I've been trying to buy parts locally from NAPA and CarQuest because I've had a business account with them for a long time. Haven't used the accounts much for years due to illness, but now that I'm better, I've started buying parts again. </o> I just had one of those "Twilight Zone" moments at the <st1:City><st1lace>NAPA</st1lace></st1:City>, Store # 900003007 at <st1:address><st1:Street>720 W. Elliot Rd, Suite 103</st1:Street>, <st1:City>Tempe</st1:City> <st1:State>AZ</st1:State> <st1ostalCode>85284</st1ostalCode></st1:address>. I've spent about $300.00 in this store in the past three weeks, and last week I ordered a fuel tank sending unit for my 64 Ford. <o> </o> Like the old timer I am, I took the original to the store with me to match up with the picture. Anyway, they order it for me, and today it showed up so I went to pick it up. I took the original with me to make certain I was getting the right part, and when I opened the box they were not even close to the same. <o> </o> The Asst. Mgr. was waiting on me, and I said; "Look this isn't even close to being the right part, is it." He says; "I don't know." So I hold the two up side by side, and it's easy to see its not the right part. They two sending units look like and apple and an orange side by side. He still says, "I don't know." I said; "I know you guys deal with customers all the time who don't know what they're doing, but if you will look at my business account you will see I've been doing this stuff for a long time. He still refuses to admit it's the wrong part, so I said give me my money back. "OK" he says, and takes my credit card. Low and behold he comes back with the credit receipt and something else that says I'm returning the part. I'm not returning the part,... you guys ordered the wrong part. Get this, there is an $8.00 charge for returning the part. I won't sign the thing that says I'm returning the part, and he won't give me back my credit card. If you don't like the $8.00 charge, he says, "take it up with NAPA Corporate." He's got the card wrapped up in his hand, and is holding it behind his back so I can't grab it. That's when I lost it. "Give me back my credit card right now." He did, and I got the hell out of there, but when I got home and called the credit card company, I find out he altered the credit card charge to include the $8.00 fee anyway. <o> </o> The credit card company claims and fraud department took a dim view of his trying to hold onto my credit card until I signed the paper, and for him submitting a revised bill to them after I left the store. (They can see that stuff as soon as it happens.... Who knew?) Anyway, I got my $8.00 back, but at what point did <st1:City><st1lace>NAPA</st1lace></st1:City> start ripping off customers (especially those with business accounts going back 12-15 years.) rather than just admitting they ordered the wrong part, and giving your money back? They lost my business trying to screw me out of $8.00...... that's just stupid. <o> </o> I went over to the local CarQuest. They've got all my business now. Based on past experience I'm pretty sure some SOB here will try to make this out to be my fault somehow -- so just go right ahead. I don't care. SAFU
http://www.napaonline.com/ContactNAPA/Form.aspx?mailform=customer I'm sure Head Office would be impressed; contact customer support at (877) 805-6272
Have already contacted the NAPA head office in Indianapolis via email. I seriously doubt I will get any satisfaction from them, but thought I should give them the chance. SAFU
don't pretend it's just the retail parts stores. i work for a "High End Import" dealership, and my management requires that i treat my wholesale AND counter customers like this. which, BTW, is yet another reason i'm looking to leave the dealership business for good. ethics and dealerships do not belong in the same sentence.
Keep on talking to corporate and let them know that you have posted this story on auto forums. This sort of business practice is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. I have started using NAPA after Advanced got me three really bent radiators in a row and tried to tell me that was how they were ok even though I brought the old one to them. I think it has everything to do with the store management and NAPA needs to know about it. regards, DJ
Shitty management trying to make their sales quota, not understanding; a) the business of auto parts b) the cost of treating customers like crap this guy probably took an accounting class and thinks he is a business master now. He really scored big for the store with your $8 - and no business from you ever again. But, he stuck ridgidly to the corpoarte re-stocking charge- idiot. I usually go to NAPA because they seem to have a better level of staff, not the case here. Sorry dude...
At the point he refused to give my credit card back, I would have called the local police department on 911, requested an officer to assist in retrieving my STOLEN credit card. All the time keeping the 911 operator on line so that they could hear EXACTLY what was going down. Once you log in a 911, there's no going back. The police ARE going to show up. At minimum he would get one hell of a tutoring, at maximum he would get to experience how hard the plastic back seats in a Crown Vic are. THAT should get someone's attention in corporate.....
Thanks for the comments guys. Here are some things I left out before. The Asst. Mgr. is no spring chicken. He's in his late 60s or early 70s. I talked with him about three weeks ago, and found out he was a retired parts man who had gone back to work to help make ends meet. So he's not a stupid kid, and that makes his playing games with me all the worse. When I asked for the store manager he told me he wasn't there today -- "talk to Corporate is you don't like it." In fact, the youngest counter man I've seen in this store is in his 40s. Sure all the guys I used to know there are either dead or have moved on. The final insult from this guy was before I left the store he accussed me of taking the sending unit retaining ring out of the box and putting it in my pocket. I told him to look again, and sure enough it was in the damn box. I just don't get it. They had a guy with a long standing business account come in and start doing business again, and lost it over a lousy $8.00. SAFU
I went into a NAPA for a 1 wire alt. They had to get it from another store or warehouse, but tried to charge me freight on it. I ended up getting the part without paying it.
I use NAPA alot. I even have a sign on my building. I have dealt with a lot of ignorant parts people from many organizations. No retailer is exempt. I now look up all my own parts and order them online. The less you have to deal with people the better!
I quit going to my local NAPA store for two reasons...one their prices are too high..two..their employees are not helpful and do not know much about parts!!
We had a Auto Parts here in town, ran by a guy who was a car guy. And had no problem shooting the shit for a while, helped you out in any way possible and KNEW what to order and without trying to find it in the damn computer. Due to bridge expansions and what not he had to close doors and relocated 30 minutes away, now there is nothing but idiots at the big retail stores. So I tend to make a couple half hour trips to get stuff now.
If the guy is an old timer, maybe he was having a bad day. It does not excuse his behavior or make any of what he did right. But maybe he as an individuals was just having a bad day, then things started to get away from him and he just stubbornly dug in his heels. Again - bad decisions and stupid mistakes, but maybe that was all it was.
Apparently he was part of the "sales prevention" team. Unfortunately, this treatment of the customer is not just isolated to this particular example. It doesn't matter if you are buying a new appliance, lumber, excavation work, or anything else for that matter. Somewhere a long the line we..the customer, have become a bit of a burden to those who take our hard earned money. If those rude, ungrateful people would stop, and think for a minute, they might be able to come to the conclusion, that the only reason they have a job, is because of us the "customer". Frustrating..Hell yes!
No I beleive everything happened like he said. I hate when you go there with a part number and they ask what year is the car. Then they argue with you that that will not work. I know where he is coming from. ASSHOLES!!!!!!!
I just called corporate NAPA myself, over this idiot in the machine shop over where to put used oil. Now today I'm back there to pick up a part they say is in stock but of course they can't find it when I get there but can have it ordered in tomorrow morning. So tomorrow I'll be back over there and I'm sure the idiot in the machine shop will be looking my way, but really I don't give a shit.
DUH? If you go to NAPA or AUtozone etc and they have to ORDER a part, they usually require you to pay for it before they order it. Guess you don't buy many car parts......
im not sure how it works for napa stores, but at the ford dealer i work at if we special order the wrong part or dont use the part we are stuck with it. ford doesnt take back special order parts. thats why we make customers pay for parts when they order them, so if they dont pick them up we arent stuck with eating the cost. if thats the same for napa it doesnt exscuse the way you were treated and it seems maybe that guy should go back into retirement.
I have a good relationship with my local NAPA. The staff is knowledgeable and I can check the price online before going to the store. My small town also has a Carquest but I can't check prices online, so I rarely go there. The guy you dealt with seems to be the problem and not NAPA as a company. I like the advice to call 911 as he held your card!
Maybe the parts guy in question had already screwed up a few orders, so his boss had him on notice. Maybe that's why he acted as he did - his job could have been on the line. Sometimes it is better not to 'out' someone. Curse him out to his face if you must, but don't cost some poor SOB his job. Again - from what you said, he was wrong. Just wondering why someone like that would do something like this is all.
Well that sucks. My Chevrolet dealership closed this year and bought the local Napa, keeping all of their service and parts guys which works out great for me they know GM like the back of their hand. It's worth the drive across town, but the guys at O'Reilly today DID finally call me by name...after 2 years. You can't fix stupid, and that $8 return policy is BS.
I have a credit card machine, I take credit cards, dude I dont like taking credit cards, I have to sign a 20 page document, I am not in any way allowed to remove the card from the customers view, I am not allowed in any way to keep the card from the customer unless the card company says to, and I still dont, Unless the customer signs away their specific rights which must be presented and detailed I must honor the credit card agreement in full, which means I must honor all returns. If I fail to do this I get my pink ass slapped with a 100 dollar chargeback fee or in special cases the customer gets a full refund and I am told to solve the case in small claims and I get my pink slapped for a hondo. I buy everything with the card, its like having a 350 lb friend with fat knuckles. Dont worry young Biff got his dorf chewed or this episode, he'll be out facing shelves if he does it too much.
Had a little run in with the NAPA warehouse. charged me $5.00 for freight from one of their other warehouses on a wrong part. Refunded the wrong part but not the freight. E-mailed the corp. office and in a few days I got a crisp $5.00 bill in the mail with a note that they are changing their policy. Pays to complain sometimes.
Being from a small town, I got use to good service and counter people knowing there stuff. Here in Indy it's a joke. I usually look the part up on line, write the part number down and then call them to see if they can locate it by the time I get there.
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