My Assistant Manager at the NAPA store was a young lady named Dana. I hired her off her resume thinking she was male, was even happier when I found out that her skills backed up her resume.
Army Motor Pool
Certified Diesel Tech
Certified Automotive Master Tech
Certified GM Parts Pro
Corporate head hunted her out of a local GM dealer, she would outsell the entire store hands down.
I helped her get a job at our competition when I found out they were closing the store.
No mom and pop outfits left in these here parts. 
Two old Napas that are good. I worked at a shop next door to one almost 30 years ago. They have since moved to a buisier sreet in a new building but the characters are still there and a few still remember me.
My local O-Rieleys will let me go in the back and get my own parts for my oddball projects. Course I only go there when Napa is closed.
I needed a PCV valve hose the other weekend, no one had it but O-rieley GAVE me a foot of fuel hose the proper size to get the car going again. Didnt cost them much but that efort is apreciated.
I try and buy everything, filters, oil, wiper blades, muffler bearings, whatever from the folks that will work with me and know their E36 M3, even if it costs a little more. They are there for me when I need them, I will suport them as best I can.
I had almost the exact go round as the op at the parts store thats closest to me, and i even had the used belt with me.
long story short, i hand the counter guy the used belt, tell him i need a match for it, even note that it is stretched so if the part number doesnt match up to anything you have in stock, and you have to measure it, make the new one a few mm shorter. then the guy proceeds to argue with me after looking up the make / model (that was irrelevant anyhow) info telling me what im asking for wont fit... even after i tell him its a custom mount, and the book is wrong even for a stock unit (yes its true ) And that I just took the used belt i handed him off the car and it fits fine, just stretched and 10 years old!after some back and fourth, He yelled at me saying" IT WONT FIT! "
I almost went over the counter at him, but somehow, i stopped myself...
Only as i was on my way out the door did the manager get off his ass and start to say something (he was sitting right there the whole time, eating) i just looked at him and said "too late, you lost a customer, good luck responding to corporate about this one..." i left and three other customers who witnessed the lunacy followed me out, i saw two of them at the next part store...
up the road at the next parts store i was in and out in five minutes, with the proper belt and no arguments.. i shop there all the time now, even though the first store is almost walking distance for me.
There is nothing better than a good parts guy/person, there is nothing more frustrating than a bad one....
Considering I still sling parts for a living (although nicer, newer and less 'rons involved) I use Napa daily. BUT if they didn't have their ProLink for me to look up my own parts, Iwouldn't bother as their stores here are staffed with the same wal-mart rejects the rest are staffed with.
Certainly think it's employee related rather than the chain. The more you build up a relationship with the place, the more likely they'll gladly deal with that "oddball" request. Even in the good stores, you can find a bad apple....and in the bad stores you just might find someone that knows their stuff. I know enough to know I don't know much. I can't expect everyone else to be a genius either.
DILYSI Dave wrote: The grungier a NAPA looks, the more useful it is. A nice new one will probably leave you wanting. One that is in a 50 year old building that needs to be painted, has a logo that is 3 generations old, has bars on the windows, An "open" sign that is covered in greasy fingerprints, a busted up parking lot, and 2/3 of the fluorescent bulbs dead or flickering will prove to be a goldmine.
BINGO!
sachilles wrote: I know enough to know I don't know much. I can't expect everyone else to be a genius either.
I (collective I'm sure) wish more people thought like this. I know my limits as well and will not hesitate to let you know that it's not my forte but I know just the guy who is good with it.... back 11 years ago when I worked for a chain store that started with an "A" we had a great crew together. We had GM guys, Ford guys. mopar guys, hondar guys...... and we knew guys at our sister stores that knew specialized stuff and we'd make the calls to one another. No one knows everything and those that say they do are the ones I stay away from.
That was then. That particular chain is still hiring people at the same hourly rated and salaried rate today that they did in 1999. I know because my best friend still works for them and has been hiring. I got hired in in 1997 at $8.50/hr, and was bumped up to salary as an ass manager to $24,600/year. Same rates today. And y'all wonder why they have crappy help. What are you really going to get at $8/hr?
My dad works at AutoZone. He tells me stories from both sides of the counter. The hardest part seems to be finding employees who will work. You would think with this job market there would be no problem with employees coming to work but there are days where two or three employees won't show up for their shift. My dad got yelled at for having overtime once. After listening to the manager quietly dad simply replied "no problem I will go home when my shift is over. Who do you want me to call to come in so there will be at least ONE person in the store, or should I just walk out and leave the place unattended." They got the point.
Management at most of these places is clueless, or just as bad as the underlings can be. One manager had a bunch of parts disappear on his shift. Dad walks out to the parking lot and notices said missing parts installed on the guy's Jeep. One manager always had drawers come up short on her shift and blamed the employees every time. Took months for them to fire her.
Dad knows the scammers by heart too. The guys that try to return parts after swapping the old part (cleaned up) with the new part. "I'm sorry sir, this isn't the part. I know it isn't the part because you bought a generic replacement part and the part in the box is stamped AC-Delco..." Happens quite often at his store.
Honestly I'm surprised they have counter people at all. All we need is a cashier and a computer to look up the part. If you can't figure out how to look up your part, you probably have no business installing said part.
My NAPA looks like what Dave described and is owned by a Spec Ford and ice racer. Never have a problem. Not in stock ? Will be here in the morning.
The local parts store guy asks if I am looking for "normal" parts. If I walk in with a bolt, 2 pieces of string, a tape measure, and a piece of paper, they go get Randy....
Bruce
egnorant wrote: The local parts store guy asks if I am looking for "normal" parts. If I walk in with a bolt, 2 pieces of string, a tape measure, and a piece of paper, they go get Randy.... Bruce
That's an odd reaction.... I mean I love cars and car parts, but I don't LOVE them.... wait. Oh! Nevermind....
The local NAPA I go to has a machine shop, my family has been going there for decades to have basic machine work done on our cars. The front counter staff change seemingly monthly, but the guys out back recognize my last name and ask how my Uncle is doing.
The Schuck's close to where I live was slowly trained by my dad and I to stock more Turbo-Dodge parts and to listen to what we ask for. Now that I'm less into Turbo-Dodge's and using the smaller mom/pop place down the street along with Rockauto.com, I wonder if they've altered their stocking practices?
DILYSI Dave wrote: The grungier a NAPA looks, the more useful it is. A nice new one will probably leave you wanting. One that is in a 50 year old building that needs to be painted, has a logo that is 3 generations old, has bars on the windows, An "open" sign that is covered in greasy fingerprints, a busted up parking lot, and 2/3 of the fluorescent bulbs dead or flickering will prove to be a goldmine.
I agree completely!
I few years ago I went to a NAPA to buy a proper O2 sensor socket. Getting the old sensor out wasn't an issue, just cut the wires and put a deep wall socket over it. But the new one when installed, you couldn't get at it with a wrench. So a proper O2 socket was needed.
I priced one at NAPA, and the cheapest one was about $30. It was a little more than I wanted to spend for what I figured was a one time use.
The guy at the counter understood my dilema, so he suggested buying a regular, cheap, deep wall 7/8 socket, and just cut a slit in the side. Which I did for under $10.
Years later I still have, and use that socket. And I go to that NAPA regularly. It's nice when it is a car guy (or gal) behind the counter, and can relate to the projects or problems you have.
I flogged hot rod parts, forklift parts and replacement car parts for about 15 years in the Columbia SC area. At that time, the parts houses (that's what everyone called them) paid enough money for a person to live decently. But that has changed. I'll tell you why and I am going to name names.
Roughly a year before I got out of the business, the rumor went around that Bumper to Bumper and Advance Auto Parts were both coming to the area as 'category killers'. When the first Advance store opened in our area, the place I was working for was in turmoil over the owner's divorce and of course I applied at the Advance store. They offered me a counter position at about a 25% pay cut. 
When I turned that down, based on my experience they offered me a manager's position (why didn't that get offered at the outset? ) and I told them I would get back to them.
I contacted a bud who had gone to work for Advance as a manager in Charlotte NC about a year earlier, he said they wanted ~70 hours a week, salary with no commission and they set sales goals which were always just out of reach. His budget only allowed for a certain amount to hire counter help and for the percentage corporate would allow he could only hire new trainees. Once they got some training and wanted to make more money, they ran into the same percentage problem so no raise. They would then leave and generally go into another line of work. In fact, he had done just that; moved on.
Advance's corporate management strategy was very obviously based on high turnover. That way whenever anyone was ready for a raise at the store level they would not get the raise, they would move on and this kept their labor costs low. If that has changed since then, damned if I can see it. So I will not go to work for one of those chains unless it's at a high enough level (district manager, maybe) that I am not stuck in that rat race.
^ AZ at least pays managers commission. They are the only salaried now (ass managers were salary way back when as well). They also set sales goals to reasonable levels MOST of the time. In fact, most of the managers I know from AZ are 10+ year employees. I just couldn't stand the constant harrassment from dishonest customers, the lack of corporate support and their "we need to do everything for the customer for FREE" attitude they have.
In fact... I once had a lady bring in a bad part from Advance. She had the advance reciept. She had the advance part in it's box. Wanted a refund. SHe left, called corporate and raised hell and AutoZone had to make up a number and give her a refund FOR A PART SHE NEVER BOUGHT. The sad part was she left and came back another day to do this, and could have gone to the Advance 2 miles away and had it taken care of by the correct store....
VanillaSky wrote: if you threw me in a parts store and asked for a part that hasn't been used on a car since I was about 3, I'd probably have to look it up, too. At least pull out a parts list.
And (I would assume) nobody here has a problem with that. But it's not really related at all to what happened.
As a parts counter guy, you're not expected to know everything. You are expected to know how to find it (if it's a standard application) and if it's some weird application how to find a particular part based on specs (like length, # of ribs, etc).
^ Sadly most systems the chain stores use do not allow stuff "off the menu". Hell, you can't even get to the screen to find a gas cap without answering what engine size/drivetrain layout your 1973 chevy truck is....and none of that is relevant for that part.
I guess the only way some people will offer any consolation/respect is if they were forced behind the counter to deal with the rude, ungrateful asses that like to find someone to demean becasue they aren't getting enough at home.....
I'm fortunate to have a few decent stores I can go to. The NAPA near my house has been around for decades and is also the best machine shop in the area and will do everything from small moto engines to drag-racing V8's. There is usually a stack of waiting and completed jobs in the loading bay. They also make up driveshafts and we had them bead-blast the suspension components for the Volvo when we rebuilt the front end.
Our Pep Boys stores aren't too bad. I'm usually able to talk my way into getting the part I need if I know they have it but it may not be easily found in the computer. I got a idler bearing for my old Toyota once this way. There's an Advance-Zone near work that has let me dig through the moulded hoses for awhile looking for bits to cobble together for the Spitfire's convoluted thermo-choke set-up.
I suppose it does help that I was a parts house counter guy in a past life, so I know what to say - especially over the phone. Hint: when calling for a part, simple state, "Hi. I need price and availability on a 'blah' part for a 'year/make/model/engine' car."
In the same way I always check torque specs, I made a point NOT tryign to remember part numbers. For one, they cheanged with changes in suppliers, and second, I was using those memory cells to remember all of the bloody phone numbers I had to call every day sicne the antiquated phone system didn't have speed dailing (although it did have a couple of direct-lines)...
One thing that gets me is the difference between my local stores in how the employees address the customers. The NAPA people always greet me with a "How can I help you, sir?". At AutoZone, it's always "How's it goin', chief?" or "What's happening, boss?." I don't car either way about being called "Sir", but would prefer a simple "Hello" to a stupid informal nickname.
I used to think of it as the parts guy having all the expertise - many of the old timer independent types were like walking, talking parts interchange books. Tell them what you were up to and they would take it as a challenge. Now, it's pretty much all on you to know what you want - so when I'm buying brakes for my old bronco, I need to tell them it's for a 2000 chevy 2500 diesel or the distributor for my 72 mg (err, 1985 mustang gt w/5 spd). If I don't know it - blank stare time - although there's a couple of pepzone managers who get interested and try to help.
In reply to dimeadozen:
If it is some "Kid" tryin to build his/her street cred, either send him/her on a goose chase looking for a "Brass-magnet" or "Stretch-Paint" ! or just turn it around and reply "Hey Professor Pinchvalve" !
Che
I have found with Napa its fairly easy to find the part number for what you want online, so you just look it up and call them and say " do you have #####" if they do, then you just go get it. Carquest is usually pretty good, I buy oil filters there, and various other things, but they have a pretty poor selection of lubricants, so i go elsewhere for that stuff.
NYG95GA wrote:DILYSI Dave wrote: The grungier a NAPA looks, the more useful it is. A nice new one will probably leave you wanting. One that is in a 50 year old building that needs to be painted, has a logo that is 3 generations old, has bars on the windows, An "open" sign that is covered in greasy fingerprints, a busted up parking lot, and 2/3 of the fluorescent bulbs dead or flickering will prove to be a goldmine.BINGO!
I also like to see a whole slew of parts books behind the counter.
dimeadozen wrote: One thing that gets me is the difference between my local stores in how the employees address the customers. The NAPA people always greet me with a "How can I help you, sir?". At AutoZone, it's always "How's it goin', chief?" or "What's happening, boss?." I don't car either way about being called "Sir", but would prefer a simple "Hello" to a stupid informal nickname.
Funny, in my neighborhood they all say "Hola"...
I have had a lot of luck with Autozone in my town. One guy drives a very nice looking E30 and is always a lot of help.
When I first got out of HS I worked for a NAPA, started as a driver then went to the counter. All the guys were old-timers and the owner hired people on the expectation that you would go from driver to the counter eventually. When working the counter for 2 years they wanted you to get ASE certified (they paid for the tests). They even paid a decent wage. I kinda wish I still lived near there, those guys knew their stuff.
The NAPA I have now is still somewhat good but has crap hours so I'm usually left going to the chains
O'Reilly is the worst around here, It seems I can't buy anything without giving them a damn phone number. Last time it was for a set of floormats for the wifes mini van - it's for the warranty they said. Really? Who warranties rubber floor mats?
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