That's really too close to the truth. I walked into a TSC store on Dundas east in London and asked were they kept the grommets 3 employees later the manager came over and asked me what a grommet was and he was sure they didn't carry any. I don't go there any more.
I had a really bad experience with O'Reillys in Port Huron.
Went in store, asked for specific part (pair) and asked the counter guy 3x to tripple check the part to assure me its the correct part because I am across the pond and then some., Yeah yeah yeah he says. The part is 1/3 of price here.
Get home...wrong part....few choice words....
Call store, get quite the smug answer from staff, ask for manager. Same thing. Downright refuses to ship to Canada. Call District Service Manager. He says no way we ship to Canada and yes its our fault.
Said ok...not only will i have correct one in stock....ill give you them free plus you $ back.
So I email manager.,DSM etc and confirm exact day and even window of time 8am to 12 noon.
Arrive...who are you? Your hear for what? And no we do not have those in stock, sold out.
I call Manager NOW. I can hear them talking on the phone...schmuck behind counter...he be here tomorrow.
I walk out of store FUMING....call DSM.....verbatum....Hey remember me? Ummmyeah....well I just went to your bleeping store assure your bleeping part and bleep bleep bleep bleep. And I will tell everyone....bleep.And so on.
Moral of story...I no longer buy parts state side unless I can verify that its correct part or install it and now I shop at Auto Zone..or I shop here at home. Less hassle. Not my problem if part is wrong and I just go down the street and exchange it. Lesson learned.
When I was living in Calgary the NAPA warehouse had a store. Perfect, nearly everything was in stock. I'd go in for strange things,
if there was an "old" (think guy from pre-computer times) guy there, no problem.
I'm putting custom brakes on my BMW, "I need some metric brake hoses, about ___ long"...
kid at the counter couldn't help me because he couldnt' look it up. Old guy goes into the back grabs a whole pile, brings them up and we find one. He puts the purchase through and mentions "For next time the computer says they are from a ____".
Smiles at the kid and I have my stuff.
It seems the young guys come without a clue.
Same thing happened when I needed a rad hose for ye olde dodge. He opened a book, found a few pieces of hose he had marked they were the right diameter
but they had twists and turns and what not and so I could cut the hose to the shape needed. Win.
We were all young and dumb before we got older, experienced and smarter..Some times I can hardly believe I was dumb guy...and then the phone rings .... sorry can you say that again ..your looking for a muffler bearing that's fits a thing-a-ma-jig with two giggling pins and has a green widget..
I work at the local NAPA, not behind the counter, delivering stuff.......
When you guys talk about these young guys that havent a clue and need a computer for everything?...Well, thats the way the system is set up..They have to look it up that way. The books are all gone...Its not like 1955, where a 55 Chevy is a 55 Chevy....no Novas, No Chevelles, no Cobalts, no minivans....There was just one model...a 55 Chevy.....No wonder the parts guy could remember many of the parts in his head. Today, there are so many makes and models, it would be impossible to remember just a bit of it......Give the guys a break.
Have to agree with Harry "in part', todays parts counter "people" only have tha computer to go by!! Way back when, I worked in parts dept for large Chry.. dealer on Bay St.Toronto, all we had were the "books" back then. I've. given up on most parts outlets for anything for my 64 catalina, as the 1st. thing they ask is " 283 or 327" tell them it's a 389 & their "screwed" as NO LISTING in the computer!!! The guys at NAPA Port Perry are "good" at going the distance for me & both counter guys are "car people" & into the "OLDIES"
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I can only please one person a day, Today is not your day!!Tomorrow doesn't look good either !!!!
I went to CT parts last summer....was in a bind...found parts guy...maybe late teens early 20s. I said Im looking for a Thermostat, he said try hard ware...I said no a car not a house...he said try the dealer I dont think we keep interior stuff like that....shrug shoulders and left store.
We are really luckey in our area .The parts guys at the Cobourg Canadian Tire are excellant.If the store has it in stock they will find it and if not it can usually be there in a day or two.Same thing with Parts Source good staff that actually know cars.The Home Depot is said to be one of the best in customer service and actually a model for other stores.Same with the other hardware stores especially the Port Hope Rhona all staffed by people who know there stuff.I know the management of some of our stores leave a lot to be desired but the staff are good. Ed
I remember when I was younger how amazing of a store Canadian tire was. I actually worked there for 3 years assembling bikes. It was piece work and was able to build them so fast I probably made more than the manager. Back then, you could buy hardware like nuts and bolts in bulk and they had a huge inventory of of different items to allow you to fix anything. Automotive department could get any part you wanted, even performance parts. Actually, Anything automotive related could be purchased at Canadian tire if you got the right guy behind the counter. Today's Canadian tire is a far cry from what it once was. Now it's no different than Walmart but with a different Logo !!
Our CTC in Picton is a small store but great people behind the counter. Yes they use the computer, but when all else fails, they still know how to use the books. When I go in and ask for a thingy ma jig, they find me a thingy ma jig. Went to a Mitsubishi dealer a while back to get a part and was told that without a VIN number from the car, they couldn't search the part. Where is the VIN number on your hot rod?
I work at the local NAPA, not behind the counter, delivering stuff.......
When you guys talk about these young guys that havent a clue and need a computer for everything?...Well, thats the way the system is set up..They have to look it up that way. The books are all gone...Its not like 1955, where a 55 Chevy is a 55 Chevy....no Novas, No Chevelles, no Cobalts, no minivans....There was just one model...a 55 Chevy.....No wonder the parts guy could remember many of the parts in his head. Today, there are so many makes and models, it would be impossible to remember just a bit of it......Give the guys a break.
sorry can you say that again ..your looking for a muffler bearing that's fits a thing-a-ma-jig with two giggling pins and has a green widget..