Got Laughed at Today at the parts counter!

[cseay1949]

One thing I do want to add is in my final year working at NAPA, AutoZone's were starting to pop up on every corner. And AutoZone had the corporate higher ups at NAPA scared. They actually came in, took us counter guys out to a steak dinner and gave us a presentation on the changes that NAPA was making in order to compete with the changing nature of the parts business. Becoming more open to the do-it-yourselfer (moving counters back, putting more stuff out front), better pricing (getting rid of the Made In USA TRW water pumps that had the NAPA brand, and putting some Made In China water pumps in the SAME BOX!), and focusing more on retail rather than wholesale sales. I enjoyed my steak and potato and started looking into a new line of work soon after.

[Thefingerisout]

Someone could have been seriously hurt. I'm pretty patient with the computer situation these days. I mean if your getting spark plugs and they run through the questions which include "Does it have air conditioning"? I know that it's just part of the stupid identification process.
A few days ago I decided that I needed just a bit more pressure in my radiator and an overflow tank. I ordered the tank online and went to an O'Riellys parts place for a standard Stant 10lb pressure cap. The kid went to his computer to look it up and I told him to just go back and grab a cap...no he had to look it up. I said it is on a 1930 Model A and it's not stock. His buddy at the counter looks over and says "Dude, that's not gonna be in the book". Then he asks what motor, I tell him its a small block Ford but the radiator is not stock so just go back and get me the cap. He pushes a few keys and then..............HERE IT COMES, he says "Did you drive it down here"? "Yes". "Go out and take the cap off and I'll match it up". I came unhinged, are you friggin kidding me? If someone who didn't know better went out and pulled a cap off of a hot engine you know whats likely to happen! After I read the guy the riot act I just left. It's way beyond just dumb and dumber, some of these guys are flat out a danger to the public. I really miss real parts houses........................

[1971BB427]

Doesn't matter if it's Autozone, Oreilly's, NAPA, or whatever. If the store has an online catalog I always find what I need there first, then write the numbers down before going to the store. Otherwise I'm standing there for 10 minutes trying to walk some idiot through what year Austin came with a 327 Chevy motor, or why the 427 doesn't come up as the correct year, or etc, etc, etc.
They're all worthless and can't do anything without their computer.

[Faus]

I work at autozone part time and I agree that most of my co-workers and managers are lacking in the automotive knowledge dept.... It worse at advance auto and oreillys.... I have management and co-workers alike asking me to help a guy with a pre 1995 car.... Hell.... One of my managers had no clue what Studebaker was or even Merkur.... Sad but they pay shitty for parts people nowadays... Luckily I am a teacher, so it's not my only job.

[IRISH13]

I went in the other day at Oriellys to get new motor mounts for my chevy truck with a 350. The girl said she had to order them and I could pick them up the next day. I went in, she wasnt there, but the guy behind the counter hands me 2 trans mounts. I said um ya I cant bolt the motor to these. He says, did you still want them? Both of these people were assistant managers.

[chevy3755]

just tell them power windows and whitewall tires........works every time.....

[seth62]

Or when you ask them for a Volkswagen radiator and they actually look for it or a muffler bearing idiots

[Drunk Man]

Originally Posted by seth62

Or when you ask them for a Volkswagen radiator and they actually look for it or a muffler bearing idiots

Anyone that would go into a parts store and ask for those items is the idiot.

[62rebel]

first post and it's a stab at a parts guy. nice going. kind of like your first day in prison; find the biggest guy around and kick his ass; establish yourself as a real take-no-prisoners tapout kind of guy.

[Mike51Merc]

Originally Posted by Thefingerisout

Someone could have been seriously hurt. I'm pretty patient with the computer situation these days. I mean if your getting spark plugs and they run through the questions which include "Does it have air conditioning"? I know that it's just part of the stupid identification process.
A few days ago I decided that I needed just a bit more pressure in my radiator and an overflow tank. I ordered the tank online and went to an O'Riellys parts place for a standard Stant 10lb pressure cap. The kid went to his computer to look it up and I told him to just go back and grab a cap...no he had to look it up. I said it is on a 1930 Model A and it's not stock. His buddy at the counter looks over and says "Dude, that's not gonna be in the book". Then he asks what motor, I tell him its a small block Ford but the radiator is not stock so just go back and get me the cap. He pushes a few keys and then..............HERE IT COMES, he says "Did you drive it down here"? "Yes". "Go out and take the cap off and I'll match it up". I came unhinged, are you friggin kidding me? If someone who didn't know better went out and pulled a cap off of a hot engine you know whats likely to happen! After I read the guy the riot act I just left. It's way beyond just dumb and dumber, some of these guys are flat out a danger to the public. I really miss real parts houses........................

Hey, I'm no parts genius but I know enough to know there is no "standard" cap. Besides the pressure, the neck depth differs.

Again, it's up to us to know what we want.

[62rebel]

i think there's 37 different radiator caps on our shelf.... go back and get ONE, and see if it fits.

let me put this into Navy Storekeeper frame of mind: first off, you have to have a work order authorizing the job you're doing and it has to have the model, make, serial number, modification number, and process number for the job you're doing on it. then we can take the information given us and identify by Federal Stock Number EVERY LAST PART in that particular piece of equipment and get you a replacement for it. BTW, IF that part has been upgraded or replaced with a better one, we'll let you know that as well, and more than likely give you a copy of the change letter that covers it and any change in process that it might need. NOW; no snipe or turd chaser ever got ANYWHERE past the door showing up with a fuck-you attitude towards Supply..... and no parts went out without proper paper trails showing the tech involved had given all the information required.
see; it's all relative to the attitude of the guy asking for parts: come in prepared to give any and all information you can, and don't be a DICK, and you'll probably leave with the correct part in your hands. be that guy who has to swing his nutsack around and bray like a jackass, you'll just leave pissed off and empty handed.

[KenC]

I spent a lot of years as a programmer, analyst and manager with computer systems. Also have spent a lot of time working on cars both hobby and for pay as my Dad owned a salvage for 30 years.

Mixing the knowledge and experience of those two backgrounds leads me to believe that the major issue causing the 'twenty questions' to get most any part is the system design, not the guy/gal punching the keys.

Why can't the beginning menu be selectable: start with make and model or part.

Entering the part name first could allow one to bypass all the questions that don't apply: why ask questions that don't apply to the part needed???

But, it is a lot easier (cheaper) to design, code and maintain the 'ask everything' design.

[62rebel]

i DO wish the system would let us do that.... most of the current online catalogs are so counter-intuitive to looking up generic parts that they're difficult to work around. most of the time, i use the specific vendor's online service instead of wading through our (often misleading) store system. when i worked the VW/Audi dealerships, we NEVER trusted the Etka system to find anything without punching in the VIN..... WAY too many variables and combinations. and that's JUST ONE major manufacturer..... Mercedes has FORTY THREE distinct models. every one of them has variables.... GM brake systems are a freaking NIGHTMARE without proper ID of the type used.

[Faus]

Originally Posted by seth62

Or when you ask them for a Volkswagen radiator and they actually look for it or a muffler bearing idiots

Volkswagens have radiators.... They have had water-cooled motors for thirty years.... If you're talking 50's-70's beetles or 60's-70's other Volkswagens then they do not have radiators. If you walk into a parts store asking for a Volkswagen radiator then the parts guy is gonna think you're talking about a post beetle era Volkswagen. So do not call every parts guy an idiot, just tell them the year, make, model, and sometimes engine, don't assume the guy is gonna know what you're saying when you say radiator for Volkswagen.

[RagtopBuick66]

This morning standing in line at the O'Reilley's...

Other Guy In Line; This truck is killing me. Can't get it to go into reverse.
Me; Yeah, I'm having the same problem. Can't get mine into first or reverse.
Other Guy In Line; Last place I went wanted $168 for a new TCM! I'm hoping I can get it a little cheaper here.
Me; Man, I feel ya. Last place I went wanted $0.68 for the little plastic bushing I need for my linkage. But they would have to order it. So now I'm here. I hope they don't want, like, a dollar for it...

I love driving an old car.

[62rebel]

the ones of us who've had a type of car long enough to know the part numbers for the shit that breaks all the time just ask for that part number... sometimes we even know cross-reference in case that place doesn't carry our preferred brand..

i know guys that carry little notebooks in the glovebox with every donor car and part listed so they don't have to be Indiana Jones every time they go to the store.

then, of course, there's the Dogg the Bounty Hunter guys. THEY come in loud mouthed and thinking everybody is an idiot because they can't find parts he can't tell what they came off of.

[oldguard]

All Volkswagens have radiators, water or OIL, it does the same job, and, from the late 60's on, even the air cooled engines have thermostats! Yes they do! On the passenger cylinder head underneath is a thermostat that a rod runs up to a set of flapper doors to let the engine warm up. With this knowledge revealed, is it really worth showing the world of your knoweledge?

"Better to keep ones mouth shut and let others guess your intelligence then to prove it ! "

[flacoman]

SNIP! _ Then he asks what motor, I tell him its a small block Ford but the radiator is not stock so just go back and get me the cap. He pushes a few keys and then..............HERE IT COMES, he says "Did you drive it down here"? "Yes". "Go out and take the cap off and I'll match it up". I came unhinged, are you friggin kidding me? If someone who didn't know better went out and pulled a cap off of a hot engine you know whats likely to happen! After I read the guy the riot act I just left. It's way beyond just dumb and dumber, some of these guys are flat out a danger to the public. I really miss real parts houses........................[/QUOTE]

This is one of the few times you can use your handy dandy smart phone ... take a picture and bring it back.

[Mike51Merc]

Originally Posted by 62rebel

the ones of us who've had a type of car long enough to know the part numbers for the shit that breaks all the time just ask for that part number... sometimes we even know cross-reference in case that place doesn't carry our preferred brand..

i know guys that carry little notebooks in the glovebox with every donor car and part listed so they don't have to be Indiana Jones every time they go to the store.

then, of course, there's the Dogg the Bounty Hunter guys. THEY come in loud mouthed and thinking everybody is an idiot because they can't find parts he can't tell what they came off of.

I know not everyone is on the internet, but everybody HERE is! It's easy enough to look up your own part numbers and cross references, and PRICES on the internet. Compare vendor to vendor, etc.

I saved over $100.00 on an O2 sensor (and not a cheap replacement, an OEM unit exactly the same) just by shopping around and knowing part numbers.

I used to own a couple of Cadillacs (although I'm NOT Mitt's wife). I saved hundred$ on parts by learning/knowing the GM part numbers and cross reference to Chevy, etc.

No offense intended, but you gotta be a fool (for many reasons) to just walk into any parts store and ask for something when all this information is at your fingertips.

[monkeyspunk79]

The dirty little secret about O'Reilly Auto Parts is that they have lifetime warranties on their ignition points. So looks like I'm never paying for another set in my cars.

Just sayin.