this is something I just had to share As you may or may not know I work at NAPA, and well a normal occurance of working there is having "the zone" call us and ask us general questions that well an ASE certified counterperson should know. And me being the lowly non ASE counterperson should sit there and just drool and have poop fall from my butt. WELLL apparently during Official Bitch Call week (sorry but no other explanation is suitable) the OHV V6 in the Ford Toreass has become camless, which if you don't know there is not one, not even a suitable working prototype to my knowledge. (and yes I have had three calls from wives who's husbands were literally to lazy to get up and call and tell their wives that A. they have a v6 that doesn't have cams and B. that they have a timing chain. when I inform them of this they yell "HONEY! he says the car has to have a cam! and something about head over valvie things!" this is part of the joy of working in woodstock) ok that's the back story. And NO I am not sexist or against women in any kind of way, I know a TON of women that are parts pros and kick the shit out of me in knowledge every day of the week, and they actually generally make a better parts pro if they are car knowledgable, because they really do multitask better. So this female from autozone calls and pulls the same routine right, I sit there for 15 minutes and explain the difference between OHC and OHV motors, and that there is no such thing as a working production camless engine in a automobile. She then changes the subject to why was she on hold for "like 15 minutes" to which tell her it was 47 seconds exactely, my phone has a timer on it and that I was sorry for her hold time and informed her that one of my co-workers had to have emergancy quad bypass and that we're doing the best we can. She says oh and blah blah blah about something and makes some smart ass remark to me. I say do you still want the injector? She says "what's the price?" I tell her the price. She complains that it's higher then what she quoted her commercial customer. I tell her it's not my problem and that she should have checked her inventory before promising an injector at a price she couldn't come through with. She gets all uppity I forget what she said, but I tell her that it's not NAPA's job to supply every poorly stocked competitor and that our products are not the same brand so price matching is not even logical. She then calls me an asshole and slams the phone down. She called back roughly 5 minutes later and said give me the injector, my driver will be there soon. I say ok I'll pull it and have it waiting, thanks for the business, and I hear her growl. The sad part is that the zone, and well ALL of our competitors do this on a reg basis and regularly send us thousands in business by this mannor. I asked my boss if I could make stickers that said "I didn't get in the Zone at Autozone, instead I got the good stuff at NAPA." He rolled his eyes and walked away with a smile. I guess I'll tell you about how Just Brakes does it sometime. *end rant*
NAPA for real parts. AutoZone for consumer stuff. It's not surprising AutoZone employees would be less informed. Remember when NAPA and Ace Hardware were the only shops?
My mom is a 25 year employee of NAPA. She works at headquarters. If there is one thing you will come to learn its that in the auto parts business no one has better parts than NAPA.
my experience is that Napa employees have treated me extremely jerky for asking questions. in person. At the store. I don't like going to places where they try to make you feel like a tool for taking up their time. Especially when the parts are marked up more in the margins.
I've never had that experince at all but I'm sure it happens, there are jerks everywhere. Everyone is entitled to make a profit even large corporations. The bottom line is the quality of their parts are better than the "other" guys. Not only that but the counter guys always seem to be very knowledgeable. The employee discount for Napa HQ employees is quite good and you would be suprised how little mark up there is on some items. Matt
I had some guy at Advance ask me why I was buying winshield washer fluid, because he explained that he just makes it himself. I thought it would be strange mixing methanol and detergent, but does anyone else do this?
I have had really good experiences at NAPA over here in Kauai...as a matter of fact, they go above and beyond the call of duty...no kidding... Mark
Eh, I fully understand that Napa is a better store. But Autozone is just far more convenient to me for the run of the mill stuff (oil, filters, car washing stuff). I guess if I ever need an alternator or something I'll hit up Napa.