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This is just a recollection of an incident when I worked at AutoZone. For a brief, dark period of my life, I moved to a little craphole in the world known as Ripley, TN. I have since moved back to my beloved home state, but this will forever haunt me.
A man comes in with his mother. He tells me he has a 1997 Cavalier that will not start because it needs a new battery. Now I point out to him all our options, why each one is better then the others. The uber cheap ValuCraft, the decent Duralast and the current top battery on the market Duralast Gold. Of course, he dismisses the too better batteries and ponders the price on the ValuCraft for awhile (ok, I am use to this, people are cheap and think that a battery is all the same, oh well, I won't stop to jump you later this year.). He then asks if we have anything cheaper. I do my usual, are you fricking nuts, look at him and then sigh slowly, as we do have our EconoCraft line which comes with a 90 day warranty (and rightfully so) for 38.99.
At this point I am expecting him to take that, but to my utter shock and disdain, he tells me this too is too expensive. That he will just have to come back another time.
Ok so, maybe he is poor, whatever. I say ok, thank him for coming and go to tend the register. About 10 minutes later, guess who shows up at my register. That''s right, Mr. Cheapo himself. And what does he have with him (besides his mother), but a set of 14 inch, faux chrome spinner hub caps for 49.99 a set. Two rolls of mirror tint at 14.99 a piece. Kind of shocked, and not thinking I say to him in a joking, but saracastic fashion:
"Hey I guess if it is going to sit there all the time not running it can look good."
Expecting that I had just cost me my job, he shocks me even more.
"I know right!"
Then he turns to his mom and says, I will just get some chick to buy me a battery then dump her.
---
Enter dumb individual.
Asks me for the price on an alternator for his Ford Explorer. Give him the price (and Ford has some cheap alternators). He thanks me and says he will come back in a day or two to get it. Cool great customer, right?
WRONG.
20 minutes late, he calls me. His question. Can I use the alternator off a 1991 Escort on my 1999 Ford Explorer. Um. Ok at this point I want to point out how stupid a question this is, but I tell him he cannot. He says ok and hangs up.
A couple of hours later. A call. "Ok so I took the alternator off my Escort and am trying to put it on my Explorer, but they don't match. How can I conver this to work.
"Sir you cannot convert this to work, the amperage on your Explorer's alternator is higher then that on the Escort. On top of that the wire input is different, and the mounting bracket will not line up."
Thinking that there is no argument he can put up now, and I was right, comes the next stupid comment.
"You don't know a damn thing about cars." <Click>
Two days later, guess who bought an alternator for his Explorer.
---
The complete idiot.
A customer calls up one day asking if he can use his idler pulley from a 3.1 on a 3.8. I tell him he cannot and provide him a price. He grunts and hangs up.
Ten minutes later he calls back, and then asks me who else is working. I tell them Carla and he goes let me talk to her. I don't want to talk to you. Ok.
So I get her and she gets the exact same question and comes to me for my expertise, loud enough for him to hear. I tell her the same answer and pull off the two parts from the shelf and show her the difference. She gives him his response. He hangs up angry.
Now for the next couple of weeks this guy calls up and hangs up or prank calls if I pick up the phone. After awhile when he calls up I call him on it. I tell him to stop acting childish, I know cars and can answer his questions. He angrily hangs up.
Two minutes later he calls back, deciding to be a funny guy. He asks me how much a radiator would cost for a 1969 VW Beetle. In a heartbeat I tell him without even looking it up. Nothing. Acting all smug he then goes, well what about a water pump. Nothing sir. He thinks he has me at this point. He goes "I know you sell parts for that car, I checked already with someone else." In that I got you tone.
At which point I smile to myself, smug, and without breaking a stride:
"That we do sir. But we do not sell radiators or water pumps for 1969 VW Beetles because they don't have them. If you knew cars you would know that."
<Click>
A man comes in with his mother. He tells me he has a 1997 Cavalier that will not start because it needs a new battery. Now I point out to him all our options, why each one is better then the others. The uber cheap ValuCraft, the decent Duralast and the current top battery on the market Duralast Gold. Of course, he dismisses the too better batteries and ponders the price on the ValuCraft for awhile (ok, I am use to this, people are cheap and think that a battery is all the same, oh well, I won't stop to jump you later this year.). He then asks if we have anything cheaper. I do my usual, are you fricking nuts, look at him and then sigh slowly, as we do have our EconoCraft line which comes with a 90 day warranty (and rightfully so) for 38.99.
At this point I am expecting him to take that, but to my utter shock and disdain, he tells me this too is too expensive. That he will just have to come back another time.
Ok so, maybe he is poor, whatever. I say ok, thank him for coming and go to tend the register. About 10 minutes later, guess who shows up at my register. That''s right, Mr. Cheapo himself. And what does he have with him (besides his mother), but a set of 14 inch, faux chrome spinner hub caps for 49.99 a set. Two rolls of mirror tint at 14.99 a piece. Kind of shocked, and not thinking I say to him in a joking, but saracastic fashion:
"Hey I guess if it is going to sit there all the time not running it can look good."
Expecting that I had just cost me my job, he shocks me even more.
"I know right!"
Then he turns to his mom and says, I will just get some chick to buy me a battery then dump her.
---
Enter dumb individual.
Asks me for the price on an alternator for his Ford Explorer. Give him the price (and Ford has some cheap alternators). He thanks me and says he will come back in a day or two to get it. Cool great customer, right?
WRONG.
20 minutes late, he calls me. His question. Can I use the alternator off a 1991 Escort on my 1999 Ford Explorer. Um. Ok at this point I want to point out how stupid a question this is, but I tell him he cannot. He says ok and hangs up.
A couple of hours later. A call. "Ok so I took the alternator off my Escort and am trying to put it on my Explorer, but they don't match. How can I conver this to work.
"Sir you cannot convert this to work, the amperage on your Explorer's alternator is higher then that on the Escort. On top of that the wire input is different, and the mounting bracket will not line up."
Thinking that there is no argument he can put up now, and I was right, comes the next stupid comment.
"You don't know a damn thing about cars." <Click>
Two days later, guess who bought an alternator for his Explorer.
---
The complete idiot.
A customer calls up one day asking if he can use his idler pulley from a 3.1 on a 3.8. I tell him he cannot and provide him a price. He grunts and hangs up.
Ten minutes later he calls back, and then asks me who else is working. I tell them Carla and he goes let me talk to her. I don't want to talk to you. Ok.
So I get her and she gets the exact same question and comes to me for my expertise, loud enough for him to hear. I tell her the same answer and pull off the two parts from the shelf and show her the difference. She gives him his response. He hangs up angry.
Now for the next couple of weeks this guy calls up and hangs up or prank calls if I pick up the phone. After awhile when he calls up I call him on it. I tell him to stop acting childish, I know cars and can answer his questions. He angrily hangs up.
Two minutes later he calls back, deciding to be a funny guy. He asks me how much a radiator would cost for a 1969 VW Beetle. In a heartbeat I tell him without even looking it up. Nothing. Acting all smug he then goes, well what about a water pump. Nothing sir. He thinks he has me at this point. He goes "I know you sell parts for that car, I checked already with someone else." In that I got you tone.
At which point I smile to myself, smug, and without breaking a stride:
"That we do sir. But we do not sell radiators or water pumps for 1969 VW Beetles because they don't have them. If you knew cars you would know that."
<Click>
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