I refuse to shop Autozone now...

[hooligan24]

I have actually had to spin their computer around and search for the part i needed, because the counter worker couldnt spell very well. 2000 Dodge Ram "Tale Lite Covar" returned no results....lol Then, without any frustration, he tried "Reer Tale Lite Covar....lol

I said "oh boy, let me give it a shot". flipped the puter around and actually ordered the part myself using their computer. 3 days later, I went to pick up the part and the same guy was still working there.

 

[typ901]

glad to read that I am not the only one that this kind of [censored] happens to...I always figured that it was the way I looked or dressed-

 

[Fordiesel69]

I usually don't participate in these types of threads, but the one thing that will absolutly send me into orbit, is when I go to autozone and 2 guys are putting stock away, the phone is ringing off the hook, and there are lots of customers in line with only maybe 2 guys behind the counter. This is unacceptable. There is plenty of slow hours to put stock away, and if you dont; get to it all, then there's always the next day.

Another thing to build on, is when you are being waited on, and the guy answers the phone, and rather than asking the person on the phone if they can hold for a minute, they clear the computer of your transaction, and start dedicating 100% of thier time to the phone, leaving you stand there like a totem pole.

The manager has been made aware several times, and the same old thing happens every time I go in. Now I just do business with AAP until their service starts to suck. Right now they have a decent manager and crew. AZ on the other hand, gets my coolant sales and thats it. Only because they are the only ones to have green.

 

[PT1]

There is a small Mom & Pop NAPA store about 2 miles from my house. They are very friendly and always willing to stop and help you out. They will honor all sales prices. If they don't have what you need they will get it pronto. Just an old home town feel to their tiny little store front located between a AZ & AAP. Now, I call them on Wednesday for my saturday project parts...walk in have a cup of joe and get my stuff. MAybe I am crazy but the "feel good" factor is important to me.

 

[StevieC]

It's all about needs... If you're needs are met then you will spend money. Ma & Paps get this and use this to pay their bills. I preach this to all my Franchise Owners at the restaurants in my region. The ones that listen do very well, and the others go [censored]-up.

 

[ZeroDynamic]

Hey Guys, I gotta clean up AZ reputation here and explain what your guys are experiencing. First off, I'm a store manager at Autozone. Second, I'll tell you all that I VERY young, like college age. Third, its Autozone company policy not to talk about AZ online, but I think I need to clear somethings up, hence why I will not say what store I run.

Ok, first with the little packets of goo. The reason why we offer it (or at least I offer it, not sneak it in) is a company program called WITTDTJR. It stands for "What it takes to do the job right." So lets say you want to do a brake job. I would sell you the pads, your packets of disc brake quiet (to promote quiet braking, improve the life of the pads by absorbing vibration and making sure that they wear evenly), sell you brake cleaner, fluid, caliper hardware, etc. All those little things are stuff you need to do the job correctly, but AZ makes a little extra cash on it. So when you get AntiSeize or Grease for your spark plugs, its really good to use the stuff, but its the salesperson job to explain why you need it.

Now, in my store, my staff is completely trained to tell you why need it and to SELL IT TO YOU. We don't sneak anything in, because we don't have to. Most customers appreciate the fact that we take the time to explain how it works and why they need it, and in fact, come back for more. So, why would people sneak it in? Because it's tracked by the company and WITTDTJR is the lifeblood of our stores. Its been proven to increase sales and is a form of good customer service when done properly. But stores that don't perform or store that have District Managers that are hard on their SM's will do anything to improve.

As for incorrect ads or promos, its the SM's job to make sure they are taken down and the new ones put up. I'll be honest, I've had a couple customers that have tried to get expired promos, but hey my policy is, the sign is up, we should of taken it down... honor it. Nothing is more important to me than a satisfied customer.

If you guys have any questions, please feel free to ask me in this thread or via PM.

 

[crazyoildude]

same problems with autozone in Clifton nj they wonder why their commercial department is not busy at all compared to 3 years ago first their prices are too high next the bozos behind the counter are sometimes clueless and many times its hard to understand them with their broken english..(Actually two of them are helpful) We spend thousands a year on auto parts in our busy shop and we used to spend a majority of it at Autozone but not anymore. We now use a professional auto parts company that bends over backwards for us and could not be more satisfied with both their prices and smarts!

 

[StevieC]

You will go very far in life if you stick by this... I live close to Buffalo, NY... Too Bad your all the way in California, 'cos they could use a good manager like you at the location I visit.

I only put up with the service because the parts are much cheaper south of the border, and there is no duty on Auto-parts

I saved $400 on my brake parts I just bought!

 

[crazyoildude]

you seem to be one of the few who really care thats great! are you in New Jersey?

 

[ZeroDynamic]

Sorry Crazyoildude, I'm in CA. But I do understand your frustration. I used to run a commercial store, the problem is national accounts like Sears, Aamco, or Midas take up lots of the commercial dept time, so littler guys get forgotten about. I will say though, most comm. parts sales use a tier system so sometimes if you don't spend a lot of money with the store you don't get the best price. My practice, I treat the mom and pop independents like my only customer. I over-ride the tier system and give them the best price I could at a delivery time that I can do, nothing more, nothing less.

Oh StevieC, I used to live in Tonawanda, and I used to work at the pepboys off of NFB, so I understand what you're going through.

 

[StevieC]

We live about 1 hour from Tonawanda, and we have a Nexus pass so we can pass freely across the crossings without stopping. It's great. We go once a week, stock up on cheaper gas, cheaper groceries, and auto-parts etc. We also fill our faces at Cheese Cake Factory. God I love that restaurant. If they make it North of the Border I will quit my job and open one... They are always busy and I have been to many locations all over the US... Sorry where were we... Right... [censored] service at the parts places in Buffalo. THEY NEED YOU BACK!

 

[ZeroDynamic]

Hahah, thanks steve, but that main reason why I left was because of the snow. I hate, hate, hate, snow! Here in Ca, I can be in Tahoe in 3 hours and leave if I so choose. I will admit though, I do miss Tim Horton's coffee and Mighty Taco, lol.

 

[StevieC]

hehehe... You're funny.. Tim's coffee is the [censored]... I do love Starbucks Lates though, but I would rather pay my mortgage!

I love the snow, as my signature says... Winter is my favorite time of year. Cold doesn't bother me. Oil changes are a [censored] but, wouldn't trade winter for the world! )

I know you're probably thinking that I'm smokin' something... Nope, just a true Canadian through-in-through.

Couldn't imagine a Green Christmas!

 

[sciphi]

Hey, I used to do a fair bit of shopping at that Pep Boys off of NFB!! They were pretty nice to me.

Timmy Ho's and Mighty FTW!

The one AZ in that area was also decent to my fiancee when her car needed a new battery. We picked out the CR top-rated one (not their most expensive), explained to the guy trying to sell us on the $20 more expensive one that this one was just top rated in a test, demurred on the add-ons, had it installed for free, and that's the end of it.

Other than that my experiences with the 2 AZ stores by me have been mixed. One I had to point out the sale to them and they treated me like a criminal, the other one was okay.

 

[ZeroDynamic]

Hey sciphi, I'll be honest when I say I learn more from my customers that do this kind of work on a daily basis rather than my boss. My customers are always impressed when I talk oil because I take what I learn here and I apply it to what they need. (For example, I order pallets of GC for my loyal BITOG'ers and always keep some set aside.)

 

[StevieC]

Now that's customer service... Why can't all placed be like this?

 

[ZeroDynamic]

Well, to be honest, a lot of store managers are undereducated idiots. I mean really, if you had to deal with my colleagues, I think you'd understand. Not all SM's are bad, those are usually the ones that get promoted to a DM (aka the babysitter). I personally think most managers get lazy, really all they do is punch the clock, tell people to do things and go home. Many managers hate accountability and cannot accomplish the simplest of tasks...

As for myself, I"m a BITOG'er.. albeit I haven't been on in a long while, but you guys are my customers, and you guys make my paycheck, therefore taking care of my customer is my number #1 priority, and my sales numbers prove it. I don't just say, I work for Autozone, I say that I have the cleanest, tightest running parts house in my area, so much so that my most discriminating customers (the ones that live in rural areas that don't want bull, just the part) will drive by parts houses closer to their homes to come see me for the service. Simple things, like making sure a store is well lit, clean, in-stock with correct pricing, and catering to the customers needs keeps my people driving to my store.

 

[Buffman]

Couple AZs in the area I hate going to, but the one I've been going to for three years is great. They know me, and I know them. I come in with part numbers or I use the computer if they're busy to get the part numbers for them.

 

[zulu]

ZeroDynamic,

I wondered how long it would take before somebody who worked for AutoZone would chime in on my thread. Let me start by saying thank you for being so civil and if Cali wasn't 8 states away, I'd drive my [censored] to your store just for your service. But like you indicated, some of the other stores are filled with downright morons. I sincerely appreciate somebody selling me everything I need to do a job right (lets face it, we all forget the little things every now and then), but EVERY time I go to buy oil and filters, the try to shove a [censored] oil pan, rags, towels, orange hand cleaner, etc down my throat just to make an extra buck or two. One of the other times I was in buying car wax of all things, and the guy commented on my new car and said "that's got those injectors in there doesn't it?" I was confused for a minute until he grabbed two bottles of Lucas injector cleaner and tried to get me to buy them "to get me ready for winter" (that was the promo that month). Is this something that AZ corporate teaches, or just an uninformed individual with poor salesmanship?

 

[paulo57509]

I stopped going to Autozone after trying to convince the bozo (bozette) that the rear pads she just sold me was missing the shims. All she did was show me the generic photo of brake pads on the computer screen and quoted the line, "Shims may or may not be included depending on application".

"See the picture? There's no shims in the picture...so you don't need them."

She wasn't even willing to go and open another box to verify that my box was missing the shims.

I also have issues with the liars over at the NAPA store too. Haven't been to either place in months/years.