Rich and the parts monkey...

[richtazz]

This is for all of us that have had to deal with a moronic parts guy.

Rich: "I need two AIMCO #5492 Hub and Rotor assemblies"

Parts Monkey: "What type of vehicle"

Rich: "It's the large box on the third shelf, I can see it right there, you have two in stock (pointing)"

Parts Monkey: "What year"

Rich: hanging head in disgust: "'77 Ford, F-150, 4wd, 2bbl 351M V8, automatic, power steering, power brakes, no A/C"

Parts Monkey: "77?"

Rich: "Yes"

Parts Monkey: "Ford Truck?"

Rich: "uh-huh"

Parts Monkey: "F-250?"

Rich, laying head on counter: "F-150"

Parts Monkey: "2-wheel or 4-wheel?"

Rich, banging head on counter: "4 wheel drive"

Parts Monkey: "front or rear rotor?"

Rich: "Front hub and rotor assembly, AIMCO #5492, third line down"

Parts Monkey: "Locking hub?"

Rich: "NO! HUB AND ROTOR ASSEMBLY, RIGHT HERE" (grabbing monitor and turning it while pointing at the screen)

Parts Monkey: "Oh, with splined drive hub?"

Rich, laying on floor, covering face: "No, the line under that one, F5"

Parts Monkey: "We show two in stock, you wanted one?"

Rich: "No, two."

Parts Monkey: "Okay, let me get them"

Rich: "There in the next isle to your right"

Parts Monkey: "yeah"

Rich: "Your other right"

Parts Monkey: "yeah"

Rich: "a little farther down"

Rich: "a little more"

Rich: "too far"

Rich: "look up"

Rich: "right there"

Parts Monkey: "okay"

Parts Monkey: "there you go, anything else for you today"

Rich: "yes, I need TWO of them"

Parts Monkey: "oh, okay"

Parts Monkey: "will that be all today?"

Rich: "yes"

Parts Monkey: "phone number"

Rich: "810-238-3242"

Parts Monkey: "huh?"

Rich: "area code 810....238........32......42."

Parts Monkey: "oh"

Parts Monkey: "Rich?"

Rich: "Yup, that's me"

Parts Monkey: "What type of vehicle?"

Rich: "huh? why?"

Parts Monkey: "Warranty"

Rich, smiling: "'91 Chevy Cavalier"

Parts Monkey: "uh..."

Rich: "Never mind, '77 Ford F-150"

Parts Monkey: "That comes to $84.79"

Parts Monkey: "Out of $100?"

Rich: "no, wait, I've got some change (handing Monkey $0.80)

Parts Monkey: "Okay, $25.00 is your change"

Rich: "Fifteen"

Parts Monkey: "huh"

Rich: "Fifteen dollars is my change"

Parts Monkey: "uh...hey Karl, how do I void this transaction?"

Karl (shouting from the back): "F5"

Parts Monkey: "phone number?"

Rich, slapping $5 on the counter and taking $20 bill off counter: "810-238....oh whatever, you're an idiot" (turning and walking out the door)

Parts Monkey: "sir...you forgot your change....sir...sir?"

Rich, as the door shuts behind him: "Keep it......a tip for your fine service"

[jeffcoslacker]

Went to AutoZone today, did you?

After the last time I stood at the register with a quart of oil in my hand for 20 minutes waiting for somebody to ring it up, I stay outta there. I don't care if they give parts away.

[cnilkyrclit]

I Hate Going To Autozone. They Have The Slowest Service Ever. The People That Work At Most Of Them Are Very Ignorant, And Talk To Customers As If The Customer Is The Dumb Ass. I Get So Frustrated When I Go To An Autozone. I Hate The Fact That If You Buy Something, And Then It Isnt The Right Part Or You Just Dont Need, You Have To Stand In One Line Just To Tell Them That, Which Takes Atlest 20min., Then You Have To Go To Another Line And Wait Another 20 Min. To Get Your Refund. Who The Hell Came Up With This Shitty Ass Procedure. I Have Some Really Bad Experiences With These Stores. I Try Not To Go To Them, But They Are The Closest Parts Store To Me. I Usually Try To Go To Advance Auto Parts Or Murrays. Advance Auto Parts Is Usually Very Helpful And Knowledgable When You Need Some Info. I Live In Cleve, Oh. And It Seems As Though All Autozones Have The Same Shitty Service. I Have Been To More Then A Few All Through Out The State!!!!!! All The Same. Its Hard To Believe That They Are Still In Business.

[richtazz]

I'm glad you guys caught what I was throwing out. I think we've all had a similar Zone experience. I hate an ignorant parts guy that treats you like an idiot, when you know what he has and where it is better than he or she. How they stay in business, I don't know. I used to work for Advance Auto in Clio, MI and thought it was just the one Zone store there, but they seem to have a corporate lack of courtesy. I called them once with a part number that we were out of and the guy said he couldn't look it up with out a vehicle app. I said I don't care what your computer says, walk to the f@@king shelf and tell me if it's there moron, and he still didn't get it. The customer said never mind, I don't want to inconvenience them, I'll go out of my way to another Advance store that has it.

[jeffcoslacker]

I was told by a formaer Zoner counter guy that they are (or were) trained that the phone is the single most important part of the biz. Get it on the second ring, and help the phone customer before the counter, register being last in importance. Once you are in the store, they don't care what happens, apparantly. But I've run across a lot of bad counter service at all kinds of vendors in my years in the automotive biz. Dealers were some of the worst or best, depending on the place, and who you talked to. Some treated you like you were completely wasting their time, others went far and above to make sure you were happy, and offer tips and knowledge to help. Bettin' Rich is one of those. Need more like ya' bud!!

[jeffcoslacker]

And you have to remember that the discount guys are usually trained from a retail and computer system base of training, not a familiarity with parts or any automotive background. Just as the quick lube places train people to do the procedure their way, not from an understanding of the job. You could train a monkey to fly a 757, but I'm not flyin' on it.

[richtazz]

Thanks for the compliment Jeff. Not to sound arrogant, but I consider myself one of the top 5% parts guys around. I take the time to understand the problem, and try to steer my customers in the right direction. I LISTEN to what they say, and go out of my way to help them. There has never been a female or elderly customer that I haven't volunteered to install simple things like wiper blades or halogen capsule bulbs for. I have knowledge of automotive systems, and do my best to get the customer the part they need, not necessarily what they ask for. And I agree that it's not just Zone, all parts stores have their "parts monkeys".

[Kooterskkar]

Uh huh, cant get away from 'em. At the advance thats about five mintues from my house, there used to be a guy there who one time tried to tell me that my '87 caprice v8 was feul injected. "no its not", "yes it is, I used to work at Jim price in the service department" (Price Chevy is our big GM dealer here) "Thats great, but its not feul injected, its 4bbl carb" "Only if someone swapped intakes on it" "Dude! It says it right on the damn computer!!"