Funniest lines from the parts counter

My favorite reply to our techs at work.We have everything in stock Except for the the stuff we are out of.

 

I wanted valve cover gaskets for a SBC and stopped at the CQ I used to work at. I didn't have any problem with the counter guy, the problem was they didn't stock any. The most common engine in the world and they don't stock valve cover gaskets for it?

Blue

 

Moosemans tip of the day, don't be difficult make it easy for the parts people, if your car has parts that are from a completely different car then you the original car those parts came from as a reference. If the part is not original to your vehicle then why on earth would they be able to find it on a computer when listing your car.

 

I walked up to the register with of a large hardware chain here in OZ. I had 12 bolts in my hand.
The cashier asked how many do you have?
Me: A dozen.
Her: Is that 12?
Me: No, eleven
i was dumbfounded.

 

THAT is a hellofa good idea - would have done that had I known the last alternator I bought was REBUILT IN CHINA (for GF's Subaru). My favorite counterman at NAPA couldn't locate one in 'Dago, closest one was in Salt Lake City. He was kind enough to give me a price (he ALWAYS gives me installer pricing), so I could price match it - if I did find one on a Sunday aftenoon! Called O'Reily's, found one at their store/warehouse. Trying to get them to price-mach took three calls. First chickee answers, wouldn't take down info to call NAPA - she was "off the clock", put me on hold for almost 10 minutes.Hung up and called again - dude was to call me back after taking my number. Pulled alternator, washed hands, no call - 20 minutes later. Made 3rd call, told story of poor service to another girl. She gave me a $181 unit for NAPA's price of $139!!! Gave her all the info to call NAPA if they wanted...

I treat Dennis at my NAPA store like my best buddy - he is on Broadway in El Cajon, CA. Always goes the extra mile for me, with installer pricing that often beats O'Reily's!!! Tell him or John that Tim with the '57 Chevy-235 sent you...

I NEVER walk into a store without calling first for a price and stock check, have the old part in hand when I walk in. Cuts the bullshit down on both sides of the counter, but still loose time to people in the store who don't...

Gasket paper and a cheap set of gasket punches are a big time-saver for me. I can make most any paper gasket quicker than I can drive to the store. Clean-up, lock-up, pick-up - POOF, a hour is shot...

What kills me is the RAPE inflicted when I need hardware and the rice bolts are packaged to sell for 2-3 times what they are worth - that is, IF they are IN STOCK. Lowe's and H-D are reasonable, but restocking is SHITTY at best - regardless of the store or name out front. Tough to get what I need after work at 5:30, I'm pretty pissed by the time I have to make a THIRD stop just to grab up a hand-full of bolts to finish up a project or get the car running. My only defense is to stock up, using a good list of what I'm low on and grabbing whatever I can find wherever I can find it. Fucking-around finding fasteners can sure take the fun out of a project and is a HUGE waste of time...no ACE or TRU-VALUE stores around here - wish there was. - Tim

 

This is the point alot of us are making. We go in and ask specifically for what we want, and the desk jockey insists on asking us details of our car, even if we tell them its irrelevant and then argues what we asked for is wrong.

also Sometimes we dont know were the thing we want came from. The bearings for my 1928 Graham come from the Holden three speed. I can give you details of the car it doesnt hel, but they still insist then say sorry we dont have prts for that car . Yes you do its just a holden three speed (Common as mud over here)

 

Yeah well thats what happens when the cars we love arent the latest and greatest any more. They can only ask and go by what the computer tells them, some of these cars most average people would have never seen let alone heard of.

Only parts shop I ever saw that still had stuff for hamb friendly cars was an engine recon shop that has a room in another building filled with shelving all containing engine parts anything from 1900 to today. They had stuff you just don't see for sale.

 

I do...

I haven't eaten cereal in years but I have a good supply of cereal boxes for just this purpose!

I saw that on a shipment of Teddy Bears for a charity thing at the one base out here, the crates said "Bear, Brown, Theodore"

I love that!

 

I actually have pretty good luck at O'reilly auto parts most the time... But the rest are just good for Oil drop off and car cleaning supplies.

 

take care of your parts guy/gal if you want them to take care of you. patients is the key, and a box of donuts every now and then and the next thing you know you have a your own set of keys to the place.

 

Customer: How much is this light assembly I pulled?

Me: Those lights are $35

Customer: Can you do better?

Me: OK $45

 

If you really want to hear some moronic crap, try working behind the counter. If I had a penny for all the times I have heard "there all the same" I would be a rich man.

 

customer: this is the wrong part!
me: you called in and gave me the number.
customer: you should have checked behind me!
me: you gave me the number and hung up. you didn't tell me JACK about what you were working on.
customer: well, it's the same car i was working on yesterday!
me: you have any idea how many cars i looked up yesterday? anyway, how am i supposed to know it's the same car?
customer: er........ it's a '62 whitworth greaseslapper with a 400....
me: NOW we're getting somewhere.

customer: can get a price on some brakes rotaries for my Silverdorado?
me: yes.

 

That's good advice for a wide variety of people!!!

 

I put myself through school working a parts counter - to be honest, it was the best job I ever had - and 16 years into my "career", I'd take that job back in a heartbeat if it paid the bills.

When I was doing it, the electronic (computer) lookup was just coming about - mostly the computers were for checking inventory vs. checking application.

Anyways, I learned the 'books' - and combined with a little bit of practical knowledge (a trait suprisingly lacking in the general population unfortunately), you knew that whether or not your car has power windows or digital dash cluster really didn't impact which front rotors you needed - and using the elusive common sense, if you got to the point where 2 different sets of brake pads were listed for a vehicle, you could ask a couple of basic questions to figure out what was what.

Now, with these computer applications, they feel that "anyone" can look up parts - and maybe for windshield blades that's true - but if you find a parts guy / gal that knows the books you're much better off...like an earlier post said - coffee and donuts don't hurt either.

All that being said, from the parts guy's point of view - it's amazing how many people don't know what year their car is, if it's the FWD or RWD version, or even if it's got a 4, 6, or 8 cylinder -

"I need a spark plug for a Toyota"

"I need a water pump for a pickup"

"I need a muffler for my mom's car"

"Do you guys sell Cadillac Inverters?" (Catalytic Converters)

Like I said - there are a few parts guys out there that really know their shit...finding them isn't easy - and the dumbing down of America isn't helping.

My $0.02

 

Why don't you guys simply order it from the website? You're already on it. Just click the little shopping cart button. There's usually no shipping cost if it's delivered to the store. Why would you look for it on the website and then drive to the store to order it?

Skip Mr. Simple-Pimples.

 

Man I thought I was the only one !
Started in parts in 1981 all kinds of brands and o e m numbers in my head too.

 

We used to call it "Parts Disease". Incurable & terminal.

I've been out from behind a counter for nearly 30 years but when around other former Ford parts guys we still talk basic numbers....
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been 4 years of dealing with the auto store but l finally got'em trained. half the time they tell me go get my stuff in the back, you know where it is.

Later [/QUOTE]

My local NAPA is a rural store and a Godsend, but the chain store in the county seat is anouther story.......when I walk in all the counter help dives into the back of the store (grin).

 

Exactly....years back I walked into a Pep Boys with a part number for a belt I needed. The guy INSISTED I give him the make,model, year...I told him It's not in your system this is the part number and it's right there on the wall behind you....Again he insisted...so I said OK...88 Ford Mustang...he clicked away and then said "What do you need"....I said I need the belt for a Vortech Supercharger....then I got the deer in the headlights look...at which time I said "Now are you going to walk back there and get me the part number I asked for in the first place or do I have to get it myself?!?

True but likewise if I had a penny for all the times I have had to tell them they are all the same to get the right part.....I called Advance and asked for engine mounts for a '66 Mustang..."We don't have those"....How about a '70 Mustang with a 302...."I thought you asked for a 66 Mustang"....I did...they are the same...."No they aren't"....Do you have them for a '70 or not...."Yes, we have those in stock".....Just send me the damn mounts, they are the same.....and they are.

I do like screwing with the ones that are obviously clueless by asking them for a lower radiator hose for a '66 VW Bug....my record is one guy spending 30 minutes searching while every other employee in the store chuckled.

Parts guys do get a LOT of idiots walking in asking very generic questions but the companies are at fault for hiring unqualified parts people and that is simply because they won't pay to keep the good people.

 

the probelm is that parts stores are like big box retailers. They hire ANYONE that can breathe for a job&#8230;qualified or not. When I worked a retilaer I was the dept manager. My boss asked me who I wanted to work in my department. I gave a list of 3 people and said any of these will do. All from within the store, all great workers. Did I get any of them. No. did my boss even talk to any of them. No. she hired someone off the street who didn&#8217;t know jack. So now we bring him in to a high pay class then the others who have put in more time with the company. So hes making more the then them. How does that make them feel. Done out the door new job. And places wonder why they don&#8217;t have better help. Since then this company as implanted new computer systems that could make a monkey with a banana do the job. They need very few responsible good people. All it takes is training and a showing the workers they are an important asset. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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Another great one was when we needed to bring someone else in to my deptment again. Again I was asked who. Then they brought in someone else from another part of the store. I didn&#8217;t approve and let my feelings know, my supervisor told me I have a good crew... Months later turns out he and his friends (16 of them) stole from us to the tune of $40,000! I took every ounce of tack I had not to go up to my supervisor the next day and tell him. You know that was a great crew we had.<o></o>
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I digress and am off the soap box. I got one guy at my local orileys that loves to help me find what I need. I think he really likes the challenge. All the others not so much. My choices are limited, but as long a travis is working its all good.<o></o>

 

Me: I need a tie bolt for a set of leaf springs.
Parts: What year and model?
Me. '34 Ford front axle
Parts: What type of vehicle is it?
Me: 34 International pickup.
Blank look.
Me: here's the old one, most of them are the same.
Parts:another blank look then he looks down the counter to has fellow partsman and says "You better come down here and help this guy, he's crazy."

 

Love these threads. I swear some of you guys just enjoy messing with people.

Wouldn't it be easier just to have a mythical vehicle in mind when you order your parts, rather than trying to explain why you've got all these '70s and '80s parts bolted to your '40s or '50s car?

That's what I do.

 

I work for an off road company in phone sales. We get some pretty simple customers as well. Here are a few of my fav's from the last few weeks.
Customer: I need a body lift for my XJ.
Me: Uhhh. those are unibodies.
C: my buddy says he can put it in.

C: What size lift kit do I need to run 17" wheels?

C: I see a part in your catalog. It says it fits 2007-2012 JK's, will that fit my 1995?

C: Can I use these coil spring spacers on my YJ? (FYI YJ's are leaf spring Jeeps)

I could go on. Keith

 

Another good few
Phone call from nice lady " how do I get to your store from here?"
Me "uh, where are you?"
Her a little huffy " HOME!"
Me "um where is your home ... Your address?"
Her plain old mad "I don't think that YOU need to know that!"
And she hangs up.
Counterman goes to shelf for a Chevy starter - don't have it and yells: This would be a good place to open a parts store!
Stock boy shrink wraps toilet bowl puts seat down expecting man who owns the place to piss - instead his wife did !
Many laughs and a new three lamp fixture gets installed in bathroom

 

I got you all beat, I went into the local Canadian Tire and went to the parts counter, there was an older lady behind the counter...

Me: I need a power steering pump...

Her: what's it for?

Me: 36 GMC.

Her: So it's probably a 350?

Me: Yep!

Her: what year?

Me: 77...

Her: We have 6 in stock...

We've been good friends ever since.

But seriously, she knows I am into rods and old cars and she is a car person as well with a 68 Cougar, she knows, not all of them do... as has been pointed out at least 10 times, gives these people a break, joking and having a bit of fun is actually a good thing if they are not swamped and builds a re-pore with them where they feel comfortable with you and it takes the pressure off of them, but walking in and demanding a part for a 2000 Chevy truck that is on a 40 Dodge car and being cryptic about it just means you will never get good service and your parts will have a tendency to be incorrect or never show up or just not be available... I've had a lot of friends in the Parts industry and they don't need someone trying to ruin their day for no reason.

If you know that part is off of vehicle Y and you have it on vehicle X, tell them what vehicle Y is so you get the one you want without hassle, learn what your parts are originally from, write it down even, and you will suddenly find you never have trouble getting those parts.

And yes the computers systems are bad and getting worse, they ask the dumbest questions but it's the only way to get through the system in place that the parts guy has no power or authority over, their not out to get you, work with them and they will work with you back.

 

How about this.....

Me: I need a spring perch for a 3" diameter axle tube, Do you carry any?

Them: What year, What car, What engine?

Me: 1956 f100, 223, but it doesn't matter what it comes from.

Them: I'm sorry sir we can't help you.......

Seriously man for a spring axle perch??? I ended up using a set from tractor supply for a trailer so I didn't have to order them and wait for a week!

 

Ron,

I think you are dead on the mark. I just got a carb kit yesterday from my local OReillys for a Holley 1904 one barrel. I did my research first then called and talked to the counter guy who by the way I am always polite when asking help. Not because he is the guy behind the counter but because he is a fellow human being and deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. He spent about 45 minutes off and on working on the problem then called me back and said he found four kits in the local warehouse and had one on the way.

I told him everything I could find about the carb and possible years and makes of vehicle it might possibly fit. It is a 1960 Ford pickup but we figured out the a 1970 IH also used the same basic carb. My experience has always been that if you don't come off as a smart ### and tell the counter person as much as possible what you are doing that they get busy trying to help.

One of the funniest things I remember was a young girl working the counter, looking confused when she tried to look up a part for my 1980 MGB. She finally asked me what an MGB was. I stopped by the place a few days later and showed it to her, now I have a friend for life. Every time she sees me she asks about the MG.

 

I was yelled at and lectured for cheating a veteran once because I charged him for a thermostat and a radiator cap for his '95 Chev pos. Everyone knows they are the same part!!!!

I have a lot of empathy for Parts people. It's not an easy job when there are so many experts coming to your counter.

 

That said when I call the Napa, they ask what I'm working n and often I tell them : "You know that's not going to help" They get a laugh out of that because my shop has handled (in the past year) a Rolls, A Bricklin, A 49 Rover, A jag, a Humber.....