<VV> Brake shoes

[kaczmarek at charter.net]

Joe
I guess you have to stand on the other side of the counter for a while to see what they go thru.

When the counter man asks questions that you believe to be 
so pertinent...you get responses like.

"What difference does the engine make" I've owned this thing for 20 years and I know you don't need to know that
to 
"do you know what you're doing??"

After a while, you tire of that. 

After a longer while, you LEARN WHAT QUESTIONS TO ASK...

Asking every question the default drop down menu thinks you should isn't necessarily information necessary to do what the counterman's job is---to get you the right part the first time out. 

Of course, those of you who have never been parts counterpersons always seem to know more than those who are or have been parts counterpersons. Same applies to mechanics, engineers, etc. 

To me, a plumber who does plumbing every day knows more than a guy who putters to fix what's in his home. Same for an electrician. Same for a mechanic. I'ts just a hobby for me. For him, it's a career. 

Obviously if you've never worked in the Auto Parts Business, the benefit of your vast experience in the field belittles my own. 

Thanks for your expert opinions, I'll file them away for future reference. Well, maybe not.

Hank
> 
> From: "N. Joseph Potts" <pottsf at msn.com>
> Date: 2005/08/18 Thu PM 12:28:27 EST
> To: "Padgett" <pp2 at 6007.us>,  <kaczmarek at charter.net>, 
>         <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
> Subject: RE: <VV> Brake shoes
> 
> I agree with Padgett. There is NO good reason why a counterman should
> interpose his presuppositions over what the database "knows" just in order
> to look personally knowledgeable. Intelligence today is a matter of
> NAVIGATING and EVALUATING information, not retaining and regurgitating it.
>      I've been standing IN FRONT of parts counters for about 45 years, and
> at one point could read the (GM) parts books (they were books back then)
> UPSIDE DOWN better than the countermen could (eventually I bought my own -
> turns out I can read them even BETTER right-side-up). And they were NOT
> young squirts - they were (at the time) considerably older than I was.
>      Some years ago, I ordered a taillight for my Brand X, and was surprised
> to be asked, "two-door" or "four-door." The question was required, of
> course. Just last week, a counterman almost neglected to ask me whether the
> (other) Brand X I was buying brake pads for was a police option (it was).
> Yes, it made a difference - and not just lining material - the non-police
> part would NOT fit. The computer knows - a counterman trying to outsmart the
> computer (and/or the customer) is just John Henry going up against the steam
> hammer. Only it's the customer who gets it in the ear, not the counterman.
> 
> Joe Potts
> Miami, Florida USA
> 1966 Corsa coupe 140hp 4-speed with A/C
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org
> [mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org]On Behalf Of Padgett
> Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2005 12:58 PM
> To: kaczmarek at charter.net; virtualvairs at corvair.org
> Subject: Re: <VV> Brake shoes
> 
> 
> 
> > >His  question was based on the choices in the dropdown and had nothing
> > to do
> > > with knowlege or lack thereof.
> >
> >Allow me to respectfully disagree.
> 
> To me the question sounds reasonable - a car with a Turbo might well have
> different brakes than its N/A counterpart. Remember that while we only have
> to keep track of three or four models, at Pep Boyz or Advance or AZ they
> are liable to get parts requests for just about anything.
> 
> So I stand by my original statement: the act of asking the question does
> not say anything about general knowlege or intelligence & was just a drop
> down.
> 
> Padgett
>