I finally got fed up...
 

After talking with my former neighbor about the lack of experianced people he has working for him at the local parts house I have decided to become one of those "computer" parts guys. Last night was my first night and I was amazed at the lack of personal service these guys give. Yes they can punch keys almost as fast as my wife but they couldn't troubleshoot their way out of a paperbag. For instance one guy comes in with his wife and they have this oh crap expression. His car is growling and over heating after a 3 hour drive. An "experienced" coworker tells him he needs a new engine...:eek: As the words fall from his mouth I am in total shock that without a simple look under the hood or even a code scan he has come to this conclusion. I asked if I could look at his car really quick to verify a few things. Turns out his power steering fluid was low so his pump was growling and he was leaking coolant from the lower radiator hose connection. I looked under the car and saw it wet and asked if he had hit or bottomed out recently. He actually did bottom out of something a few weeks earlier. His wife was thankful that at worst they need to replace the radiator and maybe a hose or two. I informed them that there might be more work needed that I couldn't see from the front but that is better then an engine. Before they left I made sure they had power steering fluid and 50/50 coolant to help get it home. I just can't believe that customer service is that bad. I can't wait until we have our first "shop" meeting. I am otherwise going to be fired or feared if I get a "I don't care". Wish me luck...

So if you happen to bump into a long winded inquiring parts guy in Escondido CA that'll be me.

Oh God NO, not another number dummy on the site.

take care Mark.


John :-X06

LOL No, there can only be one. I am just there to brow beat the idiots behind the counter and help those that need it.

They're mostly idiots working at most places these day(present company excluded of course). I don't expect to seek any help other than checking out.
Years ago I needed header gaskets for my "clevor" motor in my '79 'stang. Now some of you might know what a clevor motor is here(cleveland heads on a windsor block for those that don't), but I'd hazard to guess 99.99% of parts folks don't, plus Ford never offered anything bigger than a 302 in a '79 'stang. So I asked for a Cleveland header gskt....you know where this is going...."Year, make model and engine size please?" After trying to explain what I had and the fact the Ford never offered any such beast in anything, he shoots back with "oh yes they did...they offered a 350, you know the anniversary '86 350 GT's"
Now my friends...that guy was a class act narrcicist, moron who argued with his customer about something he knew nothing about. It was't much later he was gone, and after inquiring about his where-abouts, found he had been "released" much to the delight of his coworkers.

Well luckily I do remember what a clevor is. I just hope I can keep the peace and bring a little more understanding to my coworkers. But like most people I think they wont be reseptive to change. If one or two of them are willing to understand that the more the customer trusts you the more parts you will be able to suggest to them. Partially due to your ability to see the whole job they're doing and remind them of things they forgot.

I was talking to a guy who had a electrical problem last night that was scared to touch his wiring until I explained automotive wiring is the same in theroy as house wiring. Flip a switch and the light comes on type deal... So he bought a electrical wiring book to understand more and my shift manager was impressed since the customer only came in for a air filter. I simply saad it only takes talking to someone to know if they are experianced from the answers they give. If we were all allowed a few minutes to listen we would sell more and have a lot more satisfied customers. But we on this board already know that...

I'll be there asap for parts :-drink Be real nice to know the guy on the other side of the counter knows more than I for once :) :-jammin

That is spectaculous Air, that is THE main reason I only go to NAPA here, the guys there KNOW a thing or two, are used to not having the comp. tell them all they know, and use the books and BRAINS BEFORE anything else. Changing the world, one person at a time.
If I ever make it back down to south county, I will look for the "long winded, inquiring parts guy"!!

Hey...do a lookup of a waterpump for a 65 truck....just for kicks...everytime without fail I have needed a hard engine part them books dont show a 352 in 65...only a 292....give them knuckleheads a tongue lashing about that as to one who doesnt know, it would send trhe customer into a tizzy prolly...me...I just tell them to look at a 66 and viola....a 352 appears...

Im glad theres good car/truck guys like you behind the counter...patience though is a requirement as I bet ND would say in dealing with either clueless customers or knowitalls...


- cs65

Nice to know SOMEWHERE there's a neighborhood that actually will have a parts store that employs SOMEONE who knows his head from a hole in his radiator! I went to my local parts store (won't mention what chain but it sorta sounds like O'kelly's! LOL!) I needed a standard Ford dual master cylinder for my '68 Stang project. I was standing in line waiting on a register to open and the whole time I was thinking "God, please don't let me be helped by that woman!"

Who do you think I got? Yeah, right...

So I tell her what I need. She says "What year?" I told her that the rear of the car has drums and the front has discs so I just simply need a standard Ford dual master cylinder. She spent the next 15 minutes hollering over to the manager asking question after question. Unfortunately, he let her do so until HE got fed up with it and came over to her computer and punched up SOME model of Ford in the early 70's with one. The whole time he's helping customers and answering phones and she's just standing there making my life hell and hollering for help. I doubt she knows what a master cylinder looks like...

At least there's hope somewhere in California...I may move back!

FTE could use a dozen more dummies, trying to keep up with all the questions on ALL the forums, is a 24 hour job.

btw: I seem to recall you asking me about a heater core for a Cougar yesterday.

You got a personal response (and prolly a shock, too! :)), when the Big Dummy phoned you with the info, after his email went down.

Mark is using the same exact parts catalogs here on FTE that I use....they are the exact same ones, because I loaned them to him to download into his 'puter.

Oh the humanity!

NumberDummy, Jr. then, right?

NumberDummy II would be more apropos.

Touch'e, Monsieur!

I don't know,,,,, I never really liked the mustangII, or the broncoII,,,,,

:) just funnin

Just after the Bronco II came out (1984), a customer appeared at the parts counter asking about some Bronco accessories for his new ride.

When I asked him whether he had a Bronco, or a Bronco II, he replied..

"It's a FULL SIZED Bronco, not a Bronco in training!"

Good answer!
--------------------------------------
Mustang II = it's a PINTO under the skin!

Mustang nuts hated that car when it came out, and most still hate it today.

It was a Mustang in name only.

[quote=NumberDummy;6051969]

When I asked him whether he had a Bronco, or a Bronco II, he replied..

"It's a FULL SIZED Bronco, not a Bronco in training!"

Good answer!quote]


Good one, gotta remember that!

I say good for you!

It's always great to find an auto parts store where there's an employee or two who know what is up and are willing to help.

edit: To some of you guys - when you have customized your car IMO it falls on you to tell the parts guy an appropriate "look up" car. When getting parts for my '83s custom EFI motor I asked for '93 Cobra parts, for instance. This did involve me spending the time to figure out the correct engine code as well for that car. Do you really expect a parts guy at $8 an hour to remember every single option/car ever produced? Should he have time to listen to your story about how you customized the car? Not in my opinion.

A good parts man is worth his weight in gold. I gave up on O'reilly's with their junk parts and STUPID parts people. I have since become good friends with the manager of my local advance auto parts. I think he is smarter than I am, his only downfall is that he is a chevy guy- but I forgive him. :) I have called on numerous occasions for help with diagnosis and he puts me on the right track. This guy is so good that the "big wigs" of the company visit his store often and the use his store for as an example to other stores quite often. He runs one of the best stores in the country, and I haven't met any one yet who does not like him. (I'd probably punch them in the mouth if I heard anyone say anything bad about him) Smitty often goes above and beyond what is expected and it shows. We have become good enough friends that we have even took off and went halfway across the state of MO with my wife and some of our friends to go ride our 4 wheelers, and he has offerered many times to rejet my carb on mine for free. Now if I could only find the time...... If anyone ever has a problem anywhere near Kansas City I would highly recommend him. If he can't help, he'll find someone who can. I am glad to hear that there are parts people who know more than just typing in a computer. My general rule of thumb is this- If I go for parts for the 65, and they go to the computer, I ask for someone else, or go somewhere else.

When ppl do swaps, it's a very good idea to write down where the parts came from.

Otherwise it's a PITA for the parts guy to know what the parts are for, and some owners don't remember diddly-squat.

Something else some ppl (especially here on FTE) don't remember to do when asking parts or mechanical questions.

They must assume we're all mindreaders, because they fail mention anything regarding what the heck they're working on.

THE PARTSMAN'S LAMENT

I work behind the counter, in an automotive store.

Sometimes I'm called a genius, sometimes I'm called much more.

I'm supposed to know the numbers, of bolts, nuts and gears...

...for every vehicle that was ever made for more than 70 years.

But life would be much easier, and I'd grin from ear to ear...

...If the customer would only tell me...

...THE MAKE, MODEL AND YEAR!

The size of the engine, type of transmission should be posted, too.
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8 bucks an hour? EIGHT?

No wonder parts ppl are hard to find today. Who'd wanna work for that wage?

What kinda help is someone expecting by paying that wage?

I was making 7 + grand a month, when forced to retire from disabilities in 1997.

Well either way I am just happy to be able to have a little more $$$ comng in and maybe a few more connections. Not much but it does help with what I found out I will be paying county taxes in SD with the new house.

And the Mustang II is actually what I refer to as a "Pintang".

And FYI O'Riely's and Kragen are merging to form another megachain. So now it will be "Checker, Schukers, Kragen, Murphy, & O'Riely Corporation" and rearranged to be MOCKS or SCKOM. I'll leave it to you guys to decide.

I would rather be refered to as "Number Harley" or "Air Dummy" LOL

Speaking of parts and what not. I had to inform the guys about the part #'s for the front drums on the 65-67 F-100's. They looked at me funny as their eyes glazed over and I have requested the computer catalog be updated to remove or purchase the right damn part for resale...

As far as the FLAPS go, in my opinion nobody beats NAPA.
The guys there, for the most part, know what they're talking about. Every once in a while I get stuck dealing with some stupid kid, but not too often.

My worst experience was trying to buy a generic windshield washer pump for my 78 VW Bug. For those who don't know, the washer fluid in those cars was actually pumped using air from the spare tire, and I wanted to convert it to electric because the original system didn't work.

I explained what I wanted to the idiot kid, and he kept saying "we don't have that part for that car." I explained to him that I just needed their generic pump (which I knew they carried). He then responded with "you should try a VW dealer, they might have your part."

THE FREAKING PART DOESN'T EXIST FOR THAT CAR. IT NEVER DID. I'M ADDING IT. SELL ME THE PUMP!

I understand that the onus is on the customer to provide as much info as possible, and normally I'm patient because I have old, unusual cars, but the onus on the vendor should also be to LISTEN to what the customer is trying to say.

I have to say though, I had a really nice experience the other day at a Checker (which is unusual - they're normally the worst). I was looking for a cheap car stereo to put in a boat, and they were supposed to have 2 on closeout. The manager couldn't find it, but since their inventory showed they had it, he said "well, it's not your fault our inventory is wrong - I'll just sell you the $90 model for the closeout price (which was $26)." That was really cool of him to do.

D4TZ-8501-H .. Waterpump (Motorcraft PW-138)

Replaces: D0AZ-8501-D & C5AZ-8501-G

Fits: All FE engines 1965/76.
----------------------------
C4AZ-8501-B .. Waterpump

Fits: all 1963/64 FE engines.
----------------------------
B9AZ-8501-A .. Waterpump

Fits: all 1958/62 FE engines.

Now y'all now what pump fits what.
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Checkers, Kragen & etc.

My BIL is VP/Corporate attorney of this conglomerate.

He knows about as much about vehicles as a mule knows about tap dancing!

Yeah the 352 in a 65 has been known about for years. It takes a miracle to reprogram the system; ie... losts of $$$ since that is a hard point in the logistics program unlike the provisioned parts, aka water pump.

The same FE waterpump fits ALL 1965/76 CARS & trucks: 352/360/390/410/427/428.

Part number: Motorcraft = PW-138 / 1965/76.

Any gypo (sorry Mark) autoparts store can cross the Motorcraft p/n over to the brands they sell.

FTE'ers: Record the M/C part number, you never know when you might need one...if you snooze, you lose.

I keep a three ring binder for each car and write down the parts that I've put in there. After a few years it's really easy to forget. And if you ever sell the car it's very helpful to the next guy.

I used the water pump as a generic 'common' part example...since we all know the FE is a totally different pup then the Y block predecesor...
The issue of a 65 292 truck vs a 65 352 truck I ran into when I went thru fuelpump hell last year which Im sure ND recalls well...Thank God these trucks are almost kissing cousins with the 66's...



I am gonna be needing a water pump soon though as my OE one has started to weep...has anyone ever rebuilt or popped the rear cover off of theirs to see if they are servicable by a mechanically inclined owner ???





As for the CSK buying or being bought...ughhhhhhh...


As to the younger parts kids...when I go shopping and I see a younger kid or a newbie, I pourposely go to them as A, I have patience, B, I wanna help them learn the ropes w/o a po'ed customer in front of them. and C get an appreciation unlike no other for an appreciative customer with patience.
Ive gotten more po'ed going to a wrecking yard and a counter guy not knowing one rig from another...especially the year of it...
I like CarQuest or NAPA too...chucks is a last resort...unless its something like oil or stuff like that


- cs65

Speaking of Broncos....I used to own a '78, and could tell right off if the guy behind the counter knew his stuff. Ask for a Bronco part, and if they ask you if its 4WD, your in trouble. Ever heard of a 2WD Bronco?

Sure.

The Bronco in training version aka the Bronco II...some came with 2WD.