Duh, yourself. I have had an account with my local NAPA for better than 20 years. When I need a part ordered, I simply call and have them order it. They have NEVER asked for pre-pay. Freight charged only if I need it NOW, and I know that in advance. Every part for my O/T 2CV, CX25 GTi, Iveco, etc, etc, that I have ordered from suppliers in Europe has come on a "pay when you get it" basis. Either you are going to the wrong places, or you have pissed off the wrong people. Cosmo
Maybe. Who knows? The odd thing is that this was not some wet-behind-the-ears kid with delusions of grandeur. It was like a 70 year old dude. I'm just wondering what could have been behind it all.
Our local Napa won't even take a credit card over the phone to order something. You have to go in and prepay. The prices are so high that I can order online and spend about the same to get it to my front door. They do have good deals on Brakekleen...I buy a couple of cases per year.
Got to love those chain stores. When he held that card from you he was breaking the law. Just some info on cards. I had my card number stolen one time and the card company told me a lot of things about cards and how easy it is to have the number stolen. They said never let the card leave your sight. And watch what they do with it. Some of the people out there do a double swipe. That means they take your card and swipe it into a hand held swiper then when it full they sell it. These swiper can hold up to 180 to 300 numbers. That how my number got stolen and they traced it back to a local dealership parts department. The card co. Told me. They buy the swiper on line (Out of Country) and when its full, there a site that they post it on and people bid on it. The site is world wide and out of country. then who ever wins the swiper sells the numbers to people that what them. My card paid for fines in the state of Washington and bought over $3,000.00 in on line porn sites. that through up a red flag at the Card Co. and they called me. I was told that they can also put these swiper over the card insert at a ATM, Pay at the pumps and any machine that has a card insert. And the third way is that they walk by you with a card reader and if there close enough they can get the info. why its in your pocket. I keep the reader side of the card the black strip against my body when I have them on me. Which is only when I need them, the rest of the time they are home in a safe place. They also said do not sign the card. That way they got to ask for ID. But none of my cards are signed and most of the time I'm not ask for my ID. I just thought this was a go rant to post this info. (It a real pain then it happens.) The card co. did work with me and they got the person how used my number.
Everybody, Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Haven't heard back from NAPA Corporate, and I'm not sure I ever will. If I hear from them I will let you know what they say. It will probably be good for a laugh if nothing else. SAFU
So you had a bad customer service experience? Unfortunately it happens often. What I don't understand is why you are ranting about it. I understand your frustration, but you know as well as the rest of us that the NAPA stores are franchisee owned. It isn't corporate NAPA's fault this happened to you. I feel for you and acknowledge your frustration. However, I believe this is an issue that nobody on here can help you resolve. I also believe that it would be a mistake for you, or anybody else, to discontinue patronizing NAPA. They seem to have the best inventory of parts for our old relics.
I don't like the NAPA in my town. The staff seems too busy to be bothered, and pretty apathetic about helping you. I don't like that.
It is also a mistake to patronize any place where the product or service is unacceptable. To continue to do so, only serves as a reward for their behavior. And in the end, you get the behavior you reward. Most corporations understand one thing: money. If customer satisfaction is not a priority, do they deserve to survive ? If Walmart does anything right, it is their customer service. Time for some others to wake up.
Thats why i hate it that i have to pay for the part before they order it.... so stupid Although, I will give it up to the Napa in Old Katy off of Ave.B. The old timers behind the counter in there may be a little rough, But they are know there stuff, and will help you out. They just have no patience for stupid lol. I was looking for a fan clutch for the 63 and they had to order it 2 or 3 times. never was right, but they opened up the box and compared with me each time frustrated that the right parts weren't showing up. I never paid a dime.
I went into our local NAPA and bought a fan clutch. Three days later I went back in to buy another one, same part, but now for my other car. The price difference was almost $10. "OH, that's a different application." No, it's the same part number right her on both receipts, so was I overcharged the first time or the second time. It's a Mom and Pop run store that is horrible. A little customer service and I would easily triple the business I give them. (I've got other stories) Now it's emergency only.
ONE call from corporate to a franchise holder should be all it takes (none of them want a "visit"). NAPA Corporate still holds ALL the cards, at any time (with cause) they can pull the franchise. It IS the Corporations fault if they allow their franchise holders to commit fraud (altering customer charges and receipts), theft (refusing to return cards) and support crappy customer service.
thats always a bummer when that shit happens to anyone but make your complaint in writing to corporate or nothing will happen except you being pissed. if they normally have your parts use a different person and be sure and tell everyone you know about your wonderful experience so it doesn't happen to them. your not by chance a asshole are you? lol.
That might get you in trouble. This certainly is not a " 911 " emergency call. Call the PD and wait for the car to arrive and go from there.
You didn't return the part, so he can't charge you for restocking. You never left the store with it. The legal words to use are "rejected acceptance of a non-conforming part".
This is correct but I want to add that there is a new level of encryption that the feds have required gas stations to install nationwide. They have to redo ALL the pumps by a certain date. Avg cost is $250,000 for a good sized store to retrofit. What it does is sends your data to a 3rd party service, the store/company never even gets your card data, only a reference number for that trans action. Should take care of some of this problem.
gee that sound familar ...but I had no problem at all in the local napa, they got the wrong part said sorry and gave my money back,
If the part is WRONG he should have at least TRYED to get it right. Being a corprate store is no excuse. there is no return charge for a wrong part. Idiots like that give all of us partspeople(male /female) a bad name.
BS! It wasn't the mistake that was the problem, it was this guys handling of it and refusing to give back the card, charging a restocking fee, and general attitude. Sorry man but that guy needs to be called out or he'll just keep screwing other people. If he loses his job, maybe he'll figure it out when he gets another one. Hard cold facts of life.
Glad the NAPA I deal is not like that . Its a small town and a small NAPA the owner is the clerk and operator. Never ever had to pay in advance for an order, usually there the next morning. Never a return charge for anything for any reason . He can get lots of obsolete parts for my flathead or about anything else. Hell the punk kids at Autodumbass or O'idiots don't even know what a flat head is . Had the fuel pump for my 55 caddy in stock, got wheel cyl. for 63 falcon next day about 45 bucks for all four. Far as I am concerned all the other "parts stores" suck ass.
I deal with 2 NAPAs in Colorado. The Broomfield NAPA is corporate owned and the Louisville NAPA is independently owned. The independently owned one is VERY corporate they even have 3 brand new prius's to deliver parts. The corporate NAPA is very run down even has a broke down 70's Ford sitting in the front parking lot and a dog running around the shop. Both give me nothing but great service and go the extra mile to dig up parts for me. Just recently a guy at the Louisville store helped me hook a Ford 8.8 to a Chevy drive line with a real funky u joint and flange yoke.... spent 30 minutes figuring it out. Checker and Advanced are useless here.
Apparently he was part of the "sales prevention" team
I try and do as much business with my local NAPA as possible. It's good for the local economy right? Last Saturday I ran down there to grab an oil filter. I passed several of their competitors to get there. As I am going to go in everything looks normal. There are customers at the counter and all the lights are on, but the door is locked. I look at the clock on my cell phone...4:45. The sign says OPEN Sat 8 AM to 5PM... hmmm. So I pull on the door again- the counter guys ignore me until I REALLY give it a rattle. They give me the "go away" or "shoo" hand sign like I'm some kind of dumb animal or something. A few more people pull up and try and get in the door to no avail and just leave. I almost left, but then thought better of it and just waited at the door. When the counter guy finally came to the door to let the customers that were inside out he told me "We're closed". I looked at my phone and it was now 4:55. I replied that I had arrived at 4:45. He tells me that they have to shut the doors early or they will never get out of there. I proceeded to tell him calmly that this was extremely poor customer service to lock people out. A worried look shot across his face and he gruffly said "What do you need?" My reply was " It doesn't matter- I am going to go home and order it off the internet if this how I get paid back for trying to BUY LOCAL!" I left and haven't been back.
Let me clarify my point: IMHO it is the person that is the issue, if his/her supervisor won't rectify the situation, then it is that person's problem. After that if the manager/owner/franchisee won't satisfy you, then it is their problem. If still no satisfaction, then it is up to Corporate NAPA. All I am saying is that it may be best to start at the bottom rather than at the top. My local NAPA store never expects payment from me until the correct part is in hand. That is the decision of the local owner.
OMG, I can't believe I made it through this crap fest. The entire reason you would buy a product like this with a credit card is for consumer protection. It is so freaking easy to dispute a charge, let the dude run up the tab for restocking fees and such. Then make the call or go online with your card company and post a dispute and submit your receipts and grievance against NAPA and get your money back. It will be up to NAPA to prove to the Credit card company that they were in the right against your documentation. The business rarely wins on these occasions.
I have read a lot of NAPA bashing in this thread and the other parts store thread. As such I feel inclined to throw some props to a good NAPA store I have dealt with for decades. Handy Auto Supply in Lakeport, Ca seems to have knowledgeable staff and they have offered me good customer service.
No, the dealership is protecting itself from people that order parts and don't return to pick them up. If the wrong part is ordered, that's the dealer's resposibility. If the customer never comes to claim a non-returnable 500.00 "special order" part ( the correct part for the application ), would you eat that much money?? I wouldn't!!
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