You can tell times are changing

Just think,most of these guys work on other peaples cars outside in the parking lot,,,,

I just got used to my local advance auto,all the employees know me,,i just walk past the counter and get what i need,not to mention they have a computer up front for customers,,,

But,i do enjoy calling some and asking for a thermostat for a 1965 bug,i tell them to call me back when they find it .

 

When I need parts for my hotrod, I go to the local speed shop. When I need parts for my late model vehicle, I go to the local Autozone. No issues.

 

A big part of the problem is the fact that everything is now on their computers. It wont let the counter guys proceed to look up the parts until they have answered the stupid questions like "does it have AC, two or four wheel drive, etc". I worked at a large local auto parts / machine shop 30 years ago, and we had the old catalog racks. It took a while, but I was able to master the old Weatherly Index, which is how the auto parts were organized. I could usually find anything that was still available. Unfortunantly, it has now been taken over by a chain, and guess what?? I talked to an old buddy thats still there. ALL of the OLD books were thrown out. I would have loved to had them just for the knowledge that was in them!

 

Did some of you ever think that the guy behind the counter can see your pompous attitude as soon as you walk thru the door and might be fucking with you also. "Oh sorry sir we don't carry that, guess you have drive to drive to another store".

 

I went to Autozone and asked for a dead horse. I was told to beat it.

 

I'm lucky enough to live in a town that still has a family owned parts house thats been in business 40+ years and the woman that owns and runs it knows more about cars than most men! And has a lot of NOS still on the shelves. Told me just the other day she's thinking about closing up and selling the building! Bummer....

 

I went to NAPA, one of the last of the parts stores that might get it, NO GRADE 8 BOLTS, few others, huh? Good luck Sir the guy says, we are no longer selling bolts. How the heck do you operate an auto parts store with out selling bolts? Try Home Depot he says. In a big city like Chicago you should be able to support a market for fasteners, bolts and hardware wouldn't you think that within a circular mile of your shop there should be at least one source? Not the case. It's a zip tie mentality.

 

i feel your pain guys.
thanks to the great economy i now work in one of those stores
(a_ vance) and you are correct
those kids working there couldnt find their asses with both hands
think about it though
the carburator had ceased being used in production cars before most of them were born.

we do have fans and 1 inch spacers sitting on the shelves in back
but lets face it every car these kids have ever seen has had an electric fan on it.

they dont know what a flex fan even looks like.

last night i was working and a young guy was trying to put a rodchester dual jet on his 74 impala .
my 22 year old co worker who has a degree in auto mechanics from a local wyo tec type school calls me over to help.
(the kid is a whiz at anything fuel injected or electronic.)
and asks me if this carb will work on this young guys impala.

niether one of them knows what a choke is or what it does.
they were standing there staring at it like a spaceship landed in their cornfield.
i had to sit there and explain how a carburator even works to them..
it would be like asking us how a steam car works.

by the way
these kids barely make over minimum wage so you are not exactly getting cream of the crop people here.
i can build a car from the ground up and i had to fight tooth and nail just to get 10.50 an hour as an assistant manager.

 

I gotta agree with this one and give credit to the Napa in Mapunapuna here in Hawaii. Not only are these guys very knowledgeable, but they actually have some old stuff in stock or at the warehouse. I'll drive by several Checkers, Auto Zones etc to go there, because I know these guys give a shit and can produce.

 

In the East Bay, there is no place better than Allied Auto in Fremont,Ca.

 

I have been a mechanic since the early 70's and I feel all your pains. There is only one store left around here that can still get just about anything and that's NAPA. I will not buy anything from others unless its just oil or bulbs etc. Heck I bought a water pump for a 1941 Willys at Napa and they had it local, also carb kits for the same. When it comes to special nuts and bolts you have to go to a large company that specializes in them. When you have been doing for as long as I have I know where to find what I need. Its all about sales these days and if its not a fast mover then don't expect them to have it. I am known as a mechanic around here, not a parts jockey, that's what I call the new so call mechanics that plug a computer into your car and it tells you what part to change. I fix the problem when I can, not just replace everything.

 

G'day, I hope some of you realize that threads like this are offensive to those of us that do work on the other side of the counter. People who have extensive automotive experience and work hard at their job. People who put up with the "car guys" that come in an try and play stump the parts man by not providing all the necessary information about what they are working on.

ms

 

And yes, we do have 1 inch fan spacers and flex fans in stock.

 

Well said!

 

Thanks.

 

I think the point is not whether you have the parts, but rather whether you have counter clerks that know that you do or not. I don't think most of them can sell you an air freshener unless you can tell them the year, make, model, engine, PS/AC/etc.

 

Without the help of my local Orielly's I wouldnt be able to get anything done.

I lived next door to the owner of the local napa, he parked his truck in front of my house all winter long so they wouldnt plow his driveway shut. Instead they plowed mine shut, and had to plow around his truck. That place can go fuck itself.

Autozone is a joke here, used to be good till they did a "purge" and fired everyone except the assistant manager. He was the only one that should have been fired.

The only local place left treats my Dad like he's a prince, treats me like a rotten banana peel. They too can go fuck themselves.

Orielly's I can call or drop in and get treated with the same respect as teh other customers. Great parts guys, and if they dont know they work with me to find the part. I go behind the counter and look thru the shelves when I am looking for a part that should work.

it all depends on the area that you live.

If some of you would just relax and play by the rules your parts trips would be less stressful and you'd come home with more stuff.

Sure fire way to make sure you get shitty service is to cop an attitude with teh guy behind the counter.

All of the major parts stores have a website, do yourself a favor and look the chit up yourselves before you go in.

The guy behind the counter doesnt get paid to put up with your bullshit. in fact they get paid very little for what knowledge they have. This is in part casuing the lack of good parts guys.

if you cant supply basic info on the year make and model of the part your looking for the computor wont answer the question. "well by god they should look it up in the book" you still have to provide basic applications to use the book.

Yeah I remember the old days, go to parts store, give them the info, stand around for 15 minutes while the dude waits to get his shot at the catalogs. Then stand around for another 10 minutes while he looks it up, and another 15 minutes while he goes and searches for the part.

Done porperly today, with info in hand you can get your parts and be out the door in minutes. If you look up teh parts at home and call the store, they'll have them sitting there waiting for you.

Just my thoughts anyway. And yeah times are changing, get used to it, its been happening since we figured out what "time" was.

I'm sure that one caveman said to another times are changing,, look at Og with his fancy stick that he throws at the sabertooth, My rock always worked for me.

Also, your local Orielys can get almost everything jegs summit and other can get, usually at teh same price or less with no "handling" charge.

 

Thanks for being a "mechanic" I cringe when I hear the word "tech" instead...

 

I had a HOT RODDER show up at my counter once he had a 36 buick and wanted new calipers and pads for it. What parts would YOU smart hot rodders sell him. He bought it this way and could not understand why I could not get him the parts he needed. IM A STUPID PARTS GUY.

 

I can't answer 'cause there is no way my mind can conceive a hypothetical where I am a parts man at Autozone.

 

Ouch!

 

Beats starving to death, or loosing your house, cars, whatever. Dont be an elitist prick. We all have needs and without a job they dont get filled. And in todays job market, any port in a storm.

 

Yes I agree with you all on the "have no clue" help behind the counter know it all you have to deal with when there last job 2 weeks ago was flipping burgers by a timer at the yellow archers ! Everything is run by a damn computer and not one of them know how to even change the oil in their tuners but yet they are the professionals behind the counter that can help you with your car problems ! Yea right !
I have learned that I keep a few phone numbers of some friends and usually one of them will have a part I need if I am in a bind . For the little parts that break or I use a lot , I also keep extras in my parts cabinet just for that time I need one and can't wait 3 days to get . I really try to avoid those little asshole shit heads behind the counter at all costs . If I need oil I don't even go there anymore . I use Ams oil now and get it from a dealer that actually knows a real car from years gone by . If I need brakes or something like that I do have an Advance Auto where the manager's Dad has a 55 Ford so he does know how to find any parts you need . If he is off that day I walk out !
It's a real shame we must have to deal with a bunch of tuner kids that have no clue what to do if the computer isn't working .
Damn I miss the good old days of a BOOK with pages to find something or the counter guy that knows all the part numbers in their head ! But the computer is suppose to be better and any dumb-ass can work one of those , right ?
Yep I hate those so called PARTS STORES ! Salvage yards are much better !
Now if I pissed someone off that works in one of these places , oh well you got thrown in the pot .

Retro Jim

 

True. I am lucky, in that my wife and I both retired from the military, and live comfortably on our pensions. I really don't know what it is like to be needy these days, although I did once upon a time.

My post was essentially a ill conceived smartassed response to a smartassed post.

 

counter guy that knows all the part numbers in his head? LOL yeah thats gonna happen in todays market where there are BILLIONS of parts, many specific to year or model.

You get all those numbers and descriptins in your head you wont have enough space to remember how to wipe your ass when your finish taking a dump, if you can remember what that is....

 

The fun part is I know the guy who put the car together but the new owner was such a ahole jerk I let him find out on his own. Two can play at being an ahole and I can lower myself to prove a point.

 

Now that conflicts with graffitti I saw on a crapper stall door in Headquarters USAF.

Right at eye level, when you were on the throne...

"You are the only person in this building who knows exactly what they are doing."

 

I really don't get the guys who pick on a guy making $7/ hr.

 

These monthly "auto parts stores rants" threads are intertaining as best as I manage a parts store and most things stated here are true and false as in, if you walk in to any establishment with special intrest cars, one must assume the lad behind the counter is use to the normal sale of front brake pads for a '06 Shitbox etc, and they are for the most part uneducated of the special intrest cars. With that said, I have 1 guy who is 29, been with me for 7 years and a hot rodder himself and a member of the HAMB and he likes a challenge and helping fellow rodders as he is bored selling the normal parts, so a lookup for gearheads is like a breath of fresh air, very lucky for me and my customers! The next one is 29 and has been with me for 3 years and had some expierence with cars and light hot rodding and will ask qustions and find what the customer needs and is glad to learn as he goes, again, very lucky for me and my customers! The next one is 28 and when he came to work for us 5 years ago,he wasn't real sure where you put the oil or how to check it! No joke! He was an art student but needed a job and we hired him as stock and clean up. He still is confused by the old cars and needs a little help with the hot rod cars with all the mix and match but is very good with the customer and tries very hard on all sales to make sure they are getting what they need. If a hot rod customer comes in, he will either try or ask for help from the others which is all you can expect. Now, with that said, all these men are ASE accredited and honest hard working young men. I am very pround of them. Thieves often show themselves in our buisness as there is simply too much cash and parts access and I can tell you 1 in 3 will be tempted and hopefully caught. The chain stores operate differently and that is one of the reasons the help you guys describe is mentioned. But even there you must find the guy who has knowledge and is willing to work with you. I know guys who work in the chain stores and are very talented and unfortuneatly they are the exception. But to walk in to any buisness with a bad attitude is to get what you asked for. People buy from people, it is that simple. Just gotta find a place like Cheers where everbody knows your name..........

 

It's not the clerks fault in any of these situations, this all comes down to economics, if you are really good at being a respectful personable counter man at an auto parts store and are only making 10.50 an hour chances are that you are capable of growing into a much better paying job, if by the graces it's available. This is at best a stepping or move up the ladder job. Paper route, McDonalds flippin burgers, Bagger at Jewel, Auto store counterman, Apprentice or salesman buyer, Mechanic or Professional installer. Thats sort of how the list goes for the progression of jobs today. I find it sad because the counterman in the past was a catalyst for sales, was the face of the company and truly would have a wealth of knowledge, unfortunately in todays market those virtues and talents are not appreciated by the stock holder types that own business. At this point a 30 year old man who walked into an auto parts store has no idea of what they used to be, A good one could sell you every thing you ever needed, machine your equipment, sell you tools and tooling, parts of every type of high quality, paints, all of it. I miss the not so distant past, but I don't blame the counterman for it's demise, he's just a victim.