SDIF

To all who work in the parts store business... What are the requirements for hire? What training do you receive? How do the managers measure the sucess of the employees?

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CAMp3RO

i became an assistant store manager for advance auto parts 5 months ago (been working for them on and off over 3 years now). i worked for a small mechanic part time while building my first motor. i also just got my bachelors degree for business management. i'm ASE certified for parts and have been working on my own cars for almost 6 years now. I'm one of a small minority at parts stores these days. its hard trying to find good help these days. in my area, we dont pay all that great, and we dont have too many good applicants applying. but those that do apply, i try to make sure they have at least a working knowledge with cars. the little stuff can come with time and experience. i also try to get people who are good at dealing with customers (customer service can be a very draining job). now i know not all stores do the same, because not all store have employees who can see the business from all angles (the customer, the shop, the boss). so like all big business, its a crap shoot with parts shopping. i'm just doing the best i can for all those involved.

Vaneat-91RS

Depends on what end of parts you're looking to get into. If you are talking about working for the chain stores (NAPA, AutoZone, etc.), most have some sort of training program (I applied to Kragen/Schucks/Checkers at one point and they had this program). Dealerships do too, but usually it is more on your own.
Dealerships tend to pay better, but your knowledge of the product is almost always required to be higher. At a dealership, you are invariably dealing with flat rate technicians, and they don't want to spend all day figuring out what they need with you, so you have to work more quickly and knowledgably. That means when he comes up with an EGR valve for a caddy seville, you KNOW that it is located under K97K, 3.670 group, valves (K=Cadillac cars; 97= year; K="K" body; 3.670 is the subgroup of fuel and emissions where EGRs, ECMs, and PROMs are found). You'd also KNOW that the gaskets for the said valve are in 3.680 group if it doesn't come with one. However, once you found the said area, you have to sort through which options the vehicle might have to determine the correct one. On the example I cited its not to bad because all cadillac cars with the 4.6L Northstar (all of them in that year) use the same EGR for both iterations. But pull up a vehicle with multiple engines (trucks for example) and different emissions options, and it gets more difficult. For the flat rate tech, time literally IS money, so they get testy if you take too long looking up parts or filling orders. You also have to deal with your sales department. That is frankly a major headache. Sales forces tend to roll over frequently these days, so even with established rules in place for ordering parts, they seldom get followed, often leaving the parts consultant with his tail in the door. You also get the joy of dealing with service advisors who want to know why the part they ordered from outer mongolia wasn't there the same afternoon. Finally, you deal with your over the counter customers (that's been outlined previously here).
In short, dealerships offer a lot of pressure in the parts department.

There are a number of ways that you're evaluated. Most Dealerships have counterman efficiency reports that may or may not accurately represent what you are doing (you know what they say: there are lies, flat lies, and statistics). Your parts manager should have a pretty good grasp of what you are doing, and how well you are doing it. They can tell if you are getting a lot of comebacks, or causing strife with your customers or techs.

Many dealerships augment your pay with incentives (sales goals, and so forth), but frankly, if you are getting into parts for the pay--don't. Even well paid parts people have tight finances, and only parts managers make what I'd consider a good living. Most of the counter guys I know wives make better money than they do.

Sorry, way long answer, but I wanted to give a fairly clear idea of what's involved.

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KITT1983

Hi, I also work for Pepboys as an "installer" it has been 9 months since I started working there. The service department is a joke all the so called techs, service writers, and installers care about is themselves and greed. The service department has been in decline since March. They fired the shop foreman on a catch 22 who has been there for almost ten years (since the store opened). Parts department are really nice people corporate are a bunch of boneheads as (fanny may and Enron). The service manger just quit recently we been without a store manager for almost 3 months. The whole company is a joke. "it our policy" they have this ridicules paper work you have too fill out for every job which would take you about 30 minutes to fill out correctly. Is some thing to ponder if I am changing a brake bulb that would take about five minutes now takes 30 minutes. And the two faced Techs and installer sell you out for “pencil whipping” by check good on everything to save you time. “You are taking our jobs” were my Pepboys is located people are on well fare and got no money. There’s no loyalty in Pepboys. We get about 6 jobs total in one day for installers (layoffs coming). I have never for a place or with people that treat you like a machine, you are never appreciated. When the idiot next you is texting like there’s no tomorrow and thanked. The best is the new shop foreman tells them to clean up the shop so likes I don’t do anything, so I can get fired!!!

I had to work Labor Day, July forth, Memorial Day. Never work in service there no money in it is not worth the stress and the outdated equipment will kill you!!!
I stood there and watched the place go into the next level of hell!!!

cameron7710

ya the people there dont really know enything cause sometime ago me and my sister went there to get a battery for the camaro and so we walk in and say 'we need a battery for a 92 camaro", and the girl that worked there said "what make is that,toyota?" i just about left right then

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KITT1983

Actually my state of Massachusetts is so liberal that by owning an 83 Pontiac Trans am is a direct violation of the Prius code meaning any Gangster/JDM nut will try to destroy your car or mock you for buying an American car. To help the greener hippie “al gore” agenda. I really hate the Prius it is all hype!!! All my coworkers talk about is Toyota Supra does this..., my vtec does that..., my Honda get 40 mpg yo I am practically the only guy there who actually owns a Pontiac trans am. They have nothing in stock for my car anyways!!

I don’t give a hoot I pollute

allenfre

That's really bad! Your paying a pricey stuff thinking that the package you bought has its quality, new & not tampered!

papapayne

why we are on pep boys....

I am in the Army and my wife was coming to see me off to go to Afghan. On the way home my car she was driving (89 Formula firebird) broke down. She spent 1850 in repairs. She doesn't know cars and they took her for a ride basically. Price break down (at the time they charged 65 an hour)

Fuel Pump parts-180 labor-586
Fuel Filter- 37 labor 80
Water pump- parts 289 labor 400
thermostat parts- 25 labor 145


When she showed up she showed me the bill. I called the manager and asked him what the hell he was thinking. He calmly told they rate how long it took their mechanic to perform the jobs. I told him that if it took a mechanic over two hours to do a thermostat (third gens have four bolts if i member right)that they need to be fired. He tried to lie and say some complicated bull about how intricate each job was. Needless to say I Took it higher up. I finally had to Do BB complaint and got a partial refund.

91blue_phoenix

I've given up on Pep Boys. The one in York is trashy, and they always move stuff around. I went in and had to ASK for a Cherry Bomb, and it turned out it was on the other end of the store from the rest of the exhaust stuff.

I never bothered with the service end of it cause I do my own work. No one touches my car but me. Only time someone does is state inspection, and my friend does that, whom is also a F-Body enthusiast.

If I need parts, I usually go to my local NAPA, which is privatley owned, so service is good. Prices aren't the cheapest, but they don't rape ya, but ya get what ya pay for.

fryer1979

Actually, that is the best way I have found to tell if a shop is a good or bad shop. Shady shops will try to charge you by how long it took them to do the work, while a good and honest shop will charge you strictly by how long the book says to take. For the many of you who don't work in auto repair, yes there is a book, it is put out by a company called Mitchell (sp?). It breaks down how long it should take a journeyman level mechanic to perform any repair on any car.

Also I will avoid chain shops like the plauge. And I usually prefer ASE certified mechanics, being an ASE certified mechanic I know what it takes to get that certification (and those guys spending their time texting and playing grab-a** won't cut it). When I am forced to use a shop I also make sure the the "newbies" are not learning on my car. If I wasn't able to perform my own work I would only go to the small private shops, their integrity is their buisness. If they had a reputation for negligent work or ripping their customers off they would not survive, so their motivation for success is much higher.

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KITT1983

tell me about it i worked for them. the mangers rather throw you under the bus to keep a customer even though the customer is lying through his teeth admits that firestone broke his studs, but still blame me when i did an oil change the car a month ago!! and your coworkers say it was my fault. Oh i broke the studs with my magical crystal ball. I command you stud to break now! we need the business please break now! but I do practice voodoo.
fryer1979 you described my pepboys right on the tick.

fryer1979

That's great!

Unfortunately that describes any service I have had or been witness to with any chain joint. I mean no offense to those here who work at places like these and really do care about their work. I feel for you guys, but your coworkers give you a bad name. Or maybe I just attract bad service, I always have bad luck in restaraunts too! (but that's not third-gen related, sorry)

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1991CamaroRslow

I used to always think the guys in Auto Zone were the biggest bunch of disrespectful jack asses on the planet. It would end up in virtual war every time I went in to get a part. The other places in town were the same way, I never understood this until I spent a day just hanging out with my mechanic. I have never in my life laughed so hard at how much stress he goes through dealing with morons. After this I knew what to look for and guess what, these same tards are in Auto Zone arguing the same stupid crap. After this I made friends with the people who work there and my life has been so much happier ever since. It's also nice to be able to get stuff warrantied out without a hassle now.

RS Reaper

Well to each it's own. I'm in Atanta, GA. The Pep boys around here I have never gone to get service but for appearance parts (Lug Nut, Paint, ext.) for that their great. Don't like auto zones website not simple to use, so parts look up is hard along with when I phone them for parts they say are out of stock it a flip of a coin if there really out or just saying. I stick with the big three: NAPA (I've know the guys working here for over 6 years, most are retired mechanics), Advance auto (great website, easy to find parts and the guys in the store know what I'm taking about.) O'Reilly Auto Parts (Great sales and the store guys are ready to help in anyway they can.) These are for the once around me. Basicly go where you know the people working there. I do the same with my tires, brakes, and such.

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Cardomain

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Yellow92RS

Haha Pep Boys... I, too, will never let Pep Boys ever touch my car ever again. I had 2 new front tires installed on my car and it was the worst experience I've ever had with a store. I had to go back a total of 4 times to get them fixed, cause they kept messing things up every time.

First visit - I go there and get 2 new front tires put on. (1 hour, 30 min wait)

Second visit - Both tires have a pretty bad leak. Take the car back, they remount the tires (2 hour wait)

Third visit - Both tires now have a slow leak now, not as bad as they were but still bad. I go to the back and talk to the techs back there. I tell him what happened, he remembers my car, and he tells me they are leaking because of the balancing weights on the tires. He says that the weights they had been using for the past week were defective and this was happening alot. Ok... He puts air in my tires and says to come back the next day, and he'll put a different kind of weight on my car. (15 min wait)

Fourth visit - I go back, they fix the tires. Front driver side tire still has a very slight leak. Oh, and they put my rims back on backwards.. The driver side rim was on passenger side, and vice versa. Whatever, i gave up and never went back. (1 hour wait)

This is why I have never let Pep Boys touch my car since. No one in Service has a clue about anything they are doing. It's sad.... This was the one in Warminster, Pa. On Street road. If you live in the area, don't go there. Stay away. It is evil.. lol

Brennan

i dont have a pep boys around here but i do have a canadian tire (rumors are they are merging so this is somewhat related) a buddy of mine went to canadian tire for an inspection on a car he got for like $200 and needed it inspected to put it in his name. he already knew there was no alternater belt. he was gonna ask them to put it on but he forgot to mention it. so he dropped off the car they inspected it and the car passed! he looked at the slip and it said that the belts were in good condition needless to say he never went back

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91blue_phoenix

Looks like I woke a sleeping beast here...

That's the way it is at almost any garage KITT1983. The service manager/ writers always throw the techs under the bus. It happened at both car dealerships I worked for. It's why i got out of the mechanical end of it. Now I wholesale, and detail, so if something isn't right, I answer for myself, not the writer answering for me. Guess what? I'm much happier, albeit there is more stress.

bl85c

Pep boys employee speaking. That's an example of 'pencil whipping' as someone previously described it. Means an installer has worked on your car. I yell at the installers whenever I catch them doing it (I'm a flatrate mechanic, not a manager) not because it takes work away from me directly, but indirectly I lose work because it discourages the customer- there's a 3 reccomendation minimum at my shop now. But I can sympathize. When we get slammed there'll be 7-10 tickets in the installer box all expecting their cars within an hour, 2-3 installers to bust it out and still do a 50 point inspection with reccomendations on every car. Even I admit to doing a quick once-over now and then (for me it's a quick glance at the fluids, feel out the belts and measure the tread). Installers really bear the grunt of the basic, mindless work at a shop. Flat repairs, oil changes, light bulb installations, most of the cleaning. All the stuff that doesn't pay enough for flatraters to care (or pay at all) gets passed down to them. Not that they're bad at what they do or anything, but the're jumping in and out of cars so often they don't have time to focus. My reccomendation to anyone going to service is make sure it pays enough for a mechanic to be interested (an hour min).

It's not as bad as it was though. We used to have something called the 'buddy system' where we had to interrupt another mechanic when we finished something, have them look it over (or in the case of 'wheels-off' work check every lug with a torq wrench) and sign off on it. Sounds great and all but in the real world flatraters get pissed off when our time is wasted, everything takes too long and noone's going to do it anyway . Luckily the eggheads running the company are starting to realize people won't wait an hour for a rotation. Now if we could just get rid of the 'chalk & walk' pos. Why a mechanic needs to be looking for f***ing nails in a tire and 'chalking' the tread depth in 3 spots on every tire I don't know. That's why we write it on the inspection paper!!!

Despite all that we have our s**t together for the most part. The parts dep. gets parts out pretty quick- although sometimes a pickticket gets passed up and I get pissed waiting for parts, or the servicewriter puts in the wrong info and I get the wrong part, or it's crap right out of the box (occasionally you'll recieve defective parts outright). But our servicewriters all have previous experience in the industry and can cut through the bs pretty well. So really pep boys is a pain to work for because of all the bs policies the bigwigs come up with, but otherwise it's no different from anything you'll find anywere else in the industry.

KITT1983

Actually the flat rate techs pencil whip as well. The old shop foreman who was there for 10 years was fired on a catch 22.

The service writers are so lazy. They made us get our own parts and fill out the vehicle info such as VIN, what kind of car its etc... It is against the "Pepboys policy" for us to do that they got yelled from corporate for that. Basically we did their job for them.

Most dealerships in area are ten times better than Pepboys and so are independent shops.
The Pepboys where I worked was in a bad area, people where always broke and tried to rip off the place. My last manger would shield us from stupidity. The flat rate mechanics that where scamming customers, excessive comebacks.

91blue_phoenix

Never been to the Lincoln Mercury dealership I've worked for, have you? Warranty fraud is just the tip of the iceberg... Pep Boys may be better on some fronts, but not all.

bl85c

Yea, the servicewriters pull the same crap at my shop too. If it's cold out or the service lane isn't set up they make us get the vin and all, or if parts don't arrive on time they tell us to go get it. I just tell them the car's going to sit and take up space 'till I get the part. I have other tickets to get done.

KITT1983

Dealerships who commit warranty fraud in my state go under, thanks to the internet and word of mouth especially in Lynn.


The service writers would do it when it was dead at the service desk as well and when weather was good or bad. The manger who replaced him was complete suck up to corporate and throw us under the bus.

MY87LT

Pep Boys has gone down the tube for some time now. The only thing they are good at anymore is selling air freshener for your car. And I even question that.

IROC212

I used to work at Checker auto parts, and Autozone years ago. I guess like any other job you have dedicated people who want to learn and help, and people who are too lazy to do anything. I work in a new car dealership now, most of the people I work with have been doing this for awhile, and usually on one car brand. When you work in an aftermarket parts house you have people who usually don't know what they need asking you for parts for anything from a Chevy Nova, to a Mercedes Diesel, or a Yugo. It's not an easy job, but indifference is unacceptable.

Personally I despise the Pep boys, and will never buy anything from there again. I feel their parts are mostly substandard, compared to other aftermarket suppliers, and the people who work there just don't care. I stick to the places where I know somebody, or they let me look up my own stuff.

MY87LT

Down with Pep Boy's. Unless they can get back to what they used to be in the 70's and 80's.

Beater79TA

Personally, I won't shop at Pep Boys any more. The main reason is I have to drive past Napa, Checker, and Autozone to get there and any of those 3 is a better choice.

I mainly shop at Autozone though. I have a friend who works there and the rest of the staff is now used to me walking in, helping myself to a computer to locate the parts, and then pulling the parts for myself. All they have to do is run the register.....

MY87LT

I've been pretty fortunate with Kragen (Checkers, O'Riley, Etc...) They usually have a good selection on hand and if you have to special order, it comes pretty quickly if it's at their local warehouse. Don't really shop at Auto Zone so I have no really opinion on them. But like I have been saying "PEP BOYS TOTALLY SUCKS!!!!!"

louflemm

just bought my 1986 trans am great condition took it to pep boys which i was very hesitant about doing and what a ya know. those *** holes put a dent in my door. but guess what their payin for it. DONT EVER TAKE YOUR CAR TO PEP BOYS. the people who work their are the ones who failed automotive school if they even went.

KITT1983

I know I used to work for pepboys, the mechanics who graduated to an automotive school quit, get laid off or get fired(for no reason). the pinhead who worked on your car was the tech a honda nut or an older technician who claimed to have ASE's

I never brought my car there for several reasons it was in a high theft area. They wanted me to park it behind the store where it was out of camera range and out of sight. They said they were not responsible if it was stolen or damaged. there was a accident in the parking lot, the intersection, and the street almost every day.

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ThePain

That's the worst comparison ever. You're an idiot.

1985fbird

Haha. Pep Boys has screwed me too.

I went there for a simple tire rotation. It took them 3 hours. That p*ssed me off enough.

Then as I was driving home on the interstate my tire passes me.... WTF?!?!?!?!?

Those f**kers forgot to put ALL 5 lugs on my rim

I was lucky enough that my bird was balanced enough to get me to the side of the road...

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jensen73110

It was freezing cold one winter, so I took them my pads and rotors to change (2000 Olds Alero). The inner and outer pad look completely different, but somehow the retard forced the pads on the wrong way. 3 months and 5000 miles later my pads were gone and I was grinding metal. F those guys.

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MY87LT

Pep Boys screwed up my brakes on my Explorer Sport. Gonna have to take it to the dealer "which I should have done so in the first place" on the next brake service. I rather spend a little once and get it done right the first time.