So I have this extensive conversation on the phone with a parts guy ( my girl friend went to the part store as I was at work) about the fact that I need some 2.5" circ U-bolts, I sent the old one with, describe the length to him.....I get home to bolt the rear end up and he bent 3" !? WTF
You have to do your business yourself. Parts people and junk yard people do one thang and say another. Even when your standing there I really have to watch them.
Seph they just hire junkies and winos off the street bro. What else can I say. I sent the wife to American Auto or what ever it is that used to be western Auto for some copper coat a couple of years ago. He tried to send her home with a tube of black sylicone. She explained to him that what she really wanted was a can of coppercoat and he insisted that it was the same. She pointed out to him that it wasn't the same and he called her a stupid old bitch. She slapped him and told him that she wasn't stupid or old. He was the store manager. Was being the operative word here.
We've all been over this a kajilliion times because some counter folk will always screw up. Still sucks when someone behind the counter won't even take the time to find out what the customer really wants and then, give it to them. I used to have to go look it up myself until I stopped going to places like Auto Zone, Murray, Car Quest, where the median age is 21 and the IQ is even lower. I used to be a counter guy and I made mistakes, but when I did, I rememebered where I fouled up. Why? Because I WANTED to. Most folks these days don't seem to give a damn about anything as long as that paycheck shows up on time. If the whole world was on straight commission you'd see a more hustle and dedication. That goes for pro sports too. Oh, don't get me started.
Hell.. i went to the parts store a few months ado to get a pickup for my oilpump on the 283. So i bring the pump with me to make sure i get the right one since they have a few different sizes. So i walk up to the counter, tell the guy ( actually the shift manager) "I need pickup for an oil pump." Gives me a blank stare and i tell him again, "I need a pickup for an oil pump, for a small block chevy." So he looks on the compter and tells me there's no such thing. So after he tells me that, i say " Uh.. yeah there is such a thing. Its a metal tube that fits in this hole ( pointing at the inlet of the pump ) and its got a big flat screen that sits in the oil." Then here comes the best part. He tells me " Well you could tap the hole and put an pipe fitting in it and run a piece of fuel line into the oil." GOOD GOD! So i tell him, no thats ok. Ill go elsewhere. And out the door i go.
APPLICATION.....APPLICATION....APPLICATION......the only buzz word NEW counter guys seem to know these days. try asking for a fender washer sometime....."uh...what kinda car is the fender off of?" I was actually asked that of a 20 something kid that knew a lot about data entry and puters and catalog crap, but didly squat when it came to plain old hardware... I MISS HARDWARE STORES WITH CREAKY WOODEN FLOORS AND OLD WOODEN SCREW/BOLT/NUT BINS......
And you didnt go down and kick his ass? WTF.. Make my Day.. Id have drove back and fucked him up. No one should talk to anyone like that woman or not. Id have at least called him out on it and called the parent company or the owner. Dave Dave
it all depends on where you go, I have never had a problem when i go to a real part store, you know the one where the old wood floor creeks when you take a step, the guy knows you by name and he remember the last 10 cars you owned and has been in business for 2 or 3 generations. those are the places tto go to get parts. The other places is for getting oil, anti~freeze, wiper blades, and shit like that.
What do you expect when most of them pay 6 bucks an hour to kids still in or fresh out of High school that dont know shit about shit or care to? Coporate America has Wal-Marted the Parts biz, and it won't be getting any better any time soon, espcially if you live in a city where the chains have bought out all the small guys. Thats what happened here in DFW. No more Gateway, Dick Smiths, or half a dozen others. And for the record, I AM a Parts Guy, and I feel your pain.
I was looking in the phone book yesterday for something and saw several private parts store in there around Dallas. I'm going to go hunt them down and start doing business with them. It may mean I have to drive a ways. Sadly there are phone numbers in the book of places I know for a fact closed over 2 years ago though. Not sure why their number is still there.
It's all about taking the human factor out of the process. All the chains know that they will go through lots of employees, and most cheap emplyees don't know anything about cars at all, so they make systems that require VIN, make, model, year, to make the computer work. That way the counter person doesn't have to know anything except how to enter the information. Real parts stores can usually be found by asking a shop that's been around awhile who they use. NAPA stores seem to do better than most, some CarQuest work, and the small town stores do best. Take the time to find a good one and keep going there-it will pay off in the long run.
I understand misakes, I worked at autozone for the discount during college, boy did that help. any who, I talked to the guy via phone when I got home and saw they were wrong, says he'll bend me a set tomorrow to replace them. what a swell fella, geez, all I wanted to do was see just how low the back of the falcon really was by gettin git off the jack stands
i try to spend my money at the local owner run auto parts store (one's that care at least....some don't), might be a little more but they care and you'll get the right part or at least help finding it. so saying that......anyone around mission viejo area go to Baums autosupply........i don't work there but i don't want them to close and leave me with pep boys.
I work at parts store but I sell body shop supplys and not the parts stuff, but in the store I am at the older guys that know what is going on only work from 7 am to noon. After that its high school kids and crack heads.
3" is a common axle tube size for 9" Fords, 8.75" Mopars and the like...your guy is probably so used to doing 3" u-bolts he just gave 'em to ya outta habbit. It happens, he shoulda been paying attention, but wasn't! Now, of course...that can work FOR you as well! A while back, I was buying two new tires at a busy SEARS loaction and the guy inside writing up the work order asked me if I wanted new stems and balancing with the purchase, and I told him "No"! (I was just putting them on a car to roll around, and brought the wheels in with me. Balancing wasn't impaortant to me, I just wanted the crappy tires off and new ones on! Besides...I had a hunch, and wanted to see if I was right!) Sure enough, as I watched through the window, the tire buster rolled my wheels over, took off the old tires, popped out the old stems, put in new stems, installed the new tires and balanced them before rolling them over to the door and coming to tell me they were done! I worked at a tire store long enough to know it's just routine to install new stems and do a balance on each tire...he never even looked at where the salesman wrote "No balance, no new stems" on the receipt! I ended up getting the stems and balance for free because the guy did what was the noraml routine for him without thinking twice!
I was shocked when I walked into the local parts place ... asked the kid where the 7" round headlights were. He says, getting ready to type on the computer, "What's it for?" Since there was nobody else in the store, I asked, "are you f*@kin' kidding me?" He managed to find them without using the computer
I went to the new Auto Zone in town to buy a small fan belt for Boy Wonder's go cart. We walk up, and in his naive 11 years of experience he says "Good thing the other place is closed on Sunday--we'd have gone there, and they probably wouldn't have it so we'd come here anyway. That saved us a trip. This place is big--they'll have it." Ah...youth. "Actually, that's not the way it's going to happen, son. This place probably will have the fan belt, but we're going to have a hard time getting it." "Why?" he asked, all cute and innocent. "When we walk in there and tell them we need a fan belt that's a little bit bigger than this one (we had the old one, and the cardboard sleeve it came in for reference), the very first thing he's going to say is "what's it fit?" And then he's going to say "we don't have that in our computer." The other place would look at the one we have, walk in back, and pull down the one we need." We then open up the door to walk in, and there's the 42 year old Parts Monkey right there. He looks at me, sees the fan belt in Boy Wonder's hand and says "Is that for a mini bike?" No, it's actually for a go cart. We need one a little bigger. (Walking over to the counter, he stands in front of the computer and says) "We don't have mini bikes in our computer." Boy Wonder looked at me with wonder, awe and amusement all rolled into one. "No...it's for a go cart. And I know you don't have them in the computer. That's why I brought this one in. Can't I just go back there and size it up with your fan belts? "Well...I wouldn't even know where to look." All your fan belts aren't in the same place? This shouldn't be hard...All I need to see are the small belts, and can go from there. "Well, I dunno...we don't carry anything that small..." That's when a slightly less-stupid trained monkey came by and said "The fan belts are right here. What's it fit?" And again, Boy Wonder stifled laughter. On the way out, he articulated his amazement at my worldliness and God-like knowledge of calling the whole thing perfectly before it went down. I savored it, knowing that as he becomes a teenager in just a few short years, he will consider me the dumbest person on the face of the earth. But even when that happens, he will know the true value of the small, locally-ownded Car Quest franchise that's closed on Sunday. And I love that they call me by name when I walk in there. -Brad
went to autozone to get some tune up parts for my 52 chevy, asked for points - ok got that, after som explaining of where they go dist. cap - got that rotor - dude asked front or rear, i said ok, pass on that condensor, he said no A/C parts were listed for my car so i told him i'm going to napa. jackass.
You got U-bolts made at a parts store? I've gotta get some made for my Falcon and Comet, too. Thanks, Kurt
In defense of the parts guys ... Try standing on the other side of the counter and listen to the DUMB parts requests you get. The customers that ask for parts for their Chevrolet Torino ... or their Plymouth Impala ... True ... I swear ...
So true. I was doing the paint specialty work at a parts store, but had to cover the counter, too. The requests and lack of knowedge from the average customer was enough to make an experienced car guy leave the biz. "I need plugs and wires for my Fairmont." me: "6 cy or 8?" "How should I know? You're the parts guy!" on the phone: "I need an air filter for my car." me: "what kind of car?" "ummm... a blue one." me: "sorry, only have them for red ones today." Sad to say, that was a good 75% of the conversations, too. OTOH, I loved helping the guys building custom combinations, like looking for just the right hose to match up a particular engine/radiator/chassis combo.
Guy goes into the parts store and asks the counter guy for a carb for his truck. The stupid parts guy askes him what kind of truck. The customer looks him straight in the eye and answered...pick-up. Truth is stranger than fiction.
sir, i know a parts guy. I worked with a parts guy. You sir, are no parts guy slam outta the way, He nailed it. Every major chain wants to know how many turns on inventory, why you have something on the shelf that only sells twice a year, on and on, and on. Buddy of mine went to work for the Zone, shortly after they invaded Ft Worth. Killer parts guy, good numbers..store clean, etc. They hit him with a surprise inspection, & wrote his ass up for not having 3 rolls of toilet paper in the bathroom(as per company policy at the time). He went to lunch....never went back.Most of the guys i knew in the business, back i the day, got out, went to a dealership, or just started drinkin'
You mean like the guy that ordered an exhaust system for a '73 Impala 350 from me years ago, and then brought it back, bawling that it wouldn't fit the '73 Impala 350....that he had transplanted into his '77 pickup?
I'm lucky I guess. I have an Oriely's close by that has several people who love to look up old stuff (in books no less) and try to find something that matches or works. Also, I have a True Value hardware store very close by that is self owned by a guy who has had it for 35 years and really carry's a ton of the old stuff. Plus he knows everything and really likes to help. Cool.
Frank, There is a parts store in Plano (Plano Auto Supply IIRC) on 14th Avenue. They also have an engine / machine shop attached to the back. Call them, they have a clue. BTW, they also have a book, they'll ask you 'year/model' but if you show a scintilla of knowledge, they'll be able to help you out.
It just gets better all the time, quit doing business all together with Auto Zone back to Oreilly's. I have commercial accounts with both for the shop, the final straw with auto zone was last week, walk in to "see" if they by chance Have a 45 degree thermostat housing for a small block . Tell the gone at the counter, first thing he does is grab the computer and the typical "What year" So i tell him the truth..... 1930 model A coupe small block 400. "OH NO " he sez, my "book" doesn't go back that far. With that I leave.
The Jalopy Journal
