Parts guy i worked with, would ask every customer”what do you need that for?” Guy replies “i collect them!”I love walking in with an exact part# and they say "well...what is it going in?".
Parts guy i worked with, would ask every customer”what do you need that for?” Guy replies “i collect them!”I love walking in with an exact part# and they say "well...what is it going in?".
Yea, I think I'm very close to your age.When you were younger?
I'm not looking for a solid number here, but werent you born after Reagan was president?
The best of the bunch in my world is NAPA. Mostly they are pretty good.
My O'Reilly's stinks. (Sorry, RRR, but it's the truth.) Two different times they had one person at the counter, multiple customers waiting, and no one came to help. You can clearly see and hear other employees in the store, but the clerk isn't smart enough to call for more counter help, and doesn't give a ****. I walked out both times and won't go back. I called the corporate office to talk to the district manager, could not get through (fair enough), left two messages, and never heard back.
The local Auto Zone has one guy who knows his stuff, the rest are just plain ignorant. I went in for a set of universal plug wires with 90-degree boots, and the kid absolutely positively would not try to find them without year, make, and model. I told him it doesn't matter, I'm going to cut them to fit. He didn't care. When he failed to find them he asked the manager (that knows his stuff) and is told there are several dozen boxes right behind him at the counter. I understand everyone has a learning curve for a new job, for for Pete's Sake, if you're going to work in an auto parts store, learn something about cars!
Then there was the same Auto Zone kid above, who asked what car I was working on. 66 Valiant. Who makes a Valiant? Plymouth. Who makes a Plymouth?
I walked out, again.
Hard to get good help these daysThe best of the bunch in my world is NAPA. Mostly they are pretty good.
My O'Reilly's stinks. (Sorry, RRR, but it's the truth.) Two different times they had one person at the counter, multiple customers waiting, and no one came to help. You can clearly see and hear other employees in the store, but the clerk isn't smart enough to call for more counter help, and doesn't give a ****. I walked out both times and won't go back. I called the corporate office to talk to the district manager, could not get through (fair enough), left two messages, and never heard back.
The local Auto Zone has one guy who knows his stuff, the rest are just plain ignorant. I went in for a set of universal plug wires with 90-degree boots, and the kid absolutely positively would not try to find them without year, make, and model. I told him it doesn't matter, I'm going to cut them to fit. He didn't care. When he failed to find them he asked the manager (that knows his stuff) and is told there are several dozen boxes right behind him at the counter. I understand everyone has a learning curve for a new job, for for Pete's Sake, if you're going to work in an auto parts store, learn something about cars!
Then there was the same Auto Zone kid above, who asked what car I was working on. 66 Valiant. Who makes a Valiant? Plymouth. Who makes a Plymouth?
I walked out, again.
At least the rear end won't burn and itch...I hate these box auto parts stores!!! If they cant look it up on a computer, they have no clue. I went looking for some gear marking compound to set up a ring and pinion a couple weeks ago and, not one parts store had any and, most of them didnt know what i was talking about. I went to Dollar General and bought some Desitin diaper rash paste and, set the damn thing up....lol
Not this one
Speaking of Autozone, I have a new store being built a mile down the street. It could be handy and I'll give them some business.I used to work for Autozone if we did not have the part we could get it no charge for the customer from another local store on our hub run route, from our hub or from our mega hub with 2 deliveries per day. Or from the vendor usually 2 days with free FedEx shipping to the store and if you order on line ship to home free shipping on orders over $100.00.
Every Walgreens has a CVS nearby. Dollar Tree is across the street from Family Dollar...remember shopping malls? Just good business...The town I work in has a population of 10k. They already had Napa, AutoZone, and Auto Value parts stores. One day an Orileys rep showed up at the shop to tell us they were building a store and giving promo rates if you "start a commercial account now". We asked why they were moving into an already oversaturated market for our area and he told us "if there is an AutoZone then Oriley will move in as close as possible even if the stores lose money because it's the main goal of the investors to simply put AutoZone out of business". For the first year I didn't believe him but I've noticed that every AutoZone around here does in fact have an Orileys near by.
Often it's store by store. I don't have anything against Auto Zone, but I quit going to my closest one because of the help.So on my way home I stop at a parts store to pick up a few items for an engine I'm putting together:
Engine paint
RTV sealer
High tack gasket sealer
Lock tite
And motor mounts.
The engine paint: they don't have anything that says "international harvester red" the red they carry is an empty slot. No red paint in stock.
Strike one
Rtv sealer they do have but they want so much for it. They have it.
High tack sealer, they have one can for $9.99 and it feels used, that is not a full can by any stretch of the imagination. I ask if they have another can and they say it's the only can they have.
Strike two
Lock tite. They have one on the shelf, this one has an open package with scotch tape poorly sealing the package. Again , it is NOT a full tube for $9.99, and it's supposedly the only one they have.
Strike three
So I figured I'd order the rubber mounts I need for the motor mounts. One side is $6.29 and the other side is $5.49, they can order both of them.
At this point I'm thinking it's finally a break because I really didn't expect them to stock early A motor mounts and I'm just happy they are available.
So I go to pre pay for the motor mounts only and the guys says, " your total is $34. Something. I'm like, wait I thought those mounts are around 13 bucks together, using rough math. He says, each one has a $9.99 shipping charge because they have to come from our warehouse and the mounts are at two different warehouses, so each one gets a shipping charge of $9.99.
I said, ok so they are going to be delivered to my house if I'm paying shipping.... right??
He says, " no ma'am, you pick them up in store when they arrive"
It's over, going somewhere else
I put my wallet back in my purse and said, you have a great day, I'm going to look around. The counter guy was very polite.
What's wrong with part stores, not like when I was younger. I walked out as a no sale customer