i work at a parts store

Flynlow wrote:

Hocrest wrote: I understand the debate over priority between phone and in store customers. But the lady at AZ today really pissed me off. While I was walking in the one guy was walking out with a customer to check a battery. The other lady was on the phone when I got there on a parts related call. The third and final employee spent 2 minutes chatting with a customer that had already checked out. Apparently they used to work together and talked about families and old friends while I stood at the counter.

You had to wait 2 minutes to be helped? 2 WHOLE minutes??? Did you at least have a smart phone to distract yourself? If not, how did you get through such an ordeal?

Slightly tongue in cheek, but come on man, catching up with a customer/friend/former coworker and it only took a minute or two out of everyone's day, that's just being friendly. Comes back to this:

Curmudgeon wrote: 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.

I got patience like everyone else.. more than I should sometimes. But there has to be a requirement that says once you pay for your parts, you have to stand there at the checkout or the counter and B.S. for 20 minutes as to why you needed the parts or that " well, it's only got 130,000 miles on it" or "it's my in laws car and i got it for cheap" or whatever the case may be.

I can't stand that. I work in a parts store and it drives me nuts when a guy will chit chat at the counter after he pays for his stuff while I got 5 guys in line behind him waiting to get their parts.

In reply to Keith:

I have been that guy, talking to you. This was only because Flyin Miata calls to make sure that everything arrived okay, and are there any questions. Since the box shipped marked as oh having some of the bushings (instead of a full set), I asked how I might know if I had enoughpkeces, since I hadnt a clue as to how many there should be. Was transferred to you, and you calmly explained that the warehouse guys check every box before it goes out. Much alpreciated. Still haven't had time to R&R the suspension to get everything installed :(

It's funny, before drifto rochi or what ever made it a cult hero, my conversations at Partsource usually went like this....

No, it's the Corolla gts.......No, rear wheel drive.....seriously. They only made it for a few years. No...your not listening.....twin cam. Yes I know a front wheel drive exists... that'd be 1988 on.....No...that's the SR5.....Gah!

mistanfo wrote: In reply to Keith: I have been that guy, talking to you. This was only because Flyin Miata calls to make sure that everything arrived okay, and are there any questions. Since the box shipped marked as oh having some of the bushings (instead of a full set), I asked how I might know if I had enoughpkeces, since I hadnt a clue as to how many there should be. Was transferred to you, and you calmly explained that the warehouse guys check every box before it goes out. Much alpreciated. Still haven't had time to R&R the suspension to get everything installed :(

On an Energy Suspension bushing kit, it is a completely legitimate question! Those guys can not count to save their lives. Prothane isn't much better. Failing to find two brake rotors that are 11" across, on the other hand...

Flynlow wrote:

Hocrest wrote: I understand the debate over priority between phone and in store customers. But the lady at AZ today really pissed me off. While I was walking in the one guy was walking out with a customer to check a battery. The other lady was on the phone when I got there on a parts related call. The third and final employee spent 2 minutes chatting with a customer that had already checked out. Apparently they used to work together and talked about families and old friends while I stood at the counter.

You had to wait 2 minutes to be helped? 2 WHOLE minutes??? Did you at least have a smart phone to distract yourself? If not, how did you get through such an ordeal? Slightly tongue in cheek, but come on man, catching up with a customer/friend/former coworker and it only took a minute or two out of everyone's day, that's just being friendly.

Nah, my phone is dumb. And I have often chatted/caught up with employees. But if there is a customer at the counter waiting I step aside and wait for the employee to be free again. And as an employee, I've told friends to wait while I worked with customers.

MA$$hole wrote:

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.

To piggy back on this, most parts stores store your vehicle make/model/year under your phone number. It helps when you call and are looking for a part and they can quickly look you up with your number.

Some day, I'm going to ask for a printout of all the E36 M3box cars I've bought parts for - including the crappy cars my friends and family have owned that I've ended up working on. Should be rather amusing.

I never worked at a parts store, but spent a couple years of my college life as an assistant manager at a Walgreens. We were right between the college (ASU) and a low-income housing part of town, so naturally we had the 2nd worst shrinkage in the district. For the most part, if we busted you and you came clean and gave the stuff back, we would let you go. A few people didn't understand this simple arrangement:

One guy walks out as another assistant manager is walking in. The alarm beeps and the assistant gives him our standard deal (it's 10 PM at night, on a warehouse day, and the police will take at least an hour to show up). Customer refuses and says he doesn't have anything. I get called in and we walk the guy to the break room and call the police. We then give him another opportunity to give up what he has and walk out the door. Nope no way. So the police show up and he has a bottle of shampoo. That's it. Cops run his record and it's is xyzmillionth offense and he's on parole, etc. $2 bottle of shampoo and he's back in the system.

Another time I get called by the pharmacy lady that she thinks she saw a guy stealing. Rule is if you don't see it and they won't admit, it didn't happen. So I corner the guy and he's wearing a sweatshirt that looks FULL of stuff. I ask him directly if he has anything and he says no. I ask him again. Nope. So I tell him he needs to follow me to the break room, turn and walk away. I get to the breakroom and for some reason he followed me (?) but still won't admit to anything. So now I have to call the police. I give him the standard chances to make both oru lives easier, etc. They show up and he has $300 worth of crap and they take him away.

Most of the stories were funny, but some were downright sad. We were across the street from a public highschool, and most of the kids didn't have money and/or their parents didn't care. We always used to catch kids steeling school supplies, specifically #2 pencils when it was standardized testing time. After the second or third time, we would just ask the kids to come to us and we'd pay for the supplies with our own money. There were a couple of us that would do it, so at least the kids had the basic supplies they needed. Pretty freaking sad when kids have to steal to get the tools to get a basic education.

I just took a phone call that checks off two of the boxes previously mentioned. Paraphrased:

"Will the intake from a 1994 fit on a 1990 without any modification?"
"No."
"Do you have any 1990 throttle bodies?"
"Automatic or manual trans?"
"Manual." "Hang on, were you asking about the intake crossover tube?"
(confusing answer)
"I can check - but what exactly are you trying to do?"
...confused explanation. Something about intake manifolds, then about needing a linear throttle wheel. I ask what year the car is, it's a 1990 which has a linear throttle wheel (Miata trivia: only the 1994 had a progressive linkage). But it's not clear what's going on, because I'm talking to the wife who is relaying information from her husband who's in the room. I ask to speak to her husband - but he's on the phone to someone else. So I ask her to tell him to call me when he's off the phone.

I still don't have any idea what is being planned over there.

Also, from yesterday:
"I need wiring help with the HID headlight kit you sold me."
"Are you sure? Because we don't sell HID headlight kits."
"But I got it from you! Why can't you help?"
"We've never sold HID headlights."
This goes on for a bit, with the customer getting more adamant. Eventually...
"I've bought stuff from both you and GoMiata. Maybe I got it from them."
End of phone call.

i'm a condescending jerk, a lot. i've found that i can only politely solve roughly 40-50 peoples' problems a day. by the 60-70th problem, the tact goes away.

so i was not surprised to hear someone had called our area manager to complain about me. it was inevitable really. during my warning about my behavior, i asked if the customer identified themselves or what they had purchased, just so i could try connecting what i said. turns out; he was a guy who came in to buy sway-bar end links without knowing what they were. then came back and returned them because he bought for the rear and actually needed the front. then he asked me how to install them. not that we do this, but i went out with him and laid on my back in the parking lot and showed him what he needed to do. some part of that interaction was aparently not as respectful as he wanted.really.

I had just shown up in SC for the LeMons race. Guys asked me to search for a few things at the parts store. I was standing in line for 10 berkeleying minutes behind some clown with a berkeleying Caddilac..."An denn, mah othuh homeboy tole me, it coul be duh fueh filtah. Way dat at? I could do dat mah seff?

Partguy: "Sir, I'm not a mechanic. I really recommend you take it to a shop. It could be a million things. Randomly throwing parts at it probably won't fix it, and you'd be better off paying a shop to fix it for you."

Caddilacguy: "Yeah, how much a fyooh filtuh?"

Partguy: "$25" (or whatever.)

Caddicacguy: "Denn diss otha dude tole me I could be uh injectuh. How much one o'dem cost?"

I listened to ten minutes worth of this bullE36 M3, then went to the back corner of the store and called the store. Was talking to the guy on the phone as I walked out.

Flynlow wrote: Then there was the guy with a newer BMW who insisted, absolutely insisted, that his car ran on straight antifreeze. Because it was a BMW, and they're higher performance, so they need more of the antifreeze and less of the water, cause they're special.

Pretty sure the antifreeze Honda sells isn't to be diluted. I know nothing about BMW antifreeze.

During my college years (and about a year after graduating), I worked at an AutoZone that was the largest store in it's district. For 3 years, I was an assistant manager there. I went into that job as a well-mannered guy with a positive outlook on life, and I left as a cynical guy with nothing but spite and hatred for his fellow man. Slinging auto parts will do that to you. And yes, I have stories.

How about the time when a guy was waiting to check out and a customer cut him in line, and as a result, the box of brake pads the customer had in his hand was launched at my head for ringing him up? The store was packed from front to back on a busy Sunday afternoon, and there were only two of us working thanks to a fellow employee not showing up that day. I didn't have time to explain to people the etiquette of how to stand in line. Luckily I dodged the brake pads.

Then there are the countless idiots that go through the same part 20+ times not realizing that the part they are replacing is not the culprit. The customer usually comes in and slams the part on the counter, swearing about the crap quality of their parts, and demanding another one. After a while, my manager would catch on to some of these people and turn them away. That was always the best, because all hell would brake loose, and the rest of us would sit back and watch.

The concept of "Universal Fit" doesn't compute with some people, which was annoying. One time, we had a bunch of stupid garbage accessories, like pedal covers and underbody neons, on a clearance table. It was clearly marked ALL SALES FINAL. This guy with a red early 2000's 4 door automatic Ford Focus with the big useless wing, giant dragon decals on the sides, and chrome hubcaps asks me if the neons fit his car. You all know what kind of dirt bag I'm talking about. I explain that they are universal fit. He didn't get it, telling me that I didn't answer his question. So I told him that they will fit any car, because they are universal, and that's what that word means. I also clearly explained that it was an ALL SALES FINAL deal, even though the purple neons were still over $100 on clearance. So he buys them. You all know where I'm going with this.

Not 2 hours later does this genius come back, saying that I lied to him by telling him that they would fit, demanding his money back. My manager sent him packing by his ultimate tactic of telling him no at least 3 times and ignoring the customer until the store closed if he stuck around that long.

Some of the more interesting dealings I had were with non-English speaking customers. Please note that I am not trying to be offensive in any way (my dad is an Italian immigrant that had to learn English when he got here), but the language barrier that existed would cause issues, and there was no way of getting around it.

We had a regular contingent of Brazilian immigrants that would come into the store. Most of them were nice guys, but getting the parts they needed could be difficult. For some reason, they would always bring in parts that are actually parts of parts, like little pieces of an oil pump assembly, and they would want just that part, which nobody sold. I had no clue how the hell they could even disassemble some of these parts that much to know that these little pieces would even be the problem. Truly amazing.

The hardest one was one time one of the regulars came in and we played a game of charades for about a half hour with this round metal disc with rectangular bars attached to the disc. First, I thought it was a flywheel. Then, perhaps some sort of weird pulley? Nope, it was half of a vented brake rotor.

I have many more stories of being in the trenches of the Auto Parts Sales business.

I still love the customer who called and told us they needed to have an oil change and tire rotation and wanted the car washed and completely done by noon and it was 10am. I told them we were swamped and we'd do our best. Then they said we needed to come pick the vehicle up and washing it wasn't that important if we didn't have time. I pulled a tech off a waiting oil change and sent them up the road to get the car (10 miles) and he came back, finished that one and got theirs done and back to them at 11:58. Didn't have time to wash it. They got a survey and BURNED me bad because we didn't wash it.

I don't deal with that customer anymore.

That wash job type thing has happened to me as well. People are real turds sometimes.

I had this kid as a regular at the Ford dealer, he had a black 4 door Escort and he was probably the earliest 'ricer' I ever saw. Of course we didn't use the term because it hadn't been invented yet.

One morning he comes sliding into the exit side of the service drive, gets out of the car, slams the door, throws the keys and hits me in the chest with them. He then says 'This car almost killed me'. I had no idea that I had that much self control until that moment. I picked up his keys, handed them back to him and said he might best deal with someone else that morning.

I had a guy demand that I take honey as payment for a gas cap for a solid hour.

A jar of honey.

But my ABSOLUTE favorite is when dudes came in asking for "scales", meaning carburetor float scales. I loved playing dumb and saying "man I've always wondered about these... how do you use them?"

hahaaaa... You could almost see the "!!!!!!" pop up over their heads.
** for those not in the know, thuggish ruggish bone types use carb float scales to measure drugs. They have no clue what to use them for in an automotive capacity. Very hard, but important to safety IMO, to keep a straight face.

MA$$hole wrote:

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.

These are the same people that can tell you exactly which model refrigerator they bought at Home Depot, how much it cost, how many cu ft it is, how much ice it makes, etc.. or which model TV they got @ Walmart. But all they know about the $30,000 car they bought is what color it is.

I worked at Kragen for a while. My manager was OK. The assistant managers were another story. One was the new guy and didn't have the spine to argue with the rest of the staff. The other one was probably the biggest idiot I've ever met in my life.

His crowning achievement was dropping a whole case of oil, several quarts of which broke on the floor, and demanding that I clean it up, using A MOP AND WATER. OIL. WITH WATER.

It wasn't until I called the manager and had him chew the asst. out that I was allowed to use something appropriate, which turned out to be exactly what I'd asked for to begin with, that oil-cleanup kitty litter stuff, and which was kept in the back of the store for just such an occasion.

spitfirebill wrote:

Flynlow wrote: Then there was the guy with a newer BMW who insisted, absolutely insisted, that his car ran on straight antifreeze. Because it was a BMW, and they're higher performance, so they need more of the antifreeze and less of the water, cause they're special.

Pretty sure the antifreeze Honda sells isn't to be diluted. I know nothing about BMW antifreeze.

The Honda blue antifreeze comes pre-diluted. Like the 50-50 blends at the store that they charge the same amount for as the full strength even though you are getting half as much antifreeze.

J308 wrote: I had a guy demand that I take honey as payment for a gas cap for a solid hour. A jar of honey. But my ABSOLUTE favorite is when dudes came in asking for "scales", meaning carburetor float scales. I loved playing dumb and saying "man I've always wondered about these... how do you use them?" hahaaaa... You could almost see the "!!!!!!" pop up over their heads. ** for those not in the know, thuggish ruggish bone types use carb float scales to measure drugs. They have no clue what to use them for in an automotive capacity. Very hard, but important to safety IMO, to keep a straight face.

We used to refer to them as 'dope scales'. A gin-you-whine Made in USA product no less.

Curmudgeon wrote: One morning he comes sliding into the exit side of the service drive, gets out of the car, slams the door, throws the keys and hits me in the chest with them. He then says 'This car almost killed me'. I had no idea that I had that much self control until that moment. I picked up his keys, handed them back to him and said he might best deal with someone else that morning.

When I worked at Firestone we had Direct TV as a corporate account. Aparently whoever sold this account told them they would be first in line for anything they wanted whenever they walked in. I also heard MANY times that the person told them we'd "Push old ladies in wheelchairs out the doors in order to make room for them". I heard it from about 10 guys so it must have been said somewhere.

Anyway, these guys were real dicks. They would litterally throw the keys at you and say, "Oil change" and walk off. Well I got real tired of that crap real quick. One guy in particular would do it ALL THE TIME. He came in, threw the keys, I caught them and threw them at the front door. He looked at me with a 'go to hell' face. I said, "When you start coming in here and treating me with some respect, that's when I'll start helping you again. How would you like it if I threw things at you every time I saw you? How about you grab your keys, walk out the door, come back in, and let's try this again."

He picked them up, walked out, came back in, handed me the keys and said, "Can I please get an oil change? Oh, and if you have time, I think I have a low tire."

"No problem man, do you have a little bit of time, I have to get an empty bay and I'll get it taken care of for you as quick as I can."

"Yeah, I have a little bit of time."

"See how much easier that was?"

In reply to Conquest351:

It's a shame that adults need to be treated like 2nd graders.

Derick Freese wrote: In reply to Conquest351: It's a shame that adults need to be treated like 2nd graders.

Yes it is, but apparently no one taught these guys the Golden Rule. Treat everyone as you'd like to be treated. When they treat me like an ass, then I guess that's how they want to be treated.

And here we are again. A customer brings a part back without a box and will not understand that we cannot take it back without the original packaging...

more Golden Rule stuff right there.

ask them how the next guy is going to feel buying that as a new part. i tell them, if i can't sell it again, i can't buy it from you.

belteshazzar wrote: more Golden Rule stuff right there. ask them how the next guy is going to feel buying that as a new part. i tell them, if i can't sell it again, i can't buy it from you.

That does not work. The customer will flat out lie and tell you that they would buy it new like that. At that point they will say anything to get their money back. Here is a better Golden Rule: Never give someone a choice that you don't want them to have...