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Unknown Parts Counter Guy: And Keep Your Attitude To Yourself


Unknown Parts Counter Guy: And Keep Your Attitude To Yourself

I don’t care who you are in this world…a little humility goes a long way. It’s fine to be wrong on occasion-we’re only human, after all-but after reading this particular post from “RacerRick”, my blood is boiling. I don’t think “you’re fired!” would be quick enough to get this behind-the-counter moron out of the store.

I recently had an interesting auto parts event at the local Parts Source. I went in looking for a 15405 v-belt.

Unfortunately I ran into a 16 year old with an attitude and no clue how to do his job.

I asked him for the belt. He said they didn’t have it without looking at the computer. I told him that the brand they sell Dayco, uses that for the part number, and asked him if he could look it up. Having worked in one of these stores years ago (and they still use the same system) I even told him how to do the part number search for it.

All I got was a dumb look, a loud sigh, and “what year car is it for”?

After explaining that it wasn’t going to be in their computer due to a custom bracket to mount a Delco 10SI alternator to a 360 AMC motor in a 1975 Jeep J10, the little turd starts tapping away and tells me “the biggest motor in a jeep that year is a 258…do you even know what motor is in your jeep?” He spun the monitor around to show me how stupid I was, with this look of absolute disgust on his face. I quickly looked at it and somehow he managed to look up a 1985 Jeep CJ.

I just reached over, took the keyboard, did a quick search and found that they were out of stock. I spun it back around and showed him how to do the search by part number, then left and went to the next store that their inventory program said did have it in stock. Took the guy there about 2 minutes to find it in the back for me.

RacerRick, you should receive an award for having the patience of a saint. Honestly, if I were you, this would’ve been my exact response:

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18 thoughts on “Unknown Parts Counter Guy: And Keep Your Attitude To Yourself

  1. Burner303

    I have a 1971 Chevrolet C-10 that I’ve owned for almost 8 years, but I still have no idea what year the engine in it is. Even if I did, I don’t think it would make diference. The whole truck has parts from every year Chevy in existence. For example, the trans is a TH350, but when I went to replace the rear seal, I had to buy one for a powerglide for it to fit.

    I had one older guy, around 60, straight up get pissed at me, after I told him I needed an HEI distributor cap, and he still asked me what year the truck was, so I said 1971, and he brought me a points distributor cap. I told him it was the wrong one, and just give me cap for a 88 Camaro. He got cross and said those trucks didn’t come with those, so I told him that I knew a 1971 Chevy didn’t have those caps, that is why I asked for an HEI one specifically in the first place. He told me I need to find out what year my engine is before I ever come back again. He was seriously pissed off and meant it. I know it can be annoying to have to put a part back and look up the same part for a different car, but damn, man, it takes an extra 2 minutes, it’s not that big of a deal.

    I am a rather young guy(29) and look even younger than that. I always get flack at the parts store, mostly from the older guys who just think I have no idea what the hell I am doing, know nothing, and have no business owning an old truck, they seem to think I should be driving around in a civic or camry. Even when the part is right on the first try, they still seem annoyed by me having an older truck.

    1. Nick Rice

      On the front of the motor there is a stamped tab, its on the block where the block and the front of the passenger side cylinder head is. It might be caked in road grime, but the suffix and code will tell you everything about that motor. Even the day of manufacture and factory.

  2. tigeraid

    I think what bugs me most about incidents like this is that it proves not only that THEY don’t care about their job, but that those who hired them don’t. How could you, as the one veteran counterman there, not sit this ignorant ass down and fill him in on how to look something up by part number? Or common knowledge engine part swaps, like HEI distributors in non-HEI applications, and things like that? Did they literally just hire the kid off the street and point at the computer?

    Even the one guy I work with here who’s a part-time driver and doesn’t know a damn thing will look over at me and ASK, if it doesn’t come up on the computer on the first try.

  3. GT

    Would you like sea foam with that ?
    That’s more important to advance than 30 years of auto repair experience.
    I was hired as retail parts pro because of my ASE master tech certificate .
    4 months later I left it to the parts people that you describe above.

  4. Tom Slater

    It’s more or less the same across all retail that I’ve worked.
    It’s been figured out that it doesn’t matter how ignorant your staff is, as long as they remember to ask if you need a cap / tstat / some brake fluid / etc with the item you came in to buy. Hell, they can even be belittling, rude and plain stupid – so long as 90% of the time the customer has a direct “year, make, model” it doesn’t matter.
    I think, though, that the software these companies have bought for inventory management is as guilty as the staff. If you crane your neck, you can see that they have *no* way to look for parts beyond year, make and model. The databases aren’t searchable any other way.
    Shit, at NAPA locally, they have to start off by looking for “steering parts” then go to year and model. If I say “I need an 11/16″ tie rod for my ’57 Chevy half-ton. It’s for the drag link, but I have no idea which ends are in it. Just the diamter” they’d have to have a memorized list of every car that used an 11/16 TRE to be able to help. I say this from experience.
    So it’s apathetic staff hamstrung by crappy software. They’d be better off with books (or a software engineer who knew WTF was going on)

  5. 440 6Pac

    I just ordered brakes for a 72 Chrysler at the store I always use. I told the guy they might not be in stock because the car so old. The boy looks for the parts then tells me that no one make parts for 72 cars anymore. I told the boy that I just bought a set of brakes for a 69 Belevdere and they had to be ordered. The boy told me that there’s no way I did. That’s when the manager who was very apologetic for the boy took over. He said the boy was knew. He took care of me and told the boy he had best loose the attitude or he’d be back on the unemployment line.

  6. crazy canuck

    The parts store I use has the computer system for dummies , but also have kept the old system with all the books. more importantly they have guys who still know how to use them !

  7. John Brown

    About 25 years ago I got canned from an independent parts store when it was sold to the parent chain. Chain store didn’t want to keep the experienced “high paid” counter people. About three months later I dropped in cause I needed a part for an older car and knew they had a huge library of older catalogues to research old parts cross references. When I asked where the old catalogues were the inventory guy that they kept on said the first thing the new manager did was trash all that stuff. Said the new guy didn’t want to be bothered with customers with old odd ball cars. There is a oriental food store in the building now….. 🙂

    1. Tom Slater

      I’m only a step up from the counter help – I was a pro mechanic before anyone explained what points & a condenser were.

  8. Roger Jones

    I work part time at a national parts house. When people come in with odd configurations I LOVE IT. I’m digging and doing everything I can to help. I’ll even pull google up on my phone and try to find a part number that way if needed. But it isn’t what a few of them do in the store.

  9. Peter

    No different over here in Australia,i put a bbc into a Holden,went to local parts store to get a throttle cable to suit my car,told the goose behind the counter exactly what i needed,even told him that it won’t be listed with a bbc in it,but the same cable to suit a 5.0ltr engine will do the same job,then proceeded to have a 5 min argument with him about it before i told him to go f**k himself and walked out,and Aussie companies wonder why so many people buy parts from jegs,summit etc

  10. Joe

    I needed a 40 inch 6 rib serpentine belt for my race car. 2 local franchise auto parts stores were clueless on how to find it for me. (The length is in the part number printed on the belt!) I stopped at a NAPA store and counter guy said no problem. I said give me 2 while you are at it. He also got me the correct axle seals for my 9 inch rear end based on bearing # that I had. I bought 2 of those also. And some brake clean, a case of racing oil and filter and a seal removal tool.
    Too bad these “old school” talented parts guys are getting so hard to find..

  11. greg

    I worked at a store thats been a family owned business since 1917,i was the youngest one therewith almost 20 years exp.,he paid a good wage n took good care of us! But he sold out to a national chain and after that the downhill spiral happened cuz all these national parts stores have the theory as long as you know computers your a genius wtf they dont relize the biggest crowd of dyi people are hot rodders that crossbreed parts on their cars.One more story…. i worked for another chain store when we got “computers” and one of the guys had alot of schooling at the time on computers,he walked up to m with a big grin on face n said now he could be better than me at takin care of the customer n sellin parts so i had to burst his bubble n tell him he couldnt cuz he didnt have the knowledge to fill a pimple on my ass! He walked away pissed,what did i say wrong i was only bein honest!

  12. Tanglefoot

    I’m a journeyman partsman by trade ( yep , in Canada it’s a certified trade in some provinces), and am now a purchaser for a large industrial company. When I worked the counter I had my own client base, because I was into hot rodding and was obsessed by anything mechanical as long as I can remember. The hot rodders and street racers would come to me , because I would take the time to find what they needed,and never assumed they didn’t know what they were talking about, and I also learned a ton of stuff from them. The real skill to being a good partsman, is being able to quickly tell the difference between a guy who comes in and knows his shit , and a run of the mill Mr fix it , with good intensions and lack of skill and knowledge. I can still remember guys coming in asking for ,cap, rotors and condensers for their newer
    direct ignition cars , because they were gonna give it a tune up , but I think the worst customers were the back yard autobody guys. I had one guy I sold paint and supplies to come back pissed because he sprayed his car in his driveway, and had to pay to have the overspray removed from his neighbour’s cars. Apparently I should have warned him about this.

  13. Wink-Dinkler

    30 years in the parts business. I started back in the day when there were maybe 25 starter part numbers and you knew them all by heart. You knew the voltage regulator number by sight and still do today. We are no value to the big chains today. I am retired now but all of the guys who I worked with who were DM’s or managers have moved on. The chains don’t want automotive experience any more. I have seen them fire the guys with the knowledge to grab that HEI cap or 12 bolt gasket std GM starter or the one to work with your engine swap to keep you from breaking noses. They want young guys who will work for nothing. The old guys wear out cost them money. I am disabled now but work PT as far away from that business as I can get. I went to Advance to get some steel brake line for my F150 old beater. The first thing they said was is that a truck? Just point me to the brake line. Its in the back we cant look that up.Its ok I can get it my self. You cant go in the back. I can see it from here. I left……As I was leaving I hear whats his problem.

  14. roger

    I think I’ll go to the Zone and ask for a serp belt for my ’78 Fairmont… that oughta get ’em going 😀

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