I walked in there today and asked the guy to look up a heated carb spacer for the Holley 390 I'm putting on my 300 after school gets out. He basically just looked at me and called me stupid because HE has never seen one on any of the motors he's ever built. I told him I've seen both '72 and '75 Ford's with them and my dad's '86 even has one between the throttle body. The guy waiting behind me lipped off and said its probably just a gimmick like those things you stick onto dipsticks to heat them. (don't know what he's talking about) Anyways, just thought I'd voice my opinion about those 2 guys at Autozone....I'm going to Checkers from now on.

 

I thought Checkers, Kragens and Autozone were all the same company. I usually go to O'Reilly's.

 

They may be the same company, but that doesn't mean that the employees at the others are any better or worse than the others. In some areas with 2 or 3 of the companies you could have idiots in one store and really knowledgable people in another.

 

Around me there are only three stores with good help and even then it is only a few at each store that have a clue.

 

I go to Autozone and a few other places, but I know the names of the guys there that "know", so I can call ahead when my wants go further than spark plugs.

I remember going to Schucks years ago and one of the guys that worked there had an old Torino fastback in the parking lot. He said he was going to build a 2v 351C to go in it. I was cleaning out my garage at the time and I told him I had a 4v 351 CJ longblock with intake and carb sitting in the garage and I'll let it go for $300. We went around and around and he couldn't get it though his head that 2 barrel and 4 barrel Clevelands are different. I was giving him a real deal, because I wanted to see that engine go in a car like he had and it was in the way at home. He would not do it even when I guarantee'd the thing would light up his tires.

I wonder if they have to take classes to learn the attitude they get working there. I got the engine from a kid that had it in a Mustang. When he hammered it, it would go sideways shifting to second and still be squirrily in third. The car scared the heck out of him. He had a 2v Cleveland and gave me the old engine for doing the swap. I knew the guy he bought the car from - an aircraft machinist that put a cam, forged pistons (better than the stock forged), and did some pretty trick balancing on it. I knew the history.

I told the guy at Schucks all this and he just never got it.

I go to those kind of places, but I call first.

 

we usually go to o'reilly's

autozone likes saying you have a lifetime warranty and then when you go to return it because it doesn't work, they say it expired three months after you bought it.

 

my last stop at auto zone was just that. THE LAST! i needed a voltage reg for my mustang. i gave him the old one and he handed over one with a different plug saying mine was wrong. i know the wiring on the car was not cut so after arguing with the guy i went to napa and got the right 1. around here we call it uh oh zone! bernie.

 

i had a problem at autozone with people just walking around and not wanting to wait on customers at all. and when they finally did get around to waiting on me it was crappy service. one time when i went to buy rings and bearings for my 302 the guy had to come back to the computer to look at the item number 4 times instead of just writing it down and taking it with him. any way i complained on line and i got a response from the district manager he emailed me and gave me his cell phone number to call him personally. he apologized and told me he would talk to the manager, and he told me to go talk to the manager and that she would have a giftcard to give me. i don't know how much the giftcard was i never went back!! i told the district manager i wasn't complaining to get something for free i justed wanted good service when i went into the place. that was a year ago and i have not set a toe back in that autozone. i always go to orielly's they have very nice and knowledgable people!

jason

77 f 100

 

I am fortunate that the Autozone that is less than a mile from my house has awesome employees. The manager of the store would give you the shirt off his back. In fact one time I stopped after church to get a case of oil and some leaked on my nice shirt. He told me to go buy a new one and bring him the reciept. I did, and it was 28.00$. He promptly popped the register open and gave me the money, all of it. Aside from the service, all of them except one have a solid knowledge of automobiles and parts. I guess I'm lucky! LOL------Ryan

 

O-kay. You could look at this the other way to. I used to be a manager at AutoZone and what would get me is the number of people who don't know the basics about their own vehicles like what size engine or 4,6 or 8 cylinders. I was actually surprised how many guys out there would send their wives/girlfriends in to get parts for them and not tell them for what vehicle they need the part for or they would send them in with a drawing of what the part looks like but would not know what it is called. Alot and I mean alot of the times someone would get the wrong part it was because they expect the guy on the other side of the counter to tap into their brain and guess what it is they really need. If you don't know what you need chances are the teenager on the other side of the counter doesn't either. So think about these thing the next time you go to the parts store. The more info the better.

 

I worked in Auto Parts for first Grand Auto then an independantly owned Napa. At Grand they didn't even care if you KNEW anything about cars, just whether you could operate the computer to find the part. This wasn't just my store, this was all of them that I ever went to. I'll never forget the argument with the customer AND 2 of our emplyees about the radiator for the 70's VW Bug The customer is NOT always right but when 2 of the other empolyees are ganging up on you with the customer....

 

I had to weigh in on this one...

I worked in parts for 15 years (not a chain) and I'll tell you, the decline of the industry as a whole began with looking up parts in the PC. We started in the early 90's with a system called Triad (still around?) and I was able to look up parts faster in the books than someone using the PC. Many times, there would be questions that were not even necessary if you knew how to USE the books. Something as simple as a dist cap- instead of needing the VIN as suggested by the PC, the books would simply call out "clip down or screw down"- heck of a lot easier to get this information- especially from a shop!

Using and familiarizing yourself with "the books" is the only way to really know what is available from the various suppliers- heck, illustration guides & technical spec publications were like candy to me! Like they say- a picture is worth a thousand words. Also, inferences can be made in parts books that will NEVER be possible with the PC.

I still use the store I worked at- new face or 2 every time I'm there. High turnover is now the name of the game. Needless to say, I look up my own parts- in the books.

 

Yeah I prefered the books over TRIAD as well. TRIAD was needlessly complex and often asked for info that didn't matter so the customer might not know. For example looking up the ignition coil might prompt the question "2bbl or 4bbl carb?" when in reality it was the same part # coil for either. Books didn;t do that to you. Do they still print books for looking up parts is everything PC based now?

 

They still print 'em, but of course thru consolidation and popularity coding, more & more of the older vehicle info is being omitted. Most books now condense applications up to around 1970 with little or no attention to the fact that many of the parts are still being produced! Every time we would get new catalogs, I would check to make sure the same reference info was there, more than likely it would be removed to make way for newer apps. I would squirrel away these books & when I left many made it home with me as they would prob be just tossed away.

 

My current peeve with Checker is having to stumble over and around all the little electric/gas go-karts, scooters, pocket bikes, etc as you go in the front door. I can sympathize with the counter help and hold them generally in high regard. People intimately familiar with one car model expect the rest of the world to be equally knowlegeable about all the arcane trivia of that make.