I read an interesting article by Jay Leno called "Leno is looking for Mr. GoodPart", talking about the lost art of retail sales and the DIY’er. It hit home for me as I spent most of my college years, working for the big box hardware companies that put the mom & pop stores out of business. I might have not realized while working but I was lucky that most of those that lost their jobs, worked with me at the big box stores and I was able to learn a little more than just reading the label to the customer. Although that knowledge may be transferable, the article talked about the stake that the employees had in the business and how helping the customers was a priority. Leno talked about going to his local auto parts store and being able to bring a part, and the other side of the counter understanding what he needed, and not upselling him on a fuel injector cleaner and actually caring about the art of DIY. I think that is what I like most about GRM, that it encourages the lost art. I would defiantly encourage anybody reading that article.
Can you link the article? I'd like to show it to the manager of the local NAPA, he is that guy.
Maybe not defiantly, but I'd definitely read that article if you would be kind enough to tell us where you found it. 
Looks like it's in the latest print version of Autoweek. Not online, yet.
-Rob
He needs to have an interview with BangShift's Unknown Parts Counter Guy. Complete with the UPCG wearing a bag on his head.
This also reminds me of the time I walked into a local starter and alternator shop carrying a seized starter. The counter guy took one look at the starter, didn't even ask what it was for, said "I think I've got a couple back there." And came back with an exact match.
I was really impressed. Not something you'd see at a typical parts store - although given that your typical parts store needs to carry more than just starters and alternators, it's also not something I'd really expect at a more general parts store, either.
MadScientistMatt wrote:
He needs to have an interview with BangShift's Unknown Parts Counter Guy. Complete with the UPCG wearing a bag on his head.
This also reminds me of the time I walked into a local starter and alternator shop carrying a seized starter. The counter guy took one look at the starter, didn't even ask what it was for, said "I think I've got a couple back there." And came back with an exact match.
I was really impressed. Not something you'd see at a typical parts store - although given that your typical parts store needs to carry more than just starters and alternators, it's also not something I'd really expect at a more general parts store, either.
Was this "starter and alternator shop" between the millinery store and the cobbler?
JamesMcD wrote:
Was this "starter and alternator shop" between the millinery store and the cobbler?
Technically yes, if you can allow for about a mile to the cobbler in one direction and ten miles to the millinery store in the other way.
there are a couple of parts stores in this area that have really good people working there. there are some that are so-so... and there are a few that just flat out suck..
i got a pleasant surprise just this past weekend when i was going from parts store to parts store looking for odds and ends for the T5 swap in my Camaro... did you know that no one carries universal shift boots any more? anyways, i was looking for some syncromesh fluid for the trans and got nothing but blank stares at the first 3 stores- stores with some smart dudes behind the counter- and figured "wtf, i might as well try Advance Auto" because it's a block away from the Taco Bell i was getting lunch at.. this store normally doesn't have anything in stock and the counter people barely know that a tire is round. only dude working was a stoner/hippie burnout looking dude that reminded me of the singer from Rage Against the Machine... so i ask him for a shift boot- nope, he said they have no such thing- then ask him for syncromesh... he's all "yeah, we have like 5 different brands. it's what i'm running in the Tremac TKO 500 that i just swapped into my 68 Cougar behind a built 347. which brand do you want? i suggest the Pennzoil since it's the closest to the original GM formulation."
I just looked at the Advance Auto website and they list a whole bunch of shift boots, universal fit and otherwise. Your burnout looking dude may know his syncromesh fluid, but he doesn't know his shift boots.
I was looking for stuff in stock that I could use that day.
When I was a kid whenever we needed hard parts we went to an old full service parts/machine shop. My Dad would take me to Valley Stream Auto Parts. It was a dimly lit store on a corner right in town on his 7up route. There were half a dozen gray haired men in plaid, giant books of parts books and from the back you could hear the clanking and churning of the machine shop. Owning common Fords and Chevys they never needed to consult their books to get us the right part and even though I was only 9 or 10 they would talk to me like a regular customer and answer any questions I could come up with and make suggestions when they thought we were going on the wrong direction. Even when we moved up to the Mercedes Truck they still generally had what we needed or had someone to run for it that day. It was a sad day when they closed their doors.
There are actually still a lot of Mom and Pop shops around, unfortunately they are usually in small towns or off the beaten path. Some are brand names like NAPA or Federated, but some of them aren't and have a Value Brand sign hanging out front.
I worked the parts counter at a chain store outside Atlanta while in college. The people we had were mostly pro wrench turners at some point in their life (except me.) They were well informed, knowledgable, and helpful. I learned a ton about fixing cars while working there. There are very few parts places like that anymore, partially because the chains don't pay well enough to retain good people. You can't make a career of working the counter there. I used to think that all the really pro parts people had gone to dealerships but judging by my interactions with them lately it isn't true.
A really good parts person is rare and a true resource.
The local advanced used to have great people but now its down to the guy who does commercial accounts. The local napa has a machine shop and seems to hire people with a brain for counter work.
The oriellys manager stops at work alot and he has stated that computer skills are more important then automotive knowledge for his hires.
Its sad really, makes me glad i know the old men i do when i have questions on anything pre fuel injection.
If O'Reilly's highers based on computer skills, I don't want to see their rejects. I've told them how to use their computer before just based on the on-screen prompts. That got me more than one job offer. hehe.
