Why does Customer Service stink at most auto stores?

[OriginHacker21]

My experience is very much the same as above - IN THE CITY. Now once I drive 2 hours north where everyone is listening to country music - the auto parts stores out there are probably family owned. (Been to a Napa up there)

These peope up north are the nicest I've ever seen. Not only do they help you find what you need when you walk in but they make friendly conversation while they wait. They even offered to order a part (air filter) for me when they didn't have it in stock. !!!

The city AutoZones - you feel like a criminal until you hand over $$$ to pay for the part. ScottB had a great point. Most of the city AutoZones are owned by mexicans and they seem pretty anti-white just in how they treat you in comparison to their spanish speaking buddies.

I don't know about you but my money is going to the Napa up where I work (2 hours North). At least I can choose where my money goes to.

 

[PandaBear]

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Now once I drive 2 hours north where everyone is listening to country music

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Man, I'd rather order online if I am that desperate.

Another reason retail employee aren't making much is because the store aren't. When you have to compete with online stores that sell for 20-40% less, how much are you going to pay your people?

 

[1sttruck]

I receive what I consider very good customer service at NAPA, Schucks, Dodge, and the local Ford parts counter. The Ford guy ran out of some parts that I needed, and is giving me one set in order to avoid having to buy another 5 sets per the standard packaging. The mgr at Schucks gave a discount on Mobil 1 products even though we couldn't find the ad with the coupon.

 

[jmacmaster]

I also think that, generally speaking, you get better retail store assistance, from friendlier people, in towns than in cities, because people are simplier ruder and more standoffish, on the average, in cities than in towns. Not just the retail clerks -- everybody. And the smaller the town, the better the retail shopping experience. Even in Helena, Montana, where I shop, which has a population of about 30,000 with a greater Helena area population of about 70,000, the retail clerks are generally friendly and helpful, tho I must say that at most of the auto parts stores they're ignorant about parts, mechanics, and vehicles. I think its due to lack of experience in the field and the low wage. Anyone who knows their stuff can get a better job at a better wage. I've found tho, that at the Champion and NAPA stores almost all the clerks know their stuff and at all the rest hardly any of them do.

 

[sxg6]

quote:

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Originally posted by OriginHacker21:
My experience is very much the same as above - IN THE CITY.

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agreed. it seems like the bigger the city the store is in, the ruder the employees. although it probably ties into what LT4 was saying earlier, these locations probably get a lot of rude customers. on a few occassions ive driven out of my way to avoid stores in bigger cities, it really depends on what im getting. a little thing like oil i dont care, ring me up and im gone. but if i need them to look something up on the computer.. thats a different story.

 

[Hirev]

The worst experience I ever had in a auto parts store was in a NAPA store in a small town years ago.

I find dealer parts guys some of the better ones to deal with and as a added bonus more knowledgeable about the product.

Anymore I would much rather pay a little more at a dealer to get a reasonable quality part that fits and works.

There are few things more frustrating when working on a vehicle than having to make 2 or 3 trips to a get the right part or one that works.

 

[JHZR2]

the dealer typically gives higher quality parts than what AZ and whatnot sells.

And the difference in price I get from NAPA doesnt seem very much.

I like the discount online parts houses that are affiliated with dealerships and sell OE parts. Never had an issue with the good ones.

JMH

 

[brianl703]

I've noticed that Ford has been discontinuing parts for my two cars (I think they stop producing a part once the last model it was used in is over 10 years old). They discontinued the speedometer cable for my 1988 Mustang GT. Aftermarket ones are, of course, still available.

 

[outrun]

Look at it like a 4 sided concept.

Retail ***-ons how make 7.00$ on hour could a give a care less for service.

Now lets flip a coin, a commission based service advisor at a dealer/sears tire etc. Chances are you will get better service because there paycheck is totally dependent on their individual hard work and drive.

Let us flip it again. The you may have a location of intense sales volume ... let just say 3million USD$ or more gross per yr. You may get great service from one guy is the leader of there sales success. You talk to another person there and he maybe lazy,cocky,incompetent,arrogant etc just because the high volume location makes him tons of money just for standing there. He could care less if you were there or not since there is a line of customer behind you.

Lets turn it again. Suppose your a NAPA/Federated/AC Delco etc distributor. Chances are the guys there are much older and experianced than "Biff" at AutoZone. They may treat you like gold or average. The Federated I deal with treats me great. Perhaps that because they earn thousands of local purchase parts dollars from us too

Anytime I need personal parts they greet my on a 1st name basis and sell me pieces at cash whole sale cost (50% of parts counter or more).

Me? I only work part time, but I bust my tail. What I find funny is all the jeoulosy I earn for being top sales by the lazy, lethargic, pot bellied and bellicose "veteran" persons.

My recommendation, start a fleet or merchant acct at a Dealer or NAPA/Federated/etc. Then you can buy stuff at cash wholesale. Just walk in a few and "test" there customer service.

My few cents worth.

 

[Auto-Union]

Believe it or not, I pretty much get 100% consistant good service, be it AZ, PB, local Speed Shop etc. I go to places in the city, ghetto even...or country. It's all about adjusting your pace and intensity to match the situation. If you act huffy, in a rush etc, the low-brow workers will diss you. BE patient, interested in what they tell you...smile and quietly double-check their work. I had a situation at a Speed Shop, aftermarket driving lights for my wife's CRV...the ones I bought got fogged up, reflector peeled...just junk. I returned set after set. The same older guy who new his stuff...smiled and laughted....100% credit toward the next set. No problem, very friendly, even after the 30 day return policy.

 

[TheTanSedan]

A-Z is almost consistently bad in areas serving the "disadvantaged"; the victim-mentality, "I'm entitled" (but can't be bothered to complete high school, etc). I, too, have seen discrimination by not looking like I'm from the 'hood or stole my ride; and on more than one occasion (that put me off from them entirely).

Occasionally I have found a decent guy to work with, (and have also called A-Z management to complain about the bad ones), but the chain isn't worth the time.

Contrast this, though, to the local O'Reilly where the desire to help is well-channeled by what must be decent training. No problems, period.

I either go straight to the DODGE dealer (where I can get a nice discount and the expertise in finding the correct part), or NAPA. No problems, no headaches, no returns.

 

[GoldenRod]

I walked into an Autozone the other day, and they had a sign next to the counter that said "Beware of customers with Blackberrys." I thought nothing of it at the time, but now it makes perfect sense.

 

[TheTanSedan]

"It's all about adjusting your pace and intensity to match the situation. If you act huffy, in a rush etc, the low-brow workers will diss you. BE patient, interested in what they tell you...smile and quietly double-check their work."

What I was taught growing up, and what I've always practiced. And germane to the decision to leave Autozone forever (and any other retail with such intentionally lousy service).

I don't expect miracles at Home Depot, nor any other low-paying retailer. I do, however, expect a minimum of courteous attention. I do not and have not needed the "help" of an auto parts store employee the past 20-years (I can look up the part faster and more accurately the vast majority of the time).

My earlier comments have to do with either complete indifference or outright discrimination.

And my "attitude" isn't relevant anyway. I'm there to buy a product, not to deal with the immaturity of "dissing". (How is it that ghetto attitudes become mainstream?). Nothing more than the lack of self-pride and minimal competence in a social situation.

The fact is that had I chosen to be rude I'd have gotten service in several instances. Not worth it.

Having worked sales (among others), I am constantly surprised that the simplest training isn't given, and reinforced.

Here is a link to the type of tax law that lobbyists bring us:

http://www.wa.gov/esd/wotc/

Versions of this have been around before, some of them eliminated the credit after the first 6-mos, etc. The ones I dealt with 10-years ago were designed for churning "warm bodies" in and out the door before they became eligible for even the slim benefits offered, but maximizing the tax credit to the "employer".

As someone else posted -- and it has always been true -- deal with those who have an incentive to good service.

 

[Mr Nice]

Like I said before.....a customer's attitude goes a LONG way.

I worked in a supermarket when I was young (14-18 years old). I worked in the Produce department and I had to deal with lots of nice/nasty customers. For example:

If we ran out of regular produce (non Organic) Tomatoes, Lettuce, Grapes, Oranges....etc..
And if the customer was nice and didn't b*tch about it, I would automatically allow them to get the much higher priced Orgainc produce and I marked it down to the same price of the regular/cheaper produce. This was against company policy, but I always did it to keep the customer happy. Imagine getting Mobil 1 for the same price as Mobil 5000. We probably lost hundreds of dollars in sales because of me

......but guess what...
These happy customers kept coming back again and again because of my "customer service".

On the weekend, we would sell 30 boxes of green peppers, it was a fast selling item in the dept. Alot of nasty customer would come up to me and say that are peppers look like crap, rotten and overpriced. I would politely tell the nasty customer....

I'm gonna go and check in our Produce cooler to see if we have more Peppers (I knew that we had 5 more boxes in our cooler). But since this customer was rude, I walked into the cooler & 2 minutes later I came out and told them we didnt have any more until tomorrow.

Bananas were another fast selling item. On Saturday, we would easily sell 1600 Lbs of bananas per day. If they were on sale (29 cents/Lb) then we would sell 2000 Lbs of bananas per day. Watermelon - 3000 Lbs per day when it was on sale.

Long story short....

Try and be nice when you are at a retail store, chances are that the person will go that 'extra mile' if you are nice and treat them with respect.

 

[K-Man]

Courtesy should go both ways. My brother worked for various auto parts stores for a time years ago. He regularly got customers, often but not all female, who would come in to buy a part but didn't even know what make or model of car they drove. "It's parked outside. Could you look at it?" This kind of stupid mess gets old after a while too.

I worked for a wholesaler of electrical goods for a number of years. As a counter and customer service rep, I saw the flip side too. Let's just say that there are precious few contractors I would trust to do any electrical work for me after all the games I saw them play to try to rip us off. There is a fundamental dishonesty with many in that field.

That said, there should never be any excuse for rudeness to a customer who has just walked in the door.

 

[DaveInLA]

I've never had such an experience like that anywhere, let alone an auto parts store. The worse customer service I've had in an auto parts store was at Pep Boys, though.

But to answer your question, I don't think they screen for friendliness as strictly or diligently at auto stores as they do at, say, Sharper Image or Bed Bath and Beyond. Most customers who buy auto parts at such stores aren't the soft, overly dramatic types. But the guy who served you seemed like a real jerk.

 

[bretfraz]

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And my "attitude" isn't relevant anyway. I'm there to buy a product, not to deal with the immaturity of "dissing". (How is it that ghetto attitudes become mainstream?). Nothing more than the lack of self-pride and minimal competence in a social situation.

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Exactly wrong. You cannot control the attitude of others. You CAN control your attitude. How can any human being demand another act with "self-pride and minimal competence" when they believe their own actions are irrelevent?

I am not excusing the poor service of retail store employees but neither you or I or anyone else can control what they do. We CAN control what WE do.

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Courtesy should go both ways.

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Exactly right. And human courtesy starts with all of us.

 

[Pontius Pilate]

i actually talked to a couple auto zone lady checkers, they seemed rather po'ed about working there and eventually they told me it's cause customers come in and don't know what they want to buy, the same as above...come look at my car, then when they buy the part they want the employee to put it on... they both said that they dont have to do it, but they do it to be nice, but some customers think they HAVE to cause it's "their job".... does that mean LT4 vette has to also come to your house and make your salad for you cause he sells the produce?

 

[outrun]

Customer Service is a too way street.

If you a nasty, senile, and deaf jerk unable to listen to the fact that

A) Fram is not advisable, mainly in part due to other superior options out there

B)Castrol Syntec is not what you think it is vis a vis Mobil 1, Royal Purple, GC etc

C)Go ahead buy a cheap Battery, you get what you pay for and dont complain when it fails in the less than 6months.

Now, if the customer takes time to listen, he may learn something. Sorry to sound elitist but it is now my firm conviction that the masses are ignorant and dangerous thugs. The few that are kind and intelligent are hard to find. Personally, I wish BITOG had a store location or tech support. I'd gladly deal with you guys in a heartbeat. It would help if customers stopped watching sports and did some Auto lube/maintenence/how things work type of research before they dragged there ignorant tail inside to further torment me.

Customer service is a two way street. If your kind to me I will bend over backwards to accomodate you ... even if it means I take a personal or commission finance loss. Treat me like trash and do not be surprised at my indifference.

AutoZone employees are paid 7.XX and they are not mechanics. If you want an installation go elsewhere. Stop being cheap SOB's and see a repair facility if you expect installations. A courtesy install is an act of kindness solely up to the AutoZone rep in mind. It is the companies time not yours in a not for profit situation.

 

[Mr Nice]

Problem is...

Alot of customers look at the employees at any retail job as servants.

They know if the b*tch for any (and every thing) they will most likely get what they want. Plus the store manager will do practically anything just to get the nasty customer out of the store and out of thier hair.

I have lots of funny stories to tell about this supermarket. But when you are young and broke and in college......sometimes you have to take a bull s**T retail job just to get through college and onto a 'real' job