OK, after reading all of that....I am the most stunned by:
Quote:
me - ok how about a 327 in a 1969 holden
clerk - yeah we have those in stock
|
I would have bet that most places wouldn't even know what a Holden was....
But that is not my only comment...imagine that.
First off, like others have said, many of these people are just working the job that they have....they are not gear-heads.
Second, the "old counter
person" is a dying breed. They
will become extinct, there is no way around it. "Old-School" books are going away and computers will eventually be the only way. Things move so fast that they have-to... and autoparts stores sell so much more (accessory junk) than an old timey place ever though about. Also there are not as many people working on their own cars/trucks as there used to be, especially "hard parts, as opposed to oil/filters etc. Life has gotten faster and things have gotten much more complicated on vehicles too.
3rd, I see their point about people walking-in, knowing what they want, that are clueless. They look things up to be "sure"....doesn't mean that they are right either, but they have done their "due diligence"
4th, Stuff that is 40 yrs old is kinda "not-fair" now isn't it? What can you really expect?
5th, computers have a tendency to make everyone dependant upon them. Haven't you noticed that most cashiers can't "make change"....they give you the amount that the machine says. Many of them are pushing a button that is a picture of what you asked for....and they have to search for that!
6th, if the computer doesn't know.........they probably can't sell it to you anyway? How would they ring it up?
7th, Barcodes....double-edged sword, just like the computer itself, if it is working fine...great, good-to-go....if not, stand-by.
8th, goes with 4th....combining vehicles is really not fair to the computer, but the counter people really should learn to listen to the customer.
All-in-all it is a tough situation. The best you can do is find someone that does the bast that they can...and be loyal to them.
Years ago, when I was a mechanic at a 4x4 shop, we had a local NAPA store that was great. This was way before they started to "go retail" to get some of the market-share from the other guys. It was the "old-school" commercially oriented parts store. There were half a dozen counter guys and the all knew what they were doing.
There really some aspects of "the good old days" that really were good.....LOL
Oh, BTW...........I came here as a result of a "reported post". Please keep it civil and refrain from the name calling etc.