My store is down in Houma, LA, and, like me, is an old HI/LO item that was acquired by O'Reilly in the late 90's. We are opening new stores now in many markets, including New Orleans. I do not know those guys well enough to give names, but I encourage you to check them out. O'Reilly started out as a wholesaler to pro mechanics back in 57 in Missouri. They then ventured into retail in the ensuing years. They run a good operation overall, and are well tuned into the market. We do a nice job of blending today's financial realities with the needs of consumers on both retail and commercial sides of the market. We strive to be about 50/50 in our mix of dyi to pro installers. O'Reilly is steamrolling into nearly every market East of the Rockies, with big time pushes in the South East and South Central U.S. We must be doing something right, as profits have been consistently at the top of the industry for the last decade or so. Thanks, Rudy E
I feel your PAIN nailhead . after years of going back and forth to kragen and auto zone 2 & 3 times to get the corect parts. I finaly dediced to boycot these places :Brow: i now do all my auto needs @ my local auto store s & p auto parts since i have done this ,i have had less stress when it comes to getting my parts . it seems these days are all about fast food ,cheap parts ect.. the reason they offer the parts gaurante is to make up for the bad parts and screw ups :af: now when i go to the auto parts store they know my name and they remeber what kind of car i have . they have the knoldge of what they are selling rather than just trying to get somethig close to what you need good luck 67cali riv. :TU: :beer
I never expect the aprts to guy to know anything other than how to look up parts. However, usually, they don't know how to do that. What the problem is, is that many parts counter guys nowadays seem to have the opposite of your approach- they assume they know everything worth knowing, and if I try to correct them...the computer is always right. That's why I don't mind the autozone near me that has dummies that know they aren't experts. I'd rather have an honest person who knows they don't have the knowledge than a know-it-all who talls me crazy stories Example that isn't in the parts biz: When I got my car painted 4 years ago, I almost had a shop do it that I eventually passed up. They looked at my trunk lid (repro) and told me it couldn't be the right one, because one edge was up a little high. I patiently explained that this was a reproduction trunk lid, the tooling wasn't perfect, and that it was the correct one. "Nope", they said "We'll need to get you a correct lid". I explained again, this time also pointing out that back when these cars were made, fit and finish quality wasn't perfect. "You want to do this car right or not?" the guy says. :shock: I told this guy that I knew more about GM A-bodies from '68 to '72 than he ever would. I told him that this trunk lid was correct for many GMs besides my car, including a '70 Monte Carlo and '70-'72 Chevelles. "Well that's the problem right there. You can't use a Chevy trunk lid on this thing". At this point, I turned my back on him, got in the car, and drove away. That guy threw away at least 1000 dollars in easy work. The car was prepped and half masked, all he had to do was let me finish masking, shoot primer and paint. That is the know-it-all attitude that I find at most auto parts stores. What can I say? If the parts guy knows he's not an expert on everything and can actually listen to the customer for a minute, everything's fine. But when the non-expert desk help who thinks he or she is an expert and lays the law down to the customer who actually does know, then there is going to be a slight clash to say the least. What you're saying is that the customers don't know what they are talking about, and you say that you don't like dealing with customers 'like us'. I can't agree, because you're assuming the customer is always wrong.
Had to add my .02 I worked part time at a Advance Auto . My manager was an idiot . The company wanted me to work nights for 7.50 per hour and close the store , restock shelves , clean and wax the floor every night . customers were always stealing and then trying to return the items they stole without a recipt . The part timers got nothing when the store sold well . The managers were alweays in the back with 1 parts man at the counter . I am a firefighter and after 9/11 I just quit . I couldn't justify the extra money for my GS projects with the time away from home . I have a guy at a Advance that helps me with ordering parts . He can get most anything . The idiots that work the counter know nothing about cars because those that do work somehwere that pays a living wadge . The practice that burnes me the most is when I have a guy looking up a part , I have been waiting in line for 30 min to get to him . Some yahoo calls on the phone and he stops working with me to help the phone customer . I usually just walk out . Customer service is a thing of the past anymore .
I had a problem with this one prick at AZ back in late 03. I needed the fan of the blower motor for my 84 Electra. They sold me one, I bring it to the mechanic shop its too small. Ok, I go back this time its the nite shift and there are different workers. So I tell him its for an 84 Buick Electra. First thing he says, There is no such thing as an 84 Electra. He didn't even look it up on the computer. So he says, I will give you one from an 84 chevy caprice I tell him how about an olds 307 thats the motor I have. He says they dont have it for a 307 olds. I tell him how about from an 84 Buick Lesabre? Nope. So lucky for me my mechanic is good and he cut the fan down a tad and it fit in. And I had heat for that cold winter.
Right! even though we try Not To Care, it STILL burns me to see people stealing right to your face. Last time it was a ~ 20 year old girl! Just as I realized what she was doing, she high tailed it out of there saying "oh, I'll be back when I have more time" Yeah sure, a professional con artist at ~ 20 years old. Nice!
This is totally true. I made like 10 trips to both local auto zones in Mt. Airy NC recently when I was finishing my car up with my friend. One had an older lady who could find anything you needed without ever asking hardly a single question. The other one had a couple younger kids who were confused with even the simplest parts. The thing I liked about those stores though, was that they turn the screens so you can see them while they are searching. This came in handy a few times when I had them select Chevelle SS a few times to get a part that would cross reference, but was not in their system with under Buick Gran Sport etc.
Lets face it, as time goes on, parts for these cars become "back burnered" because less and less people order them and less and less people at the parts counters know what the hell they are doing when we order parts for them. The younger generation knows almost nothing about our cars. If it's not in the computer, they don't have it.....even though the part is sitting 10 feet behind them on the shelf. That's the sad truth. That's why it pays to be able to cross reference parts for ourselves and then just order a Chevy part, as all these stores stock stuff for Chevies. We have to do the cross referencing for them..sadly.
That reminds me.... When I went to order my performer intake, Edelbrock wed-site showed Auto Zone. So I called wanting the performer for a 71 BUICK 455. They said yes, we have that instock!!! :TU: Of course when I got there,,,,,,well lets just say the chebbie will not fit the Buick.
Jeez, Dan, that's a PITA to make the trip and then find out they were wrong I was this told by some parts counter guys back in the '90s, the guys that you 'think' you want at the auto parts store, old time guys, in their 40s in about 1991, so they were of car driving age in the '70s: "Buick 455 motor mount pads? Buick never made a 455, you're Mickey Mousing that thing, Kid!" And just Monday, when I wanted to get two bottles of Supercharger oil for my Riviera: "You've got a major problem if you need two bottles of supercharger oil, Kid" (I love the "kid" nonsense) Well, I asked that guy if it was OK with him that the capacity of the supercharger was two bottles and it was time for the GM recommended supercharger oil change. Of course, only if that was OK with him :grin: A lot of parts counter guys have "seen it all" as far as they are concerned, and if they find they are questioned, they pull an attitude sometimes. this same guy told me I'd "never find a 1997 Chassis manual for that Riviera". I told him that I had found the 1970 Buick manuals, assembly and chassis, as well as dealer service bulletins, and he gave me a look that said "Quit BSing me" :laugh: Knowledgable about new Buicks that guy may be, but after that, he knows squat. Trouble was, he acted as if he were the expert on everything and I had made a trip up the Holy Mountain to seek his counsel. I'd take a first day on the job dummy who wants to be helpful over that guy any day of the week :TU: At least this Buick dealership had a photo of a 1970 GSX on the wall
