Same issues here in NZ. Supercheap & Repco are our nemesis here. A lot of the locally owned stores have gone or are closing. Supercheap are full of young kids with no idea at all. Repco at least have some staff who are able to understand what your looking for but you pay for it. If you still have local stores with knowledgable people, support the hell out of them to keep them in business, otherwise............
HAHA!!! you must have been to the autozone by my house (san dimas)... TOP NOTCH!!! The "manager" reminds me of Kevin Nealon from SNL.
Pass on all the large chain stores unless you really have to. Go to your local garage or new car dealer and ask them where they buy parts and get machine work done and start going to that place. With the internet you can look up most parts on line, let your fingers do the walking. Find a counter guy you like and stick with him. I worked with a guy 15 years ago who had a following. Customers would come in and ask for him, if he wasn't there they would come back when he was. He switched to a different store and the same customers followed him there. Good help is hard to find! In the case you do end up with a guy/gal who seems a little lost, give em a break, they might just be working hard towards achieving their own hot rod dreams. Nothing worse than an arrogant, a-hole customer who can't understand why you don't have parts for lawn tractor or their Yugo! On that note by favorite parts store moment, as an employee, came when we had a guy come in multiple times during the day. Each time he needed some other part to shotgun into his POS Cavalier or whatever to try and make it run. Plugs, wires,battery, ignition module, computer, etc... Wouldn't listen to any advice, rude as can be, drunker as the day went on, ruined everyones day by being a total jerk. 9 pm, store closes, 9:05 he rolls up and jumps out of the car and runs to the door, pulls the door, but we're locked up and closed. Yelling and screaming pounding both fists on the glass, "I just need one more thing!" Sorry bud, we are closed, you better leave before we call the cops. Moral of the story, DON"T F$%K WITH THE PARTS GUYS! Remember arguing with a parts guy is like mud wrestling a pig, the more you struggle the more he enjoys it!
My Cousin has an '81 Trans Am that had a 301 in it but he swapped in a 400 pontiac V8. He goes up to the parts house to get some head gaskets and told them his car and his motor. The next 10 minutes he spent arguing with the guy at the counter. The dude working there told him there was no way his car could have that motor and that his motor was a 301. Then an older man that worked there asked what motor he had and walked right into the back got his gaskets and that was it. Some if the people that work there have no knowledge of cars whatsoever.
I have always found it helpful to choose an application for the part I want. It seems like one of my most used applications is "78 Chevy truck". Lots of "generic" parts possible for this when you think about how they can be optioned.... big bloc, small block, THM 350 & 400.... Sometimes I will spend quite a bit of computer time finding the application of a speciffic part I have seen before and I need for my build. Another helpfull tool is those big old seldom used parts books with the pictures. Sometimes I will sit myself in a corner and look at pictures... till I find the part that looks right...
Yea and sometimes they have hotrod deluxe rags I usually piss off the guy at the counter cause I just stand there looking at the mags and when he says can I help you I will smile and say probably not .
More and more businesses have decided the only way they can be successful is to follow the WalMart business model. Hire the least skilled people possible so you can pay them the least amount possible. Consider hiring them as part time employees so you don't have to provide benefits. With the money you save, spend a bunch of it monthly on expensive computer systems so you can keep track of every penny that comes in and goes out the door. Train the employees on how to use this computer equipment rather than how to do their job better. Otherwise they will develop job skills and expect to be paid more. In which case you can just cut them loose, hire another part timer and start the whole process over again. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Because all of the McDonalds jobs are being taken by people who don't speak english. The fast food rejects still need someplace to work...
Just as a suggestion to make your lives easier in the harsh reality that is the modern auto parts store, grab a loose leaf binder. Write down at the top of each page Front Suspension, Engine, Trans, Electrical etc. Write down as much as you know about what you have. When you buy something and it fits, write down the part # and the date. This will be useful for yourself, a good selling point if you sell, and it will allow you to keep track how long those parts last.
I just see if I can get it from Rock Auto first, it's usually cheaper there. Although I guess if I print it up Advance will match the price. And Napa can be real hit or miss, I don't know how the one in Canastota NY is still in business now that the one good guy in the place has been gone moved out of state for a good year, year and a half now. No one inventories, no one puts away new shipments in the right place, so you ask for part #xx-xxx and the other guy looks where it's supposed to be and finds none - they're stuck someplace else or still in the shipping box - so he tells the customer they're out... I've heard stories of sexual harassment of customers.. and one of the employees is gay so it didn't matter if it was male or female customers.. and so on. I just go to Advance and try to outsmart the computer.
Hilarious! I said it before and to repeat, workin' a parts counter can be a blast sometimes! Now, ya got a detent valve for my '51 Balooie? think I blew mine readin' your stories!
I live near Napa's warehouse so that helps for the in stock part of the problem but the parts jerks are a problem that is difficult to over come. If possible find the gray haired guy and get to know them. The other guys that have dealt with me know it's probably not going to be a new car part I'm looking for anyway. The computer has replaced their ability to use the catalogs for a part. If the older parts guys are busy I usually start with" I'm here to pickup the 8" over front end for my '53 vespa, ah Mark was helpin' me" They let him know I'm there:]
Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever have your wife call the parts store for you and then argue thru her with the counterguy! Also, avoid having her pick things up because it causes trouble. How would you feel trying to find fu fu thread in a sewing store? Knock it off!
I went in to the local Autozone looking for a fuel filter for a '74 Ford F250.The girl at the counter asked if it had the tank in the cab(I've never seen a '74 F250 with the tank in the cab,only two tanks under th frame in the rear).I told her nevermind as I spotted my friend who is a car guy that works there,but before I went to him I asked her to pull up the part number for a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle.I got my fuel filter,and the following day when I went back to get a fuel pump,she was there,so,same bit,I saw my friend,dealt with him,but this time I asked her to look up a set of pushrods for a 1993 Maxda RX7(Funny,she looked for them),and I asked if she ever found the number for the water pump for the beetle.Yup,she still works there,but they wouldn't hire me,due to being overqualified(I have retail experiance and have knowledge of vehicles of all years)
You lucky son of a bitch!!!! And then you say Oriellys is the best??? I've been looking for the parts counter guy that can smoke a whole cigarette and never ash it while he looks at my part, flips open his rack of books, heads to the back, and comes out with exactly the part I need, and I've never opened my mouth. I found that store right there in Dora on my way over to Tony Cousins place "Gray Rock" for an offroad race. Sayre Auto Parts You are damn lucky, I had to drive 900+ miles to find that guy, you got him right down the street.
Ok- so here's how it went down. Went to CarQuest & dropped my wires on the counter. The girl said she would get someone to help me. Out comes a guy who takes one look at the wires & signals me to follow him. We go over to the hose wall. 1st up is the lower. Asks for diameter- looks at wire- gets stick & pulls down the hose. Perfect match! That's a Gates #20242. Buuuuuuut- it doesn't have a spring in it. So- he grabs a cheaper hose off the floor in a box of odds & ends- jerks the spring out & stuffs it in mine. Now the upper. Takes a look at the wire. Asks diameter. Checks a few hoses but nothing real exact. He says he knows one that will work but I'll have to cut it down. Normally in stock, he'll have it by 4pm. He calls me at 3pm & said the hose is in. Hose is a Gates #21596. I hold the wire up to one end & damn- he's right! Cut off about 7" of hose & it will fit. Take them both home & you guessed it- fit perfect. Imagine that, he never looked at a catalog or a computer. Oh- and Gates, made in the USA baby! But to be fair- I think the youngest person there is 30. And.... it used to be a Graves Auto Supply before CarQuest took over. Still has a full machine shop out back.
I stopped in Auto Zone a while back to pick up a car magazine. I brought it up to the counter, the woman scanned the bar code and the register came up with $00.01. I told her that can't be right, here's the price right on the front cover. She didn't say a word, and just pointed at the cash register display. I shrugged my shoulders, gave her a nice shiny penny, and walked out with my magazine.
Since our local NAPA closed (owners retired), the best around here is Powell's in Rome GA. Worth the 40 mile round trip. Family owned and operated, all of the people behind the counter know their stuff, you need a brake hose they can make it for you in less time than most places would spend looking in the computer and telling you they've got one in the warehouse in Timbuktu. I have to say though that our local Advance is better than most of the chain stores, couple of women who work there are very knowledgeable on later model stuff. One thing I've done on my '38 Ford pickup is to keep a log of what all the parts came off of, part numbers for hoses, belts, shocks, etc.
Kinda funny since a lot of people bash Advance.. A few weeks back my wifes Honda refuses to start. I grab the tow strap and pull it home, use the evening to diagnose, and narrow it down to a coil. I had the next day off with no real plans, so I get up early take her to work and on the way back I decide to stop at Advance Auto since it was close, and I'm in no hurry. From experience I knew this could be a crapshoot. I walk in and they have a new gal behind the counter, kinda old late 50's maybe early 60's. I was patient she navigated the computer well, found the right part right away. I was impressed. Got home installed the coil, and it fired right up. I noticed the rotor was really tough looking, and decided to change both the cap and rotor. This time I decided to go to General Trading. These are long time counter guys, well versed, and this is the place hotrodders go. Well guess what, It took three trips and a hour and a half to get the right cap and rotor. All simple errors that initiated calls the manufacturer, vin research, questioning the year, motor code, bringing the vehicle down to prove to them the rotor and cap were different than what they handed me. After a lot of back and forth I finally ask what the chances are that the original rotor I purchased might have been mis-packaged. Sure as shit he grabs another and it's the part I need. All this time I couldn't help but think If the old gal at Advance would have got it right the first time.
I gotta vent abit here: I have no problem with someone learning or having to ask someone else that works at a parts store. Everyone has to start somewhere, right? What I hate is people who lack any common sense whatsoever when it comes to cars, yet they choose to work in a parts store. Example #1: I needed a carb rebuild kit a while back for my wife's Corvette. It's a '69 with a 427, and although it came stock with a Q-jet, it now has a Holley Q-jet replacement. Knowing a bit about carbs, I got the model number and list number ready and started calling around. Without exception, every parts person, be they young or old, asked the same question: "what kinda car is it on?" I then asked, "what difference does it make, it's an aftermarket carb". "Oh I need to know what it's on to make sure it's the right kit" You gotta be shitting me. After the third stumped parts store, I started having fun with it, when they asked the question of what kinda car, I'd tell them it was on a 19 foot Sanger ski boat, or that it was on the bench right now, I think it's made of Birch, does that matter. In the end, I gave up and went to Summit, where I got a knowledgeable parts man.
I work in the wholesale end and sell to parts stores, tire and automotive shops. My best story is one day a customer calls me looking for a front c.v. axle (half shaft) for a front wheel drive car, so as I am asking him questions....he is asking his retail customer at the same time. The first thing I asked was what type of car it was, I can hear the retail client plain as day say "it's a Honda Prelude-C" I said C? and then it hits me he means Si. My next question is.. automatic or manual? so he asks the guy and I hear him say..(with a raised voice).. No, I am not manual, I am Jose! We both had a good chuckle on that one.
Ever get this? I walk to the counter, ask about a generic part (hose, clamp, etc.). The clerk asks me what year is the car. I tell him. He replies "my computer doesn't go that far back"!
Tired of the kids relying on their chain store computer, I drive a distance to a local independent shop. The old counter guy is so good that as I'm sounding out the parts (66 283 gasket set, .010 ring set, etc. ) he's writing down the part #'s on his pad then says "Be right back". That's service!
These are great, makes me want to call up advanced and have them look up a water pump for a 1964 VW Bug! I wonder how long it will take them?
It took 3 phone calls and 2 different parts stores for me to find someone who knew what shorty spark plugs for a SBC were!!!!! REALLY!!!???
A couple of weeks back I went into a local parts store looking for an adapter plate for a carburetor. I asked the clerk if they carried the plate to adapt a 600 cfm Carter to a 322 nailhead that originally had a Rochester with the small throat. Clerk looks at me and says "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we have those. Thats for a motorcycle, right?"
My local Ghettozone has a computer turned around for customers look up their own parts ( even though they never do??). And if for some reason its not turned around I just go turn it around. They know my face and name and realize, "He'll get what he wants and that's one less person to deal with" Win-Win for everyone. There are a couple of managers that are pretty that work there and greet me and know usually what I'm looking for, or they just let me go find it myself if it really off the wall or they are busy. My Dad worked at one back in the really early 90's (I remember AutoShack and when they used to turn rotors, lol) and he taught me how to use the computers back when they were DOS based, green text screens. At least they are open on Sunday's. And besides, most of us have dreampt about working at a parts store and how much employee discount stuff we could buy. -Brad
I work at our local O'Reilly's, got laid off from my job and needed something, Anyway from what i can tell with the discussions I have had with my manager, who by the way is the biggest moron ever they want to hire ten people who know zero about anything, pay them bottom dollar and hope they get one to stay instead of hiring a handfull of decent part men at a little better rate. Corporate america at its finest.
Went to my local O'reilys to check if I could get water pumps for my mom's '50 Merc with the stock flathead. They looked them up and said yes they could get them. Ordered them, couple a days later got them in, even cost less than ordering them from Speedway. got a fuel pump for the same car too.
The Jalopy Journal
