Rant: Auto parts store employees can really be useless sometimes

[fratzog lover]

I was working on my 99 Dodge Ram and needed the brake line that goes to the rear axle. I sent my son to Advance Auto. He called me from the store and said they don't have any listings for brake lines.

 

[Basket case]

 

[Coronet_Arch]

Went to O'Reilly's yesterday. The lady behind the counter was the person I normally deal with. She looked and found the part I was looking for. She said the truck would be in at 12:30 with the part. Got a call at 12:30 the wrong part had come in and the correct one would be in at 2:30. I am out and about so I show up after 2:30. The lady I regularly deal with is busy and there was a kid behind the counter. So I tell him I am there to pick the part up. She tells him that the part would have just come in on the truck. The kid goes in the back to get the part. I thank the lady for the phone call on the part. I am waiting around and finally ask what is going on. The truck had not arrived rather coming back out and telling me it had not arrived he was in back bullshitting. When I left he was getting a talking to by the manager about customer service.

 

[Cranky]

At least every other time I go in, I learn something new from them......and I don't mean that in a good way. Just recently the 'kid' behind the counter taught me some new cuss words when his cumpuker system froze up. Sorry kids, but I'm not too in tuned to hearing your gutter spew in a customer service type environment.

 

[Basket case]

gain, I'll take a parts book. At the IH dealer I could look up a part on microfiche or the parts book, go get the part off the shelf and have it laying on the counter before someone could look it up on the computer.

 

[Kern Dog]

2 or 4 wheel drive?
does it have power windows?

 

[toolmanmike]

View attachment 1084722

Must have been for a blue car as well.

 

[fratzog lover]

View attachment 1084722

That made my day!

 

[ksurfer2]

Within 5 minutes of my house, there is a Pep Boys, Napa, Auto Zone, and O'Reilly's. I pick the store based on what I need....Pep Boys has a great selection of hardware...nuts, bolts, etc. The Napa store IS the warehouse, so they have all the obscure stuff for older cars that the other stores need to order in from the warehouse. O'reilly's is the only one that sells Valvoline VR-1 in 10W-30...so I get my oil from them. I rarely go to Auto Zone.

 

[cosgig]

Within 5 minutes of my house, there is a Pep Boys, Napa, Auto Zone, and O'Reilly's. I pick the store based on what I need....Pep Boys has a great selection of hardware...nuts, bolts, etc. The Napa store IS the warehouse, so they have all the obscure stuff for older cars that the other stores need to order in from the warehouse. O'reilly's is the only one that sells Valvoline VR-1 in 10W-30...so I get my oil from them. I rarely go to Auto Zone.

I do the same, oreillys carries the Wix filters, so I go there for filters. I rarely go to auto zone, and do most of my shopping at Adcanced because of the old school guys that have been there for the last couple decades. It was a Carquest before Advanced, and An independent store before that.

 

[Slap Stick]

Does anyone miss the days when parts stores had machine shops?
I sure do.
A friend lives in a rural town with a NAPA parts store/service center. It was built in the early 1900s as a Ford dealership. They will repair your vehicle or say, remove/install an axle bearing on an axle you brought in and get the bearing off the shelf or get it in fast.

 

[mopar 3 B]

Does anyone miss the days when parts stores had machine shops?
I sure do.
A friend lives in a rural town with a NAPA parts store/service center. It was built in the early 1900s as a Ford dealership. They will repair your vehicle or say, remove/install an axle bearing on an axle you brought in and get the bearing off the shelf or get it in fast.

Only till they could not guarantee the part you took them was what I was getting back. I then found a machine shop that did not merely exchange shelf parts.

 

[Coronet_Arch]

Smyth Auto Parts in Cincinnati has a machine shop in their Mason/West Chester location. They machined my 383 for my Coronet.

 

[Slap Stick]

Only till they could not guarantee the part you took them was what I was getting back. I then found a machine shop that did not merely exchange shelf parts.

Mebbe I wasn't clear.
Let's say you take them an axle from a 8-3/4 rear from a 65 Satellite.
It needs a bearing. They press off the old, sell you a new one and press it on.

 

['68 Charger]

Mebbe I wasn't clear.
Let's say you take them an axle from a 8-3/4 rear from a 65 Satellite.
It needs a bearing. They press off the old, sell you a new one and press it on.

Yes. My local NAPA used to do drive shaft U joint replacements when you bought their parts. They charged me a whopping $5.00 per U joint. This was way back in the late 80s/early 90s. They also turned drums and rotors at $6.00 each.

 

[jeepthrills01]

1 nod to Autozone...their KH pinned caliper brake pads are ceramic. And according to the one "real parts guy" at the store...are Wagner reboxed. The other chains only seem to offer semi metallic.
Just my $.02

 

[383man]

I do come across some auto parts store guys who are very good but not to often. My buddy wanted a battery for his girls Chevette and I told him just get there cheapest battery as they were going to sell it. I see one on the shelf that real cheap and like 500 CCA. So my buddy tells the guy he wants that one and the guy says he cant sell him that one as he has to know what the battery is going in. So my buddy tells him and he wants to sell him a $125 dollar battery instead of the $72 dollar one on the shelf. So my buddy tells him he dont want the $125 dollar one and the parts guy says he will burn the electrical system up in the car if he sells him the shelf battery ?? I says what the heck are you talking about as it will be fine and I said to him we can put the battery in any damn car or whatever we want to when we leave here. We can leave and put it in a boat. But the guy would not sell him the battery we wanted so we laughed at the guy and said you just lost a battery sale. Ron

 

[1STMP]

As I was getting my 2012 Mopar Miller lite #2 nascar ready to show, i needed new spark plugs and a new bleed screw for the hydraulic clutch as the old one was stripped, so off i went to 7 different stores, O'Reillys Autozone, Napa, Advance, all of them, more than one each of some and each time the clueless teenager at the computer and Myself's conversation went like this:

Me:"Hi there I need 8 spark plugs for a Mopar 360 Smallblock, iridium if you got it, and a new brake bleed screw thats 3/8-24 x 1 3/16 inches"
Clerk: "Um... sir let me put it in the computer what make model year is it?"
Me: "Its not in the system its a custom purpose built setup, do you have a rack with packets of different bleed screws you can point me to please by chance?"
Clerk:"Um... sir I need to get a part number from the computer to make sure I know what to get you, are you sure we cant try that?"
Me: "Ok have it your way, it's the 2012 #2 Miller Lite Nascar, original engine is on display in my garage so its got a 360 in it now, the screw actually isn't for a brake bleeder, its for a clutch, but its the same deal, same part"
Clerk: "Sir I don't really know too much about engines all i can do is look up the car and get the part number"
repeat conversation about it not being in the system...
Every time these idiots look dumbfounded that their computer system has been beat, but I bet the parts are within all the stores somewhere, they just don't know how to find them without their computer. If you don't even attempt to learn at least a little bit about these things as you go along, then maybe you shouldn't work at a car parts store.

Anyone else have to go through the Autozone Odyssey for Parts? Also nigh impossible to get plugs for my 69 charger's 440 cause the computer didn't know.

View attachment 1075580

I learned quite awhile ago to have part
numbers in hand when visiting a local
parts store. If I'm not in a hurry, most
of the parts I order are from online
sources. I only use Autozone as a last
resort. NAPA by far, has the best over
the counter services, but even they are
succumbing to online competition, and
their quality and service are suffering
for it.
To shed light on how business is carried
out these days, I have a story to tell.
While heading to the Texas gulf for a fishing
trip, we stopped at a McDonalds for lunch
and ice to fill the coolers. I ordered 4 20lb
bags of ice. The cute little gal behind the
counter cheerfully asked if I wanted them
for (here), or to go....this is what you're
dealing with at today's part stores.