I thought I was retired. I thought that I was going to soak up the peace and quiet, piddle around in my garage, tend to my garden, and spare the rest of my life from the curse of the parts store counter. I thought I had said all that there was that could or should be said regarding the state of the automotive service industry. Then the notes came in. The suggestions poured in. The emails. The messages. “Please return, UPCG. You’re needed. We need you.”

For the record: I’m not Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, or any other superhero whose likeness is liable to get be sued for copyright infringement. But I’m back. And I’m back with a major chip on my shoulder because I’ve spent the last few months leading up to the holiday season hearing the same thing, over and over and freaking over again: “Supply Chain Shortages”.

Let’s rewind the clock to early 2022. Things are bright, things are cheerful, then…well, a loaded International stake truck full of festering, bubbling, steaming shit was sent through the turbofan of a Boeing 747 running at takeoff RPM, leaving everything covered in a Jackson Pollock-style nightmare that wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. While we were legitimately concerned about the health of humanity, while we were being told to “stay safe, stay home” and while I had to put the mask on over the bag whenever I was outside of my cave (yes, really), somewhere along the lines common sense packed up, walked to the door, yelled, “So long, suckers!” and jumped into the back of a pickup truck. Three years on, we’re still trying to return to something resembling “normal” and Lord only knows when that’ll happen.

So what does the pandemic have to do with your parts order not showing up to your door three days after you’ve given Amazon or Summit your credit card information? Well, it goes like this: the world was asked to stop dead in its tracks. The whole world came to a grinding halt, in an move not seen since the Black Plague. And that isn’t even a fair comparison, since manufacturing was not a consideration back then. So everything, from the miners who dig the ore out of the ground, to the freight industry who package up your exhaust system, paused. That kind of reset takes time to come back from. Add in issues like government regulations regarding entry and exit to ports, concerns about certain regions of the world, political drama, inflation, and everything else, and yes…in short, things are TARFU.

None of this is a surprise. We’ve had years to come to terms with it. So please, do yourself a favor and spare the workers all of your bitter bitching about your parts taking forever to show up. We heard enough of it for the last couple of years. If we have what you need, we will get it for you. If we don’t, we will order it for you. And if you need your Depends changed, go somewhere else, we don’t care. Just like you were told (or should have been told) as a kid, “You’ll get what you get and you won’t get upset.”

BangShift’s Unknown Parts Counter Guy is back! But the fun shouldn’t be limited to just one individual! If you’ve got messed-up stories to share from your time behind the counter, as a service advisor, or any other career in the automotive service field, share your stories! CLICK HERE to submit your messed-up moments…and don’t worry, we’ll make sure that your name is left out of it.