<VV> Let the Buyer Beware - Final Chapter

[Hank Kaczmarek]

Ned
----- Original Message --
Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2005 10:38 PM
Subject: Re: <VV> Let the Buyer Beware - Final Chapter


> In a message dated 1/9/2005 3:24:33 PM Central Standard Time,
> kaczmarek@charter.net writes:
>
> parts  counterman you are much more likely to go the extra mile for
> your regular  customer, than the guy that only comes to you because you 
> know:
>
> (especially at NAPA)
>
> That his regular junk parts dealer (Advance or  Autozone) doesn't stock 
> it,
>
>
>
> This doesn't make any sense to me.

Though it should. If you had worked long enough in the parts business, you 
get to know which parts are NAPA/"dealer only" parts.  When you have a 
person who rarely  comes in your NAPA  store, and it seems each time they 
ask for something that you know is a NAPA/dealer only part,  it sure makes 
sense that they're buying all the rest of their stuff somewhere else.  By 
"stuff", we mean chemicals, oil, wiper blades, filters,  etc.  Same thing at 
the Dealer.  If the only time you see someone at a dealer is because they 
can't buy the part anywhere else,.....They never bring their cars to you for 
service or repair, they don't even call to check on prices for stuff,  You 
know that they're only coming to you because they HAVE TO.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT HOW YOU ARE TREATED!!!! THIS IS ABOUT HOW THE RULES ARE OR 
AREN'T APPLIED!!! Don't make the argument into something it isn't.

Both the dealerships I have worked at and the NAPA store I worked at were in 
very small towns. You know almost all of your customers, or have heard about 
them (small town gossip still lives).

Some folks are getting smarter these days. Prices of parts are going up at 
all outlets.  In many cases you can buy a NAPA quality part like a  CV axle, 
for as much or less than the "junk store" parts like Advance and Autozone.

 Just how much do I have to spend to get that special treatment?
There's no monetary figure.  If you're there long enough, you get to know 
your customers, and you begin to see their spending habits.  If someone 
comes in once in a blue moon and screws up a clutch disk, doesn't have his 
receipt, etc.  they might get the "sorry, no refunds without a receipt" 
line, which you  get in any retail outlet these days. But if the guy is a 
frequent customer,  even to several times a month, the discretion is there 
to go ahead and help him out.  Why lose all his business for one part???  If 
one or three parts a year is all you see him for, then you haven't lost much 
by sticking to the policy. You're not eating the part, and you're not losing 
dollars in future sales, that guy doesn't come in often enough.


> Let's say that I'm a regular customer of you competition. This may be  due 
> to
> their location or because their prices are lower or some other  reason.

That's exactly the point. Usually its because their prices are lower. and at 
NAPA because the lower priced store likely doesn't carry an expensive part, 
too cheap to keep it in inventory. The only time they are coming to NAPA is 
because they HAVE to, and they won't be back again UNLESS they HAVE to.

 They
> don't have the item I need and I have to get it from your company.  You 
> now
> have the opportunity to impress me sufficiently to get my future 
> business. If I
> don't get treated well, why should I give you my business?

Au Contraire!!! You WILL get treated well. I'm there to take your money. 
I'm gonna take your money, and you WILL get treated well.  But you will 
probably be held to the rules for returns/refunds and exchanges.  If you 
expect special treatment, you would probably have to be a more frequent 
customer.  As the previous poster said, software now makes allowances for 
this.


>
> When I worked at a parts counter, long long ago and far away,

That is the operative statement.

As I mentioned last week, Advance's marketing philosophy is designed to get 
you in the store ONCE...As the Regional Vice President said, "new people get 
their 1st drivers license every day".....

Retail is a tough business.  You can do everything right, bend over 
backwards, go the extra mile, and the customer will STILL complain. And 
often does.  I have worked with people who have been in the business 30 
years, and they say todays customer is nothing like the customer of the 70's 
or 80's.

 In Auto Parts, you can even install the part (not one of the ones offered 
as a free installation) and the customer will complain.


 it was  the
> store policy that the customer was right, even when they were wrong.

The profit motive of the 90's and the 21st Century has changed this. Usually 
there is more competiton as well.  Too many choices rarely adds up to 
Customer Loyalty. It's now more like a high ideal, not a policy that is 
applied evenly day to day.

 I saw  parts
> returned or exchanged, knowing full well that they didn't come from our
> store.

I started in the business in 1994, and I never saw that happen anywhere. 
Nor have I seen it as a customer.

 The object of this policy was for the customer to leave the store with a
> positive attitude and would therefore be more likely to return to spend 
> more
> money.

These days, in my experience, the customer is looking for the best price. 
Not really looking for quality, especially the discount customer. All the 
discount customer  knows is
1.Their vehicle doesn't run.
2. They need it to run.
3. They're broke. Probably working one of Matt's "Bottom Feeder" jobs.
4 Hopefully what's broken is something they have a warranty on.

EX: Customer has a "won't Start" condition.  You send a person (or yourself) 
to do a battery/alternator/starter check---Free, of course.
Battery Checks out--100% OK. Alternator charging 100% OK.
  Starter check shows excessive amperage draw.  You tell the customer his 
starter is bad, and that's why the only way it will start is with a jump. 
Excessive draw.
Customer says "But it HAS to be the BATTERY!!!"  And when you ask why, he 
tells you "I don't have any money, and I have a warranty on the Battery!!". 
I have even gone as far as to put another battery in the car, and let the 
guy turn the key and see he still has the same problem, jump him off and let 
him go on his way.

I guess it's been a while since you worked in an Auto Parts Store.

After a while, that gets tiresome.  I know Advance store managers who step 
down to working the commercial desk because  they can't stand the constant 
strain of customer complaints. Many of them I have heard repeated in this 
forum. going from 90 hours a week to 40 isn't a bad reason either.  No 
Saturdays and Sundays.

One thing I know for sure. Bearing race Grinders and Honing machines always 
know what they are doing.  They never expect "a break on the price",  or an 
exchange out of warranty and without a receipt. You can cuss them out, beat 
on them with a hammer or a wrench, and they don't complain. You don't have 
to work 90 hours a week to keep things going. At the end of 8 hours there's 
someone there to relieve you so you can go home and forget about it. You 
sleep not worrying about if you make your quota, and not making it doesn't 
affect your paycheck.  The machines don't call an 800 assistance number and 
whine they feel like that they "got Screwed", no matter how hard the store's 
staff and management went out of their way to help them. They never bitch 
that your prices are too high, quality too low, policies are bullshit, yada 
yada yada,.....

I notice you're not in Auto Parts anymore......Why not?? Since you're an 
engineer, could it be the pay wasn't good enough to make it a career??  And 
you blame ME??  NOT!!!

HANK