Welcome to the site Jared, interesting rant and yet a good read. You bring forward many valid points.

 

I hate autozone with a passion, nothing but idiots there. Gave me the wrong tie rod ends 3 times, sold me upper control arm ball joints when they're not serviceable, wrong size battery, wrong socket for the CV shaft nut, new CV shaft nuts came in two weeks after I ordered them, and this is all in about a months span as I've been going through my used truck making it new. I went to NAPA and they got me the right tie rod ends on the first try. I've found that the large stores have idiots working there. I've since retreated to paying a bit more to get real help from NAPA and A Line Autoparts, every time I go there they get it right the first time.

While I realize a parts hocker can't possibly know everything about every car but for god sakes the Chevy truck is one of the most common vehicles on the ******* road. As a parts hocker you should know something about them. Atleast know that the newer silverados have top posts on the battery and no longer side posts. You sell them all damn day. It was my fault for not looking to make sure it was the right one but I made the mistake of thinking the parts lady(the freakin manager no less) would know the right battery for an extremely common truck.

 

I love goin in with Part Numbers.. it helps everybody out and its alot quicker for both sides.
NAPA is our sister company so i get a half decent discount and its on the way home from work. IF they dont have it i go down the road to Oriellys. Guy in there was amazed i knew the Part number to my Wix oil filter.. Really? thats the easiest thing to remember. Even gave him the PN for the oil pan gasket to save him some work.
Threw two 5qt jugs of Delo 400 15w40 on the counter and he asked what i was working on. Got into a quick lil conversation and he is pretty cool so i always go back to him and it seems he enjoys having somebody to deal with and he gets to help me out too.

I feel sorry for guys like you Jared..
i work at Motion Industries, we sell bearings, seals, chains, sprockets, all that kinda good stuff.
We get some class A1 ignorants, set a outer bearing race on the counter and they want a set of inner and outer..So i Mic what they give me and i find the possibles in the book. Hand them the book and tell them to pick which shaft size they want for the inner bearing.. and make sure to tell them its a no refund , there about 20-25 different size per bearing so it blows their mind.

or when some dummy brings in a Seal and tells me they want 2 of them.. only part is there is no rubber sealing ring in the seal to measure and they expect us to know the shaft diameter. So again ill find the OD of the seal and hand them the book and tell them good luck, no refunds.
Or my favorite!! somebody brings in a seal that they took a 10# hammer to, theres no way possible to mic it since it looks like a pretzel.

OR somebody tells us they want a bearing and they show us how big it is with their hand.. we have actually mic their hand and ordered one for them.. again for their ignorance, NO REFUNDs


cant believe there are some people so dumb out there..

 

Oh and i use them cheapy copper 1.89 plugs in my truck

 

 

+1, this frustrates me to no end. "What do you drive?... This part won't fit on your truck." Yes, I know it won't fit on a bone stock Tahoe, thank you.

I hear this every time I buy spark plugs. "Sir, you don't want the TR6, you want the TR55's, I'll get those for you instead..."

 

It happens more than once a month....

I just get the stock number off NGK's website and tell them i want 8 of these.. If they ask, just tell them your moped eats them like candy..

 

Or better yet.. when somebody tries to measure the bore with a tape measure.. yea thats an accurate way..

"Um Sir, you do know if your off by 1/16" thats 0.0625".. thats a mile when your trying to make a bearing fit that has -/+ 0.0008" tolerances.

 

as for your battery on the 07, i assume she screwed up and did the look up for an 07 classic body style, common mistake that the parts person has to be aware of, year models with body style swaps halfway cause ALOT of problems, she sold you a 78 series battery instead of the top post you needed...

the upper ball joints have a listing because when you purchase a new control arm, they carry a replacement for THAT control arm, not the factory... thats the usual issue...

sounds like your autozone sucks...

these are just things that a parts guy has to know...

when i woke up this morning... the first thing i imagined was a guy walking into the parts store making a circle with his hand... "yah i need a bearing this size.." lol OK!

 

no problem with copper plugs, its a personal thing, my trucks have always ran really well on the acdelco iridiums... its what came out, its what i put back in..

my point was really cheap *** people will put the dirt cheapest **** back in their vehicles, and it makes me cringe...

i get the opportunity to see automotive abuse at its worst...

"my car is overheating, can you come look at it?" **sure, why not?

*walk out*

"sir why is your car still running??? turn it off!!! TURN IT OFF!!!! your overflow is boiling and shaking!!!!!!!

-------------------

"my engine is making a funny noise, can you come look at it?" **sure ill come look at your noise...**

"it also has an oil leak, can you tell me where its coming from" **uhh ill try!**

**mamm your tahoe has no oil filter** "OH NO!! should i turn it off!!"

**by now, it doesnt matter**