Had an argument with an Auto Zone parts guy yesterday

I prefer that napas that have a shop attached to them. You more than likely get someone who at least knows something about something. The advances and discounts are just toooo frustrating.

My last experience at an advance was some time ago and went like this:

Me: I need 5 2000 corvette rear wheel lugs.

Counter guy: Welp I see you drove a Trans Am, they have different lugs.

Me: They are for a car I'm working on not the Trans Am.

Counter guy: Sorry can't sell you Corvette lugs, here are 5 trans am ones.

Me:.........they are for my other car not the one I drove.

Counter Guy: Rules is rules.

I either got trolled really bad or the guy was that ignorant. I haven't been back to one since. And yes there is a slight difference in length of the lug stud.

Grtechguy wrote: I've been driving the extra 2 miles to NAPA for that reason.

i've been buying solely from rock auto and amazon for all the reasons above. i have commercial fleet accounts at oreilly and advance, and haven't been to either in a very long time. advance randomly screws over commercial customers. they have tiers, and the more you buy the higher your discount. then corporate goes through the system and determines you're at too high a tier and dumps you back to square one.

I worked at a small chain auto parts store for about 6 months when I was 18. I was hired to stock shelves, there was one guy behind the counter and a cashier. One day they showed me how to use the computer. How to turn it on, enter year, make, model and part, then retrieve the part. Then after about two weeks the counter guy started putting working at another store a few days a week, so it was just me much of the time. I got the right Part most of the time, sometimes in spite of the customer not really knowing what he wanted either, and when I didn't know I sent them down the road to the old independent place that knew what they were doing. I figured if the owner was really worried about how the place was running he'd stop in once in a while.

DirtyBird222 wrote: I prefer that napas that have a shop attached to them. You more than likely get someone who at least knows something about something. The advances and discounts are just toooo frustrating. My last experience at an advance was some time ago and went like this: Me: I need 5 2000 corvette rear wheel lugs. Counter guy: Welp I see you drove a Trans Am, they have different lugs. Me: They are for a car I'm working on not the Trans Am. Counter guy: Sorry can't sell you Corvette lugs, here are 5 trans am ones. Me:.........they are for my other car not the one I drove. Counter Guy: Rules is rules. I either got trolled really bad or the guy was that ignorant. I haven't been back to one since. And yes there is a slight difference in length of the lug stud.

that's when you DO come a tiny bit unglued … you point out (again) to him that you're working on the car at home … it needs wheel lugs …can't drive it without wheel lugs … then ask if he'd have insisted on selling you honda lugs if you'd driven there in a honda ? ask for the manager (or whomever was in charge that day) … ask him how he handles guys from a shop that come in asking for random stuff that have nothing in common with what they're driving at the time …

what a berkeleying idiot

That beats the time just after I got married when I went to WalMart to get the two rear tires replaced on the wife's car. He ex had put the wrong size on, 70-series instead of 65 because they were cheaper.

So I wanted the wrong size taken off, and new tires in the same size as the door stickers and matching the fronts put on. Store policy said it had to be the same size as what came off and the same size as the door sticker, as well as the speed rating according to their computer. No amount of convincing would get me tires.

#BecauseAutoZone

It could have been worse...he could have brought out brake drums...

I've generally had pretty good luck with the AZ right around the corner from my house, though I have noticed that many of the people who both knew me and knew what they were doing (and would work well with me in tracking down the parts I'd need for things like the D which aren't in their computer) have slowly been disappearing. Which is fine, given I'm selling that house.

Have occasionally gotten a good laugh from some of the new/younger hires when I had the RX-7 and dealing with the usual doesn't-know-a-rotary-isn't-just-a-kind-of-phone nonsense.

oldopelguy wrote: Store policy said it had to be the same size as what came off and the same size as the door sticker, as well as the speed rating according to their computer. No amount of convincing would get me tires.

I had the same problem with a very reputable tire store in town. They would not sell me H rated tires for a Solara because it came with V rated tires. Even though the H rated tire was the standard tire for a Solara, it was a 15" and not the 16" which was on the car.

oldopelguy wrote: That beats the time just after I got married when I went to WalMart to get the two rear tires replaced on the wife's car. He ex had put the wrong size on, 70-series instead of 65 because they were cheaper. So I wanted the wrong size taken off, and new tires in the same size as the door stickers and matching the fronts put on. Store policy said it had to be the same size as what came off and the same size as the door sticker, as well as the speed rating according to their computer. No amount of convincing would get me tires.

so which tire did they want to put on the car ? matching the ones that came off, or what the door sticker called for ? that seems like a true head scratcher for the mouth breathers at stores like that

If I had a dollar for every time I've had a moronic mouthbreather ask for something stupid, I could have retired at 30. I would almost guarantee I can counter one for one any of your "stupid counterman" stories with "stupid customer" stories. Hell, maybe even 2 for one.

Damn I've been in this business too long.

When I was working parts I had a customer ask me for a Constant Velocity Shaft. I was stumped. I asked my parts manager, he said, "CV SHAFT JACKASS! Get him taken care of!" Duh Brian... Never forgot that one. Had only ever heard it referred to as a CV Shaft. I felt teh dumz...

4cylndrfury wrote: *#BecauseVATOZONE*

FTFY

Conquest351 wrote: When I was working parts I had a customer ask me for a Constant Velocity Shaft. I was stumped. I asked my parts manager, he said, "CV SHAFT JACKASS! Get him taken care of!" Duh Brian... Never forgot that one. Had only ever heard it referred to as a CV Shaft. I felt teh dumz...

PWNED?

Bobzilla wrote: If I had a dollar for every time I've had a moronic mouthbreather ask for something stupid, I could have retired at 30. I would almost guarantee I can counter one for one any of your "stupid counterman" stories with "stupid customer" stories. Hell, maybe even 2 for one. Damn I've been in this business too long.

The difference is, the counterman is making his living based on his knowledge of cars and parts. The guy that's trying to put brakes on his car isn't. Trust me, as a mechanic I've been asked countless stupid questions from the general public but I don't fault them. They aren't supposed to know what a trust washer does.

My friend Matt once had a Mercury Sable. Please, don't judge him because of that. Anyway, one day he decides to do a tuneup on said Mercury, so he motors on down to the parts store and asks for a set of spark plugs and wires for this car. The man comes back with 8 spark plugs and a set of wires for a 4 cylinder engine.

My friend, always sharp of tongue and clever of wit, said to the counterguy, "When working on cars, the Law of Averages does not apply."

DrBoost wrote:

Bobzilla wrote: If I had a dollar for every time I've had a moronic mouthbreather ask for something stupid, I could have retired at 30. I would almost guarantee I can counter one for one any of your "stupid counterman" stories with "stupid customer" stories. Hell, maybe even 2 for one. Damn I've been in this business too long.

The difference is, the counterman is making his living based on his knowledge of cars and parts. The guy that's trying to put brakes on his car isn't. Trust me, as a mechanic I've been asked countless stupid questions from the general public but I don't fault them. They aren't supposed to know what a trust washer does.

Really? we're not talking about the average joe public. The people going to parts stores to buy parts are typically people that have SOME car knowledge about what they're doing. Otherwise they'd be paying someone else to do it.

"Give some SBC valve cover gaskets. They're all the same"

In reply to Ashyukun:

They probably don't know rotaries were phones either.

Bobzilla wrote:

DrBoost wrote:

Bobzilla wrote: If I had a dollar for every time I've had a moronic mouthbreather ask for something stupid, I could have retired at 30. I would almost guarantee I can counter one for one any of your "stupid counterman" stories with "stupid customer" stories. Hell, maybe even 2 for one. Damn I've been in this business too long.

The difference is, the counterman is making his living based on his knowledge of cars and parts. The guy that's trying to put brakes on his car isn't. Trust me, as a mechanic I've been asked countless stupid questions from the general public but I don't fault them. They aren't supposed to know what a trust washer does.

Really? we're not talking about the average joe public. The people going to parts stores to buy parts are typically people that have SOME car knowledge about what they're doing. Otherwise they'd be paying someone else to do it. "Give some SBC valve cover gaskets. They're all the same"

Again, which one would you EXPECT SHOULD have knowledge about cars? Trust me, I've done enough work behind some guy that didn't know a wrench from a creeper but still removed the cylinder head. The parts guy is the pro.

Sign behind counter at FLAPS says" Arguing with a parts man is like wrestling with a pig in the mud, eventually you figure out that the pig is enjoying it.

In reply to DrBoost:

You're missing the part that it does go both ways.......

Conquest351 wrote: When I was working parts I had a customer ask me for a Constant Velocity Shaft. I was stumped. I asked my parts manager, he said, "CV SHAFT JACKASS! Get him taken care of!" Duh Brian... Never forgot that one. Had only ever heard it referred to as a CV Shaft. I felt teh dumz...

PWNED?

Yes...

What kind of tire store denies you the ability to buy tires?

The shop I used to buy tires from, I'd just walk in and say "I want this tire in this size. Order it up, and you can mount and balance them when they come in. Thanks, see you Tuesday."

Worked great.

Maroon92 wrote: What kind of tire store denies you the ability to buy tires? The shop I used to buy tires from, I'd just walk in and say "I want this tire in this size. Order it up, and you can mount and balance them when they come in. Thanks, see you Tuesday." Worked great.

The name is the clue: Walmart. Obviously their policies are built around the, um, cheap customers they get occasionally and to limit the amount of liability on their end. I don't get my car serviced anywhere that can sell you TP or a new outfit. The corners that need to be cut to make that happen, just aren't worth it for a few bucks in potential savings.

There is no requirement that a person working at an auto parts store know anything about autos. At the big chain stores that say they'll install batteries, I've had to show a couple of workers how to replace batteries in my vehicles a couple times. I even worked at a big chain auto parts store for a couple miserable months years ago. Between some of the customers and the back stabbing fellow workers, I got out of there as soon as I could. There is usually only 1-2 at the most that knows anything about cars.

Personally I find being the smartest guy in the room exhausting. But somebody has to do it and I am the most qualified. .