Another Parts store clerk story.

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So I got to Pep Boys. I'm over looking at the GC, mostly because they had some of the older bottles (with the lug nut top) and I'm checking for the M05010 on them thinking to score some green stuff, and a clerk comes up and starts on a mini-rant against Castrol all the while pitching me on M1. I say it's a great oil, I run it on 2 vehicles I'm just checking out the German Castrol. I say: I really only like the GC. His eyes widen and he starts in. Sir all Castrol is actually mixed and made in the U.S.. So I say: Notice how it says "Made in Germany" on the back. That's the kind I'm looking for.

So, being polite, I ask: I noticed these older bottles and was wondering the difference in them and he says: These bottles are Euro Formula [the older bottles have it in larger font] and I point out to him the newer bottles say the same thing on the front. He's seemingly feeling (I don't know why) like I have challenged his oil knowledge, lol. I continue: German Castrol is Made in Germany and it only comes in 0w30 and can only be had at just a few places, this being one of them.

Now he gets crazy. He says: 0w30 is the THINNEST viscosity oil there is. It's extremely thin. It's a 0 weight oil (he says this) that's what the 0w stands for. I very politely (and I knew better, but I thought there was a chance) tell him that actually, that is sometimes called the "winter rating" and that it just means that at 0 degrees celsius or 32 degrees farrenheight, it pours like a 0 weight due to viscosity improvers but that it's actually a very thick 30 weight viscosity at operating temp and that in the cold, it flows like a 0 weight.

Wow. I shouldn't have said that. He boldly and loudly says NO! It's a 0 weight and is EXTREMELY thin. You do NOT want to run this. If you want a thick oil, run a 10w30. He says that it is a 10 weight 30 oil and it's extremely thick. A 0 weight 30 oil is very VERY thin! Again I rebutt, sir I'm not trying to argue with you, and I only tell you this just so you don't misinform customers, but these are multi-viscosity oils. The first number is considered a winter rating, but it just means at very cold temps it pours like a 0 weight but at operating temp, it's in the range of a 30 weight. German Castrol is actually a very thick viscosity at operating temperature, almost a 40 weight. And I went on to tell him that the broader the difference between the numbers, generally requires more viscosity improvers, which are more likely to shear. So there's a balance there.

Now I've done it. I seen it in his eyes. I shouldn't have even argued this far, but as I said, I thought there was a chance. Now I got his oil resume. I worked here 5 years, before here I worked at Jiffy Lube, so you know I know this stuff. And before there I worked at this other oil store for 5, and I worked at this other place and this other place and this other place and I'm as expert as they come (I kid you not, he said that). Everyone in this whole store relies on me to educate them about oil and I'm considered the oil guru! He's very emphatic now... He says: I "PROMISE" you, you are WRONG! I know this stuff, I've been doing it for decades (kid was in his twenties, lol). What I'm telling you is a FACT! TRUST me! And this actually continued as he kept trying to sell me of his expertness. Then, he pauses, looks over to me as if, I will say "Ok, I guess you ARE right". I pause and kindly say, well, it's not worth arguing over (nothing I say will change his view). And he picks back up with his resume and on and on and on and ON he goes.

I say well, thank you, trying to get him to leave me alone and he's mad that I'm buying the GC. He says: You do NOT want this oil. You are making a mistake. This stuff is crazy thin. Don't ever run a 0w oil, it's too thin!

I say well, thanks for the help, grab my two bottles of GC and take it to the front to buy it, as he shakes his head.

Has anyone ran into this kind of stuff before?
 
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You should have written this website down on a piece of paper, handed it to him, and said "Here. Learn something." and walked away.
 
I had a Napa guy accuse me of lying about needing a different bracket to attach my replacement A/C compressor to my car (Honda had two different compressors on this model with different brackets). He said it was a scam Honda played to sell replacement brackets.

I don't take advice from counter people at any autoparts stores, for the most parts it seems like they don't know what they're talking about.
 
Yes at Advance Auto I had a clerk do something similar. I went in looking for Rotella 10w30. Not seeing any on the shelf I asked if they had any in the back or if they could/or would be getting any in stock. He said "All we have is the 15w40 and the 5w40 Synthetic. If you want a 10w30 you can only get that in a car oil. Rotella does not make a 10w30 diesel oil, nobody does". I tell him that actually almost all major blenders offer a 10w30 diesel oil. He goes on to challenge me saying that as a parts person he knows what is and is not available. I then walked out to my car, grabbed an empty gallon jug of it, and walked back in and said "ok then explain this Mr. know it all."

Last time I went in there.
 
Originally Posted By: shpankey

Has anyone ran into this kind of stuff before?


Sadly yes. I was at one auto parts store (happened to also be a Pep Boys) and the old guy tried to tell me I was wasting my money replacing my shocks. He said "They never wear out. My 1990 Bonneville has over 200K miles on the original shocks and they all work fine."

I just laughed at him and said "Okay I'll got to another store to make the purchase. Goodbye."

You should print stuff out from the major oil companies web sites and take it to this highly experienced oil professional and show him what the people who make the stuff say!
 
Hahaha that's funny. A lot of my customers are the same way. I once recommended GC to this guy in a toyota tacoma he was telling my how he lives in tahoe and gets very cold. So when I told him a 0w30 will work good he almost had a cow. Even tho he still decided to use it
 
I ran into a guy like that once, or twicw, or more, LOL. I personally find amusement in seeing how upset I can get them. You should have kept at him until he completely lost it.
 
Call up and have them lookup a water pump for a Chevy Corvair as revenge. My dad did that to haze the new parts kids. His friend was the manager and they both got a kick out of watching a kid try to look up a water pump for an air cooled engine.
 
At one point I thought of BITOG and I was going to hit record on my cell phone just to get this recorded for our listening pleasure but I left the thing in my car. This was in the middle of his very passionate rant. The thought of you guys getting to hear this made me chuckle. Looking back, I think he may have thought it was directed at him. haha. I've never seen someone so passionate and wrong at the same time. It's like he was thinking his emphatic-ness was what was going to make him right (in my eyes?).
 
Originally Posted By: nfs480


I don't take advice from counter people at any autoparts stores, for the most parts it seems like they don't know what they're talking about.


I agree. Like I've said before - taking advice from MOST (not all) auto parts employees is like taking medical advice from a cashier at the drug store!

Even a broken (analog) clock is right twice a day!
 
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yea. I have run into this. Which is why it's very rare that I go into parts stores anymore lol. Easier to shop at wally world, they seem to like me spending my money there :) No opinions given, or "recommendations" unless of course I _ask_ for their assistance/help with an issue.

Now, don't get me wrong, not all parts guys are bad, I've met some smart ones.....this one was ASE certified (kinda makes me wonder, wouldn't he make more money "under a car" or "in a shop" rather than in a parts store?). Sometimes I just think they get bored and have to try and show their knowledge (or lack thereof) hehe.
 
Well I can post from the opposite side of the story. I happen to work at autozone ( Don't hate me
frown.gif
).

Well everytime someone asks me to recommend them a good synthetic oil. I typically go straight for the GC.

However once I make the recommendation people insist on arguing with me that GC is only for German vehicles and that its too thin. Plus you get those types that come in looking for one type of garbage oil, then when you try to recommend something better to them, they get all angry.

Part of the fun at working at an auto parts store.
 
Went to AAP for some gear lube for the Beemer. I asked the clerk who came over and politely asked if I needed help, if GL4 and GL5 were the same. He went to the counter and asked his co-worker at the counter. After 3 or 4 minutes he came back and said that they were interchangeable. I guess it took them that long to decide which to say because they were not sure of what to say.
 
Why is there such surprise at this? You don't need more than a HS diploma or GED to work at a Pep Boys or such.
 
I was once in Walmart, back in the oil isle, there was a guy looking at oil additives. A clerk asked him if he needed any help. The man said " The oil pump driveshaft fell down into the oil pan and I am looking for a good additive I can add to the oil so I can drive the car to a repair shop without ruining the engine."
The Walmart clerk responded by handing him a bottle of thick smoke be gone type stuff and saying "Take your valve cover off and pour this oil over the valves, that is what would get the hottest."

I guess the rod bearings will be fine without getting any oil.
I'm sure this guy would spend $50 on oil additives than spend any money for a tow bill, but what the heck, they make engines every day.
 
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