Walking into part store just for oil filter.

[The_Jeff]

I would just keep buying filters, maybe giving some side-eye to the manager.

They sell auto parts. Sell me auto parts or lock the doors.

 

[spasm3]

If I'm told to use the self checkout by a counter person, I'm just going to walk out with out the filters.

 

[Mechanician]

The rich get richer, often on the backs of others. America!

 

[sw91]

I was thrilled to find out AZ had self checkout last week. No reason to talk to people, when I know what I'm buying.

 

[Chris142]

Never seen a self check out in a parts store.

Autozone here does

 

[SOUNDMAN5000]

I have ZERO issue with a Company training its sales folks to ( Actually sell something ) and to do more than simply operate a cash register.

I always reply "NO" when asked "Do you need any Lucas Fuel Injector cleaner, today, its on sale" ... But I only say no because I purchase another brand.

My big three auto parts stores are all side by side, that one suggesting Lucas with every sell may end of being the one of three left standing as a little store "profit" Never hurt anyone.

If I was a store owner / manager I would require EVERY employee to suggest ( not ask ) something to go along with whatever someone was buying, NOT pushy but simply suggesting has always been cool with me.
If someone is buying a replacement light bulb suggesting a small pack of dielectric grease IS the thing to do as its $.50 cents profit and can be helpful to the customer.

Way back in the day of me selling stereo when I was young, EVERY customer I sold anything too walked out the door "with ALL the ACCESSORIES" including that roll of MONSTER cable.

The commission I made on those rolls of wire would at lest pay for my lunch every day and I have never seen an unhappy customer that got home and had what he needed.

IF I worked a parts counter today I would maximize every sell, You need a pack of shop rags to go with that filter today, correct Sir?

 

[Hall]

I overheard the manager telling the cashier that he should have reminded me to use self‑checkout for buying filters only.

I would never go back to that auto parts store again after hearing that. What a jerk.

I think the manager was "protecting" the cashier. Corporate likely tracks or monitors sales and they know what employee did each transaction, so they'll see an oil-filter only sale and target that employee for not upselling and adding items to the sale. The manager telling the employee to direct the customer to the self-checkout removes that corporate oversight.

 

[DCDG]

I don’t want to say the store’s name, but I went to my local parts store and picked up four oil filters. I went to the register, checked out, and after I finished paying, I overheard the manager telling the cashier that he should have reminded me to use self‑checkout for buying filters only. The manager sounded angry at the cashier.

I turned around and asked why. The manager said corporate keeps track and wants them to sell oil and filters as a bundle as much as possible. If they sell just oil filters by themselves, the employees can get points against them and possibly get written up. I was shocked. It irritated me because I don’t like how the company pressures their employees like that. It honestly made me want to return the four filters I just bought and go to another store.

The last time I heard something like this was when they tried to make employees push fuel injector cleaner or get written up.

I wouldn't get myself too upset over this its just business I would be more bothered if they tried up-selling me a higher tier filter. Do you get upset when the waitress/server asks if you saved any room for desert before the check?

 

[4wd]

I was thrilled to find out AZ had self checkout last week. No reason to talk to people, when I know what I'm buying.

After my last AZ train wreck - they don’t want to hear from me.

 

[Urshurak776]

I will buy stuff from AutoZone from time to time when I need it "now." I have gotten a few clearance quarts of oil there long time ago.

Any of their "electric" parts (starters, alternators, etc. have been junk though. I try and avoid autozone like a plagure for that stuff.

 

[Patman]

Whenever I go into my local Carquest the only thing I’m ever buying is an oil filter. I have never been pressured to buy more (occasionally they might mention that they have a sale on oil) and they don’t have self checkout either. Just two guys behind the counter and most of the things they sell there are in the back room.

 

[Urshurak776]

I think the manager was "protecting" the cashier. Corporate likely tracks or monitors sales and they know what employee did each transaction, so they'll see an oil-filter only sale and target that employee for not upselling and adding items to the sale. The manager telling the employee to direct the customer to the self-checkout removes that corporate oversight.

If this is what AutoZone is pushing down to all the stores, to where the employees "need protection," I hope they go bankrupt by the end of the month. I'll help push that along.....not goin to one again.

 

[logain]

My younger sister works at Autozone. There is a corporate push for the employees to try and upsell/get you to buy more things. You go in for oil and filter, they have them push to try and get the buyer to buy an air filter too, for instance. Happened when I went there last year to take advantage of a Penzoil deal.

 

[Kira]

The foreign car stable I attend makes online oil filter 3-packs the norm. In my car-life, a 12 pack was feasible only once.
With oil bundles, I'd select my oil and a filter for a friend's vehicle.
THEN I had to remind the involved friends to just buy oil at a discount store like Walmart, Ames etc.
It was then I learned several of them CANNOT plan common maintenance.

 

[Mechanician]

It's makes more sense to use a reward as an incentive, than a punishment.
"The beatings shall continue until morale improves"

 

[Capt W]

Unless I'm in a situation where I need a part immediately, I don't set foot in parts stores.

Premium Guard oil filters are available via Wal-Mart's website...with free shipping if you have Walmart+

 

[ATex7239]

Retail employees are not technically sales people. They are operations. If a company wants proper sales people in those roles then they’ll need to compensate and train for it appropriately. Which likely means six figure cop package including benefits. I hate these type of practices. It’s a lazy approach to sales generation and micro management by corporate, plain and simple.

 

[Capt W]

I have to admit a major reason I steer clear of the big parts stores is that I find them personally offensive. When I was in college I worked at - and eventually managed - the largest parts store in Milwaukee. The store was huge, all counter jockeys had to be certified, and we received almost constant training from our myriad vendors. In addition, we had an excellent speed shop for customers to keep their hot rods rolling. We didn't have computers at the counter -- only a few large banks of product catalogs. You had to know what you were doing, plain and simple. Our store had a large local client population, many of whom knew us all by name.

The counter guys (yes, guys) were bonafide gearheads, with many of our part-timers coming from the local high school's automotive tech program. Our cashiers up front were all girls, most of whom were students. They were the best. I married one of them almost 31 years ago.

I can't put my finger on what happened to parts stores...or when it happened. We went from hubs of old-school knowledge and professionalism to peddlers of floor mats and air fresheners...most of which come from China. It often pains me to watch some of these parts people fumble through helping customers while tapping a keyboard and having almost zero basic knowledge. It's particularly sad to watch some of them fumble through trouble codes with their OBD-II readers, offering only parts purchases instead of actual analysis.

I seriously never know whether to simply laugh or just shout "Are you kidding me?"

 

[nwjones18]

It’s was auto zone, dang I hate to boycott autozone because of their corporate policy. Autozone location is every where like within 5
Miles from each other and I really like their STP line.

AAP is very far.

I think I just mind my own business, I go there for 1 thing, what they doing is not my business, can't give up Autozone

Yeah boycotting would honestly hurt you more than them.. That is annoying though.

 

[RaymondP]

I like to support the local auto stores, but it's difficult to justify a double-digit percentage increase on the cost of an item. Have multiple cars in the family, plus motorcycles and a boat, so diy maintenance is a necessity to manage costs, and I also get satisfaction for learning and doing the job right. Have supported the local retailers, and for the few employees that have a length of service I have developed a friendship and appreciate their knowledge.

Have noticed a trend when buying online for a specific brand, when I go to pick it up (to save on shipping) they have substituted for a "similar" item at the same price, in which case I decline. Have been advised it is "a perfectly acceptable substitute" even though it is NOT. Exposes the lack of knowledge of the sales assistant.

Whenever I buy just an engine oil filter, I expect an upsell on the oil. If not a bundled deal it is rarely competitive. Sadly, at Autozone the Mobil 1 ESP 5 quart 0W30 plus STP Long Life filter has fallen by the wayside, my go to, so it's back to Walmart. Just replaced my H8 (49) AGM battery purchased from Walmart after shopping hard everywhere.

So upshot of all this is: local parts stores are my first port of call. I don't want them to vanish. For instance, they carry additives to help my boat get through winter storage. They provide one off parts and oddities, the correct specific Euro coolants, etc., will resurface my rotors, and provide a venue for brief social interactions with both other shoppers and staff, usually a positive experience not found at the big box stores.