Clueless at AutoZone

[thstone]

Need a good laugh? Read this report of one customer's experience with the idiots at AutoZone - after waiting 45 mins on hold, he drives to the store (while still on hold)...

Autozone Customer Takes Matters Into His Own Hands After 45 Minutes On Hold

[kk2002s]

That certainly would be a kick in the Arse if that was a premeditated policy to put a person on hold when they don't know, hoping the customer just goes away

But for every F...ing story (He like that word) there are many more better experiences.
I use Autozone when they have the parts and typically it good service. Sometimes they get swamped

At least they don't have 40 check out isles and only open 2, with 1 for 7 items or less

[Beer]

I remember the good old days when the car parts employees actually knew something about cars.

I was at Advance or an AZ, waiting in line behind a guy trying to buy fuel line for a fuel injected car. The sales dweeb was trying to sell him line for a carbed car as it was cheaper. The dweeb's premise was "What could go wrong". That's when I had to explain the difference in fuel pressure and the thing that could go wrong would be your car catching on fire.

[jdraupp]

Stores like this are the reason I buy nearly everything online. It ends up being more of a hassle to go to the store for absolutely no gain other than paying a higher price and getting up sold on some crappy fuel additive.

[itsnotanova]

My little town still has an auto parts store where the guys behind the counter are gear heads. I use them because I want to support them and they generally have better quality parts. CARQUEST in the past has been my favorite chain but they recently got bought out by Advance Auto.

[Timco]

I stopped using the auto store advise when I swapped my Ranger gear box oil and the Napa guy said "gear oil is right there". Turns out it uses ATF and was noticeably louder after figuring out I couldn't shift and drain, flush, refill with right stuff.

You have a responsibility to know what you're doing when you do you own wrenching, and to know what you're asking for, and what it should look like.

[Joe B]

I wonder how much they pay their employees. Probably the same as they'd make at McDonald's, which might be a more suitable job for them!

We have NAPA and Carquest here and they are both pretty good, but you can't expect the employees to know very much.

[jb92563]

I feel like the era and pool of people doing things yourself is shrinking.

I my opinion its somewhat due to all the single mother raised kids, boys in particular that are not getting that male guidance or skills and passing on the confidence to DIY on most things.

I've seen it first hand with some step kids that were clueless, helpless cry babies. After a few years of influence they knew how to use tools and started to enjoy making stuff on their own.
After watching/helping me do some bloody knuckle wrenching they were not adverse or afraid of shedding a bit of blood, sweat and tears either.

My Dad passed on the knowledge, skills and tips that I in turn passed on.

I guess we all need to pass on our skills and values as well to keep the skills for DIYers alive.

As for the stores, there aren't enough DIY types looking for employment in these stores for them to have knowledgable staff so I would not trust them for anything more than reading the label when you forget your reading glasses.

You still have to decide what is suitable for your application yourself in any case.

How many of you have kids and step kids that you have not passed on the DIY skills and mindset?

We have no one to blame for the unskilled employees but ourselves since the people you are talking about are your children.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Joe B

I wonder how much they pay their employees. Probably the same as they'd make at McDonald's, which might be a more suitable job for them!

No way. Advanced Auto pays $.80 cents per hour more. They have a reputation to look after! I've been on that same on-hold phone call. After 3 minutes I hang up and call again. Half the time the guy on the phone put me on hold and went off to do something else and forgot I was on hold.

I have a few auto stores to pick from. There's a young kid at the one Advanced Auto who is a big car enthusiast. He always comes out to ask about the Porsche. He helped me change the battery when I re-jiggered my spine after my last spill on the bicycle.
Half his colleagues move at molasses pace. But this is the first step of Darwin.
When I worked at a fast food "restaurant" the summer I turned 15 the manager pulled me aside and said "I can tell you come from a good family because you are always neat in your appearance and you wear the plastic apron to wash the equipment". Then it hit me, many people working these jobs are young, dumb, and have little if any guidance at work or at home. One of my coworkers there was from Haiti. He told me he grew up in a tin shack. He did every job and whatever slack the next guy wasn't picking up because he didn't want the business to do poorly. He went to community college at night. And unlike me he wasn't working for a new bicycle, he had a family back home to help. I went back the next summer and he was the assistant manager.
Either you pay people more or hope you have job applicants walking in that never had anything growing up. Each generation gets lazier than the next.

[cas951]

I can agree that customer service were thrown out the window for this scenario. I can already picture what took place in my view. These kids are used to looking up parts by year, make, model and components and here's a guy in the phone asking for axle seal for a ford and didn't give anymore details. The kids probably put him on hold on purpose hoping he would go away since he didn't or could not provide more information. We can go to any parts store and ask for a part and I'm almost certain that almost all of the parts store will ask for year, make, model and component you need for the part. Without this they just can't help you. This is just how their system is setup.

[lkchris]

If you own a German car, they have nothing for you at Auto Zone, Pep Boys, etc., in the first place. Seems a silly thing to discuss on a Porsche forum. When it comes to things automotive, the USA is a third world country and these FLAPS go where most of their customers have gone.

I'm pleased to find an exception in that NAPA has Liqui Moly motor oil.

[911monty]

Why subject yourself to this at all? I go to their website order what I want and have it pick up at store. Just give the clerk??? the order number and go.

On a side note though I was surprised and pleased to find Pentosin at O'Reilly the other day. :dance:

[CoBeerToad]

From ages 17 to 21, I lived at the local auto parts store. They were all gear heads and never took issue with my barrage of silly questions about my POS car.

Nowadays, I know a couple of guys that work at the chain stores, and they seem to know what they are talking about. There are some others though that I'm sure couldn't locate the engine in my car with a manual in their hand.

[achillies]

I don't know about Porsche parts but AZ carries lots of BMW stuff. Brakes, etc. Good prices. Order online and pickup at the store...bypasses the sale people.

[jcslocum]

I like a good old made up story as much as the next guy. Why would a guy that knows what he wants call Autozone in the first place?? He KNOWS that they have to look it up by car, year, model, color, bucket or bench seat, etc.... No, they are not the old parts store guys and never will be.

[Pdwight]

A dear friend of mine was at Sears back in the early 90's, he went in to make a payment on his Sears card. Like most Men he went into the tool department and ask the first person he saw if he could make a payment at this register "Yes you can but it's not my department". So he wondered around and ask three other people wearing Sears name tags the same question....same answer...he walks over to a phone and picks it up and hits store intercom "There is a damn Sears Customer who wants to give Sears some money but no will take it...can someone please help me"....some guy in a tie came right over