The local parts store that I frequent set me up with a dealer account. I am a DIY guy. If they do not have the part in stock, they can usually have it delivered (to their store) the same day or the next day at the latest. If they absolutely do not carry the part I’ll go to Rock Auto. The problem I see with Rock Auto is the shipping charges. If you order all the same brand parts, their shipping charge is realistic. However, if the order contains multiple brands the shipping charges are excessive.
Parts Stores
- Thread starter Dayzedandkonfuzed
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This is exactly what rock auto does. It's why they can sell stuff so cheap.
And this is exactly why parts stores cant use that business model.
I tell my drivers that each delivery costs the shop $1.60 per minute. Shop rate is on average $100 per hour around here, and as long as that car is on the hoist, the next one is just sitting outside.
And that all is why, for the most part, one of two things will happen.
1) auto parts stores will adapt and give customers greater discounts/virtually shop rate pricing, or
2) auto parts stores will basically continue to lose market share/viability and OTC sales will continue to decline challenging viability of the model. Can a parts chain survive almost ONLY on commercial sales?
Back in the late 80s/early 90s you had a company called service merchandise (I liked it.) It was surprisingly close to an amazon/walmart hybrid of its day. Sears/JC Penney also had massive and robust catalog departments. Kids everywhere looked forward to the big catalog coming out and flipping through it, people PAID for the privilege to get ahold of them. They were all set up to actually be better than ebay/amazon at seizing the internet sales potential, but they dropped the ball and didn't adapt. Warehouses everywhere, distribution potential... and they didn't capitalize. They sought keeping full retail against the average customer rather than modify their model and embrace the discounts. Rudimentary websites in the mid 1990s and they wouldve blown competion out of the water. Could also say the same for Woolworth vs walmart.
You make a point, there are finite customer bases that NEED to pay for the convenience of "now"... but, in big markets amazon now offers same day delivery as well. Lots of parts have an order delay anyways, even for those big customers. So the question becomes...
Are there enough markets/customers far enough from where amazon can offer same day delivery to offset losing the dense/big money regions that are getting that option?
I shop at the same parts store as a diy but I have a commercial account as a lot of weeks I'm there everyday and sometimes multiple times a day. I also had a oriellys stay open late on night so I could change the alternator in my truck. One of the counter guys let me borrow his car to go to their other store across town to get some tools they were out of so I could finish my truck. They also charged my batteries for me and helped me finish getting the truck back together. I made sure to call the manager the next day to let him know about the excellent customer service I received
Yes, they are currently doing it and will continue to do so. You dont seem to grasp exactly how large the need-it-now customer base really is, commercial or otherwise.
Neither of those 2 things you said will happen, will actually happen. You have no idea how this business works.
Same day delivery isn't enough. Remember what I said about $1.60 per minute while a car is on the hoist?
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Do I know how things go in your town? Nope, absolutely not.
Do all repair shops have no parking lot where once a car is dropped off it has to sit on a lift at $1.60/minute until the repair is complete? Also absolutely not. Many shops we used in the past have to order parts and wait a few days for them to come in, so that is part myth, part reality. I'd believe it if something unexpected broke mid repair and the car can't be reassembled/moved without it. But then again, most parts at most chains aren't even available for 60 minute delivery either. Reality is, most parts for most cars are, at BEST, same day delivery or slower.
I may not know your company, or your location. But I went to college late in life, and professional school even later for the terminal degree in my field.
Before that I worked retail, and although the title varied between companies, essentially became what is often called a regional manager. Everything from mall-based, to clothing, to discount "big box" and things in between. One thing that doesn't change much? Internet pressure and modernization.
And I can tell you the same warning signs I saw in work as I watched upper management drive two companies into total liquidation, and one into bankruptcy with a restructuring closing 90% of stores out of 5 businesses...
Those same pressures and indications are present with chains like auto zone and advance auto parts just from visiting their stores and websites. Overbuilt, low foot traffic, and by all appearances, rely upon OTC sales to subsidize basic overhead/operating costs. That subsidy is increasingly getting hurt by the internet, and, you wouldn't be able to jack rates on commercial accounts to fully offset it if/when gone.
Feel free to disagree, it's your right.
What you are saying may be completely accurate in the clothing business but it only partially lends itself to the automotive business. We have 32 stores which handle over 200 million dollars per year and are seeing 7-8 percent increases year to year, only one branch is retail driven due to location, in this day and age in cars and the tools and knowledge to repair them the high majority of customers need to have them serviced at garages. With the way the world is people are unable to be without their cars and cell phones so if their car is needing repairs it must happen asap in most cases which is why garages do so well and the parts stores that they deal with need to service them quickly.
Sure in some cases parts need to be ordered in but that is due to the all the vehicle changes that happen during the year, like i mentioned earlier one specific vehicle could have up to 4 or 5 options for brakes so it is difficult to stock everything. Most of our stores have shuttles so they could get the parts delivered several times a day to the branch.
The OTC crowd will always be there and will constantly look for the best deal, and if Amazon or online is their fix then more power to them. I personally prefer to grow relationships with my customers and while our parts may not be cheaper we have a huge value add that you will never get online.
If the stores you are going to are that poorly run then they will fall by the waste side eventually which is the same for all business's, if any business isn't run properly or efficiently or skips by customer service then they will close up soon enough. But a good run parts store will be around for along time coming even though they may not give you personally the pricing you are looking for.
Resurrecting this one...
I recently left my job as a partsperson after almost 14 years. I've continued to deal with the same parts store since I am now doing bodywork at home. So far I have not had a single thing go right. I'll just give one, stupid example.
I've got this project truck I'm working on that's almost done, and the wife was away at her moms for 2 weeks. Perfect, plenty of time to spray this thing and button it up. Well 3 days in, my compressor packs it in. That was on a Wednesday. I searched for one I could borrow just to finish the job up, but found nothing. So on Friday, I tell my guy at the store to order me a new one. Would get ordered Monday morning, be there the following morning and get delivered out to me. I half jokingly told him to send me a bottle of 30wt non detergent just in case the compressor gets here on its side.
Tuesday: no compressor. Called and asked, no call back.
Wednesday: no compressor. Called and asked, buddys not working, you'll have to call tomorrow. (That's horse sh*t)
Thursday: no compressor. Called and asked, buddys not working, you'll have to call tomorrow.
Friday: I leave to go pick up the wife. Halfway there I get a phone call. Compressors here! So I told him to deliver it Monday as I'll be gone all weekend.
Monday: compressor hadn't shown up by noon, so I called. Guy says it'll be on the 12:30 run. Well he forgot. So I call again at 2. Finally at about 3:30 the compressor gets here. On it's side. THEN SHE HANDS ME A BOTTLE OF 30WT MOTOR OIL!!!!
I was just relieved to find that the cheap plastic plug in the pump actually didnt let any oil leak out.
Worst part of all of this - I took a big chance starting up at home, had enough money saved to get through September. I'm only just finishing this truck today, so we're now just scraping by as I should have been done this truck a week ago. Sure there should have been a little more wiggle room as far as time and money with this venture, but it sure is hard not to blame the parts store when they literally cost me a week of work.
Oh and today I called to see if the rest of my order was there as I only half of it got delivered, and I was treated with nothing but attitude as if it's some how my fault your service is comparable only to a bottle depot. This is exactly why I'm glad to not have my name associated with this place anymore.
I recently left my job as a partsperson after almost 14 years. I've continued to deal with the same parts store since I am now doing bodywork at home. So far I have not had a single thing go right. I'll just give one, stupid example.
I've got this project truck I'm working on that's almost done, and the wife was away at her moms for 2 weeks. Perfect, plenty of time to spray this thing and button it up. Well 3 days in, my compressor packs it in. That was on a Wednesday. I searched for one I could borrow just to finish the job up, but found nothing. So on Friday, I tell my guy at the store to order me a new one. Would get ordered Monday morning, be there the following morning and get delivered out to me. I half jokingly told him to send me a bottle of 30wt non detergent just in case the compressor gets here on its side.
Tuesday: no compressor. Called and asked, no call back.
Wednesday: no compressor. Called and asked, buddys not working, you'll have to call tomorrow. (That's horse sh*t)
Thursday: no compressor. Called and asked, buddys not working, you'll have to call tomorrow.
Friday: I leave to go pick up the wife. Halfway there I get a phone call. Compressors here! So I told him to deliver it Monday as I'll be gone all weekend.
Monday: compressor hadn't shown up by noon, so I called. Guy says it'll be on the 12:30 run. Well he forgot. So I call again at 2. Finally at about 3:30 the compressor gets here. On it's side. THEN SHE HANDS ME A BOTTLE OF 30WT MOTOR OIL!!!!
I was just relieved to find that the cheap plastic plug in the pump actually didnt let any oil leak out.
Worst part of all of this - I took a big chance starting up at home, had enough money saved to get through September. I'm only just finishing this truck today, so we're now just scraping by as I should have been done this truck a week ago. Sure there should have been a little more wiggle room as far as time and money with this venture, but it sure is hard not to blame the parts store when they literally cost me a week of work.
Oh and today I called to see if the rest of my order was there as I only half of it got delivered, and I was treated with nothing but attitude as if it's some how my fault your service is comparable only to a bottle depot. This is exactly why I'm glad to not have my name associated with this place anymore.
was this the same way customers were treated when you worked there? Not to sound like a jerk but maybe they have a beef with you now? Either way support another store that will give you the service you need, our business grows yearly due to parts suppliers that don’t understand customer service is number one.
are we perfect no, but we are solid and we accept when mistakes happen and strive to fix them.
This is all too often the experience of retail sales... at least they remembered the oil?
I wonder, how many of the other employees still at that parts place are low wage wandering employment types with no knowledge or interest in cars, just seeking that $10/hr paycheck? That's another source of poor service and forgotten messages.
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