreillys. 17 year old kid handled the transaction.
Zero issues. Got parts for a 70 year old car.
I give em numbers
They get me parts.

Its almost too easy

 

so, when you buy obscure parts on the titnternet, thats when it gets confusing
look at this guys advert for a simple little bush type thing
Cougar Fairlane Ranchero Torino Leaf Spring Mount Pad | eBay
he has taken the time to measure the thing and list all its possible fitments
- the vendor has become the parts catalogue.
which is nice. its actually outstanding and really helpful.

 

About two years ago I was in Silver City New Mexico. I broke down on my bike due to some hardware that fell off my bike (1970 Moto Guzzi Ambassador). I went into a large parts chain store and couldn’t get anything remotely close to listen to what I was looking for. I was trying to wing it and just get something close to get me back on the road. Everyone insisted on the year of the car it wasn’t for a car. It was for a bike. Look this is what I needed something close to this. They still insisted on the year of the car. It wasn’t until some middle aged lady came through to return some brake pads that she overheard the conversation. She stop the two kids and interrupted and said to hike it down two blocks and the guy in the old garage would set me up nice. Pushed my bike two blocks out of frustration to the garage she mentioned. The gentleman. Who ran the shop came out and we talked about two minutes and he led me to a box of odds and ends of car and bike parts. I was back on the road in under an hour. Left the gentleman $40 but he would not take it. So I got on the road and just was thinking the whole way till I got to Moriarty what is to become of the next generation of people. Not trying to bash on anyone but damn just take a minute to listen to what I got before trying to look it up on a computer or a phone. My two cents.

 

Lots of dreamers here.