anyone here work at an O'Reilly Auto Parts store?

just curious .....how has your experience been working there?

 

i worked at Kragen(checkers/shucks) for about 4 years. they got bought out by O'relly's. i miss it but i dont. they said " we really like they work you are doing, we want to make you a manager. and we will be willing to offer you a 25 cent an hour raise."


wait. what? an extra ten bucks at the end of a 40 hr work week? naw...thanks. glad to see what i am worth.

also there was too much emphasis on "related" sales. if you sold some poor guy a battery they would knock your dick in the dirt if you didnt sell him washers, cables, spray grease, spray cleaner, a new battery box, and a tester. then they would yell if you carried the battery out to the car for the guy.

they really need to have 2 sets of employees....customer service people who know cars and car parts and the other people who "front and face" and do stocking and inventory. i was good at finding stuff in books and had alot of repeat customers who would ask for me by name. i price matched stuff for people, i had parts on the counter ready when they came in, and i didnt bullshit them about what they needed to buy.

i know, its a business/corporation and they need to turn a buck to stay in business. but how many bucks are they turning away and turning off by shoving battery washers down customers throats?

my two cents.

 

I guess I'll 'fess up...I work for O'Reilly.

some people are cut out for retail, some are not, others are borderline. I, personally, HATE working ANY kind of retail, but at least I get to deal with stuff I enjoy...namely, car parts. The pay isn't great, but I'm money ahead by working close to home right now.

Our store is pretty easy-going compared to the one mentioned above, I guess. Although we're not supposed to install ANYTHING, or turn a wrench on customers' vehicles, our dm looks over it if we help a "non-car person" by installing their battery, wipers, other small stuff like that. None of our commercial customers complain about it either. I know that one sue-happy nimrod will mess it up for us at some point, like they did with our being able to hook up the rental handheld diagnostic computer/scanner to a vehicle to show people their trouble codes or clear them.

It gets busy at times, and EVERYONE will be expected to be up front helping customers...long ago they quit yelling about my ignoring the phone when I am helping a walk-in customer, if there's seven people in the store, ANY one of them can answer the phone, preferably someone who's not currently helping customers.

putting up the daily freight will be a pain, everyone is assigned aisles and is supposed to put the parts up that are waiting in the cart. Then, there is that darned "image maker." different tasks that are supposed to be done during the day...and signed off on by the person who did whatever chore...

Nothing will make you appreciate the fact that you can read/write, pronounce things moreso than working retail auto parts. There will be people who make you seriously wonder how their brain tells their lungs and heart to function, there will be people you swear are talking with a mouth full of a poop-stuffed sock who get mad at you when you can't understand them after asking them to repeat what they said for the tenth time. On the flipside, there will be those customers who appreciate that you're simply trying to help them out, if you're lucky they will call and give you a compliment...usually though, only the complaints bring any attention.

do NOT forget to go through the scripted speil when answering the phone, sometimes a telephone version of a "secret shopper" will call, and the company must hire some pretty good actors to pull this off. They will know things about the area, people's names, and you'll think they're just another dimwit calling. You can pass with flying colors if you can remember to mention the "low price guarantee" before hanging up...if you miss THAT part of the speil, you fail. Period. Makes no sense to me, but hey, common sense has no place in the corporate world apparently?

I like working there better than the time I spent at "Hell~Mart." If you have the chance to work there, and nothing better is set to come along for a while, at least TRY it, you might actually like it...they will advance you pretty quickly if you work hard...at least they do in my area.

 

They just bought Murrays here in Michigan and ruined the store . Got rid of the few people who did know anything and hired all 18 to 21 year olds. I won't be back.

 

Worked there the last 7 years, feels like home.

 

It aint what it used to be. I did my time 96-99, when my lil bro hired on they were adding the auto zone tuner wall o shame.

 

is the battery install free or do you expect a tip ?
advance auto parts pushes the free battery installation bit ..
why are you giving labor away ?

 

I suspect you're going to find it's like any other retail store. Try to upsell the customers as much crap as you can and try to play the clique game so that no matter how well or how poorly you may actually do the job, the managers like you anyways and keep you there. And try not to blow a gasket when someone comes in who doesn't know the difference between his ass and a hole in the ground, for the 5th time that day.

 

In retail parts it's more important who manages you, than the company you work for. All the chains have HR rules that make them terrible to work for, it's just a matter of how those rules are applied. Same as any McJob.

As an aside- I know you're a big believer in respectful speech.......any retail parts counter is gonna be hell due to an abundance of disrespectful customers. Lot of people in over their head and under a lot of financial pressure to get on the road, and just looking to lash out.

good luck

 

I love going to O'reillys .

The conversation almost always goes like this:
Me: I need a starter for a 350 Chevrolet
Them: Whats it in?
Me: 40 Ford
Them: A/C?
Me: No
Them: Four wheel drive?
Me: No
Them:Automatic?
Me: Yes
Them: etc
Me: etc back
Them: etc
Me: etc back
Them: etc
Me: etc back
Them: etc
Me: etc back
Them: etc
Me: etc back

Them: I will have to get look in a catalog
Me:OK

Phone is ringing

Them: (they have to answer the phone)
Me: Thinking---(Person on the phone is more important than I am, actually standing in the store)

Them: Hey anyone know where the xxx catalog is?
Me: Here is the part number on the starter.
Them: Oh.

 

It's more of a courtesy thing than free labor. Believe it or not, there are still people in this world who freely do things for people that can't do it for themselves because they don't know how or are too old to be expected to do it on their own. I'm not going to go outside and install a battery for an able bodied yet insanely lazy belligerent redneck...

yep, happens every day.

would've gone easier if you'd just given them the number to begin with...I've worked with SBC stuff all my life, it just helps to know what model the block came from...some have straight across bolt pattern, some have staggered, some have both, and early ones were not drilled and tapped at all...starter had to mount to the bellhousing...but I'm probably preaching to the choir here. Parts guys are like anyone else, they don't like to be the chosen victims of anyone's little superiority complex mind-games...just as there are people who customers prefer to deal with, there are customers that NOBODY wants to help because they come across as assholes Not calling anyone names here, just stating reality...the commercial customers don't like me very much because I will put them on hold when they call, and deal with my customers in front of the counter first, and answer calls in the order they come in.

I love cars, I love to help people who love cars, I ABHOR people who give me the wrong information and expect the right parts only to come in later red-faced and spitting their "chaw" everywhere with such impeded speech that one needs a translator to understand them...

perhaps i'm an asshole...but i admit it.

 

I'm assistant manager at the store in Iowa City, Iowa. Like an job, it's not so much the company you for as it is the people you work with. We've got a good crew so it's a good place to work. The pay sucks, but O'Reilly has a killer parts discount program for employees, I figure I save $150 a month on parts. They also try to promote from within the company so if you're good at the job you can move up(and make more money).

 

Counter Kids at the local O'reillys I go to are like talking to a robot. I have tried to give them specific part numbers, but they have to recite this mantra of year, make, model, trans, a/c etc every time.

Still cant figure why they spend time to answer the phone when there are customers standing in line at the counter, money in hand.

 

yes! the employee parts discount is fantastic!

thanks for all your responses , it was about what expected...some good and some bad. so far it has been good for me with one week on the job. i wasn't really looking for a job , i haven't had a real job in over ten years...but they called me and offered and i thought with a tight job market i better take it. i'm only part time and will be scheduled about 15 hours a week , mostly nights and weekends. i can still work on hot rods in my shop during the day

hopefullly , i'm not going to be the typical dumbshit parts jockey that has to look it up on the computer.

as for dealing with customers....i'm actually good at it if i haven't been drinking

 

i KNEW there were other counter guys on here.... sorta like the Masons. got a secret handshake and password thing going on. i've done the retail bit for most of the big guys and a couple of mom-n-pop outfits, dealerships and a used car lot. right now i handle a highline German dealership parts counter and if you wanna talk about ASSHOLES we can start a whole forum on my customers alone. was offered a job by O'Reillys and NAPA both and shoulda took one of them on.

dealing with Corporate jerkoffs and their mindgames is almost as bad as dealing with superiority complex-impaired customers too.

 

Which one are you at? I'd like to find someone who knows more than looking things up on a 'puter around S.MN. Wayne P.

 

Wayne , i'm at the one right in owatonna...i work tomorrow from 11 am to 5 pm....if the weather is nice the car in my avatar will be there. stop in , look around and i will give you a free O'Reilly cap..........greg

 

I HATE that so much. The last two times I've been there, they play that game with you. What's the point in having a store if all they want to do is answer the phone? Pisses me off to no end.

Columbia,MO

 

i love the discount too...there have been times it was the only reason I stayed.

The few great customers we have are another reason I like working there, Grandma once told me it wasn't a job if you enjoyed it...so I reckon it's a sometimes job.

On the rare occasion that Russians come in (for some reason, this has happened a few times in the past several months) I get to use my limited skills po russkie, but they find it amusing that a hillbilly would understand what they're saying to each other...I don't mind being tipped in rubles...can't spend it here so management doesn't gripe too much for my taking it from them plus it scares the bejeezus out of bystanders. Some folks still think they're controlling our weather?

 

This would be funny as can be if it were not TRUE... At least I can get help here at mine and they all speak english

 

I work at a local Mom and Pop shop turned Carquest. The chain store mentality of corporate auto parts sucks. They don't want to stock anything aftermarket (i.e. edelbrock, holley, pertronix) and the generally stock their shelves according to DMV reports of the most common vehicles in a ten mile radius. It's cheaper for me to go to BiMart to buy oil than buy it from my store with my so-called 10% above cost discount. They also only want 18 to 24 year old idiots so they can save money on labor. Sorry to rant and rave. Seems the good old days are always in the past.

 

Asst. Manager at Schucks going O'Reilly here. Staying right on this topic, cause I am curious what the new life will be like.
Seems like the O'Reilly parts we're taking in are much cheaper quality than what we had, less brand names as well, and the product that is being withdrawn is some of our top-notch stuff!
We lost Raybestos brake pads, Neihoff ignition, basic Borg Warner wires, Goodyear belts/hoses/pulleys, McQuay-Norris chassis, Fenco clutches, Cardone water pumps, and Exide batteries! All of those listed have been great products with low return/warranty rates. Granted, a few of the new products (Walker carb kits, Sachs clutches, and Johnson Control batteries) should be nice, I'm a little worried of where things are going.

Questions for current employees:
What's up with the rule about employees can't use credit cards that I heard about?
Also, there is a rumour that each employee will have their own catalog rack and register like NAPA; is this true?
How much emphasis is really on commercial?

 

bump to the top

 

I like Napa, cause they have the part I need most of the time, but the jerkoffs won't but out the books so I can look up my own turn signal bulb and my own fuel filter.
and I hate schucks/ O'reilys cause the dont ever have shit at the stor thats closest to me, and I have to drive to another one.
But to the credit of the guys and gals at the Schucks/O'reilys on Ash and Maple here in spokane and for the most part are pretty knowledgeable and friendly, and treat me like I know what I'm doing.

 

I've tried to get a job there but had no luck. Everyone at the local oriellys knows their stuff and know most by name

 

No you cannot use your credit/ debit card to pay on your account at orellys..here is the cheat. buy a gift card then make the payment with it. not supposed to do it but i have been doing it since i started there 2 years ago.

that thing about seperate catalogs...bullshit. there is two set in the store. one for commercial and one for retail. commercial is pushed but you have to realize that oreillys seem to break it up rather well. the iss (installer service specialist) is there to handle commercial accounts. we have a good iss.
oreilys is a good company to work for the only complaints i have is the payroll. when it comes to payroll, everything is a huge secret. they have been screwing me over lately (giving people with less time there and less respondsibility raisies) its bullshit.

 

we still stock Cardone water pumps...

O'reilly started out like a mom and pop thing from what their "history" would tell you. I don't know how long I'm going to stick with the company though...it's quickly becoming the "Wal Mart" of the auto parts world, with Auto Zone becoming like Dollar General of the same said world.

 

amen brother

 

In my area O'Reilly is the only parts store that has anyone that knows anything. They are nice, helpful and polite. When I am looking for a starter for a 350 Chevrolet that just happens to be in a 28 Ford, I tell them it is for a 74 C 10 Pick up,because that helps them and assures that I get the right thing. I am glad they came to town. I have never worked there or in any other parts store though.

 

O'Reilly was great in the beginning, not so sure anymore. We have two of them in town, both are really into, and support the import crowd. If its not a tuner, they cant relate. You would think its O'Reilly's Garage with all the major maintenance in the parking lot. I avoid them.

I use NAPA & Mail order for most things & AutoZone & Wal-Mart for the consumables.