Which part store to work for

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ram_man

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They built a brand new orielly's in our town opens this weekend. They pretty much said once paperwork goes through they want to hire me. I had an interview with autozone today it is 20 miles away the orielly's is 1 mile away.
Both managers seem decent. However autozone manager seems above and beyond awesome. She seems like she really understands my situation. She has a relative who has seizures. The hours are somewhat set they have 3 different shifts for part time it would always be one of the three times, makes it easier to schedule a babysitter. Orielly's doesn't have any set schedules . The manager also seemed like the type to less understand medical stuff to a point. Both did seem like decent folks though. Orielly's didn't mention much about moving up where as autozone that was a huge deal. And with my automotive experience they want to push me to a commercial manager health permitting. She made it a point to say she would make it her mission to promote me and make a career out of it.
Pay will be close to the same I believe for either. So basically I'm torn and figured why not ask the good folks at bitog what they would do.
 
Sounds like you already know which would be better.

- Medical support from boss

- Stable shifts

- Promotion potential

- More supportive manager (coworkers make all the difference in a job).

- 19 mile difference is negligible (in my opinion).
 
Go for the closest one. These places seem to change managers quickly and anything she said will probably go out the door with her. I cant see any sort of a career in this one, treat it for what it is a little extra cash and nothing more.
 
Interesting quandary you have there.

From your description, it basically sounds like the choices are between:

O'Reilly is MUCH closer of a drive, but is more or less just the 'bare minimum' job.

Autozone is a longer drive, but offers a lot more in terms of 'unspoken' benefit, as well as a far greater opportunity for 'merit reward' and advancement.

If it were me choosing between them, I'd definitely go for the Autozone job. In my mind, a job that offers a better 'culture' is always a better job, and it's even better if the opportunity for advancement is greater. The Autozone job appears to offer far more of both.
 
Originally Posted By: ram_man
They built a brand new orielly's in our town opens this weekend. They pretty much said once paperwork goes through they want to hire me. I had an interview with autozone today it is 20 miles away the orielly's is 1 mile away.

Are you allowed to drive, given your medical issues, or do you rely on someone to give you rides? With O'Reilly, you could ride a bicycle to work.

Also, as others mentioned, while the autozone manager sounds great, don't count on her being in that position very long.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Go for the closest one. These places seem to change managers quickly and anything she said will probably go out the door with her. I cant see any sort of a career in this one, treat it for what it is a little extra cash and nothing more.


Yeah, he could be the next manager?
thumbsup2.gif
 
That could go for either one of the stores. It sounds great go to AZ work a while and get the corner office next to the toilet, nice dream but unrealistic. If the company was offering a management training program to him in writing it might be different.
Come on man this is a AZ store, a make a couple of bucks between jobs caper not a friggin career.
 
What about a local or regional store? We have a regional store here and they seem to pay better and have a better company structure. You can buy into the company which has its own rewards and most of the brass above the store level seem good to deal with. Of course not all are like that and the work atmosphere will vary from store to store.
 
AutoZone was great when I worked there in 2007-2008. Quick to recognize a good employee (I received several recognitions in the 18 months I was there), quick to promote a hard worker and quick learner, with great stock purchase options, they paid *very* well in the middle of an economic down turn (and hopefully still do), and you get first dibs on buying retired delivery vehicles.


That said, I prefer to shop at O'Reilly. Here the staff at our O'Reilly Store are friendlier, there's a decent mix of garage heads and more middle-of-the-road car maint. people that work there, and the managers are less blunt when speaking to their employees in front of customers.

I vote AutoZone because it sounds like it's a better fit for your personal needs. Ask how long the manager has been there, if she's been there for ages, she likely won't be gone any time soon.

Good luck!
 
The employee discount is nice. 10% above store cost. I want to say AAP is 20%. No idea on AZ. No promotions for a while makes some sense since it's a new store. I am assuming either the manager or the asst. manager is a first time manager? Their lack of consistent scheduling is an inconvenience, but it's part time work too. Sometimes it's 1-10 and other times is 6-10.. I loved the parts store business though. I never considered it "work" and I was able to go outside and get dirty with people replacing alternators, WP's etc.

It sounds like you'd prefer AZ.

They do change managers quite often. You may only have the AZ folks a few years if that.
 
Originally Posted By: Timo325
Sounds like you already know which would be better.

- Medical support from boss

- Stable shifts

- Promotion potential

- More supportive manager (coworkers make all the difference in a job).

- 19 mile difference is negligible (in my opinion).



+ 1 .... Based on what you have described about both jobs, I would choose Autozone. Congratulations on the job offers! I hope everything goes well for you whichever job you decide to accept.
 
You need to learn to interview the manager that's interviewing you when you are being asked questions.

Ask them bluntly, why do people like working for you? What do you value most in an employee etc. It sounds like the AZ manager seems a bit more understanding of your situation.

I've worked with some managers that couldn't manage their shadow on a good day. I'd also want to work for someone that understands that good people aren't a dome a dozen. Sometimes you work for someone that knows how good of a worker you are and if they leave a company, they will need to hire people at their new job, so they might come calling.

If neither of those people fit that category, then pick which one you feel is a better fit.
 
I used to shop at Grand Auto which became Kragen Auto Parts and subsequently became O'Reilly Auto Parts. I have seen guys from Grand Auto and Kragen move to dealerships or move on to Government jobs; however, I know two guys that started with Grand Auto, stayed on with Kragen and are now with O'Reilly Auto Parts. It's been about forty years that they've been working the counters and they seem to love their jobs. I don't think they're getting rich from their jobs but I can tell that they enjoy what they're doing.
 
I would look at the O'Reilly store again. It is new, so more opportunity to stand out among other new employees. New store managers don't stay for long, they get the store open and going, then a new manager comes in (or gets promoted up).
1 mile from home vs 20 miles is a huge difference. Would you rather drive 2 miles a shift or 40 miles?
I have known a few guys that have been with O'Reilly for 20+ years as commercial account guys, worked their way up from counter guys.
 
My son has worked in two different Autozone stores - one in Utah and one in Kentucky. He has also worked at a NAPA and managed a Bumper to Bumper, before currently getting a parts job at a Ford dealership.

If you asked him, he would never, ever work at an Autozone again. While he likes the company in many ways, they tend to use and abuse their employees. Your area may be different, so it may be worth asking those in your area. But from what my son's experience was, I'd say go for the O'Reilly store.
 
Originally Posted By: Tony10s
Originally Posted By: Timo325
Sounds like you already know which would be better.

- Medical support from boss

- Stable shifts

- Promotion potential

- More supportive manager (coworkers make all the difference in a job).

- 19 mile difference is negligible (in my opinion).



+ 1 .... Based on what you have described about both jobs, I would choose Autozone. Congratulations on the job offers! I hope everything goes well for you whichever job you decide to accept.


+2
 
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