have you noticed

ive worked in alot of car related places gas stations (the old style where we worked on cars), new and used car dealerships , junkyard, garages , and i currently work for aplace that sells body parts ( non hamb cars) and what i have found which REALLY surprises me is how few car guys worked in those places where i am now i am the only one who even remotly cares about cars other then how to get to work

have you noticed this?

 

i didn't know there was anyone in that area that wasn't a car guy...

 

Go to your neighborhood parts store and you'll find plenty who aren't really car guys or gals.

 

I work at a dealership. There are plenty of noncar guys that work there!

 

X2. The last few years I worked at a dealer the more noncar guys I saw. Parts & service. They hire those kids, pay them nothing & put more money in the millionaire owners pocket. They seem to get rid of or force out all the car guys.

 

I worked for KOI auto parts in Cincy,OH for almost 10 years. Worked at several locations with several different people. I very rarely found anyone actually interested in cars.

 

People really have no idea.....

 

I have actually never worked in a car Place but on the other hand I worked as a tractormechanic for a year

 

You wanna see non-car people, try being an insurance adjuster. I've never seen more people in one place that didn't know a wheel cover from a carburetor.

Fortunately whenever an old vehicle or bike would get damaged they would almost always send me out to handle the claim.

I'll tell ya' there's some scarry shit going on out there.

 

45 years ago some (other) guys used flashy cars primarily to "impress" the ladies. If the tales were true it worked, at least for some ladies.

From what I observe today that is still very much the case.

 

Even so called car guys aren't that into it sometimes - a relative on my wife's side (a Doctor) has bought a 56 T-Bird for he and his son to play with. I was excited to hear there was another car freak in the family, but when I asked what it had in it, was it a still the original Y-Block? 292 or 312? I got sort of a blank stare and "uh, i think it is a 3 something". I lost hope at that moment.

 

Yep same here, I work in a body shop and nobody is really into cool old stuff. Of course there's this one guy really in to new mustangs.... He doesn't get it either.

 

Sears started this whole mess of companies employing people who do not know squat about the products and services they sell. I remember when you would go into a Sears store and they had real plumbing supplies and a sales guy in that department who could tell you what part you needed and how to best do the job. I knew things were changing when I went in for some plumbing parts one time and all the items on the shelf were prepackaged and when I asked the guy for help he said "I really don't know, I was in the shoe department until just yesterday."

Maybe Sears was pushed into it by WalMart because we consumers were willing to give up good customer service and staff that knew something about their products in exchange for cheap prices. We did it to ourselves and now we are paying the price.

To make it worse, more and more companies are going to internet sales as opposed to brick and mortar stores. That seems to be the wave of the future and if you think people who know their stuff now is lacking, just wait a few years to see how bad those shopping experiences will be. I have seen the future and I don't like it one damned bit.

Don

 

I seem to be surrounded mostly by car guys and gals!! But on the flip side people that aren't car people make is possible for those that are to make a good living!..I as a shop owner love those guys...they have helped me pay my payments!

 

When I was younger, most of the guys that worked at the local gas station or auto parts store were wrenches; High school -middle aged guys that were interested in cars. You usually saw a couple of hot employee cars parked there. I remember rolling into the lot and thinking "Looks like Mike is working today-his Chevelle is parked out front".
Now the typical gas station is a mini mart with gas pumps and a minimum wage cashier.
Same goes for part stores. "Do you have computer and customer service skills? We'll train you-Apply at Auto Zone"...

It's also typical at places like Home Depot and Lowe's. You'll get "book smart" employees working the trade aisles. Unless they're an older tradesman that retired or injured out of their trade (or just got really lazy), you usually get 'educated' sales folks.
You have to wonder why someone is working the plumbing or electrical section for peanuts when, they could be charging $75+ hr. doing electrical/plumbing in the field...

 

I know exactly what you're saying Don.

Back in the early to mid 80's I was a mechanic at Sears. They use to be one of the best companies to work for BACK THEN!

Now, the company sucks and anything more than a tire or a battery your in trouble. Hell they get confused if they have to replace a fan belt.

 

Yes, I noticed that too. I used to work for an auto parts retail chain store a couple of years ago. I thought I would be around gear heads. Nope, just guys and gals that look up stuff on a computer. No interest in actually understanding how to make something work or improve it. All but one drove a family type vehicle.

 

I blame computers 100% for this whole mess! (as I type)...
No , but
seriously I do!

 

I too have noticed it , very few car people left in the parts , service or body shops. Try to buy a set of sparkplugs at Auto Zone when their computer goes down ! Yes ,the computer is a great tool but it seems nobody can read a parts book , if they even have one. I blame our educational system for much of this as classes like auto shop and metal shop have been discontinued , replaced by high dollar " Tech. " schools.

 

i work part time in a national chain auto parts store and i can honestly say that all the guys i work with are really into cars. a couple even used to drag race. but right now no one is doing anything except me , because they have no money do to the fact they work at an auto parts store

 

I know its not HAMB friendly but friends of mine are really into the tuner side of cars. I'm not talking just putting a fart can on a Civic but they build full motors and do all the work including paint themself. They like the old stuff and will help me if I need but they want new. Last time I was over at their garage they were building the rear subfraim for a 1200HP 1972 Toyota Celical and doing a lot of well done meatl fab. Their work would be quality enough for the hamb just on the wrong type of vehicle. I just say that they are alright with me because they like cars in general.

 

I was going to go to work part time for the autozone, I would have been the only guy there (including the managers) that knew anything at all about cars.

 

Now the typical gas station is a mini mart with gas pumps and a minimum wage cashier..[/QUOTE]

AND his camel parked out front

 

Yea a couple of year ago went to Oreilys to pick up some motor mounst for a chevy, I told the kid behind the counter I needed a set for a 307 and he asked me what it go in so I told him 36 chevy sedan, boy I got a blank look then LOL, then he told me that chevy never made a 307 after a little arguing I told a him 350 and got what I wanted, I guess if it is not in the computer some guys are lost if not car guys, have to say tho as a rule they do try.

 

I teach auto tech at a high school in texas..I have done so for 25 years. Yes there are a lot of folks who know nothing about cars. The kids now have parents who don't know how to work on cars or anything(more money for us). Cars are very complicated and now are almost impossible to service by any mere mortal. As a result there are no tools at home and no energy to use any.
All these folks who know little about cars are just trying to make a living..anyway they can. At least they are trying. Like many who post here, I have spent most of my life learning what I know. Times have changed. The world is a different place than when I and many who post here were a kids.
Things are not suppose to stay the same..don't believe me just ask a dinosaur.
This is what we have. This is what several generations have created. Kids do have a desire for cars..likely as many as there was when we were kids. There are a lot more folks around now and we have to deal with them. They have other things to concern themselves about than just cars.
The times are ending for our world and just starting for a new and different world. Just think what will be in the future. Remember before cars there were horses and carts and just farming and maybe a blacksmith. Those are mostly long gone too. I am sure the folks of old saw a change and complained too.
The next few generations will do so way cool stuff if we just encourage them and step out of the way and watch the next magic happen..and it will happen...I am sad I likely will miss the next cool deal.
Change is natural. If you are 30 or younger get ready for some wild stuff..the kids are getting it done. The glass really is half full.

 

This is nothing new, back in the 70's I worked at a Checker Auto parts for a short while. Out of the whole crew there was only 2 of us that knew anything about cars and parts. We hardly ever worked together, the manager at least would sceadule us so one of us would be in the store at all times in case a customer had a questain or the other counter help was lost.
Last week I went to a paint store to buy some supplies. Been several years since I've painted so I had some questains about new products I've never used. The young kid at the counter (working alone) came right out and told me he's never painted in his life and has no idea how to use the product he sells. What type of way is that to run a buisness? No sell, I went elswhere.

 

so....we are going to turn this thread into another bash the auto parts guy thread?

granted , there are some bad ones, and some very good ones. no one is perfect ,no one can know everything about every car , and no one can be 100% all the time

i suggest try walking a mile in their shoes and see how you do.

 

No, just the clueless guy behind the counter.

 

How many times have you called a company with a technical question on part in a catalog. You tell them you have a technical question on something in a catalog you are about to order and all they can do is repeat word for word what you already read in the catalog ?

 

I'll tell you what I and every other old guy on here has noticed, it mostly our faults that the world around us has changed so drastically. How many guys and gals on this board order shit over the net cause its cheaper? If I can't hold it before I buy it, it don't get sold to me, other than when my parts guy has to order it. Point is...check the wages of your parts guy, they aren't big, how do you expect to draw people like us into jobs where there isn't enough money to pursue your hobby?
Its the same everywhere, from your big box store down to you, cheap is king, and that equates to the wages paid as well, refer back a few sentences.
I'm not railing against Wal Mart, just our mentality. I do and have always shopped locally, my little parts guy does everything he can to get me the best price, and when he can't, I know he tries, he knows I try to keep him in business, AND, he knows who I am and what I do when I walk in the door, so does his staff.
How many here try to keep the same philosophy? Buy local, so that the car guy kid has a place to work, buy gas at a full serve, so kids have jobs like we did, drag neighbourhood kids into your shop and teach them. They'll be better people.