The big three ....DORKS

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
FABO Gold Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
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I need a freeze plug for a truck I am working on ...side job....it had a freeze plug heater in that came out so we are going to replace it with a standard freeze plug.

so my dad calls auto zone and they wont do anything till you give them vehicle info ....so they claim they have one and put it on hold.

we get there and my cousin and dad go in and the counter guys say they cant find it. they say the computer is off and not accurate to what they really have in stock.

so then we go across the street to O'reileys and they say they have to order one in and the guy argues that if a heater element came out then one has to go back in .....he says a standard freeze plug wont fit where the heater came out when the heater is clearly aftermarket....OMG really.

so then we go to advanced auto parts ........same thing there ...they try to push a rubber expando one on me ....they say the rubber ones are the wave of the future and everybody is using them.

a simple freeze plug and all these stores strike out.....WOW.

what is the future of the parts business.
 
I can definitely relate....about a year ago I wanted an 1-5/8" freeze plug for a non-automotive project. I went to Oreilly and the kid behind the counter absolutely needed a make and model of car. When I insisted that I wasn't using it on a car the manager, who had busy on the phone, stepped over to instruct me that freeze plugs don't come in standard sizes like 1-5/8. They are in specific 64ths or metric and without a vehicle application there would just be no way to identify the correct freeze plug. So I headed home and figured I'd get one from NAPA the next day, but then decided I wanted to finish the project that evening. So, I did what I should have done to start with and looked up the plug I wanted on the OReilly website. Armed with the Dorman part number I went back and they were able to find the freeze plug I needed. On te way out the door I was informed that there would be no guarantee on fit for it since I didn't have the proper vehicle ID.
I could not believe that a simple freeze plug could be such an ordeal!
 
Yup, I tried to buy a muffler bearing for my car....they told me I was outta luck....they didn't even have any old books to look them up either, dorks.
 
yea im going tomorrow to carquest ...our carquest store here has some old timers working there that know what they are doing.

the big three are handy with good hours but then not really if they are going to be worthless at getting you the right part
 
I can walk in the NAPA store here in town and tell them what size and I would have it in my hand in 3 minutes (the freeze plug shelves are upstairs) or I would just walk back and get them myself , I can relate, the zone, olrillies and other places like that ask what size motor do I have and they want the metric size :banghead:
 
I went to O'Reilys a while Back to pick up some 2 k primer this guy said we don't have any and I said you mind if I take a look I just drove 40 miles to get this he said you know where to look? I walked around the counter and got it my self. They could have lost a 150.00 sale. Makes you wonder how much they really miss out on. Napa or Car Quest for me 90 percent of the time.
 
Did you try Pep Boys?

In the old days, you could also get them at a hardware store.
 
I went to Advanced to buy a spark plug for my lawn mower .Told them RN12yc . he asks for what make and year. tells me needs info for warranty. I walked out .Another time needs phone # told him CASH has no phone.
 
They are all idiots. Simply measure it and tell them "I want a (insert size here) freeze plug" that eliminates their brain altogether.
 
RustyRatRod said:
They are all idiots. Simply measure it and tell them "I want a (insert size here) freeze plug" that eliminates their brain altogether.
Click to expand...

They can't even do that. They'll have to convert to millidamnmetric and back again.

Years ago, when the "box stores" were getting popular, and not long after I'd "left the industry" after 15 years, the Kats heater popped out of a 351W I had.

So I went into ??? and he says "I can't look up application, I need a size."

So I said "you have a Kats heater catalogue?"

"Yes."

"Look up a heater."

He says "it says part no. XXXX no size. "

I reached over the cat. rack UPSIDE DOWN, and flipped to the back of the catalog, and told him, "if you look back here somewhere is a size chart."

GAUWUAUWD he was ticked off. But I DID get a freeze plug.
 
I remember the old days when you got a good parts guy that knew his way around the books. They were much smarter/more helpful than today's computer idiots!
 
Learned on the parts books. Hell,I have to work with idiots like this daily.
 
That's why I've noticed that if I go online to Rock Auto, O' Reilly's or Autozone and get a part number, I can do all right. These fast-food auto parts companies aren't about to pay their people an actual living wage, that's why they get 7-11 grade employees who hold on to that computer screen for dear life.

BTW, we HAD a "real parts store" with an awesome machine shop in back. Sadly, the owner's daughter got killed in a really bad car accident and he sort of just gave up and sold everything. It was a bummer.....
 
In their defense, I was in O'really today getting a plug for a weed eater, and the very young (20s?) female manager was helping someone with a U joint and actually had a PAPER catalog laid out
 
There are still a few car people in the big stores. I find when the guy I want isnt in. I stock up on oil and shop rags and leave. O' Riles here has been ok for me when he is in. Heck he gave me 2 alts and 2 regs when I was chasing gremlins(corroded wiring).
 
Doesn't matter if its a part store or a factory, the employers and policies are the problem.
Priorities in defining a good employee have changed. If an employee can hit the clock dependably, pass the random drug screens, etc.., they don't have to be able to run the job to keep the job. On the other hand, the one who is the very best at what he/she does could hit a joint, get diarrhea one time too many, etc., and loose the job.
 
RedFish said:
Doesn't matter if its a part store or a factory, the employers and policies are the problem.
Priorities in defining a good employee have changed. If an employee can hit the clock dependably, pass the random drug screens, etc.., they don't have to be able to run the job to keep the job. On the other hand, the one who is the very best at what he/she does could hit a joint, get diarrhea one time too many, etc., and loose the job.
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i actually applied at auto zone last year and i got an interview but it was a no go.

they called me in because my Resume states that i am Bi-lingual, well when they found out that my other language is NOT Spanish the interviewer said that i know the "wrong language" they were looking for a Spanish speaker.

Then the interviewer told me that i am over qualified for the counter job i was applying for because i have a Masters Degree and that people with that kind of degree typically don't apply for counter jobs ......so Mr. manager says.

all this despite the fact that i have auto certificates and automotive experience ...WTH.

i don't know what they are looking to accomplish.
 
Got to love it. I have an Advanced, Auto Value and NAPA store at my disposal in my little one horse town. Advanced goes without saying! My cousin manages the Auto Value store and has some older boys working there but they are easily 20% higher on price than anyone else. NAPA used to be great but the management keeps young guys behind the counter to keep their overhead down and they don't know how to use the books if they can't find something on the computer! I usually go to NAPA because they give me great discounts!
 
RaniDart70 said:
i actually applied at auto zone last year and i got an interview but it was a no go.

they called me in because my Resume states that i am Bi-lingual, well when they found out that my other language is NOT Spanish the interviewer said that i know the "wrong language" they were looking for a Spanish speaker.

Then the interviewer told me that i am over qualified for the counter job i was applying for because i have a Masters Degree and that people with that kind of degree typically don't apply for counter jobs ......so Mr. manager says.

all this despite the fact that i have auto certificates and automotive experience ...WTH.

i don't know what they are looking to accomplish.
Click to expand...

Exactly ! I can imagine a person speaking 12 languages and not being hired because "Mexican" isn't one of the 12 tougues. Then the Mexican doesn't need to speak good English, only needs a green card and pass the drug screen, etc., is hired.
 
x2 on parts lookup before you go in.

I agree Napa is more likely to have people that at least half know what their doing, but even back in the days of knowledgeable parts clerks, us Mopar folks still had a tough time.

I've gotten to where I almost always look up a part and get the number, before I go in. It also usually lets you know if it's in stock at that store, or another one. Sometimes you can pay online, and take in the reciept, then just walk out with the part.
 
Lets re-visit this.......


One thing, and one thing only has ruined the Auto Parts Business ...GREED....
Most of you guys don't know me as I am new to FABO , but I have been over at FBBO and they know me there. I spent the majority of my life in the Independant Auto Parts Business, that being from 1974 till 2001. Started as a delivery boy at $1.75 an hr and went all the way to buying out the owners and opening more stores on my own with no college education. Everything was hunky-dory through the 70's, 80's and early 90's. Plenty of profit for everyone. Thats when the GREED took over. Our business was primarily wholesale to the professional repair industry , about 80 % of or business. The rest, walk in business. The repair shops began demanding better and better prices and the parts manufacturers were looking to increase their market share of their specific products. Sooo .... The Manufacturers started demanding that the warehouse distributors sell to the repair/installers directly!!, Thus cutting a link ( the traditional jobber store) out of the loop of profit. Traditional jobber stores with huge inventories and fleets of delivery trucks like us, struggled to retain customers and were forced to reduce gross profits to retain market share. We even tried boycotting those distributors , but it was a futile effort. I was even on the board of directors for our Auto Parts Association and could not change the direction things were going. I tell you all this because as everyone knows when profit declines, the easiest place to cut costs is in personnel. This is how the inexperienced people ended up behind the parts counter today. It's all $$. Back in the 80's and 90's we paid our countermen 45k - 55k , and they knew their sh*t. I mean , you could walk into one of our stores and ask for rod bearing clearances on a 40 Dodge and get the answer!! Today, you will find very few true independant auto parts stores, unless they are waaay out in the sticks. They just cant survive. Today 99% of stores and chains are connected/affiliated with buying groups or manufacturers. As the gross profits declined, owners of independents either closed up , sold out or found affiliation with a group. All this time, the quality of expertise in the stores has declined. They cant afford the help they need. I sold 3 stores out to Carquest at the age of 44 back in 2001. I was smart enough to buy the commercial property back in the day though, and still lease them to Carquest. To this day ,I run into ex customers, and tell me they miss us, and need us back,and they cant get good service anymore. I tell them that they did it to themselves with GREED. Had to have price instead of service. The demise the Independant Owner, I tell you , I'm sure , has been played out with vitually any small Auto Parts Chain owner in America. I did keep all of the old catalogs for myself , even for stuff all the way back to the 30's. In the defense of the person behind the counter: I, myself have sold my share of ( fuse pumps),(stermistats),(caddilac convertors),(tail pies), (muffins), (hooginators) and (crutches)LOL
By the way. If you want the best help, ask for the person in the store that is in charge of commercial sales. They are usually the best qualified.

GREED i tell you GREED is what screwed up the Parts Business!!
 
Very true Mitch, but it's only half the story. Let's face it, as customers, price is king most of the time. In this day and age, parts stores are trying to compete with online sources as well. As long as you don't need the part the next day, a lot of people will order through Rockauto, Summit Racing, etc. and wait a few days/week for their parts, and keep a few bucks in their pocket.
 
I miss the old days of the "ma and pa" auto parts stores.

I could order something and get it the same day! They had at least 3 runs to the warehouse, 8 AM, Noon, and 3 to 5 PM. And they stayed open till 8 or 9 PM...

Not that way anymore....
 
i work at oreillys have been doing parts for over 20 years
i could have help u whats a freeze plug lol i run the installer side of it
 
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