It's the pay scale. No "real parts guy" is going to work for the crappy wages most of these places offer, so you get the kids fresh out of high school who think that "hot rodding" a car means putting a new fart-pipe on thier Honda Civic! If the parts stores would pay more, you would get more "real" help! Nick That said, I look up the part # online and take it in with me. Saves me from strangling someone!
1978 i was a green parts guy then after 15 years i was not .... new kids are hard to train... some can't hardly read and then the computer age let us all down with speed without knowledge after a while all the people coming in pissed cuz thier car was broke was not for me anymore .. no matter how pleasant,fast, correct and money saving i was for them i still have some of my master older years parts books they help me quite a bit.. hot rodders made the job fun and i still am friends with many long time customers now imagine how difficult it is for me to get the treatment that started this thread .. i know my parts and i know my cars ... damn the smart ass counter rookies to hell
I haven't made it to the end of this yet but you have a good point here. Funny thing is when I went to Mexico a couple years ago, there are local mechanics and specialists that sell and repair tires, guys that re-build alternators / starters etc. It made me think about how we just replace instead of rebuild parts. I just bought a remanufactured starter a few weeks ago and in the box with the paperwork was a slip that said "remanufactured in Mexico". I had to chuckle. There used to be a business here when I was a kid that rebuilt electricals for cars, Earlybird Electric. They would go to the junkyards and buy all the cores so when you came in and needed one they already had one ready to go. They are gone now and Pick'n'Pull sells all the cores to major rebuilders who no doubt send them south.
Ive been in parts for almost 20 yrs and yes the new kids are green to old stuff. Most have never had a car with points . Here is some advice . If you have a 55 ford that has a mopar clip and you need brakes have enough sence to know what the clip came from and ask for the parts for that car and not be a smart ass and say I need brakes for a 70s plymouth and say oh there all the same .Ps I have had many a so called hot rodder that thinks he knows every thing but when checking his charging system I ask where is your fuseable link at and he tells me he has no idea because the hot rod shop built it or he bought it this way . The smart guys that turn wrenches know how to request parts for there johny cash special if you know what I mean
The man at NAPA hates me as I always make him go for the book if he doesn't find it in 5 minutes. Year? 47. A what? 47... I feel bad for ya'll with 20's and 30's!
here's a good example. ok, i'm 38 years old...not old by any means, but i look like i'm about 25 or so. anyway i go to the "zone" to get a set of plug wires, a cap, a rotor, points and condenser for my 55 pontiac. of corse, they start out with the same old crap "year, make model, engine"...etc. so i tell the guy working that it's a 287...and he stands there with a glassy look in his eyes. "a what ?" he says. so i tell him again...and he finally found it in the computer. of corse, it shows they do not stock any of the parts. so i tell the guy to give me plug wires, points a rotor and a condenser for a 70 chevy impala with a 350. now he's really screwed up...why did i jump from a 55 pontiac, to a 70 impala ? because the parts are the same ! (the dist. cap is not the same) he had 20 questions like "how do you know those parts will work ?" i just told him that it comes with experience...and if you're around this stuff for your entire life...you'll start to remember what will work on what. he was still corn-fused. then he says to me.."what are points, and what are they for?" this guy had to have been in his early 30's...and he had no clue. it's a real shame when you walk into a place the specializes in auto parts, and you have do their job for them. on the upside...i went back to the same "zone" and was waited on by a girl...maybe pushing 20 years old tops. i told her that i needed a carb base gasket for a small bore rochester 2 g carb...and she knew exactly what i was talking about ! she didn't even have to look it up...she walked in the back, and came out with the right gasket. come to find out...her dad is one of us...so she's been around hot rods her entire life. every time i go to the zone, i wait for her to wait on me. if she's not there...i walk out.
i have a source for the parts no's and such for both my old trucks , 49 and 53 respectively , and walk into the local parts houses frequently looking to see if they got what i need , and all , including the local know it alls at napa , dont have a freaking clue . i walk in and say 53 f 100 with a 239 flatty v-8 and just about every time i get the deer in the headlights look . there is one fella probably in his late 20's at the oreilly's around the corner who knows what he's doing and i will wait till i see his bronco sitting in the lot before i wander in . otherwise i go to the mail order places and deal with them as they talk and understand old ford truckese .
I am 42 yrs old and have been employed in the auto parts industry since I was in high school. It`s the only thing I`ve ever done. I`ve been working on old cars since I was 13, so you guessed it - I was always the "go to" guy for many customers. I`m that "greybeard" that you guys fondly wish for. Of course I`m not behind the counter anymore. I haven`t been a counter guy in years. Like someone said before, they move the good guys on to management. I work for a national chain - no, thank God it`s not AutoZone. I can tell you what the problem is from my own perspective. As an industry average, an auto parts retailer needs to maintain a 33% profit margin in order to both be competitive and keep the doors open at the same time. This is gross profit, after the wages have been paid, after transportation costs, after building and utility costs, etc... This forces the retailer to only be able to pay a small wage to it`s employees. I hate to admit it, but a counter guy with no experience is usually offered $6 hour. Raises are few and far between. I know of several counter guys making $8 after 5 years .... So.... as a recent high school grad, are you going to sell auto parts for $6 hour or ask "want fries with that?" for $8+ ?? That, my friends, is the bottom line. I had an assistant mgr quit one time to go work for McDonalds as a manager-trainee for $12 hour. That was a $3 raise for him .... Upper management refused to offer him more to stay.... So, next time your at the local parts store, go easy on these young twirps -- most can only afford a couple gallons of gas with one hours wage. If you do find a great parts guy - congratulations, but he won`t be there long .
We are all victims of technology. Years ago, a parts supplier was a specialized business - people working there knew cars, probably because they were also the owners and had to know their stuff in order to be competitive. Computer programs designed for auto suppliers have now made that job nearly foolproof for anyone that can read and click on the right information (provided they are given the correct info!). It's not really the parts guys' fault. You don't have to have an intimate knowledge because the technology doesn't demand it. Progress they say... I've been behind the counter after high school and in college. I've worked with books and computer programs so I know the benefits and faults of each. One thing that hasn't changed is the know it all dicks that come in with limited amount of information about what they're working on who get pissed when they have to return a part. They blame it on you. I have to agree with the others. If you know where the part comes from and you know "they're all the same" then pick a vehicle application and give that information to them. The majority of their business is in supplying late model vehicles on a day to day basis, so don't be suprised if they've never heard of a Y-block. I appreciate the stories - we all share the frustration but I think we need to consider the nature of the world in which we live and the hobby that consumes us. It's just another challenge to overcome. As a side-note, I took my radiator in to a shop that's been around forever. As soon as I walked in, the guy said, "I bet that's off of an old Ford pick-up". He was the man for the job.
Could the fact that most school systems no longer offering vocational programs play in to this? I remember taking auto mechanics and from this was able to diagnose, recognize and replace parts. Over the years, students have been convinced that technology was the thing that mattered most, where the money was and would be their future. So the voc ed programs gradually died out. Boy have kids been hoaxed with this idea. Try to find a kid who doesn't mind getting their hands dirty or one who wants to work with their hands.....hard to find. A starting salary for most mechanical trades in my area is around $15.00/hour and even at that, you have little interest. Then you have the kids that took technology/computer labs with no trade courses in school starting at minimum wage and ending up at fast food store, auto parts stores, etc. Wonder when society and our educational institutions will figure this out?
My older brother retired from wrenching a couple years ago, yeah he's a grizzled old veteren of knuckle busting since the 60s, built all sorts of hot rods over the years. He wanted to do some part time "easy on the body" work for a little extra cash so he went to work at an old timey auto parts store. After a few weeks they LOVE him.....when someone walks in with a part, he knows what it is, knows what questions to ask and gets them the part! He actually enjoys this type of work.....of course it pays crap but he don't care.
This is actually one of the biggest reasons I am yanking the 331 out of the caddy in favor of a SBC. The first time I went to get parts was for a simple generator belt. Her: Year? me: 1949 Her: blank stare Her: Make? Me: Cadillac Her: Type? Me: Series 62 Her: Ummmm... me: It doesn't really matter since they all had the same engine. Her: OK.. Whay size engine? Me: 331 Her: Ummm.... Me: 5.4 liter Her: I think that's a Ford engine. me: No, it was the days before liters were used in American cars. Her: Ok.. What did you need again? Me: A generator belt. Parts Manager: He means an "Alt" belt Me: No, a generator belt. Her: Found it.. We need to order it.
In the sixties, as a teenager, when I got my first beater, I wuz lucky. I lived in a small town with only three FLAPS. My Dad had worked for the biggest one years earlier. He had been head machinist/boss of the shop in back. He got mad and quit outright when they wouldn't give him a raise. He was making $2.00/hr and this was 1963. Move forward to 1967. I needed a part, I could walk into any one of these places and by the time I got to the counter, one of the graybeards would say "what ya need this time for that mater can? it's a '59 ferd 223 six, right?" He would get the part and ring it up. The receipt would say "Bob's Repair Shop" and would have the professional discount even tho' my Dad had been out of the bizness for years. "Say hi to Bob for me" as I was going out the door. I was in parts store heaven . . . then I moved to the big city.
I got a job in high school at an auto parts store - greener than grass. I got chewed out and humiliated a bunch of times by old farts and hot rodders, but I got thick skin and I paid attention. If it weren't for some dudes being patient and teaching me a thing or two while they were making fun of me, I probably wouldn't be online here today. I respected the guys who were willing to teach a lot more than the guys who were ready to bitch. I'm just saying - if you can spot the difference between the kids who are just there to make a buck and the kids who are there to make a buck AND soak up any information you have to offer, we might be able to propogate the Hot Rod mentality a little longer. And yes, I was fooled by piston return springs once too.
Ya gotta be smarter than them.. Most of the time you can go to advance's or autozones web site and find your part.. print the page and head to the store. You can also buy it online and pick it up at the store if you really dont want any bull shit but i enjoy walking in and handing them the paper and tell em get me that part number.. When they ask year make and model its usually on the paper cause ya gotta look it up that way or just take the part number with ya and then show the dummys how to look that up on their system! shit ya gotta have a little fun.. I ad a deal where i was getting some tierod ends for a van and the kid looked up the part fine and then he said look heres what they look like right here on the computer. I told him if them were the ones they werent gonna work cause they were wrong.. before we were done had had the store manager over there showing him the pic was wrong Ha Ha.. Only one small snag on a couple parts that online said in stock but they really werent in the store.. I needed other shit too so it wasnt a wasted trip.. Dave
I laugh about this to. I say Henry J with a Chevelle motor, a willys straight axle, and a 9 in. ford rear. They don't know what to think. Luckily, there an ol boy at the advanced auto closest to me that used to race a C/G 53 chevy. I always try to pick his mind about it when I stop in.
Even though my favorite parts guy works at a store that DOESN'T have ANY handicapped parking stalls; I just part in the delivery trucks stalls. The first time I did it, they had MY truck towed. After the court case was finished - they were charged with "failure to provide handicapped parking stalls" - their delivery truck stalls has a sign that says, "Delivery Trucks AND DAVE'S Parking ONLY!" Once and a while, being handicapped has its PERKS!!
You talkin about high school or beyond? My high school offers auto and industrial arts and all those classes. The problem is these days, it's so hard to learn anything or do anything when your tryin to work around all the safety rules they have to enforce. I took small engines as a blow off class this year. It was the biggest waste of time ever, they handed us a manual and bitched about our glasses bein not on. I read on here that that the red B/altered pickup barn find was built in shop class. Too much bs in the way to do stuff like that anymore.
Like you guys this subject is near and dear to my heart. I had been buying NGK plugs from an O'Reilly in OKC for my alky dragster. I go in with the NGK# and this goober tells me it's not a good# and I have to call NGK or go on line to cross it over for him. I suggested that he might be able to look it up and get the right number since I had purchased maybe 48 of these from that very store. He said he was too busy. So I returned to my office and asked our shop manager to go back to that O'Reilly and explain why we are dropping our corporate account and taking our business across the street to Jackson Brothers, an independant who was also a drag racer. I later ran into one of O'Reillys outside sales reps who told me he tried to fire this guy when he was a store manager and was not allowed to. Now to be fair I also had a kid at another one of their stores actually pull out a book and look up ignition parts for my boat and knew what he was talking about. I later called the store manager and complimented him. If you can find it there was a great story in the old Rodders Digest about parts man and parts boy. Great read.
Well right out of high school i got my first real paying job well as i thought back then. Supper Shops started out as a tire changer and was promoted to sales after a month only because i knew more then the three other sales guys who have been there for years. If you have ever shopped there you may refer to the company as Stupid Shops!!. this was the firs time i herd the term You pay peanuts you get monkeys. This was a good job for me because i got 80% of the sales because no one wanted to deal with the other monkeys and we got payed in commission. then i was promoted to manager and had to hire my own crew. let me tell you it was slim pickings out there to find some one who knew anything who will work for minimum wage. So after about 10 years i was done. and they went bankrupt not long after. I have the same problem as you all at my local auto part stores like trying to get a short water pump for a small block Chevy. lol I lived in Anaheim California for many years and there is a auto parts store called Top's Auto i would recommend it to anyone. very few times they don't have what i need if they don't they will get it for you or will call someone who might have it before you leave. i moved 30 miles away from this store and will make the drive only because the drive will be quicker than trying to explain what i need only to find out they don't have it like a water pump for a small block Chevy. The only time i will go the the auto zone or pep boys or any other quickie auto parts stores it to buy oil just my 2 cents ocfab
Don't forget the cars have changed. Some of these "idiots" might actually be decent parts guys for toyotas and subarus. Lots of reminiscing here over the 60s and 70s. In that timeframe, you drove a GM or a Ford or a Mopar. If you didn't you were screwed at anything other than a specialty "foreign auto parts". Basically, in the 60s and 70s, you only had to know maybe 15 engine families, a dozen tranmissions, and a dozen rearends.......And it made you A FRICKIN GENIUS. Today there's a hundred plus engine and transmisson families on the road, and over a dozen automakers. Just try to be an expert on all of em. At minimum wage.......
not to be a smart ass or anything, but why weren't you supporting the independant in the first place?
I guess that must be the case in North Carolina. We still have vocational ed courses and diplomas here in Georgia high schools. Anything from auto shop to welding to farm equipment repair courses. Auto cad and Architecture in one high school I worked at. There was a wait list for auto shop when I was in high school because everyone wanted to take it(even though I lived in yuppy central). I never got in the class but a buddy did, and I did copy all my friends notes/book so that helped somewhat. I could rant about our education system for a few hours. I'm a teacher and I think our education system is completely backwards.
When I got to high school, they had just dropped auto shop and wood shop the year before. The 'hoods around mine were pretty nice, and the yuppy kids had been screwing off and breaking the tools, doing stupid shit, etc. The school sold off all of the tools and equipment, and dropped the programs. Boy, was I pissed! Is it like this all over the country? Nick
I'm not going to cover for the people behind the counter at the auto parts store, but while the stores have gone computer, so have most homes. If you can, it's a good idea to get a list of the parts you need from their website. most common items are listed. Now, the odd stuff may throw off even a greybeard, so be prepared to deal with the crap. On the flip side, there should be an automotive aptitude test for working in a parts store that every applicant should have to take. Just basic knowledge would clean the pool out. I had a girl at my Auto Zone throw an attitude because they were getting ready to close. So, I told her I needed points for an HEI ignition. She began to ask the usual crap and I stopped her and told her they would be next to the air filters in back. She stormed to the back and I left. She's probably still looking!
While we're talking about crappy counter experiences, who else has a big hate for the "new and improoved" napa online? No more search box to look up via competitors part numbers, no generic parts search that will let you wade through a pile of similar parts so you can finally figure out what you have and what its from. Make, model, year, engine before you can do anything... just like the counter... Last winter I was at Crappy Tire looking for an interior part (Help part) for my '83 fullsize chevy. Apparently chevy did not put 350cid engines in the fullsize trucks in 1983 when going through the spiel. Really, its true, their computer said so. =-) On the other hand, Parts Source (A dedicated parts store arm of Crappy Tire) has so far proven to have decent counter people that actually have a clue, and willing to try and find what your looking for. Hopefully that lasts. As for the major parts houses, too many no-beards in them... Problem now is, getting the jobber price from them is like pulling teeth. ($154 'firm' part drops to $84 when I pick it up from the grey beard standing arms length from the no-beard). WTF people? just cause I walk in off the street shouldn't mean I get the gouge price. Probably my biggest peeve with the major parts houses. You'll make even less off of me if I turn around and walk out the door. Alex.
What I do not like is when you receive what you wanted ie an rebuilt alternator and when you get it the threads are stripped or its put together incorrectly. It is not just the employee's it's the china rebuilt parts supplied by the stores.
I was looking for a shock bolt for my PINTO front end. Do u think ford carried them. Found an OLD napa store, i mean OLD. the bolt bins FACED the customer and all labeled properly. I have a gray beard where I usually go,napa I'm the same age, and I always wait till he's free before I go to the counter. He never asks what year etc., and can pic his brain cause he has built and raced cars before. Thank god there are still guys out there like that.
Went to checker today to get rear shoes asked the kid for brake shoes foa a nine inch ford , and he told me i have ni idear what that is
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