Just got off the phone with a nissan one asking for a part I ordered weeks ago. I spoke to the same chap that I did before but he can't remember a thing and their computer system is so poor they can't search on any details such as customer address or vin number of vehicle! They can only search from numbers on the receipt, which I haven't got with me and I can't remember where I put it!
Almost as annoying as a fiat department where I ordered rear calipers and they sent me bendix instead of girling and then proceeding to send me the wrong type of suspension bolt... the old one had been cut off but the fitter didn't check the new one was correct before doing so...
Are all parts departments this useless or am I just unlucky?!
teabelly
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I have agood friend who works in the parts department and he is certainly not stupid but he confirms that most of them are failed mechanics! It never ceases to amaze him how they can mess up the simplest of tasks - almost as if there is some sort of competition going on!
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Speaking as a former parts manager (not a failed mechanic) of Volvo and Honda dealerships from some years ago I agree with your comments to a certain degree.
General housekeeping and administration is the key to efficiency of any parts department. However the task is always made hard by:
Disinterested poorly paid staff
Lack of staff product knowledge and sometimes appalling parts information from the Vehicle Manufacturers who had a policy of fitting what they felt like on the day of production of said vehicle
Lack of investment in stock and stock control by the dealership
The lack of specific vehicle information from customers who never had the chassis number even when asked to obtain it on a previous occasions. Their reply was always 'Oh well they're all the same aren't they??'
In the end, I worked my way out of franchised dealerships, motor factors and now work for a VM. It's taken years for my CV to shrug off the negative kudos but I finally got there!
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In the late eighties, I used to work with a guy who was a BL franchise parts department guy when in his twenties. He had a photographic memory for numbers that surpasses even mine, and we used to 'test' him by saying "What's the part number for a 1975 Maxi 1750TC clutch release arm", or whatever. With his old, well thumbed, parts book as our reference, he was right. Every time!
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I recall an excellent storeman in Holmes & Smith (Rootes Group) Westcliff-on-sea.
I never saw him stumped for either a part number or location in the vast storeroom with racking and bins up to 10ft high, without a bit of computer 'aid' anywhere.
A shame that this breed are pretty well extinct now.
Use it up : Wear it out : Make do : Do without
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I recall an excellent storeman in .... A shame that this breed are pretty well extinct now.
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Thank goodness one survives near me.
The small Ford spares company I use at Twickenham are brilliant.
They have been there for decades and they are happy to offer advice.
They get my business every time even though I have a mega dealer a short walk away.
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I went to our local motor factors, usually very good , for a small indicator bulb the other day , guy looked it up on the computer - Yes 17 in stock , i'll just get them. He disappeared for a couple of minutes , comes back , speaks to his mate who disappears upstairs , comes back , hunts around downstairs and finally admits that they can't find any...
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You may jest, but that level of dedication and attention to detail is seriously lacking in parts operations these days.
Staff just don't bother to learn a core set of part numbers for common applications which saves so much time.
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All down to pride in one's job which, I fear, is almost extinct in these days of "what's it worth to me"
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Too many employees made to feel like a spare part themselves.....
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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During the Summer of 89 I was working for an offshoot of a Saab dealership.
The dealership had a good reputation locally.
Now, my job was temporary, but the Parts Manager who started after me was supposed to be a permenant employee.
I was due to leave in September to continue my degree, and duly did. Said Parts manager 'left' before then.
A number of stories were being peddled about his complete barefaced incompetence. My personal favourite was when a customer paid for and collected a head gasket. The sheer brilliance of this numbskull made its mark when, seeing that the gasket was quite big and thinking the customer may have problems carrying it or whatever, proceeded to fold it so that the customer could carry it more easily!
Can anyone better that?
Hugo
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With those number skills he sounds like a savant.
When I were t'lad one of the 'mechanics' sent me off to the stores. He claimed that he couldn't get the cylinder head bolts undone on the Maxi he was working on, and told me to ask the storeman Jack for 'a long weight for a Maxi cylinder head'. Oh how we laughed.
El Dingo.
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Although its annoying parts departments are usually busy.Most I know of work on receipt. ie a transaction/order no is usually the way they find whether a part is in/still on order..One of the biggest problems I have come across..Is those cars on the change over of models..and the best way to help the parts dept. Is to give chassis no of vehicle..I would not say so much as they are useless..more that not enough info is given on parts ordering.think you will find giving chassis no is a big help in locating correct parts..unless as has been mentioned manufacturer hasnt updated parts catalogue..in which case that isnt their fault..
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Steve
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When I had a passion for Capri's and ran several the local parts storeman at the Ford dealership was a god.
Not only could the right part be magically made to appear from the most appaling description he would spin the microfiche round and proceed to show you the exploded parts diagram and how to fit it, often with the words "and if you take my advice lad you will need one of these (tool appears from hat) to fit it"
Even to the extent that he sent me off with a flea in my ear when I asked for a new rear section on the exhaust - "Get yourself down the road lad to the new fast fit place, they will supply and fit cheaper than I can supply the part alone"
He was well worth the bottle of scotch I dropped in there every christmas.
The parts guy at a distant renault dealership is not bad either - well worth the trip past my nearest renault dealer to get to.
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By way of lightening the subject, I deal with J & P Cycles of Anamosa, Iowa for Harley-Davidson aftermarket parts and accessories for our riding group. Every year they send me a 3" thick catalogue which has about 30 pages dedicated to aftermarket exhaust systems alone and even more to m/cycle seats.
How they deal with and know the variety and quantities of the items they stock beats me. I'm not just talking pulling up numbers on a screen, but the knowledge and ability to advise choices well when the customer is faced with such a plethora.
J & P employ at least two delightful ladies on the phone who really know their jobs, have an encyclopaedic knowledge (no, sir, after the BY series frame numbers, the fork slider seals were changed to *****, or sir, if you're using Performance Machine Calipers, and you're a long way away, so we'd better ship you two sets of the ceramic pads. They grip better but don't wear quite so good etc etc).
I've only ever caught them out of stock once, and the missing item followed in less than a week. All shipped by Oops! and I get it customs cleared and delivered to my door in 4 days max.
Every shipment has a freebie of some sort inside, a t-shirt, a cap or some Harley pins for the old leather vest.
People who obviously enjoy their jobs and being around motorcycles and getting things right. As someone said above, it all comes down to management....
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My local Skoda dealer takes some beating for incompetence. A bulb recently failed in my Wifes Skodas high level brake light. A call to Skoda assured us that the bulbs were available seperately. Off we toddle only to be told by the parts man - who couldn't use the T.I.S. system that we had to buy the complete assembly for £48 as it was an LED unit. This took nearly 4 weeks to arrive. When I removed the old light I discovered 2 screws. I split the unit to find a row of small bulbs! I was livid. Remonstrating with the parts manager and the dealer principle were fruitless. I also wrote to Skoda UK and to date they have fobbed me off with excuses and not replied.
To balance this missive I can only sing the praises of my local Rover dealer, Caffyns. The parts department have been fantastic for years scouring the country locating rare parts for my endless list of SD1s. Very knowledgable and nothing is too much trouble.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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v8man. can only agree with point on rovers..never had a problem.
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Steve
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The parts department at the Mazda dealer in Derby (now closed I think) were excellent. I needed to rebuild a gearbox for a very rare model. They got the parts I needed, advised me that a bearing shop probably had some parts cheaper, and even photocopied off the pages out of the michrofiche for me. It was greatly appreciated.
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The guy down the local Vauxhall garage is an absolute godsend. He's been there since he left school (some 20 yrs ago) and you can give him the vaguest description of the most obscure part you could ever think of and straight away he knows exactly what you're describing. Others have come and gone, but have not been a patch on this guy. He's like a human microfiche.
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I wonder if his remuneration package reflects his value to the organisation he works for? Or, for that matter, whether the customers show their appreciation from time to time?
Perhaps he just loves his job?
If he were a waiter you'd tip him a quid or two every time you visited but strangely this practice is only followed in the service industries - Wonder why?
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Where I live a Christmas gift would be appropriate practice. Any use?
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