seabee
Well-Known Member
This is a rant: Today I needed to buy or rent a small hydraulic press. I called the list of Auto Parts stores that are nearby and was once again disappointed with lack of knowledge and service. When did these chains start recruiting fast food rejects? I am sure there are good stores out there in some remote locations but I am speaking generally of my experience with them. If you happen to work at one of these stores I hope not to offend you. But if you work at one of these stores in Southern San Diego area and fit the description of who I am talking about then, yeah, you should be offended and find new employment 
uker:
Autozone: Their employee setup is to have one "knowledgeable" staffer somewhere in the store and fill the rest with useless slackers who know absolutely nothing except when their lunch breaks and paychecks are due. Usually the one "knowledgeable" staffer is being swamped with questions and phone calls from staff and customers and looks like they are about to have a stroke. Once I had to go through two employees before I found one that understood English. (This is to be expected since I live in Southern San Diego but still annoys me when I get a smartass smirk like I'm the idiot who can't communicate.) Their prices are their only saving grace sometimes but rarely do they have anything but the most common of parts. Their special order system sucks. Website is by far the best though.
NAPA: Is hit or miss. They usually have a few really experienced guys or gals that know their stuff but are stressed out and moments from going postal. They are understaffed and overworked from the looks of it. Usually have the parts in stock at decent prices except for tools which are very expensive.
CarQuest: No complaints here with employees. They have seasoned employees who know exactly what you want. There is usually enough employees so you only wait a few minutes to get help. They actually smile and don't seem to be suicidal. Prices are pretty high though compared to other chains. Special orders usually only take a few hours.
Orielly/Kragen: There are more employees than customers, but usually it takes three of them to find what you want. Large selection of oddball stuff that comes in handy and pretty decent stock. They could fire half the staff and replace with one or two more decent ones though.
I guess this is to be expected from chain super-stores that have to compete in a declining market due to the internet. I remember going to these stores when I was in high school and there would be some ol' timer with a bunch of big thick catalogs and manuals who seemed like the mecca of automotive part information. He could find the part you are talking about and probably give you a tip or two on your project. Now it's a sea of pimple faced idiots who get paid to ask someone else or type 4 basic key commands into a database. /end rant
uker:Autozone: Their employee setup is to have one "knowledgeable" staffer somewhere in the store and fill the rest with useless slackers who know absolutely nothing except when their lunch breaks and paychecks are due. Usually the one "knowledgeable" staffer is being swamped with questions and phone calls from staff and customers and looks like they are about to have a stroke. Once I had to go through two employees before I found one that understood English. (This is to be expected since I live in Southern San Diego but still annoys me when I get a smartass smirk like I'm the idiot who can't communicate.) Their prices are their only saving grace sometimes but rarely do they have anything but the most common of parts. Their special order system sucks. Website is by far the best though.
NAPA: Is hit or miss. They usually have a few really experienced guys or gals that know their stuff but are stressed out and moments from going postal. They are understaffed and overworked from the looks of it. Usually have the parts in stock at decent prices except for tools which are very expensive.
CarQuest: No complaints here with employees. They have seasoned employees who know exactly what you want. There is usually enough employees so you only wait a few minutes to get help. They actually smile and don't seem to be suicidal. Prices are pretty high though compared to other chains. Special orders usually only take a few hours.
Orielly/Kragen: There are more employees than customers, but usually it takes three of them to find what you want. Large selection of oddball stuff that comes in handy and pretty decent stock. They could fire half the staff and replace with one or two more decent ones though.
I guess this is to be expected from chain super-stores that have to compete in a declining market due to the internet. I remember going to these stores when I was in high school and there would be some ol' timer with a bunch of big thick catalogs and manuals who seemed like the mecca of automotive part information. He could find the part you are talking about and probably give you a tip or two on your project. Now it's a sea of pimple faced idiots who get paid to ask someone else or type 4 basic key commands into a database. /end rant
