Yet another day of bull$stuff at the parts store

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67Dart273

67Dart273

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I've been considering trying to build a hilborn setup out of a SB chivvy for a SBM and of course EFI, not mechanical. This might be just old men dreaming in the afternoon, so let's please not get too far adrift in the lifeboat here, mkay?

But I DID get as far as going to O'Reallys to buy a set of Chivvy intake gaskets for comparison, and THIS happened

(I did NOT tell this idiot WHAT I was doing)

"Uh, I'm not sure what year, let's say about a 75 Chivvy 350, I need an intake gasket set"

.........Looks at the computer screen, frowns, looks, frowns, looks, looks closer, says, izzzat 1.2 or 1.6?

???? ?????!!!????!! "I have NO ideal WHAT you are referring to??"

"Well, the gasket size!!!"

"Gasket size? What do you mean gasket size? We are talking about a 75 Chivvy 350?"

The gasket size, the height of the holes, you know, the ports"

"Ok, I'm sittin' here lookin' at the engine, in the car, OK, and how am I going to tell that?"

"Well, you look at the engine casting number."

"Look, man, I used to SELL this stuff, and I never HEARD of what you just said."

Finally he turns the computer around and here's what I see..................

At the top is some Felpro part number........................

and a great big long list of Mr Gasket numbers................................


So I told this guy, "LOOK.........these Mr Gasket numbers, THESE are AFTERMARKET, these are most likely for PORTED or AFTERMARKET PERFORMANCE cylinder heads. Don't you have that Felpro gasket?"

And of course the parts guy mumbles something about no bsbsbsbsbsbs........

and when I get out to the car with the FELPRO box I glance at the bottom and HERE IS WHAT IT SAYS on the FELPRO BOX

"GM Products V8 262, 267, 302, 305, 5.0, 307, 327, 350, 5.7, 400, 1969-1988"

and there is not one word about port size on there
 
A lot of folks just don't listen/give a damn anymore.

My wife called Autozone a couple of days ago to inquire about a set of 20' premium Duralast Gold jumper cables that were on sale.

She ask the guy in the store IF they had them in stock, provided him with a part number.

"Hold on I'll check"

Comes back to the phone and says " the cheapest ones I have, blah blah blah, are............"

My wife had to repeat herself and explain she didn't want "cheap" she wanted those specific cables.

So off he goes again to look. Seems as though had he LISTENED the first time he could have saved some shoe leather! :banghead:
 
gotta remember, the fastfood parts stores hire the least costly people. they dont want them to know anything,or ask any questions. just what the puter tells em to do
 
I hate going into any of those stores. I have to try and restrain myself when asked if they can help me as soon as I'm in the door. I always want to respond: I dought it, I forgot more about cars then you know.
 
If I need to go to auto zone or advance, I look on their web site first. Check price and store stock first.Saves me alot of headaches.
 
I last worked in a O'Crappies Got so sick of the idiocy ,I quit.....No one is a experienced parts guy anymore,it's all about overhead control.
 
Rotax said:
If I need to go to auto zone or advance, I look on their web site first. Check price and store stock first.Saves me alot of headaches.
Click to expand...

X2, but sometimes they even get confused on that.
I have the part number when I go in, and just let them look it up how they want.
Then I double check the part number when they hand it to me.
50% of the time it's wrong.
 
TrailBeast said:
X2, but sometimes they even get confused on that.
I have the part number when I go in, and just let them look it up how they want.
Then I double check the part number when they hand it to me.
50% of the time it's wrong.
Click to expand...

I just had a similar thing happen. I gave them there own part number. They insisted on looking it up with the specific vehicle. Then they rattle off some other part number. They finally say the one that I told them originally and I tell them that is the one. Why they couldnt just type in the part number I gave them I have no idea! Could had saved them all the time asking year, make, model, engine size, with or with out A/C, name of my first dog, my shoe size, if Im right or left handed, color of the sky and lastly name of the parts store I called. :banghead::banghead::banghead:
 
jeffb said:
gotta remember, the fastfood parts stores hire the least costly people. they dont want them to know anything,or ask any questions. just what the puter tells em to do
Click to expand...

Aint that the truth.

You know I applied for a job at all of the Parts Stores in town (could use a second job), and I figured I had a pretty good chance of getting the job, since I'm a mechanic. You'd think they'd want someone who knows their cars and parts, at the very least for the Commercial Accounts.

Didn't get hired at any of the stores, or even a call-back. I asked about it later on and I was told this.

"We couldn't hire you, it'd be a conflict of interest since you operate your own auto repair shop." WTF?!
 
Went to Napa today. My normal parts store was closed. I needed 4-3/8" bumper bolts. The owner is a good guy, but busy. So he handed me off to one of three other salesmen. Told him I needed bumper bolts. "Uh... what do they look like?" So the owner gets the book out and shows him the listing."look up the number, see if we have any." So he looks them up, "we have 14." I'll take 4. He goes off... minutes pass... comes back and looks at the book to see what they look like again. "So they are a carriage bolt?" I reply, yes but with chrome or polished head. He disappears again. Comes back empty handed gets the 2nd in charge to help. They come back with plain carriage bolts. Nope, won't do. So they consult the book again and away they go... 15min later success. Then I paid with a gift certificate... *face palm*
 
It's just incredible the stuff these people do not know, the basic hardware and fittings terms and types of bolts

I was in a local fasteners store. This is what they DO. They sell bolts and nuts. I had a common, ordinary American cap screw that was EITHER 9/16 or 5/8 SAE thread I simply had not measured it. Here's what I KNEW

I knew it was larger than 1/2. I knew it was SAE that is common fine thread, and I knew it was NOT metric. So I told this meathead.

"That's either 9/16 or 5/8 SAE I'm not sure which. I need a Nylock nut."

So he's screwing around with digital calipers and thread gauges and frowning and conversion charts and I finally ASKED him

"What's the matter?"

"I'm making sure it's not metric"

"I already TOLD you what it was. It's either 9/16 or it's 5/8 AMERICAN. It's FINE THREAD. It's SAE. It's a COMMON bolt. It is NOT METRIC. There is a REASON I told you that. I COULD have measured it but I didn't think I needed to"

My Goauwed. You'd think I insulted his wife. You'd think I maybe might have summoned the Devil himself from the under reaches. You'd a thunk I tried to rob the joint from his attitude.
 
I find it unsettling but yet kind of amusing that every time I call the parts store they put me on hold and when I go there in person ( after they have already started working with me)they make me wait to take a phone call.

is it just me or does this happen to anybody else
 
1970-dart said:
I find it unsettling but yet kind of amusing that every time I call the parts store they put me on hold and when I go there in person ( after they have already started working with me)they make me wait to take a phone call.

is it just me or does this happen to anybody else
Click to expand...

Actually I sold parts for nearly 17 years, and "both sides" bitched equally!!!
 
1970-dart said:
I find it unsettling but yet kind of amusing that every time I call the parts store they put me on hold and when I go there in person ( after they have already started working with me)they make me wait to take a phone call.

is it just me or does this happen to anybody else
Click to expand...

I never thought about this, but you are 100% correct! Happens to me all the time!
 
I look up all the parts on there web sights because it is full of bad info ,then decide on the right part number I need then supply them with there own part numbers and they still only hit on about 90%,the other 10% is not in there systems. but its the only way to shop in the large urban areas ,where there's 10 people in line all the time.I would guess about 40 % of the people are returning the wrong parts(in hand).if I can ship it I will because standing in line and getting waited on could be 1 hour. so i save that way.
 
Rotax said:
If I need to go to auto zone or advance, I look on their web site first. Check price and store stock first.Saves me alot of headaches.
Click to expand...

I tried that too but........website says it had it in stock at the store but 20 minutes later apparently not.
So I order the part ( master cylinder/ 03 Silverado) at 80 bucks, pay for it, bought a qt of brake fluid and tried to use the 15 percent rewards coupon and as you might have guessed, jackass applied the discount to the $6 brake fluid!
Here it is end of day on Monday and part is still not in.
 
I went into O'Reilly's on Sunday. They were busy and my buddy was backed up, so I went to the young kid and set a hose clamp on the counter. I say "I need high quality hose clamps in this size." He says, "what do you need?" I sigh and repeat myself. He says, "hose clamps?" I sigh a little louder and very slowly and clearly repeat myself. He says, "what size?" I pick up the hose clamp walk to the long line in front of my buddy and tell him that I will just wait for someone who can at least fog a mirror.
 
Mopar to ya said:
I went into O'Reilly's on Sunday. They were busy and my buddy was backed up, so I went to the young kid and set a hose clamp on the counter. I say "I need high quality hose clamps in this size." He says, "what do you need?" I sigh and repeat myself. He says, "hose clamps?" I sigh a little louder and very slowly and clearly repeat myself. He says, "what size?" I pick up the hose clamp walk to the long line in front of my buddy and tell him that I will just wait for someone who can at least fog a mirror.
Click to expand...


:banghead:

And then those same people wonder why we get frustrated and become short with them.
 
I went into our local Oreillys and asked for four 7/16 RH lug nuts. "What year and model car?" I just stood there. I eventually told him. Does anybody actually KNOW anything anymore, or are they all slaves to those computers?
 
True they are slaves to the computer,they couldnt find their *** unless the screen told them where to look...
 
The other day I went to AutoZone to get a replacement PCV hose for my slant six Valiant. The old one had gotten a little hard in it's 50 year life and developed some cracks. When I got to the parking lot I pulled the old hose and took it in with me. The guy at the counter asked what I needed. I said I needed about a foot of 3/8" hose similar to this, I sat the hose on the counter. He says,"what year and model are you working on?" So, I told him it's a '64 Plymouth Valiant and it's the PCV hose. Then he needs to know if it's a 2.8L, a 3.7L or a 4.5l and I said it's a 225. They came with a 170, a 225 and a 273 so it must be the middle one. Well after searching in the computer for several minutes he asks again what year, so I said it's a 64 but all I need is a foot of 3/8 inch hose similar to this. He goes to punching around on his keyboard and finally says,"They don't list a PCV hose for your car, would they call it anything else?" I said," ya, maybe fuel hose.... " He gets back into the computer and after a short search says,"they are showing it to be 5/16" I said," ya but I need 3/8 so if you go to your shelf where the 5/16 is the 3/8 will be right there next to it. Go there and get me a foot of the 3/8. He leaves and comes back in a minute to report that the hose right next to the 5/16 fuel hose is 5/16 transmission hose and asks if that will work. I turned and left. I guess someday when I get up enough courage to face another moron I'll try again at oReilly.
 
I SWEAR to you this is an absolute true story. I used to work at what was this town's once largest auto / truck / heavy hardware largest parts store. We had the rep for "having everything, and old "Nick" had retired. I used to accuse Nick of "crapping" parts.

(This store got underway in '31, and Nick went to work for 'em in 32)


Nick came in one day, after retiring, with a friend. Nick had a piece of broken 3/16 tube with one of those Ford / Holley compression nuts on the end, which he threw on the counter

Male%20Threaded%20Sleeve%20Nut.JPG


I'm on the phone, and one of the "youngsters" is standing there playing there with the swinging door at the counter, who I'll call "Ken" to protect the guilty.

Nick throws this nut on the counter and says "give me a couple of these will ya?"

"Ken" shakes his head in time with wiggling the door"

Nick says "whazza matta, ya out?"

Ken replies "We don' stock them, I don' think we ever stock them, and we are never GONNA stock them"

I'm already starting to laugh internally, as my phone call is ending, and this hasn't even begun to unfold, but I KNOW Nick.

Nick graps this beanbrain by THE EAR. HE GRABS THIS MORON KID BY THE EAR HE DRAGS THIS KID BY THE EAR AND HE DRAGS HIS DEAD *** DOWN through the entrance to the adjacent stock shelves which is where we had our large brass bins.

Took Nick about 3 seconds to find the correct bin for the Ford compression nuts. Pulled out the drawer and shook it under this kid's nose

"Ya see there??? Ya see THERE?? Don't you EVER BBBBBBBBBBB ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Man he sawed a piece of that kids *** right OFF he did!!!!

So Ken asked me later "Did that old bastard used to WORK here or somethin?"

I told him "that old bastard has known, forgotten, and REknown, more'n you'll ever know about parts!!!!"
 
My brother was a master tech for Nissan for decades. He can take his Q apart and put it back together blindfolded so to speak. Well he gets tired of all the bs and since nobody else seemed to want to work he decided to quit and just sit around. He needed an operation, so he got a job at O'Reillys where they begged him to be manager, assistant blah blah blah and he refused, just working part time enough for one year to get his health insurance. No crap, the first day on the job a guy walks in and says I need a gasket for a Ford 9-inch. My brother looked right at him and said, nine inch what?
 
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