Auto Parts Store Rant

[CHRIS.O]

Are you guys ever amazed at the ignorance behind the counter at parts stores? I only shop at privately owned ones and get great advice and service. I posted a response in another thread about them and it got me thinking about how most the people working at these chain stores know very little. I have a couple small examples. I once was told NGK plugs couldn't be used in a domestic engine. I also went in one day to have a code read in my 95 formula. That year GM had the brilliant idea of using an obd2 diagnostic port but still run the obd1 system. I told the guy this at autozone before he went outside and asked if he had a scanner able to pull codes for this set up. He told me they never did anything like that. He went out anyway plugged his reader in and got nothing. Told me I possibly had a faulty pcm. I laughed and told him it is because of the mix of obd2 diag port and obd1 system. He told me he used to be an engineer at GM and they never did that, I don't know what I am talking about. Yea you were an engineer at GM that's why your making minimum wage at Autozone. I took it to a friend with an obd1 scanner and jumped the wires and made it work. I even told him to look at the fan shroud with the label on it. He told me the car probably had another shroud put in it. Any of you guys have similar experiences?

 

[Justink]

like when in canadian tire asking for a fan belt for my pickup and they ask my 2 wheel or 4 wheel drive. . .WTF

 

[85GPLef41]

I like the know it all parts guys who are more worried on how they dress at work then actually trying to help a customer out. Better yet i had a parts guy tell me it was the alternators job to provide power to the starter...OOOKKKAAYYY I even had one tell me that i didn't know what i was doing because headlight relay modules never go bad and that if i had tested it right then i needed the headlight switch..yeah i tested the headlight relay module with the a/c one before i went to the parts store! Then again everyonce in awhile you get one that knows there stuff and then one's that don't but still go the extra mile to help you out.

 

[beermonkey9417]

whenever i go in to AZ i always tell them everything right off the bat. but because my engine is not right i have to ask for parts from a 71 camaro. yeah yeah i know an sbc is an sbc, but i think its funny that there are different part numbers for the same part.

 

[jmt455]

Oh yeah, I've had lots of frustrating interactions with the know-nothings over the years.

In their defense, they ask some of those questions (2WD or 4WD, A/C or non A/C, VIN engine code, etc.) because they must enter that data to get to the proper spot in the parts database.

I now go to my local Auto Value store for most stuff. Most of the counter guys are "ex"-ASE certified mechanics who left the service shops because of physical problems or just got tired of wrenching on rusty Michigan vehicles for a living. They know what they are talking about and they are really helpful when digging for the proper sensors and other parts on transplanted engines and transmissions.

I don't get that kind of help at any of the other local chains...the counter workers don't have the knowledge.

 

[rustyroger]

One time I went to a local motor factor (English for auto parts store 🙂 ) and asked for a clutch for a car I was fixing.
The spotty youth at the counter looked me in the eye and asked "Is it manual or automatic?" .

Next time I called in he no longer worked there.

I know all the local parts suppliers in my area, mostly they know their job and give good and helpful service, they tell me their biggest headache is smartass ignorant cutomers demanding wrong parts for their cars.

Roger.

 

[GhettoRacingKid]

I worked in autparts for years. retail and dealers. This is going back a bit like mid 90s

things have changed. You used to actually need to know what the part was and or did and stuff. yeah you need to look up stuff and blah blah. now its so dumbed down that they have to ask these questions. They dont even need to know what a car is.

Knowledge is the best thing. I double check everything before I go when and if i dont know the part. I always open the box and take a look.

I do love ****ing with these morons. or test there skill. I go in asking them for lets say a 160 thermostate for a sbc. the looks i get and then its followed with. What year is the car? well the motor is from this, the car is this. the stumble on that. then they say well it takes a 195. thne i respond with I know that. Thats for the tbi set up. I need a 165... then i just break down and tell them i need 35356 in stant (i think that was the number)

Something I got my brother doing which I used to do when I was working on sundays when it was slow. I would call other part stores and ask them for non existant parts.

Heater core for a 72 VW beetle
Brakes for a 1983 vette
there was some dodge that had no front shocks. forget that one off hand

stuff like that. always funny especially when they give you a part

 

[CHRIS.O]

I worked at a private auto parts store for a while. The crew there knew their stuff decently well. You had an old timer that had all the 60's, 70's stuff covered good, a couple young guys into imports that knew what they were talking about in that field and the rest of us pretty much knew a good amount of everything. It worked out pretty good. When someone came in and said they need a thermostat gasket for a SBC there was no need for a computer, go to the shelf and get it. Most these guys just need a pay check and I can respect that but man some of them shouldn't be anywhere near a car. Like the guy who told me I could use brake fluid in my power steering pump if I am low. I think he meant Dexron haha. And yes, the customers who know it all, gotta love them.

 

[Oldsmoletick]

Amazed.....No. Ashamed......Yeah that's it, my parts work started out in a chain store, Advance Auto, however, when I started, the computer catalog was about as helpful as a cup of water at a grease fire, lol. We relied heavily on the paper catalogs, this was not so long ago either (2001). IMO, This is where a parts person learns their job, any idiot can punch buttons and do a word search. The book forces you to familiarize yourself with the components, not just what they are called, but where they go, and partly what they do. The computer allows you to be dumb to this, basically. There are exceptions, sometimes I run across a few who do want to learn, but they're becoming few and far between (usually I give the kid behind the counter a fair shot).

For example, I went into my old place of employment, in search of a U-joint for the AMC Eagle. I ask the kid at the counter, give him year, make, model, and engine, turns out computer has no listing for a u joint. I then have him check a couple different years, and models (of Eagle), still to find no listing. He says, "that's gonna be a dealer part, I don't have a listing for one". (I had to chuckle at this, AMC has been "nomore" since 1987 :lol: ). I then ask him to check his paper book, I got the deer in headlights stare....... So I explain to said employee, that in the back of the store, there is a book rack, filled with parts catalogs, find the one that says Neapco/PDQ. He goes outback, finds said book brings it to the counter, says "I didn't even know we had these, I'll remember that next time". Sure enough, after showing him how to use the book, they ended up having the u joint in stock. That scenario right there, pissed me off, not at the kid, he did just fine, and did everything he knew how, but at the management, for not training their employees to use their available reasources. You can't always blame the kid behind the counter for not knowing, he just may have never been given proper training to fill his/her position.

 

[GhettoRacingKid]

totally agree with you olds but atleast around by me. the managment is the same. just a few years older.

When I was in the retail parts biz there was this one kid hired as a cashier. he had an interest. He asked questions. I showed him, my managers showed him. We did stuff like testing starters and stuff (no machines just a battery and cables) we built potato guns, we worked on cars in the the parking lot.

He went from 0 knowledge to being able to know is way around a car, his car and the parts behind us.

Turned out after i left because they wouldnt give me more money he called me up like a week or 2 later and was like yo. they were so scared of me leaving they gave me the money you were looking for. I laughed and told him thats awesome. I had gotten another auto parts job making double the amount I was asking for.