I’ve often mentioned that the counter-clerk at a parts store has about as much sway in the everyday world as a burger flipper…and that usually, the burger joint guy is making more money that the clerk is. Sucks, but it’s reality for a lot of places, and for people behind the counter who continually offer up their knowledge and expertise at these stores, it’s a thorn in their side. But it’s this note that I got from Andrew K. that got to me today:
“No BS I had a customer about a week ago tell me that countermen are useless, and the whole industry would be better off with kiosks and robots. Personally I’ve seen know-it-alls who wouldn’t have running vehicles if it wasn’t for local parts guys, and I’ve seen parts guys who could mess up getting you valve stem caps. So what’s everybody else’s view on it?”
Let’s start with a positive aspect: so long as the inputs into whatever search system are correct, there should be only a fraction of a percentage of a chance of getting a part wrong, there will be a reduction in overhead due to not paying five to ten Joes for their contribution to society. Meanwhile, society gets to walk into a clean productive store that might have one, maybe two workers and ten touchscreens, ready to serve the customer.
But do you think the customer would be happy with that? Think about it…they have just made the journey to the store, only to do the exact same thing they could’ve done at Rock Auto. That’s fine for consumables like oil and antifreeze, but when it comes to finding what their car needs….yeah, there’s a problem. And I don’t mean the knowledgeable base, either. I mean the person who barely knows the year, make and model of the vehicle they drive. I’ve gotten some great “deer in the headlights” looks from people while trying to get the basic questions answered. When “What kind of car is it?” is answered with “I dunno…blue?”, do you really think that a parts store is ready for electronic self-service? Imagine the customer with the short fuse temper returning because they didn’t punch in the right series of inputs and got a starter for a 1986 Toyota Corolla instead of their 2006 Corolla. Boom, there goes another touchscreen.
If you’ve ever watched the movie “Idiocracy”, that’s pretty much my expectation for the future. Sad, yet that’s how I feel. Sooner or later I believe society will devolve into that kind of drooling wasteland. But not today. At least leave somebody behind the counter. Let the brick-and-mortar store be the last bastion of human interaction in the frame of automotive maintenance and service.
Welp.. most smart customers,, go get the part online and then pick it up at the store..
1) only person to blame for the wrong part is yourself..
2) the savings they offer at most places it’s silly not to..
20-30% less , for the same parts, at the same store, just without having to have the counter help look it up..
I worked at part store, and can’t blame the counter help.. management is the reason most on a counter are useless..
I agree Idiocracy seems to be the way we are heading.
Funny as I have been telling people about the movie Idiocracy for a number of years. Office space is another one that seems to parallel the lack of individual thinking and intelligence of the general population. Anyway at least here the parts guys that are actually good all seem to have moved on to other jobs leaving very few competent people behind the counter. I usually end up going through a friends shop and ordering parts from a place that only deals with shops and not the general public or ordering online. The parts stores are just full of junk and trinkets anymore. If I need air fresheners or tire shine I guess they have that.
Counterpoint – true story where the customer is smarter than the parts store guys: When I was out of town recently, I decided to buy an alternator for my 68 Dodge, to have as a spare for the trip home. It wasn’t in stock, so I had to order it, and it arrived the next day. I asked the counter guy to test it in their machine, because it was a spare, and I didn’t want to find out it was defective when I was stuck somewhere on the road. He looked at me like I was paranoid, but agreed to test it. He hooked it up in the fancy machine and it failed. I asked him to order me in another one and he attempted to do so, but the system wouldn’t let him, because they already had one in stock. (the defective one) The computer was telling him that plain as day, but he didn’t get it. He needed to log it as sold or returned or something, so he could order another, but when he couldn’t figure it out, I brought the problem to the older parts guy. The older guy couldn’t believe the failed test done by the younger guy, so he decided to test it himself. (at that point, I didn’t blame him) So I watch him put the alternator in the machine, hook up the belt, but no wires, then hit the start button. The machine tells him to make sure he has the right wire harness, which he goes thru the process to check, but still doesn’t hook them to the alternator. I was too embarrassed for him to bring it to his attention, so I gave up and left… you can’t make this stuff up!
So, Like I said above, it’s more management than the counter guys.
1) young kid, would need to know to sell the one in hand and then return it as defective, then order another..
2) clearly the older guy was not trained..
whom, do you blame..
adding a kiosk would be fine, even if it just replaced the parts books on a chain. most stores i go in only have two guys working, so it could be usefull to answer some questions w/o waiting in line.
Having a good parts guy is invaluable but if it came between a kiosk and a computer aided feckless counter creature, give me the kiosk..
There is one good counter-guy. The rest, button pushers. I honestly don’t know how many times I look up on Amazon whatever part is I need while I’m at the counter because the guy behind the counter can figure the right incantation to make the computer tell him what he needs to know. I’m not sure I completely blame them – I’ve gone to NapaOnline and found the part while standing waiting for the Napa guy to find it on his computer. I swear, those computers were used by Caesar.
As a ‘seasoned’ Napa guy, I can relate to this comment. Our cataloging is seemingly done by people who have never tried using their own system, let alone actually install (or know where to install) any of the parts they are coding in to the system. Paper catalogs are the best answer, and less and less manufacturers are making them available to us anymore. Our store is fortunate to have roughly 60 years experience between four guys. We’re also an independent and not corporate owned, that makes a world of difference.