1BAD68"S"

okay i used to work for a parts store...not gonna say the name but its usually 4 red shirts giving you a blank stare and then asking the grey shirt to come out to give you another blank stare. now i dont know everything in the world but i have been working on cars for most of my life and also have the ability to troubleshoot and get you the right part the first time and you leave happy.i got tired of literally having to explain to a co worker how a part works or what the part is that the customer had in his or her hand,i got paid very little and was always chastised for not working hard enough or not knowing enough when my co workers are only interested in which sticker on their car will get them in the 10's with a bone stock riced out honda civic....now im pissed because here i am a guy that does have the knowledge being told by a washed up carsales man that only got a store maneger position by the amount of *** he kissed and that i have had to explain part fuctionality and tell him what specific part the customer had in his hand(this dudes been with the company 18 years too) and im being told i dont know anything now this guy has been loafing through the system as a kick *** manager and is supossed to know parts and cars and the such but get this...the retard cant change a sparkplug!!!!! i dont like to say it because it sounds like im full of myself but when its fact and customers will form a line to be waited on by me to get them their parts,give them advise,and give them what they need and this happened everyday mind you....you as a customer would think something was wrong with the other "parts specialist"in the store wouldnt you? i say this because ive been cheated out of the enjoyment of helping a customer fix his or her car right...making them happy and doing something i like...being a car guy. i quit and from what one of the managers(still talk to him cause he is a fellow hot rodder) has told me the sales are dropping...im not kidding you when i say dropping 3,000 to 4,000 a week!! since i left....wonder how long super store manager will last when the brass finds out that his sales are the same as before i started working there...they are gonna wanna know why and id like to just see the look on his face and hear the excuse he will come up with....wonder if ill get a call asking me to come back with my request of minimum 40 hrs and 14 bucks an hour,not muck to ask....a mans knowledge is worth something but it aint worth 10 bucks an hour and less than 30 hrs a week thank you for listning now back to my beer

Oldsguy

Yeah, they are just salepeople. The common axiom in sales is, if you can sell one thing, you can sell anything, meaning product knowledge is not important but spewing crap to impress a prospect to get them to fork over the cash is........... I hear ya bro! To bad that mindset has invaded most auto parts stores now tool.

Eightupman

I too will pop a beer next and sit next to you. My good friend is a red shirt, and is CONSTANTLY telling the grey shirt how parts work. Example...he had to explain bank 1 and bank 2 O2 sensor, and actually had to pull out a book to show the arrogant grey shirt what he was telling the customer was wrong. It didn't help that my friend was a former white shirt at the competiton!

Even I as a customer have gone in the back of the store to pick out the correct gasket from the shelf because the red shirt did not understand the Fel Pro numbering system and that is not even true car knowledge.

Good rant....

John

texasred

I have to tell a story...my hometown isn't that big but the "megaparts" store came to town in the mid-80s. My dad has always done his own minor maintenance. He went to the new chain store and asked for an air and oil filter for an 82 H*nda. The counter person says, "What kind of H*nda?" My dad says an Acc*rd 6 cylinder. Parts guy says, "No. What kind of H*nda? Like a Che^y H*nda or a F*rd H*nda..."

Too used to asking, "Would you like fries with that?" I guess!

C.J.

1BAD68"S"

good one eight....i have had to explain the same thing to a grey shirt about the o2 sensors....you would think a grey shirt with 18 years under his belt would know but my old boss never knew....i wonder why all those customers kept coming back with the wrong o2 sensor...its not relly the o2 sensor sometimes but the length and plug is the difference...took me about 15 minutes to explain and the idiot still dont know....and the best is when he tried to upsell o2 sensors for a 73 chevy truck and insisted to the customer that all vehicles have them....oh well....im gonna call them and ask for a radiator cap for a 71 vw beetle....they looked for the radiator the last time then ill get em with the old piston return springs for a 76 dodge dart with the 440 big block but the best is pistons for a 93 mazda rx-7......

Eightupman

ooooo, I'll have to use some of those...I have used the Beetle ones before. I own a 72 Superbug...HEY I'll see if I can get o2 sensors for my bug AND my Cutlass..... :-)

ozoneblue

Where I live & work my closest parts sorces are 30 miles either direction 5 total , the big 3 & 2 independants .In the last 10 years my parts man has changed jobs 3 times. I along with outhers have changed stores to buy at following our (Real parts man) Mind you I still have to shop some of the outhers for diffrent brand RE builders & he will agree with me. Stick to your guns get what your worth REAL MECHANICS ONLY USE REAL PARTS PEOPLE

1BAD68"S"

amen ozone...i have been both...i worked for gm as a tech for a few years and i have been a parts guy....the mechanics always wanted to talk to me cause i could trouble shoot and also look at a certain part and without looking in the catolog(stupid computer)bring them the part without any trouble and my co workers would complain to the boss when i would take a customer that they would be working with for more than 20 min. and have them out the door with what they wanted(20 mins ago)within 5 min. the thing is this...a customer dont want an idiot to help them...they want what they need and they want to be on their way cause in most cases "time is money" and it amazes me on how a store will let an employee go that supplies what the customers want and keep the idiots that will likely make the customers not want to come in again oh well im just gonna go on with life and be happy but at least i know what im worth and im not the only one that feels cheated every time i go to the parts store.

rockethound

i'm ASE certifide been to school in lima ohio northwestern auto desile colledge
graduated with my certification and i made 7 dollars an hour in a auto resteration shop, applied at the honda dealer they said they would pay me 7.50 a hour plus 1 doller per oil change. what the hell did i go to school and spend the money and get certified for. I hear ya I now build radiaters foe denso and get paid 17.18 a hour. As far as the auto parts idiots who depends on there comuter to tell them what part they think you need they can jump off a cliff my car is a canadian cutlass with a chevy 12 bolt, ya try to get a cover gasket they will argu with you that the computer says i need a o type cover gasket. so i finaly just told them i had a 68 chevelle so i could get the stinkin gasket the car needed. rod on.

Barneyo

You guys are describing what is known as "the peter principal" - being promoted
up to your level of incompetency!

Every business is fraught with this same kind of B S.

Re the Canadian Cutlass that takes '68 Chevelle' gaskets. Sometimes called a
'frankenstein car'. I had a 68 Barracuda that had a 67 speedometer head and 69 distributor. Also had early 67 exhaust system. A nightmare first time I went in to
buy points; and again when the speedo cable snapped; ditto when the pipes went.

BTW Even Chrysler couldnt solve the exhaust problem. I had to change everything
from the manifold to the rear bumper on both sides (even new mufflers had to go)
and sweat bullets that MY guess was right, that 69 parts numbers would work, because the 67/68 numbers and parts were no more!!!). Chrysler parts guys not
sure the 68 and 69 frame and body were the same. Duh!!

Jokers69

I went into our local poop Boys store when I was doing the brakes on my 69 and asked the parts counter guy (who could have been selling slurpees ) for the front drums.. he proceeded to tell me that I was wrong, cars do not have front drums and I must be mistaken and either want rotors or rear drums..

Needless to say Carquest away.. they know my name now..

Modern Motoring

As a former ASE and AIA certified parts specialist ( 12 years in the business) I pretty much know my stuff. The local parts places around here know me and let me look up my own parts. I can do it faster than they can, I'll even find parts for other customers when the parts guy is stumped. I have had managers BEG me to come work for them, but I got sick and tired of retail sales and won't do it again.

carmine615

Just go in hooting and hollering about how you need a brand new water pump for your 1973 superbeetle RIGHT NOW, "or heads will roll"...

Rallye469

'68 sorry for your woes'...
You are Mr. P.
Mr. P is the guy we all line up to talk to at our local NAPA.
(Which usually stands for 'Need Another Part A%#&*#!)

He's the guy that trouble shoots. He's the guy that doesn't demand a
specific year & make when you ask for a 180 thermostat for a 455.
He's the guy that TELLS you there is more then one width waterpump
for an Olds BEFORE you take it home only to find out you need the other.
He's the guy who suggests you find one at salvage & rebuild, rather then
pay through the nose for a chinesium part destined to fail. He's the one
that tells you straight up that what you're about to do isn't smart. He gives
you the low down on what brands are actually made by the same company.

And most importantly, he's the guy I brought a case of beer to when
my car finally hit the road.
Keep being that guy!

marcar1993

I have had some interesting experiences at poop boys and reverse(advance), at auto blown threy're just arsefv(l<s, so I don't bother. I normally go to advance though whenever I need behind the counter stuff. Last time I bought anything from behind the counter at pb, they argued that my 87 cutlass must have a th250 b/c the computer says so. So I took it home, knowing it wouldn't work, took it back and went to advance. The only problem I have at advance is this one girl who takes everything personally. If the computer tells her the wrong part # and I tell her so she takes offense and argues until I buy it and come back to return it, cause it didn't fit. But, I usualy don't bother with her anyway. Everyone else there is cool, I can go get my own parts and open the boxes and anything I want basically. Then of course there's Nelson, he's the guy you stand in line for, he has an answer to any question, and has been there since it was Kar Parts and I went there with my dad as a little kid.

66olds

Hi Bro, I have in my life of buying parts have dealt with two people that have sold me parts up here in Canada and I am working on a third which had been taught by my last guy.. Good counter guy are worth a f**k of alot more than fourteen bones an hour.. Labour and sanity are saved... I buy my parts guy Christmas presents.. Good Job...


Dave.

joe_padavano

I recently had an experience at Advance where their computer database was flat wrong. I was buying brake rotors for a car that shall remain nameless (it starts with "H" and ends with "onda"). For this year there is a listing for the wagon and all except wagon. I needed the "ex. wagon" rotors. The listing was backwards. When I asked the guys at the counter about methods for correcting the listing, or noting the error, all I got was blank stares.

J-(Chicago)

Haha, you should have seen me trying to compress those H-onda calipers with a C clamp. Wouldn't budge at all. Then, after the wisdom of 2 beers, I finally figured out that you had to turn it like a dial

88 coupe

What you chose to do, not what you "had" to do. Big difference.

Or for not following company policy, rules, or instructions?

Not your job. Makes no difference where ones interest lies, as long as one follows the supervisors instructions.

Being qualified for the job?

You "had" to tell your supervisor how FUBARed he is? Then you snivel about how you were being "picked on"?

And he will probably retire from that company.

I'm inclined to agree. You have been telling us, that you either do not know how to, or refuse to, do the job you were being paid to.

He has no reason to, it is not part of his job description.

And did you take responsibility for any mistakes you made?

I would not be expecting a "specialist" in a chain store.

How happy were they, when your diagnosis was wrong? And who got paid to deal with with the "irate" customers.

Easier to find a job, when one is already employed. Also looks better on ones resume.

Isn't that what you wanted to hear?

Probably until he retires.

Don't hold your breath. Get over it and move on.

Entry level wages. Entry level, is where one learns how to follow instructions, rules and company policy, while using the "experience" to build a resume.

Norm

44TEETWO

The last time I went into one of the local parts stores and asked for some hardware, the geek at the desk proceeded to ask what it was for and INSISTED IT WAS A METRIC THREAD I insisted that it was a SAE standard 3/8 course thread after 10 miniutes his boss came over and TOLD HIM to give me what I asked for. The hardware was for my 67 442. GM couldn't spell metric back then. I tried to explain that to the BONE HEAD but he wouldn't listen. I don't go near him any more.