Quaker State and counter people

[charbaby]

Yeah really!

I was buying some cheap store brand oil(that met spec) and I was told by an early/mid 20's(at the counter) young man that, I should use Mobil 1 oil because he put on 100K miles on his truck with it...

I asked him to come outside and look at my odometer with me. I only used conventional oils and much was store brand oil. When he looked inside my dash he saw...


... > 300K miles on a 4 cylinder carb'd engine! Then I started the engine and he listened to it Purrrrr!

I told the young man that I'd think about using M1 in my future!

 

[Thax]

Garak: I wasnt implying that every counter person knows everything , fact is most are in it for a paycheck. There are some myself included who are in this biz who take it very seriously and love what they do. I think its unfortunate that most people have bad run ins with ignorant counter people , it drives me crazy. There are some good ones out there , they might not know as much as the average bitoger will about oil and specs but in general they know alot about cars. Maybe Im the exception but I do everything to make sure my crew is well educated.

 

[gogozy]

i hope he used the right worlds and attitude, because I have a feeling the guy was just trying to be nice... he can withhold this knowledge, weather right or wrong info, and proceed to take $$$ from you. but for whatever the reason he decided to give out some of his opinion. like a stranger on a busy street telling people jaywalking is dangerous, sure he will get some looks! sometimes being too nice will get people in trouble, especially when arm with incorrect knowledge, but I don't want to discount nor discourage the attempt.. who knows, maybe it's Elves!

 

[IBelieveinlube]

I've been using QS full Synthetic with 10,000 mile changes in my 2005 Tundra with 128,000 on it and everything's just peachy. I also remember the rumors about QS having excessive paraphine (spelling?) in it that caused problems. I've never had any problems with either conventional or synthetic.

 

[mechtech2]

Originally Posted By: johnnydc
DUDE, This surprises you? Most of these autoparts counter kids know 0 about cars. Not like the old days when they actually worked on them...


Really. Take a deep breath, enter the store, get what you need, and just smile. Choose your battles.

 

[Gebo]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Originally Posted By: johnnydc
DUDE, This surprises you? Most of these autoparts counter kids know 0 about cars. Not like the old days when they actually worked on them...


Really. Take a deep breath, enter the store, get what you need, and just smile. Choose your battles.


+1

 

[MuzzleFlash40]

My best friend is a store manager for Advance autoparts, we both worked for Murrays auto parts (now oreillys) in 2001. Then in order to work the parts counter you had to pass a test, then they would send you to get ASE certified if you wanted. If you didn't have decent knowledge you worked either as a stock person or as a cashier. Now, parts store people do all of it, so all most people need to know is how to use a computer. If it isn't on the screen, then they have no idea what to do or tell you. Sign of the times...

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Thax
Garak: I wasnt implying that every counter person knows everything , fact is most are in it for a paycheck. There are some myself included who are in this biz who take it very seriously and love what they do.


Absolutely true. That was my point - some, like you, know your stuff, and some don't. In fairness, my friend at the shop who knows little about oil has zero problems with getting correct parts; if I want something, he'll be darn sure to get the correct part and of the quality I want. Contrast that to my experience at the Audi dealer where the counter person knew nothing about alternator adjuster bolts.

And to those who say don't argue, I agree. It's not worth the stress. For the 0w-40 too-thin business, I just told a half truth and told him that's what the manual calls for. 0w-40 didn't exist then, but I doubt he'd check an Audi manual to call me on that.

 

[Thax]

Very true picking your battles is key . Example yesterday a guy comes to my counter with 4 qts of GTX 10w-40 and asks for a filter for a 11 Honda fit , I naturally ask him if the 10w-40 is for the Fit. Guy says it is and I proceed to politely inform him that such a oil is a poor choice and that to maintain his warranty a 0w-20 or at least 5w-20 should be used . I explain that I carry both the Mobil 1 and Castrol Edge in both those grades, or that he can get very good 0w-20 from either Honda , Toyota or Mazda dealers. The guy looks at me smiles and says "give me the [censored] filter you obviously dont know what your talking about". Obviously Im a idiot so I just smiled and let him proceed in his bliss , gotta pick your battles lol.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Thax
Very true picking your battles is key . Example yesterday a guy comes to my counter with 4 qts of GTX 10w-40 and asks for a filter for a 11 Honda fit , I naturally ask him if the 10w-40 is for the Fit.


Oh boy. Well, that's the truth - you can't win. It's either a counter person recommending 20w-50 for a Fit, or a counter person recommending the proper oil and the customer rudely declining the advice. What's really brutal about your story is that you do know what you're talking about. If he wants 10w-40 because he thinks 0w-20 or 5w-20 is like water, fine. If he wants it because he thinks he knows more than the engineers, fine. If his vehicle burns oil and he thinks this is a solution, great. However, you obviously do know what you're talking about, and claiming otherwise is nonsense.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: Thax
Very true picking your battles is key . Example yesterday a guy comes to my counter with 4 qts of GTX 10w-40 and asks for a filter for a 11 Honda fit , I naturally ask him if the 10w-40 is for the Fit. Guy says it is and I proceed to politely inform him that such a oil is a poor choice and that to maintain his warranty a 0w-20 or at least 5w-20 should be used . I explain that I carry both the Mobil 1 and Castrol Edge in both those grades, or that he can get very good 0w-20 from either Honda , Toyota or Mazda dealers. The guy looks at me smiles and says "give me the [censored] filter you obviously dont know what your talking about". Obviously Im a idiot so I just smiled and let him proceed in his bliss , gotta pick your battles lol.



Probably wonder`s why the fuel millage stinks, and its got no get up and go to it.

 

[Thax]

Originally Posted By: Garak

Very true picking your battles is key . Example yesterday a guy comes to my counter with 4 qts of GTX 10w-40 and asks for a filter for a 11 Honda fit , I naturally ask him if the 10w-40 is for the Fit.


Oh boy. Well, that's the truth - you can't win.
Yep I sure cant , but honestly for me its not about "winning" and more about doing business the right way. I can only offer my professional opinion to someone , if they chose to listen or not is up to them. What Im more concerned about is helping customers who honestly dont know anything about their cars , but want to maintain them properly. I could tell them anything and they would do it , its my responsibility to be honest, fair and give the best advice I can. I just wish more counterman felt this way and that my chosen profession did not have such a negative rep sometimes. Is there anybody on bitog who has had a positive experience with counter jockey??

 

[zerosoma]

Originally Posted By: shell_user
I told him to shove it

adam


wait...you really told him that?

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Thax
Is there anybody on bitog who has had a positive experience with counter jockey??


I've had plenty of good ones, too. One place I frequent, I attended to buy some engine flush. The counter person, who I know quit well, warned me of the dangers. I thanked him and said the engine was coming apart right away anyhow, so it wasn't a big deal.

 

[daves87rs]

I get a mix of both...one guy at advance only wants me to buy the best...

 

[tarbasd]

I once explained a bunch of stuff to a guy at the counter and he asked me how I know so much about motor oil. I told him about this site. He said he was going to check it out. I say that's a positive experience.

 

[Thax]

I refer people who seem genuinely interested by this stuff too bitog all the time. I have made all of my crew at work check out the site and to look at motor oil 101 .Seems before I got to this location the "Thicker is better" thought train was well intrenched as well as store brand oil is terrible and Lucas is the best thing in the world. It has been hard fixing the Lucas brainwashing some of these guys had, I had one of them tell me " I don't care if its made of dead rats it works"

 

[shell_user]

UPDATE*** I got a 5.1 qt jug of PEAK conventional oil in 5w20 to use for the older gentleman neighbor of mine's vehicle. I turned in the 5$ rebate also for him. Oil was $19.99 so not too bad. I have as of now 10 qts of Quaker State Conventional as I bought what Advance Auto had left at a shocking price of $2.38 (used my work discount)

 

[armos]

I have a good experience with the counter people who just sell me what I came to buy. Salesmen are not a reliable source of information, so I try to never be in a position of needing their opinion. Although they may mean well, the ones that overestimate their role and want to question and pick battles over my purchase decisions irritate me. Luckily that doesn't happen much at the local parts stores, and if it does I'm not the type to get nasty about it. From what I've seen in their dealings with other customers though, I can tell that they offend easily. The guys at O'Reilly especially are high strung.
I'd probably make an exception for a customer buying "BullsEye" oil or something that was condemned by PQIA. Garbage like that (which a reputable shop wouldn't even be selling) should be called out, as it's specifically designed to take advantage of people who don't realize how shady it is.

The probing type of salesmen are much more common at computer stores than auto parts though. The local parts places I've dealt with generally just look up a part, give me the brand options and sell it. The last time anybody argued with me about oil was 10 years ago re Pennzoil.

The computer parts store salesmen tend to be much more exuberant with their opinions and they frequently get facts wrong. I feel sorry for people who go into a store like that planning to ask a salesman's advice. Flip of the coin whether the advice you get will be any good.
Most recent experience with that was some guy at Fry's who was annoyed that I was buying an 11" "netbook" instead of a 10". I wasn't squeezing myself into his pigeonholed template of what everyone is supposed to want from a "netbook" - a term I never used in the discussion. It had too much memory, the wrong edition of Windows, and a "slower" processor (which was actually twice as fast as what he wanted to sell me). The only defense is to research everything thoroughly and know what you're buying before you go in, because most salesmen will lead you astray.
I've heard the same complaints about paint stores from professional bodywork guys, but I don't know anything about that myself.
In any industry, if you want advice, salesmen are about the worst place to get it, but also the cheapest and most accessible. Some of them have good knowledge and most importantly, don't bluff through things outside their range. But there's no way of knowing who the good ones are. The ones with good knowledge are likely to be too expensive to be hired as a salesman.

 

[zerosoma]

Originally Posted By: armos
I have a good experience with the counter people who just sell me what I came to buy. Salesmen are not a reliable source of information, so I try to never be in a position of needing their opinion.


I end up asking for their opinion because I like to make conversation to make them feel they are helping. But usually that turns into a long drivel...