i'm finding out that's right...who would of thought if a vehicle had 2 or 4 doors it would make a difference on the fuel pump? it does on some
Not exactly a parts story but along the same line. Walmart in MO. I took my Lincoln Navigator in there to have the oil changed (first mistake). I told them to put Mobil 1, 10W30 extended life in it. No problem! I was watching through the window when I noticed there were about 4, aged probably 18 to 22 girls, working on my rig. I saw them pour a quart of Castrol in it. I went out and said " did you put Mobil 1 in there"? Uhhh, no ... she said. "Well that's what's suppose to go in there". She looked at the work order and hollered down below "dump it out and take the filter off" .. So she comes into the store and starts getting 6 quarts of Mobil 1. I said " ya gotta use this right here" .. She said "we know what we are doing" . I said "apparently not"! I said "why don't you just use the 5 quart container plus one quart"? She said " we have to use it by the quart bottle" .. "Oh OK" says I. I was standing there watching them now. She said "Are you aware thatyour front differential is low" ? No I said. She says "we filled it up". I said did you use oil with a friction modifier in it"? Huh? says she. I said has to have a friction modifier in it for the limited slip gears. She said "your rear differential is leaking, but it's full. We don't see any signs of the front one leaking" The one you just filled up? Not leaking but it was empty and the back one is leaking and it's full? Uh-huh, that's right ... Ok, says I ... Good job .. now let me pay for this and get the hell out of here ... I emailed Walmart, but of course I never heard anything from them ... I always do my own stuff, except this one time, and now ya know why.
Alright, alright... I've got the "dumb guy/girl auto parts store worker" stories just like everyone else, but I have a new twist to the idea that has worked great for me over the last few years... Instead of being a "know it all" customer, DON"T STOP READING YET, there is a point here... Instead of being "that customer" (like I am SURE we all have been, myself included), try going in there with your information ready and actually help the counter keypuncher. You need a PCV? Let them know what year car one was on instead of saying "all small block Chevys" (which we all know is a bullshit statement anyway). You need a thermostat? Tell them what year the engine is even though it's in your '29 Model A. Basically, if you go in there knowing you're gonna have a bad experience, you will. If you go in there with the mind set to try to help someone learn, it'll be much more enjoyable for both of you. Nuff said.
I worked in an auto parts store in the 70s. There were problems with getting the correct brake shoes for big Fords. There were different diameters and widths. I had to convince the owners to measure the diameter of the drums and the width of the shoes to get the right brakes. I don't think Ford parts departments could have told the customer what brakes were on a particular car from the engine and options. I wonder if the new computer programs can sort it out? The best service I ever had as a customer was when I was building my roadster with plenty of Corvette parts. I made friends with the local, small Chevy dealers parts manager. I needed a lot of special vette hardware, i.e. bolts, nuts, etc. The manager would hand me the hardware catalog and a piece of paper and let me find what I wanted. I was buying so much stuff that on one occasion I needed an exhaust part NOW to finish the car and he grabbed the part from another customer's order so I could have it. I protested that that wasn't fair to the other guy. The manager said the other customer had been ordering stuff and not picking it up for months. I guess Karma works both ways!
This thread makes me glad that we have Yngrodder as a local manager for O'Reilly's. He hires as many guys as he can with common sense, and it's spreading. He's done a lot of good for a handful of their stores around here. I can honestly say that every experience I've had at any of his stores is a good one.
And on chryco front wheel drive cars in the 80s, the easiest way to tell (without removing) the various front calipers (and pads that go with them), was by the diameter of the REAR drum. Try to explain that one to a know it all asshole. Some guys are too proud for their own good.
When I go to Advance or Autozone, I look up what I want online and take the part number with me. I just say "I want one of these" ..
Wish more customers would do that. Then they would also understand all the stupid questions that we have to ask on the newer vehicles. But as for the older parts that kinda hard for the younger people to learn when all they know is the computer way. Everybody should be taught by the book 1st! At my full time job most things are looked up by the book.
the local napa is good, but o'reilly's is better, real car guys working there, i go to the other stores and tell them i need a upper radiator hose for a 34 ford with a 351 and they look at me like i am stupid
I have THE BEST auto parts store in my town. Its The oldest FAMILY OWNED continuously operating FULL SERVICE Automotive Facility in America - Established in 1922. I can get just about anything I need there without telling them make, model, engine size etc etc. However they have one old guy that has been there for years and he is NEVER helpful. The other day I needed rubber brake hose for my truck. He said you can't put rubber brake hose on a vehicle and have it pass state inspection. I told him all the cars I have ever seen had rubber hoses front and back.
people need to realize that as a parts person at a store (oreillys) we encounter every type of person possible on any given day. yes, we tend to ask some questions that dont make sense to you. (like how many door handles does your chevy truck have when it comes to brakes...Yah IT MATTERS!!! we need to know how many doors it has) so give us a break cause we are trying to do a job just like you. and no one knows everything so if we dont know exactly what your part is..give us a break. Yesterday i had a complete moron in that first looked at our rental tools and said he had no idea why you would need a ball joint press, cause he would never REBUILD a ball joint. F-ing moron. oh and the reason he was there is so he could get fittings to bypass the perportioning valve on a 76 International School bus. this guy is a menace and he is a danger. But just remember when we stand behind the counter unless we know you, we cant tell who is a psyco and who is a genuine car guy.
yeah , Saturday i had a guy ask for an alternator for a Pontiac..when i asked him which one he said it's the one his wife drives to work. that's a big help! after that , he thought it may be a 2003 Grand Prix with a 3.8 or maybe not? he bought the car from a friend...another big help.....my call to the guy he bought the car from confirmed it was a 2002 Grand Am with a 3.4
Same here, when I go to the store near me most of them know I'm building something that's not in the computer. I tell them what I'm looking for and that point me in a general direction, I've spend hours in the back looking for something that might work, I probably know more of whats on their shelves than they do.
That's the best cure for a ton of frustration. I do that all the time. I've had only a couple bad experiences and they aren't even worth mentioning. Being prepared is a must in the high tech times we live in. And if someone came up to me and asked for a radiator hose for a '34 Ford with a 351, I'm sorry, but I'd give you a wierd look too, until you explained further.
I thought of this thread last night when the girl in the fast food place rang me up $3.52 and I decided to dump some change and gave her one quarter, two dimes, one nickel and two pennies and she has to ask me if that's 52 cents. No, dummy, it's 39 pesos and one British half-pence. Makes me think it's not just auto parts places that get terrible help, it's just that there's a lot of stupid kids out there who need.. well make that manage to get jobs and you're going to run into the same thing whether you're buying brakes for your car, lingerie for your wife/gf/yourself (whatever the case may be), furniture, appliances, or anything else you can think of. We could probably start a whole seperate thread just about clerks and change, I've had cashiers seem like they were mad when I'd get rid of like nine pennies instead of being like the kids today and throwing them in the parking lot.
In the seventies I worked at a NAPA store in the machine shop, on one occasion had a gentleman walk in with a piece of string, wants to know if I can measure the length of the string and tell him what size rod bearings he needs, he had wrapped the string around the crankshaft and cut it at the exact length. Another time a customer brought in a piece of plastic and wanted me to measure it and tell him what size bearings he needed he said it fit exactly between the crankshaft and rod. Those were good times. All of the guy's who worked at the parts counter in that store back then were very knowledgable, no computers just catalogs and good memories.
A few posters have comented on the way clerks take care of the phone customers better than the ones standing in front of them. I recently needed some adel clamps for a project and called our local non chain store that specializes in 4WD and roundy round cars. Kid on the phone tells me they do have them in the size that I need, so I run down there and did not think to get the kids name. Another young guy behind the counter askes what I needed and I tell him, he comes back with "I don't think we have any of those". Well I hope you do becasue the guy I just spoke with said you did. He goes to look and comes back with a "nope, we do not have any of those". Never once was there a sorry, or do you know who you talked to, or can we order them. My O'Riellys has better cutomer service.
I have one of the auto zones here too . If it's not in the computer then it's in one of the isles . I am lucky because there is one guy in there that I always ask for or wait to tell him what I want . He usually says , come around and get the parts you want ! There is a girl that says that to me to when she is working . I really hate to ask for parts that I need because they don't have that old of a car in their damn computer ! Where the hell are the good old parts stores anymore ? Where real car guys and gear heads use to go . RetroJim
I walk in to the O'Really here and ask for some champion spark plugs by the champion number. The kid behind the counter asks what vehicle and engine and so on, I tell him it's for a ford tractor and he says real smart we don't sell tractor parts. So I have to ask, son do you think those spark plugs know or care what engine they are in? I finally get my spark plugs but what a pain in the arse.
I think half of the guys that come into the parts store and ask for a lower radiator hose for a "64 Studebaker with a 403 Olds engine" simply enjoy the "look at me" attention that it brings. We all know most car guys have egos. Just leave yours at the door and you`ll get better service.
this is completely right. If you come in treating the parts people like shit then dont expect much better service in return. From what i have read alot of people go to stores like oreilly or the zone and have an attitude from the time they walk in the door. I have had bad service and good service. i try to give good service all the time. Just dont come in with the attitude that we are out to screw over your project or piss you off from the get go. it will make your life and ours much easier.
one of the best auto part stores i have ever gone to and still go to is, Burbank auto parts. in ca. frank is the old school cat in that shop! he even has trench art from ww1 at his counter top! cool dudes all around! no punk kids working there! they will even deliver the stuff to you!
I was in AutoZone the other day, talking to a guy about getting some parts for a Mercury Capri. He looks under Mercury on the computer, and I can see from where I'm standing where it has Capri on the list. (It was at the top of the list!) He stands there for a minute and then says/mumbles, "Oh, that's a Pontiac." Then he looks under Pontiac and picks out Grand Prix. I say, "No sir, I'm looking for a Capri. C-A-P-R-I." He says, "Oh, Chevrolet!" Then he looks under Chevrolet for Caprice. I say, "Sir, it's a Mercury. I saw it in the listing." He says, "Oh, why didn't you just say so?" ...
Have you had clerks apologize because they dont have any dollar bills? I tell'em, give me 4 quarters. Its all American money. It all spends. They seem to be amazed that I will accept coins
Growing up in my hometown I went to the local auto zone. Made quite a few stops there in high school when I was building my mustang. I didn't have money to buy fancy performance parts so I made what I could, it was the little things that I had to make work, like belts, hoses, etc. I remember spending over an hour there one time trying to tell the guy the number I wanted and he (I was 17, he was early-med 20s) telling me that that wasn't the right belt. I kept telling him, yes, I know, its different. I got frustrated and left. Went back that night when this one girl was working. She was also in her early 20s but I had dealt with her a few times. She always took her time and found what I needed, and never insulted my intelligence. Then when I went to college I went for high performance technology. Needless to say every local parts store had my fellow classmates working. Talk about almost always having a good experience and getting discounts!
After retiring from my State job here in Illinois, I was bored and decided to go for a parts delivery job at one of the local parts chain stores. It wasn't long before I became the "go-to-guy" for all the old school stuff. Every time somebody with a carb rather than an injection comes in and asks if anybody's available who knows their "ass from a hole in the ground" about cars, the younger guys always point to me. It's an awesome responsibility!
at autozone a couple blocks from house with buddy other day, looking for the cheapie coolant flush kit. No luck, asked counter guy, he directs me near front door. Still no luck. Ask him again, no movement only pointing in same direction. I look again, no luck. One more try asking him and he gets very edgy. He finally comes to my aid with half a dozen customers in store. Points to antifreeze jug. I told him again that I need a flush kit. He finally tells me he is out in a nice asshole tone. Couldn't help it had to tell him to fuck off and go down the street to the schucks. Real tired of people like that with no customer service.
well in my 19 years behind the counter my wage went from 6.00 hr to 14.00 hr And I was getting paid more than most of my counterparts. The prices of most parts( 79 chevy alternator/starter for example) have really not gone up as much in 20 years. Because EVERYONE shops price, and very, very few people will pay extra for that knowledgeable service. Just look at Walmart, cheap Chinese junk, no help, and there taking over the whole country. I could go on for hours about all the "customers" using parts to test their theory and trying to return them. Or not knowing what kind of car they they had. "Its a broham"..."an Oldsmobile Regal"..."Its a scottsdale" One guy was absolutely positive the disc brakes on the front of his 57 chevy were stock. I had a customer return a paint gun "its defective, the paint just dribbles out" "Really, how much pressure were you running?" "wadda you mean pressure?" "from the air compressor" "You mean I gotta buy A F***ing air compressor now?!! " I could type until dawn. The point is as long as low prices are what people want, the wages will be low, and so will the quality of the counterman. This especially rubs me wrong when people complain about Autozone, shucks,pepboys, because those guys probably could make more money if they worked for a year at McDonalds. They may be young and dumb, but most of then are there because the like cars. And in this day and age there are fewer and fewer kids getting into this hobby(look around at your next car club meeting). Fresh blood in this hobby is a good thing. There may still be a few of those old timers left, and if you want them to help you, go to a locally owned parts store, and pay the extra 3 bucks. By the way, NAPA still has books(yes books) that still have universal turnsignals and stuff. And, there is no "their all the same" button on a keyboard, and their not all the same, even Chevies.
The Jalopy Journal
