Mondays at the tire shop

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

The gal that took out sign and trailer may have moved up to my neighborhood. A nearby auto repair shop took a hit from a gal who left the road, flew over their 8' high retaining wall, then hit the column between two bay doors. Traveled all the way over the parking lot, about 25-30 feet, and hit the ground right at the building. Surprisingly, she wasn't even drunk.

That reminds me of a person who was running from the law a few towns over. It made national news as it was caught on camera. He basically did the same thing. Let me find it on YouTube.

I found it

https://youtu.be/lVa2waghbUE

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

I went to one of those auto parts stores that are part of national chain one time simply because it was only a few blocks from my house. I going to change the oil in my car and I needed oil and a filter. So I grabbed the 5 quart jug, put it on the counter and said "I need a filter too". This was one of those places where they keep the oil filters in the back for whatever reason.

The guy looks at me and says "What kind of filter? Cabin filter? Air filter?"

I look at the jug of oil, then back at him and say "No, I was thinking maybe a furnace filter. Or possibly a Brita water filter."

Seriously? I hate to be one of those people that talks about how much better things used to be... but there was a time when the guys at the auto store could actually tell you what you needed to know without having to rely on simply reading whatever is on the computer screen in front of them.

Actually his question was legit considering the number of filters that are used in today's vehicles. Air, Oil, Cabin, fuel, and a bunch more depending on the vehicle. Some vehicles even have two filter elements of different sizes in their air intake box.

I'm from the age when the parts guy behind the counter could just reach below the counter and hand you the proper part but remember, those were the days when most cars used the same oil filter, fuel filter, and even radiator caps. Today vehicle manufacturers can't even use the same filter(s) for more than one model year.

After I retired I took a part time, time killing, job in a part's store. I've walked in those guy's shoes and it's not as easy to pick the right part when the customer expects you to know every part used in/on their car.

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Actually his question was legit considering the number of filters that are used in today's vehicles. Air, Oil, Cabin, fuel, and a bunch more depending on the vehicle. Some vehicles even have two filter elements of different sizes in their air intake box.



I'm from the age when the parts guy behind the counter could just reach below the counter and hand you the proper part but remember, those were the days when most cars used the same oil filter, fuel filter, and even radiator caps. Today vehicle manufacturers can't even use the same filter(s) for more than one model year.



After I retired I took a part time, time killing, job in a part's store. I've walked in those guy's shoes and it's not as easy to pick the right part when the customer expects you to know every part used in/on their car.

X2 I started in that business in the summer of 81 and stayed in that business until March 06. It continually got worse and it seemed the more complicated the vehicles the stupider the people got.

I do believe the proper question would have been....I can assume you want an oil filter or can I get you any besides the oil filter or something similar.

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Actually his question was legit considering the number of filters that are used in today's vehicles. Air, Oil, Cabin, fuel, and a bunch more depending on the vehicle. Some vehicles even have two filter elements of different sizes in their air intake box.

I'm from the age when the parts guy behind the counter could just reach below the counter and hand you the proper part but remember, those were the days when most cars used the same oil filter, fuel filter, and even radiator caps. Today vehicle manufacturers can't even use the same filter(s) for more than one model year.

After I retired I took a part time, time killing, job in a part's store. I've walked in those guy's shoes and it's not as easy to pick the right part when the customer expects you to know every part used in/on their car.

Originally Posted by Iwannacamp

X2 I started in that business in the summer of 81 and stayed in that business until March 06. It continually got worse and it seemed the more complicated the vehicles the stupider the people got.

I understand that vehicles are much more complicated these days and that they make 100 different versions of the same part for all the different manufacturers. But I swear I've gone in there and asked for some regular plastic valve caps for my tires and they had to know the year/make/model/engine size so they could look it up on their computer.

Originally Posted by Iwannacamp

I do believe the proper question would have been....I can assume you want an oil filter or can I get you any besides the oil filter or something similar.

That's pretty much what I was getting at. A little deductive reasoning. Half the time they run specials where you buy the jug of oil and get the filter for free. So it shouldn't come as a shock when a person buys both at the same time.

[Blackrock]

I HATE parts people. Okay with that said, I worked over 40 years as a mechanic and everyday ordering parts for something. I worked many different types of shops from a three bay independent to a state fleet. Worked John Deere Ag for a few years. Ran the shop for a state prison maintaining a large mixed fleet. Plus all the side jobs I could hustle up when I was younger.

At the independent shop we had two really good old style parts stores and a NAPA that was okay to work with.

The Chevrolet-Buick dealership we had a counter man just learning the trade that was hard to work with. His last job was managing the bowling alley.

At the John Deere shops we had to look up our own parts on micro fiche and fill out a slip and turn it in to the parts people who had to divide their time between us and walk in customers.

At the prison I had to turn in a form with what I needed to the business office. They then had to make sure that what I needed was on contract or not and who the vendor of choice was. I could purchase a lot of stuff locally but contract items had to come out of Phoenix. Tires, Batteries, Filters were all on contract.

Moved over to dept. of Transportation from Corrections with about the same constraints as far as contracts and such. We did have our in house parts person and a stock of commonly used parts. We were able to purchase a lot of stuff from our local parts stores. I was running the field repair truck and eventually was issued a state credit card. That made my job a lot easier when working out away from the shop.

I had a good run and retired in 2015 but every day I had to fight the battle of ordering parts, finding out they didn't have it, how soon did I need it, who eats the freight, and on and on.

[JayArras]

Tell us how you really feel, lol!

[DaGrinch]

I've got my stories from running a fleet of police vehicles, but.....
Anything new at the tire store? [emoji1787][emoji28][emoji1787][emoji28]

[SlowrideHD]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Maybe Wmtire makes his own and sells it out the back door to select customers. He is located in the South you know

Because everyone in the South are just redneck moonshiners, right?
SMH.....

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by DaGrinch

I've got my stories from running a fleet of police vehicles, but.....
Anything new at the tire store? [emoji1787][emoji28][emoji1787][emoji28]

We've been fairly quiet today. Only had one potential customer in store, who fussed at me because I wouldn't mount a tire she bought at Wal Mart on her van. She bought the smallest/ aka cheapest tire they had. When I told her it was too small for her van and wasn't designed for the weight, she told me that was all she could afford when I informed her that she needed to go back and get the correct tire.

I had to explain, whether or not she could afford it, that didn't change the capability of the tire.

She left here mad at me, and was going to go find another place to install it for her. I did ask her why Walmart wouldn't mount it, and she said she didn't have time to wait for them, which I know is false and they wouldn't do it either.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by SlowrideHD

Because everyone in the South are just redneck moonshiners, right?
SMH.....

Well actually there is a little truth there. My son is fascinated to hear my mom (his grandmother) tell stories of helping her father make moonshine back when she was a little girl in the Arkansas mountains. They were talking about it a few weeks ago...so it does run in my family at least.

[babock]

Originally Posted by SlowrideHD

Because everyone in the South are just redneck moonshiners, right?
SMH.....

The only moonshine I have ever tried was when I was visiting friends in Mississippi. All of them were telling me how they make theirs. They weren't exactly rednecks though...all college educated. We were at an Ole Miss LSU game.

[wmtire]

Well that was exciting. Had a man and woman just in here who had their temporary spare on the driver front. As I walked to the vehicle I saw they only had ONE, yes you read that right, One lugnut/stud holding it on. All the other three were broke off.

I immediately told them we could not do anything until they got those studs fixed, and she needed to call a tow truck to get it to a mechanic shop, as we don't do that kind of work.

She starts crying, saying other tire stores told her the same thing. The guy with her is being reasonable and asking who we recommend. There is a shop about a block away and I suggested them.

Now, her crying turns to cursing, and she says she had it at another place who were supposed to have fixed this before. She then tells the male to get in and she is going to go back and crash her car into the front of their business. I tell her she won't be able to drive that far on one stud and she is going to be stuck in the middle of the road when the wheel falls off. She goes back to crying again.

I assume they were going to try and limp it a block over, to get it fixed....but she guns the car out of here, about causes two wrecks driving across two lanes of traffic and is probably doing 50 miles an hour the last I saw of them. She passed up where I told her to go too. The real tragedy is there are two children in the back seat

[Flybob]

Think you need to contact a producer and work on a reality show that is actually real.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Flybob

Think you need to contact a producer and work on a reality show that is actually real.

Didn't we decide to name it "Lug Nutz" [emoji3]

[BandJCarm]

Originally Posted by wmtire

The convenience store sells alcohol. I can be in there at 7 in the morning and both males and females are buying it at that time.

That USED to cover just about everybody.

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

That USED to cover just about everybody.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by wmtire

That reminds me of a person who was running from the law a few towns over. It made national news as it was caught on camera. He basically did the same thing. Let me find it on YouTube.

I found it

https://youtu.be/lVa2waghbUE

A regular "Dukes of Hazard" jump

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

That's pretty much what I was getting at. A little deductive reasoning. Half the time they run specials where you buy the jug of oil and get the filter for free. So it shouldn't come as a shock when a person buys both at the same time.

You do realize that most counter sales people at chain auto parts stores are only paid minimum wage. Maybe, if they've been there 10 years or more they've worked up the ladder, getting fifteen to twenty cent per hour pay "bumps" every year.

For that kind of wage you expect "deductive reasoning" Most of the people in the local stores make one wonder how they find their way to work each day.

[Iwannacamp]

A true parts person...enter experience...is a skilled trade person. I used to tell trainees if you can go 2 weeks without asking a coworker a question and at the same time solve all the requests then you are doing okay. I did it 25 years and hardly a week went by I didn’t hear/see something new. I am sure it’s worse now as cars are more complicated. Years ago...if the catalog said it was correct and it wasn’t...you had something wrong or changed....not so much anymore.

I was a NAPA store manager for my last ~15 years. I was tired of working a minimum of 50 hours a week for a 40 hour salary. I never kept a record, but I am sure I would have left years before if I had.

[Bluepill]

Originally Posted by Flybob

Think you need to contact a producer and work on a reality show that is actually real.

True story: I worked for a particularly screwed up Toyota dealership for about 6 months in the mid-seventies. Oh, the stories I could tell.

I joked with the sales manager that someone should write a sitcom along the lines of the then-current "All in The Family" and sell it to Norman Lear. The manager said he was doing in his spare time. To my knowledge it never went anywhere, but I still think it could have been a serious winner, because so many people have had bad experiences at sales and service departments.