Parts Store Inexperience

It's good to see that I'm not the only one experiencing this phenomenon.

The last time I went to a certain nearby parts store cost about 35 minutes of my life that I'll never get back. I grabbed some brake cleaner and brake fluid and went to the counter to purchase a nice puller set. I did the "loaner tool" thing when rebuilding the Jeep motor, so I know what they have and what it costs. I tell the lad in the baggy pants behind the counter what I want and he immediately goes into the "What year? What make? etc." thing. Okay. I'll play along. He's scrolling through screens of stuff for a while before asking "What was the part called?" I explain that it's not a part, but a tool that should be listed under "puller set" under the "tools" category. Unfortunately, the blinders are on. He types in "polar", and oddly enough, nothing comes up. At this point I'm still slightly amused by his choice of vocation given his elusive aptitudes. [about 20 minutes pass with no results] "I guess we don't carry that part, sir." he says. By now, the sensation of amusement had long passed and my thoughts are turning toward pulling him across the counter in hopes of establishing some communication (but ultimately decided against it).

It is abundantly clear that I should exit before an impulse screws up my plans for the week. I tell the punk to forget it and just ring up the chemicals. The total comes to something like $5.36. I have a five, a twenty, and no change. I hand the kid the twenty. He pauses for a moment and asks "So you don't have $5.36?". Oh. Wow. Maintain discipline. I kept my cool, dropped my speaking voice by a half-octave and said distinctly "If I [expletive deleted]ing had the exact amount, I'd give you the exact [expletive deleted]ing amount. Is it too [expletive deleted]ing complicated to make change? The [expletive deleted]ing computer figures it out for you. If you're done with your slack-jawed staring session, let's finish this. The clock is ticking."

Amazingly, I didn't have to give a physics demonstration. What happened to the days when dudes working parts counters had at least touched a wrench? I'll waste time pretending to look at air fresheners until the old guy is free from now on.