i work at a parts store

I need a Skribbita Cap, Rotary, Spork pluk wares, brick pats, and some spinnaz for a Berick Lesa-bre.

Had that request a few times...

Bobzilla wrote: Even if they have a "good crew" the DM's will move peopel around to make bad stores better.

No such thing as DM's or moving people when they are locally owned franchise stores, like the NAPA I was at.

i didn't see it, but aparently a young couple showed up to the store before we opened one morning, as the guys were showing up to start the process, around 1/2 hour before the time on the door said we would open. they go back in the office and do their thing, young couple go back and sit in their car, parked in the space right in front of the front door. by the time the guys get finished doing the opening duties, one guy comes to unlock the door, and sees that they are in the middle of some of the most fun you can have with the engine off. he just unlocks the door and goes back to his business, they finish up and come inside to get their parts and leave like nothing happened

Strizzo wrote: i didn't see it, but aparently a young couple showed up to the store before we opened one morning, as the guys were showing up to start the process, around 1/2 hour before the time on the door said we would open. they go back in the office and do their thing, young couple go back and sit in their car, parked in the space right in front of the front door. by the time the guys get finished doing the opening duties, one guy comes to unlock the door, and sees that they are in the middle of some of the most fun you can have with the engine off. he just unlocks the door and goes back to his business, they finish up and come inside to get their parts and leave like nothing happened

Security camera footage FTW!!

Curmudgeon wrote: My favorites: a guy who came in wanting shocks for an 'Olds Toronado transaxle'. Now that's an odd way to ask, and it so happened I knew the GMC motor coaches (like the one Toyman has two of) uses the Toronado transaxle but heavy duty bus airbag suspension. I asked him if that's what they were for and he got snotty, repeated his request. So I sold him a pair of Gabriel Red Ryders (cheap car shocks, ~$20 each instead of the 'bus' shocks it needed, which were ~$60 each) but put a note on the invoice (computer generated) that he had requested Olds Toronado transaxle shocks. Our hero comes back a few days later with a busted shock and a REAL attitude. It seems that he had mounted the shocks, hit a RR crossing, the eye yanked off, the shock fell over and punched a hole in the suspension airbag, doing some $2500 in damage. And it was OUR fault. It went to court, that note on the invoice saved us from having to pay for the guy's suspension repairs.

Seems to me a simple "Here's why I'm asking - if I sell you car shocks, they'll fail if you put them on a motor coach" would have saved a lot of hassle. But that's just me. It's fun to "win" sometimes, but usually people change their tune when they realize you're actually trying to help instead of just being ignorant.

I find myself asking "What's the real question" sometimes. You can tell someone's trying to solve a problem and are stuck in a certain spot. Finding out what's really going on usually helps a lot.

Strange how that translates over to any service based industry. I do insurance, but i'll be damned if I don't get a lot of the same type of questions, miswordings, general ignorance and the need to play detective.

And some of the modern hi-tech version of this is where the customer shows you a picture on their phone of the dark , grungy underside of a vehicle and points to the middle of the picture and says "I need that."

Tyler H wrote: Sorry Curmudgeon, but I have to respectfully disagree. The guy with a full basket and his wallet out is more important at that moment than the stranger on the phone.

I fully agree with this. The person who is actually buying stuff, spending money in the store is more important than the person who is likely prospecting on the phone.

An aside: in my years of retail, I found that 75% of stuff that is put "on hold" for people will never get picked up--especially during Christmas.

gamby wrote:

Tyler H wrote: Sorry Curmudgeon, but I have to respectfully disagree. The guy with a full basket and his wallet out is more important at that moment than the stranger on the phone.

I fully agree with this. The person who is actually buying stuff, spending money in the store is more important than the person who is likely prospecting on the phone. An aside: in my years of retail, I found that 75% of stuff that is put "on hold" for people will never get picked up--especially during Christmas.

To continue this, until recently the only parts stores with hours in the evening and on the weekend were at least 30 minutes away from where I lived. I would only come to the store if the person on the phone physically checked the for part I needed. Driving an hour out of my way and not coming home with what I needed was pretty frustrating.

The people on the phone are important too.

And yes I worked at one too as a regular counter person and manager, and I've been enjoying this thread.

TreoWayne wrote: I buy everything I can through Advance Auto's website. It tells you what is in stock at each location, there are always coupon codes available, and the stuff is pulled and ready when I go to pick it up.

The few times I've ordered for in-store pickup, they didn't pull the order together until I showed up. It didn't matter if I placed the order a few minutes before or a few hours before. I had to wait while they ran around the store to get the order together.
The last time I went, I printed out my receipt and pulled the order myself and took it to the counter. The only reason I paid online was to use an e-coupon that time.

Nitroracer wrote:

gamby wrote:

Tyler H wrote: Sorry Curmudgeon, but I have to respectfully disagree. The guy with a full basket and his wallet out is more important at that moment than the stranger on the phone.

I fully agree with this. The person who is actually buying stuff, spending money in the store is more important than the person who is likely prospecting on the phone. An aside: in my years of retail, I found that 75% of stuff that is put "on hold" for people will never get picked up--especially during Christmas.

To continue this, until recently the only parts stores with hours in the evening and on the weekend were at least 30 minutes away from where I lived. I would only come to the store if the person on the phone physically checked the for part I needed. Driving an hour out of my way and not coming home with what I needed was pretty frustrating. The people on the phone are important too. And yes I worked at one too as a regular counter person and manager, and I've been enjoying this thread.

That's what kept me in trouble when I worked at Advance years ago. The guy with cash in hand seemed more important to me than the guy on the phone shopping around for the best price. The store I worked at had a dedicated line for regular customer repair shops and they were higher priority than the cash customer because of the amount they spent regularly and as it should be. Never learned to balance the phone and customers in line and routinely got "talked" to about it.
We did always try to explain why we ask what engine and stuff because it does make a difference, we understand that.
Did have problems buying parts for a K5 Blazer I had until I learned the trick. Used to buy parts at the dealer when I was in Alaska, they had the parts and the chain store didn't. I had a 1981 Chevy K5 Blazer with 250ci inline 6-cyl, auto trans and 4-wheel drive. Dealer said they didn't make that combo. Could get 6-cyl, AT, 2WD or 6-cyl, MT,4WD but not the combo I had. I had to show them the window sticker that the 1st owner stuck inside the glovebox to prove it came like that. After that I just told them the combo they needed to hear to get what I needed.

wlkelley3 wrote: We did always try to explain why we ask what engine and stuff because it does make a difference, we understand that.

yeah ... but when I'm buying wiper blades for the F150 ... what does it matter the engine size ?

i get seriously pissed when i'm at the store buying parts and they stop helping me 3-4 times to answer the phone to look up something for some jerkoff price shopping them. and i've got a commercial account and spend more money than anyone but a dedicated repair shop since i maintain a fleet of work trucks in addition to all my toys.

and, i don't know why some of you get pissy when they want to know details. the computer is smarter than some of them, and they can't get past the screen asking for engine size. the good ones just click the first engine on the list when it's something unimportant like wipers.

i just make a list for each car of what parts came from what so i can tell them i need an alternator for a 2001 silverado or water pump for a 2007 or injector for a 98 camaro or 2 rear u-joints for a 2003 avalanche when it comes to buying parts for the impala.

i was at the green store the other day measuring u-joints to go from 1330 to a saginaw 44 yoke and the guy goes "look one up for a 68 mustang its the only one in the book that has different sizes on each cross" and sure enough it did, but he was totally wrong because the s44 is a gm yoke.

I agree the guy in front of me is more important. But when the phone doesn't get answered and that person calls back, asks for the manager and tears him a new azzhole you can bet counter monkey will get an ass chewing for not being able to be in two places at once and the beat goes on.

Plus, as noted, there are phone customers who have an excellent reason for calling first.

So we are back to the question of: not everybody can be first, so who will you piss off? i.e. counter monkey is in the middle. This definitely includes the service advisor. OBTW, best thing I have ever learned as a counter monkey: if you are on the phone and a customer walks in, acknowledge them within 15 seconds by making eye contact and smiling, or whatever, that defuses a LOT of problems early on.

So the next time you are on the phone or standing at the counter, please remember that 1) the guy or girl is human, just like you and B) there are six billion other people on the planet and each of them considers themselves as important as you consider yourself to be.

In short, learn to have a little patience. You will find that things go a lot better for you.

And yes I have been a counter monkey, a parts store manager, a service advisor and a service manager.

Keith wrote:

Curmudgeon wrote: My favorites: a guy who came in wanting shocks for an 'Olds Toronado transaxle'. Now that's an odd way to ask, and it so happened I knew the GMC motor coaches (like the one Toyman has two of) uses the Toronado transaxle but heavy duty bus airbag suspension. I asked him if that's what they were for and he got snotty, repeated his request. So I sold him a pair of Gabriel Red Ryders (cheap car shocks, ~$20 each instead of the 'bus' shocks it needed, which were ~$60 each) but put a note on the invoice (computer generated) that he had requested Olds Toronado transaxle shocks. Our hero comes back a few days later with a busted shock and a REAL attitude. It seems that he had mounted the shocks, hit a RR crossing, the eye yanked off, the shock fell over and punched a hole in the suspension airbag, doing some $2500 in damage. And it was OUR fault. It went to court, that note on the invoice saved us from having to pay for the guy's suspension repairs.

Seems to me a simple "Here's why I'm asking - if I sell you car shocks, they'll fail if you put them on a motor coach" would have saved a lot of hassle. But that's just me. It's fun to "win" sometimes, but usually people change their tune when they realize you're actually trying to help instead of just being ignorant. I find myself asking "What's the real question" sometimes. You can tell someone's trying to solve a problem and are stuck in a certain spot. Finding out what's really going on usually helps a lot.

I asked him that exact question and mentioned the car vs bus shock thing. He replied 'I need shocks for an Olds Toronado transaxle'. In short, he was afraid to spend $60 apiece for the real thing that he needed and instead did $2500 damage due to his cheapness, and then tried to hang it on us. Since I got grilled by his attorney, I remember a LOT about that whole thing.

I used to have a heck of a time trying to get plugs for my RX7. The fact that it took two different types confused the heck out of some of the workers.

Recently, I tried to get some spherical lug nuts from Autozone. I tried to explain to them that they were for VW rims but that the wheels were going onto a Subaru, which caused some confusion.

Other than that, it's been fairly drama free, as I now order most of my stuff online.

Curmudgeon wrote:

Keith wrote:

Curmudgeon wrote: My favorites: a guy who came in wanting shocks for an 'Olds Toronado transaxle'. Now that's an odd way to ask, and it so happened I knew the GMC motor coaches (like the one Toyman has two of) uses the Toronado transaxle but heavy duty bus airbag suspension. I asked him if that's what they were for and he got snotty, repeated his request. So I sold him a pair of Gabriel Red Ryders (cheap car shocks, ~$20 each instead of the 'bus' shocks it needed, which were ~$60 each) but put a note on the invoice (computer generated) that he had requested Olds Toronado transaxle shocks. Our hero comes back a few days later with a busted shock and a REAL attitude. It seems that he had mounted the shocks, hit a RR crossing, the eye yanked off, the shock fell over and punched a hole in the suspension airbag, doing some $2500 in damage. And it was OUR fault. It went to court, that note on the invoice saved us from having to pay for the guy's suspension repairs.

Seems to me a simple "Here's why I'm asking - if I sell you car shocks, they'll fail if you put them on a motor coach" would have saved a lot of hassle. But that's just me. It's fun to "win" sometimes, but usually people change their tune when they realize you're actually trying to help instead of just being ignorant. I find myself asking "What's the real question" sometimes. You can tell someone's trying to solve a problem and are stuck in a certain spot. Finding out what's really going on usually helps a lot.

I asked him that exact question and mentioned the car vs bus shock thing. He replied 'I need shocks for an Olds Toronado transaxle'. In short, he was afraid to spend $60 apiece for the real thing that he needed and instead did $2500 damage due to his cheapness, and then tried to hang it on us. Since I got grilled by his attorney, I remember a LOT about that whole thing.

Yeah, I've been in the parts store watching stuff like that go down (with the guys who were cool with me in the middle of it). Figures. The "cool kids" know what they are..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCQ0vDAbF7s&ob=av3n

Fair enough. You just can't help some people.

Keith wrote: Fair enough. You just can't help some people.

Sorry Keith..but that actually kicks my curiosity up a notch.

I know where you work, and thought that since the place is more entrenched in the enthusiast market, you'd see a lot less of such people (yeah, I know there's a bunch of "pretenders" out there.. )

I don't know your history before you found your spot at FM. Did you have to suffer through one of the damn chain stores before you got there?

Not hatin' bro..just curious.

EDIT: Mea Culpa, forgot where I was going with that question. If you ever worked for a chain store selling parts for "appliances", can you compare it to working at a specialty shop?

TreoWayne wrote: I buy everything I can through Advance Auto's website. It tells you what is in stock at each location, there are always coupon codes available, and the stuff is pulled and ready when I go to pick it up.

Dude! I just did that! Saved $3.00, too.

corrado - we do cater to enthusiasts, but that doesn't just mean "people who buy shiny new parts and bolt them on". Some Miatas are 23 years old, so they're failing in new and interesting ways all the time. Some Miata owners are broke or creatively modifying their cars - or both. And that's when you get the oddball stuff, especially when it's combined with a lack of experience or reliable sources of information.

I spend a huge amount of time on the phone doing tech support. That means troubleshooting, usually after the owner, his buddies, the local parts store and his mechanic have been stumped. Since I don't get to see the car, I have to figure out what questions to ask in order to diagnose it. You'd be amazed at what information some people don't volunteer, either because they don't think it matters or because they just don't think to mention it. Like the Toronado transaxle story, I have to read between the lines and figure out what the customer is really trying to accomplish or fix. And I have to do it while relying on knowing the most arcane trivia of a car that's been in constant evolution for nearly a quarter of a century. Why will a Voodoo box that was working on a 1993 Miata in Ohio stop working when it's installed on a 1993 Miata in California? Why can you put 1994 coils on a 1996, but can't put 1996 coils on a 1994? Why is this car oversteering?

And I have to do it all while keeping the customer happy, even if they're a hopeless mechanic who's only ever going to buy used parts of Craigslist because we're in a small market and we're not local. So we don't have the automatic audience that a local parts store does, and we have to court every customer.

I've never worked in a parts chain. My history before FM wasn't car related at all - but I can tell you that being a programmer (amongst other things) makes you good at troubleshooting step by step, isolating where a problem lies amongst a wide range of systems.

Keith wrote: I find myself asking "What's the real question" sometimes. You can tell someone's trying to solve a problem and are stuck in a certain spot. Finding out what's really going on usually helps a lot.

This thing Keith said is very wise. There is a difference between answering a question and solving a problem. People ask questions but what we really want is a solution to our problem.

I've learned that if I'm not knowledgeable in the subject, rather than ask a question I will explain my problem and then ask for their recommendation for a solution. Often I go home with a solution that is better than what I envisioned in my limited knowledge.

And I always take in the old part to match up on the counter with the new part. Always. :-)

David

I will add a story from my joyous AZ days of unruly customers and understaffed weekends.

I've got a few but I will start with the first that I remember.

Guy comes in walks around picks up a few things and I end up ringing him out. Of course he goes to leave and the alarm sounds.

Okay no big deal I take his bag and run it under the demagnetizertron forcefield. Tell him to walk back through still goes off. I say "do you have anything else" He gives me the...no no man nothing.. I wait a few seconds and just stare at him(seems to work well)....After about ten seconds he says "ohhhh yeah and pulls some sunglasses out from his jacket...i totally forgot man" yea yea. He apologizes and all that and asks if he can buy them instead of us taking action. I say no..manager says yes. Guy leaves.

I say to manager "you know hes just going to return them right"...Not ten minutes later hes back claiming they were falsely advertised and he wants to return them...yelling and whatnot. I refuse to do so but manager wimps out and returns product.

This was after I realized a majority of our customers were completely ridiculous so...not too surprising.

I feel like that job drained a majority of my enthusiasm for customer assistance.

wbjones wrote: yeah ... but when I'm buying wiper blades for the F150 ... what does it matter the engine size ?

That's because they teach these kids that don't know anything about cars to get all the information from the customer. When I'm looking up something first I get the year, make, & model & than depending on what they are looking for I'll ask what engine is in it.

I'd say close to 60-70% of the average DIY customer that goes into a "Big Chain" auto parts store has no clue what they own anyhow. This is based off experience, that and when they say I have a 98 Honda LX, or 02 Toyota LE doesn't say much. You get people that have owned a vehicle for 10 or more years & they tell you they have never lifted the hood even once.

Keith's FM experience is great and he is obviously very knowledgeable. It's also mostly around a single model of car, which helps dramatically in a phone troubleshooting situation.

In a parts store, every customer has a different vehicle and a different need, and being human the parts jockey has not heard of everything. Even in a dealership environment the counter person is dealing with several models across a wide range of years.

Think of it this way: the mfg has an engineering TEAM! for each platform. This can be ten to a hundred people who collaborate to design the vehicle. Now one guy or girl is supposed to know everything about each of those platforms? Not bloody likely. It's more a question of knowing where to look for information, much like Einstein. He was quoted as saying he didn't try to remember stuff he could look up.

It's quite possible to have a generic knowledge of systems for many different cars, but specific knowledge such as the aforementioned coil interchange for that same vast number of different vehicles? That's a completely different animal.

Oh, and another war story: sold a set of front wheel bearings. This was two 'cup and cone' sets, each in an individual box and wrapped by the mfg in clear cellophane.

Two days later, the guy brings the bearings back, didn't need them. The boxes are pristine, so I open them, the bearings look beautiful all wrapped in cellophane and glistening with light oil as they should. So I pop them back in the box, refund the guy's money and stick them back on the shelf.

I sold the same bearings to a shop account a few days later, I get a phone call from someone who is PISSED. Why did I send used bearings? Huh?

Sent another set out quickly and got the first ones back, sure enough the races and rollers were pitted and blue, you couldn't tell unless you took them out of the cellophane.

It seems that the first guy had carefully removed the cellophane from the new bearings, replaced them with the carefully cleaned old bearings, oiled and rewrapped them then put them back in the pristine boxes. Bastard.