Where did the brains go in the parts counter guys?

So, maybe this is an unreasonable rant, but it seems like every time I go into the parts stores the only people working have no clue what they're doing. Does anyone else feel the same way? I would just like to go into the local auto parts store and talk to someone who has at least some knowledge about auto parts. That's like working in a computer store and knowing nothing about computers.

Today, for example, I asked for HEI spark plug wires, and the guy looked at me as if I were an idiot and said "Huh? Is HEI the brand or something??" I don't know if it gets much worse than this....

I'm starting to believe that if I pulled the blinker fluid prank on someone, the parts guy might be equally confused trying to help the "prankee" find his/her blinker fluid...

Is it getting this bad everywhere or just here?

 

i asked for a "viscosity cup" at a store who supplies most of the painters in the area, and they looked at me like i was speaking Chinese. no tellin'

 

Been beat to a blitherin' death. Get a job there, then you can show everyone how it's done. HEI's are off topic anyway. Have fun.

 

In fact I might! I'll get an application tomorrow! lol

 

I wonder(gasp)what would've happened if you had just asked for plug wires for the vehicle your engine originally came from?

 

I think its hard to get real sharp counter people for the low wages they are typically paid. I knew a manger at a parts store that stated he really understood retail sales and was a trained
professional...
Yup he was trained as a teller at the local Walmart...........Good making change, but did'nt have a clue about the parts biz...

 

My local parts store guy wants to hire me, but there's no way I'd do it for what he can pay.

There are plenty of knowledgeable countermen out there, you just need to shop at a higher class of parts store.

 

I can't, because the engine came from a '63 Chevy II and originally did not have an HEI distributor. Despite me specifically asking for HEI wires, they still brought me the the stock non-HEI wires after asking me the usual question the computer asks, like is it 4WD and junk like that. So unfortunately that suggestion wouldn't work.

 

I suspect it has to do with computers and modern progress if that's what you want to call it, I was just talking to a former (retired) forklift mechanic the other day and he informed me that the field service guy now plugs in a mobile computer in the field it transmits the data to corporate which in turn tells the mechanic what to replace...go figure they are getting to know less and less.

 

The only guy that'll get my $$ around here is Roy at Bowness Auto. There is another guy there too that's got his head screwed on but that's about it, otherwise I think the knowledgeable parts guy faded away with the carburetor.

WTF, now Windows is telling me I don't know how to spell carburetor??? Good god, someone put me out of my misery...

 

You expected them to have a custom set of plug wires sittin' right on the shelf for you? Most parts stores carry universal cut to size plug wire sets like Accel and such.

 

These days, I do my homework before I go to a parts store. I look up all the parts myself, jot down all the part numbers and prices. I just tell them the part numbers so they dont have to keep asking if it has AC while staring blankly at the computer screen like it's in another language. If you don't know what parts you need, you're no better than the guy behind the counter that needs a computer to look them up. Save yourself the hassle and do it yourself. Consider the parts guys just parts pullers and cashiers.

 

That's precisely what I was after. Cut to fit HEI plug wires. The problem was the guy had no clue what the hell HEI was. He finally directed me to the lady at the other side of counter and she finally got a hold of what I needed after about 20 minutes.

 

i had to show the kid behind the counter at Kragen how to test the alternator on the machine...its hopeless....

 

Hot Rod Kelly hit the nail on the head. I have worked in autoparts since high school (1986) but cant find a decent job now because all they want to pay is minum wage. To make things worse down here in texas you also have to speak spanish.

 

You just gotta know how to order parts. We all know that 75-82 vettes used the same design exhaust manifolds as the early Nova, and they also had HEI....so just order wires for a late 70s vette.

 

Yeah I do that when I can but sometimes I'm already out and just need to stop by real quick and grab what I need. And yes, I love how somehow having four wheel drive might effect which spark plugs I need to purchase! obviously that's the computer not the person, but still....it's hilarious...sometimes I try real hard not to laugh when they ask questions like that simply because I know they're just asking what the computer says to ask...

 

Yea I had her look up wires for my 86 chevy pickup that I knew had HEI so she could see what they looked like. Then she looked at the cut to fit kits and found me the right one. That's far more than I can say for the guy that sent me over to her. She didn't know what HEI was but at least she wasn't too lazy to try and help. Problem is most of 'em are both dumb and lazy.

 

when i do go to parts store i tend to stay away from ones with the younger guys working, not saying they aren't smart, but they dont have the knowledge and exsperiance as the older guys, so when i go to a parts store its usually carquest, thier all older fellas and willing to go out of their way to help

 

I worked as a parts counter guy for over five years. The problem lies in the fact that most people want cheap parts. Unfortunately that equates to big corporations buying overseas junk and hiring employees at minimum wage so they can make the most profit. The corporate parts chains think everything can be looked up on their computer programs. Why does the counter guy need to know anything about cars when the computers "20 questions" will narrow it down to the most likely part the customer needs? Car enthusiasts like ourselves are a small fraction of the business they take in. Most of the money they make is off of people that can't afford to have an actual mechanic work on their car. I don't agree with it at all, but its pretty close to politics... Big business has ruined it. One of the main reason I got out of selling parts is because I love cars and can't stand people who don't take care of them.

sorry.... rant over

 

Well,see,you didn't say that before.I kinda know how you feel.
A lot of times I've called a parts store near me,told them what I need,and they'll say they don't carry it.
When I know damn well I,ve seen it there before.
So then I ask them if I need to come down and show them where it is.
So,that's what I do,and 90% of the time it's right where I saw it previously.......

 

Lol carbs, talking to a kid my age(I'm 22).. you know old cars.. go play with your honda.

I have been able to find a rebuilt M/C from a '48 ford truck at napa.
And rebuild kits for holly 94's.
the young don't get it, some old look at me like I'm nuts but there's sometimes one guy who kind gets where I'm coming from.

 

Haha I was so tempted to ask her if she'd take me back to where they have the wires in the back and just look at them and find the ones I need myself, but I didn't wanted to be rude and make it seem like I was calling her stupid right to my face since she was at least helpful. If, after the same 20 minutes, I was still working with the first dipshit, I might have told him just that in no uncertain terms!

 

I stoped at an O'Rielys to get a Carb Gasket for a 4bbl, Ya know the Grey MrGasket type .... That hang on the wall .... Right there where you can see them !!

I walked out without it cus I don't think ANY of the staff spoke ENGLISH.

I heard not one word I understood the 15 minutes I was in there waitng for someone to even say " I will be right with you "

 

I'm 22 as well. It's so true though almost every kid I went to school with talked about how they were saving up for a "pimped out civic" or some crap like that. I drove a 4 banger 1990 mustang through high school and a year after high school bought my first real car. 1951 chevy. Never liked the ricer crap. I think all the parts store kids think they know about parts and get jobs their because they either chipped their diesel or put an eight foot wide exhaust tip on their otherwise stock honda tin can and now they feel like theyre mechanics

 

I've had to find what I needed behind the counter of this store I was referring to,also.
They didn't know what a "plastic guage" loked like.
I was was needing plastigage to check my bearing clearances.

 

hahaha!

 

I worked for a NAPA for 15 years. Not on the counter but I got to see how the guys behind the counter worked. Most of them had a great knowledge of parts. But like said above its all computerized. If its not in the computer its not on the shelf. I was putting up a light display and overheard a guy asking for a part. "What model do you have?" "A red one" Don't put the blame entirely on the counter guys. Most of the major suppliers have on line catalogs so do yourself a favor and look up what you want and write down the part numbers. Makes life easier for you and the guy behind the counter.

 

Yep it's all the same here, lots of right hand jap cars on the road. but at the same time some street rods, or model a purists. not much for ''trad'' guys, except for the boys in edmonton.
I work as a mechanic and we have a parts store next door, sometimes when we need parts I run over and bug them to see if they got parts for my hope soon to be third project a '51 ford deluxe custom. that will be my driver over the winter.

 

We have like two or three threads on this already. You have to outsmart the counter jockey and sometimes his computer too. That's all. Odds are you're a small minority of their business, which is mostly selling replacement parts to joe blow to keep his beater clunker on the road. You can look up most anything you want at Rock Auto's website and they will show you the interchange on it, making tracking it down pretty easy if you'd rather buy it local and not have to deal with shipping it back if it's the wrong thing or broken or whatever.