Autozone wait times...

[l2a3k2a3i]

Thought this was kinda funny:

Buying parts from AutoZone is often a lesson in anger management and a battle against incompetence. James, an AutoZone customer, attempted to purchase Ford 9" axle seals, but 45 minutes on hold forced his hand.

This is the kind of story which makes us pine for the old days of the neighborhood parts store with clerks who knew by heart the part number for valve seals from a GM 235 inline six and had a set in a shelf in the back. Here, our hero, James, regales us with a tale of inconceivably bad service; A 45 minute period on hold where he decided to get in the car, drive down to the store, and figure out what the hell was going on that made it so difficult for them to quote him a price for his seals. This is his story:


"So I got an event coming up at the local track...should be a fairly fun event and I want to take the truck out. Well....a few weeks ago, due to my own stupidity, I blew my hub seals on my rear end...and due to me catching the fucking flu...and other shit...I never got around to fixing them. So this is the week OF and I need the damn seals, right?
So I call up AutoZone:

"Thank you for calling AutoZone, how can I help you?"
"Yeah, I'm looking for axle seals of a ford 9" rear end..."
"Oooh. umm...hold on a second...." and he puts me on hold.

....15 minutes later...someone ELSE picks up...

"...umm thank you for calling AutoZone, who are you holding for?"
"I'm holding for someone to help me find some axle seals..."
"Oh.. ummm. Huh.. hold on a second." and HE puts me on hold.

...10 minutes in, I'm getting pissed and I decide that this is a battle of wills. Them waiting for me to hang up....me waiting for them to get tired of the phone beeping and to pick up.

...10 MORE minutes....and I can feel my will about to give in completely to anger. FUCK THIS! While STILL on hold, I jump in my daily driver and drive my ass up to the AutoZone I'm on hold with!

I get there about 10 minutes later...and there's 4 fuckers working...and like two people shopping...and one of them hits me up instantly:

"Welcome to AutoZone, how can I help you?"
...as I walk behind their counter to look for their phone...

"Yeah....do you have someone on hold right now?"
"Uh excuse me?"
...I point at the blinking, beeping phone...
"DO...YOU...HAVE...SOMEONE...ON...HOLD...RIGHT...N OW!?"
"Uhh...I guess so."
"You guess so?? Let me help you. You DO have someone on hold...ME! I've been on hold for 45 fucking minutes! What in the HELL is THAT all about?? Can you give me one good reason why you've had me on hold for almost a fucking hour??"
"Well...uhh..I mean....uhhh...I was waiting for him (he points) to pick up.."
"He DID pick up...and put me right the fuck back on hold!"

"Uuhh..err....ahh...ummm..."
"Don't give me any bullshit about how busy you are...there's no one fucking in here! If my fucking question was simply too difficult for you, TELL me."
"Well...what do you need sir?"
"What I needed was axle seals...but what I need NOW is to talk to YOUR fucking manager."
"Yes sir."...and scampers off to get El Jefe....
Manager: "Yes sir, what seems to be the problem?"

...I tell him, "....and I'm STILL on hold!" That's right...I still haven't hung up...

He looks at the phone....picks it up...and says, "Uhh Autzone, may I help you?"
I yell into MY phone, "IT'S ME FUCKER!!!" He jumps and hangs up.
"I'm hoping that isn't your policy here! That if you CAN'T answer the question, just put the person on hold until they hang up?"
"Uh no sir!"
"Well lets see if y'all CAN help me...now that I'm here."
He goes over to the computer...

I tell him, "I need axle seals for a 31 spline ford 9" rear end."
"What's it out of?"
"Hell...i don't know? Almost any 70s ford truck I'm sure."
"Well I need to know what it's out of."
"I do not know..."
"Well what's it in now?"
"That's not gonna help you."
"Sure it is"
"No...it won't. There's no way to search for the rear end?"
"No...so what's it in?"
"A 2001 CHEVY SILVERADO ok?? Does THAT help???"
"No."
"See?"

He connected me with someone at another AutoZone that actually WAS helpful...and I went over there to get the parts..."

[nemelek]

I find it is better to show up in person.

[yaris-me]

Try dealing with AT&T.

[GeneW]

This isn't surprising.....

Professionals will have the part number will ask for the part by number, if it's not there they'll have it shipped from a warehouse. They cut out the clerical non-sense by knowing specifically what they need and as a steady customer they're not treated lightly.

Your average consumer does not have the part number. They'll make a phone call based upon Application. This means that the clerks will rely upon a computerized inventory system which has trees, menus and other doo-dads that point out the part's availability and location. They're only as smart as the programmer who wrote up the inventory control system.

This computerized inventory system is why companies like the Auto Zone do not necessarily hire automobile literate clerks. They hire people who can pick up heavier parts, who have decent customer service skills and who will hustle for the pittances paid.

I live in a rural area where mechanics are not well paid unless they're in business for themselves. As a consequence a lot of our part store clerks are automotively savvy people. Quite a few are motor heads who rely upon their employee discount for their hobby.

Still these places are usually understaffed and do not have enough people to field phone calls and take care of customers. At my local Napa there is almost always a line and someone on the phone.

Why this guy waited on the line for fifteen minutes is a mystery to me. I give them an agreed upon wait or hang up after four or five minutes. The greasy wheel gets greased, but out of sight out of mind. Shame on him for not playing the game right.

Gene

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by yaris-me

Try dealing with AT&T.

I'm with Outcast (Comcast).... I think that they have a former member of the National French Telephone Company heading their "customer service" group. I pity their employees.....

My favorite is when I'm calling with an internet connection problem. I go down through the phone tree to "Internet Connection". While I'm waiting a voice cheerily asks me to "Go online and visit Comcast.com for help". Catch 22 anyone?

For the longest time Comcast also had a problem with their online bill pay. I had an "older version" of account so their Javascript would not let me register my account number. If I typed it in I could not enter it. I still have a ticket with their customer support outstanding with this problem - I fixed it myself by accessing a different page. The ticket is six months old. I have two other tickets with Comcast that are over five years old, I fixed those two problems myself as well.

IF my employer's customer service had tickets that old heads would roll, but not at Comcast....

They also like to take the phone lines down for "maintenance". Usually around 3am to 4am. The phone will be stone dead.....

One time I asked the operator, "If I cannot call 911 and am forced to shoot a burglar will Comcast pay for a lawyer, seeing as how I was unable to summon police?"

Her reaction was... interesting....

Before anyone asks why I stick with Comcast.... when they're good they're very good. When they're bad I want to reach out and touch someone.

Gene

[supmet]

Auto Zone is the shit, and those kids know more than they should for what they get paid. "James" was probably a dick within the first 2 minutes and nobody wanted to talk to him.

[1stToyota]

Originally Posted by GeneW

This isn't surprising.....

Professionals will have the part number will ask for the part by number, if it's not there they'll have it shipped from a warehouse. They cut out the clerical non-sense by knowing specifically what they need and as a steady customer they're not treated lightly.

Gene

Or they'll take it even one step further...get set up to order all parts with the PC, by-passing all the non-sense, unless the employee pulls the wrong part. I always know which store has what in stock, what their warehouse has, or if it'll have to be ordered from their distribution center, plus I get a 4% kick-back for not bugging employees working behind the sales counter.

[SilverBack]

The ones around here know what they're talking about everytime I go

The real problem is getting stuck behind customer after customer asking a million questions because they don't know what they need, thus turning my 5 min visit into almost 30