Auto Parts Store Idiots

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Originally Posted By: Traction
I would never have called the store on the phone for what you were trying to do, and would have personally went in with the defective part. That would have been the most effective way to deal with it. I would hate to be the guy waiting at the counter for the parts guy to get off the phone 20 minutes later, so I could pay for a quart of oil.


I've given up on my local Oreillys for this very reason. If I am waiting and the phone rings, I wait even longer.

With AAP, it's a quick in and out.. but I don't talk to them on the phone either.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp

Exactly why and how is there no standard for competency in this business at all anymore? This is such a sweet deal for these parts stores that they can thrive while screwing up what must be half of everything they do.


No one with knowledge and experience will work in such a low paying, unappreciated, dead end position. Come on, now. Retail businesses are actually quite lucky if they can find anyone who shows up on time.

edit: The guy in the op's story was extra-incompetent, though. Blame is on poor training (not knowing how to look up by part #, etc.).
 
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Originally Posted By: MinamiKotaro
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp

Exactly why and how is there no standard for competency in this business at all anymore? This is such a sweet deal for these parts stores that they can thrive while screwing up what must be half of everything they do.


No one with knowledge and experience will work in such a low paying, unappreciated, dead end position. Come on, now. Retail businesses are actually quite lucky if they can find anyone who shows up on time.


When we are looking for a new hire in my department we will first put feelers out to people that work in parts houses that we think are good to gauge their interest. Usually they are getting paid way less than they deserve.
 
Originally Posted By: CrAlt
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Originally Posted By: CrAlt


But you where ready to buy 3 more parts from them even after the bad service. And I bet you will keep shopping there even after continued bad service.

So why do they need to change?
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Think you should review the list of parts he asked for more closely...
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Oh so the parts don't exists. Thats the Joke. I see the 83 corvette and VW water pump mentioned for the 1000th time also. How about the tacoma water pump gasket description?
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I bet he still shops there again though.
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I actually went to a "warehouse store" of AAP and got ridiculously competent service. The people there are dealing with shops all day long, so I guess they can't let the numbskulls work there.

From pulling into the lot, to removing my condenser there in the parking lot, to bringing it inside, to getting a new one under warranty, to going back and installing it, charging the system, and pulling away? 24 minutes.
 
Originally Posted By: Traction
I would never have called the store on the phone for what you were trying to do, and would have personally went in with the defective part. That would have been the most effective way to deal with it. I would hate to be the guy waiting at the counter for the parts guy to get off the phone 20 minutes later, so I could pay for a quart of oil.


Usually when I go inside, I'm waiting 20 minutes for them to get off of the phone.
 
Hey yo holmes, I need spark plugs for my carrucha, ese! (AutoZone counter talk in Southern California)
 
Originally Posted By: philipp10
If you want a professional type of person why would you shop at a store that pays $9 an hour.....you expect low prices then you going to get some dude that just came fro Walmart...


Not an excuse. I worked low wage jobs when I was younger. I never got up in the morning and decided to be retarded as a result. And if anything, the lower wage jobs were the easiest to get canned from.

AAP has no alibi. Poor management and lack of competency is not a result of wages. Nor does it save any money in the long run.
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
The "we can't look up parts by part number" is a lie.

No matter what part of customer service industry you are working with they all seem to suck. I work in IT and can be on the phone with support for hours as they spin me in circles trying to avoid fixing my issue. My latest tactic has just been keep going higher and higher up the chain until I get help. I tell them I don't care if I have to talk to your bosses's boss, or the CEO of the company, you WILL solve the issue that we are paying you to support.


Clearly I was talking to someone who just didn't feel like working on the computer. It was a total lie.

ted s: I had my online order number, which is the receipt. At the warehouse store, they looked it up in seconds, and had me a replacement part before I could cough.

MinamiKotaro: That's the thing. No automotive experience was necessary. All he needed to do was follow some very basic instructions on using his company's system. I don't even work there, have never had any training, and could have gotten on his system and done it myself just from casual observation. This wasn't a case of lack of refined expertise. This was a case of someone suffocating because they refused to breathe.

Let's face it, the task he was given was easy as can be. Click on a few boxes on a screen and type less than 50 characters. We're not talking hardcore automotive engineering here. I supplied the part number. I supplied the order number. No research skills necessary. No automotive knowledge necessary. Just follow the effin' directions, and you're done.
 
Originally Posted By: bunnspecial
I deal with two particular local NAPA stores mostly, each of which has a couple of guys who know what they're talking about and almost always one of them is working.


NAPA is better than the others, 90% of the time.

I had two NAPA front axles, installed at one shop. One failed and was replaced at a second shop, and I got warranty credit with no questions asked.
 
As someone who has worked in the parts industry my entire life I find these repeatedly brought up threads to be offensive. To the OP not everyone is an expert on all things. Just like every profession there are entry level and experts. After 20 plus years I have heard it all. Cunsumers think Google make them an expert. Well guess what the guy behind the counter hasn't spent the last week on the internet researching ball joints for your particular vehicle. You probably do and should know more about your vehicle than them. Rant over
 
AAP is probably the best one in my area. O'Reilly is decent, and AZ is mediocre. NAPA isn't anywhere close by.
 
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