Rant: Auto parts store employees can really be useless sometimes

[moparedtn]

Spot on Ed... not even gonna ask about the car...

Moi? Fred's fine, thanks...and I'll know about me by the end of next week.

 

[moparedtn]

Get in line...I'm selling tickets.

 

[moparedtn]

In the world of the internet, there is no reason to visit your local parts store unless it's urgent. Anybody that can post on FBBO can order the parts they need, delivered to their door, without giving the DUMB generation a hard time.

I'm kinda like @OH71RRunner in that regard...in a small town, cars get kinda "known",
so I don't mind the few times a year when I wander into the NAPA if a fella or two wants
to talk about cars like Fred.
He's sort of popular around town and we try to get him out there to participate amongst the festivities
when both he and I are up to it.
Kinda the point, some of it anyways, right?
Being ambassadors of the hobby, stewards of the cars, that sort of thing.

 

[Ironbuilt]

Get in line...I'm selling tickets.

Somebodies getting a big head...

 

[moparedtn]

Somebodies getting a big head...

View attachment 1075753

Ain't much small on me....I wear a 3x hat now.

 

[70chall440]

When I moved to the town I am in now back in 05, I started developing a relationship with my local O'Reillys. We have a NAPA but I never really like them all that much, the manager was a bit of a dick. Anyway, over time the staff at O'Reillys got to know me and I could search for what I needed. Unfortunately over time they changed out staff so much that there is only 1 or 2 people I know there but as noted now I order pretty much everything online. I asked one of the guys I know there and he told me that they lose people quickly due to low wages.

There was once a time when you could be reasonably sure that the majority of people working in the auto parts store were car guys, not the case anymore.

 

[67charger383]

I just buy everything from Ebay.
Arrives in 1-3 days and I don't have to deal with the dumbasses at the auto parts stores.

Went into a Pepboys to buy engine parts and told the guy that they're for a 1967 Dodge Charger.
The cashier said that another employee had a car "just like mine". He got this guy and I had to hear about how he and his dad restored a '68 Coronet R/T, and how Mopars "are too expensive", and "It's not worth it fixing up one, just get a Chevy"...

 

[SattyNoCar]

Where I live, I guess Walmart can hire only so many retirees as people greeters and they spill over into the auto parts store. Many a time I wished I had gotten a clueless young person than the crotchety old person. Last encounter was over something that should have been easy, fuel injection hose and clamps..... "all fuel line is the same, they put 'fuel injection' on it just to charge you more. Same deal with clamps."

I went to a different store.

 

[kiwigtx]

I find that RockAuto is a handy tool - they have a lot of cross-reference stuff that can be translated to other cars - making the search at a parts store a little easier.

Doesn't work all the time....but it is handy to know.

BTW...I don't ever say what my truck or car is - I make one up that has the same parts. I mean, who the hell would know what a Dodge A100 is here in NZ anyway? I just say usually a VG Valiant or something similar.....works most of the time.

If they really get up my nose, I ask for something off a Honda Pessary.

 

[Bludevwa]

I usually will use the good old google to find a part number with the manufacturer I want and then order it on Amazon, usually substantially cheaper and comes to my door. Only time I go to the parts house anymore is if it an immediate need. Then I make up the car that i know it should be in to avoid the irritating back and forth. Used to get really irritated. Now i save money and if i get the wrong part, welp, at that point im the dumb one.

 

[Slap Stick]

The reason for asking for the make and model and looking up the part in the computer is due to lawsuits.
They dont want to be sued for selling the "wrong" part even though it's what the customer ordered.
My brother worked in the auto parts business for years. He was checking out a position as an auto zoo manager and a customer came in and asked a counter guy for a set of spark plug wires. He knew the parts guy and they chatted a bit and the parts guy went into the shelves and returned with a set of wires.
Rang up the sale and all was good...until the manager walked up and fired his parts guy on the spot for not following procedure. ALL parts MUST be looked up according to make and model so people dont get the wrong part.
BTW my brother refused the job, it required crazy hours and paid less than he made as a counter guy years earlier.

 

[moparedtn]

I'm one of those guys who likes perusing eBay for old, American-made stuff in the wee hours
(hey, when you wake up before 3am most mornings, you got time to kill before the rest of
the world stirs).
True, a lot of sellers are really proud of their "NOS" stuff (that usually isn't NOS, but time-period
correct from other manufacturers) but once in a while I stumble over the stock of a closed old
parts store or dealer parts stash and it gets fun.

 

[padam]

I went to AutoZone about 20 years ago to get a camshaft seal or something for my 2.5 Daytona.
I even had the old one with me, it was a name brand with a part no on it, should have been an easy one.
The guy behind the counter was probably in his 40's, a know it all dick.

He told me they didn't have it. "Dodge will sell you the car, but then you can't get parts for it. That's why nobody buys them."

I got it somewhere else, didn't go to AutoZone for a long time after that.

I should have drug his *** accross the counter and taught him not to insult Mother Mopar.

 

[WileERobby]

In a strange sense, the way things evolved had made US smarter. I used to walk into, or call, my local parts store, tell Frank or Linda what I needed, and Bingo ! Their BRAIN and experience was the computer catalog. Now, it's up to each of us to know exactly what we need.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

As my father used to say, "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"

 

[AR67GTX]

You should try walking in to get parts for a Cobra replica with 65 registration/title, a 2014 build date, a 70 428 block, 61 390 hi-po heads, 63 427 intake, late model carbs, 63 427 dual point dist, toploader of some year - I forget, jag differential/suspension of unknown year, Chev front calipers from 70s/Girling rear calipers, etc. if they insist on having a year and model I just make it up to match the part I'm seeking as closely as I can. I need a fuel pump. What year and model - yeah, OK try a 70 428 CJ Mustang.

My favorite parts house story is from some car buddies of mine, whose very car parts-savvy wife walked into a parts store and asked for a distributor rotor for a 69 Hemi RR. The kid looked in the computer awhile, then went in back and rummaged around and then returned with a good sized box and plopped it down on the counter with a big clunk. She was kind of startled and looked at the box and it was a disc brake rotor.

 

[moparmarks]

The only way I buy form AZ or O'Reilly's is walk in and say "I need part number ######. Your site says you have one in stock" Pay and leave. Easy peasy.

 

[moparmarks]

Really the only good thing about NAPA is that they carry a lot more than the others. Our NAPA is 3 times larger than any of the others here. Their quality has gone to **** and man some of their prices are just stupid. I needed a lower steering shaft for my 98 Dakota. NAPA was over 700.00! AZ was 350.00 Got one with a lifetime warrantee on Ebay for 130.00.

 

[Frank Mopar]

I lose my attitude and arrogance when I hit the parts store. I try to be as nice and helpful because I understand the young person behind the counter probably has no clue. Just makes life easier. IMHO that is.

 

[moparmarks]

I agree. I try to show everyone respect and am not rude to people. God knows that there is a lot that I don't know.