Customer service for us "old" folks

[malpais]

This thread really snowballed!

Hope we dont beat the horse clear to death.....

Got me to thinkin' though, maybe what young folks see us do is a factor.

My son Brett was graduated from college with an English degree. He got a job as a laborer for a laser co. They noticed he was pretty handy, and soon he was helping techs; within a year or two he was a top tech, troubleshooting, wiring, installing fiber, pneumatics, etc literally all over the world.

A manager asked him how an English major knew about stuff like that. My son said "did your dad ever lay out a 89 Mustang FI harness on the living room floor and make you help him ring it out"?

Manager said "no, my Dad never did anything like that".

Brett said "mine did".

I didn't know he was paying attention.......

[37fordtruckguy]

Originally Posted by Barry-ct

37pickup guy- No doubt, you are an exception to the rule. I spent 30+ years in the dealership end and I've seen a lot of young kids come and go. Most were into rice rockets and could care less about old cars. When I first started in 1974, most were into older cars and were mechanically inclined. Schools today have eliminated shop classes and have the emphasis on computers. So, you have to work with what you get from the high schools. I am not saying they're stupid, just not into old cars like I was. Times are a changin' as they say.

Im lucky they still had auto at my high school. The schools keep funding everything else except vocational programs and hands on classes. Some of are not mean to sit behind a desk all day. I am with you guys on the parts problems, I get a lot of strange looks from the guy at napa and Oriely's when asking for parts for the pickup. Lucky for me I am only a thirty minute drive from Vintage ford.

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

I have the same problem with computer pushers, when I try to find commercial appliance parts. Fortunately I have a old mopar collecting parts lady that can figure out interchangeability of brands and parts ect. She goes out of her way to help. I often think of she ever leaves, my goose is cooked.i had one keyboard stroker that couldn't figure out how to find a generic flexible gas line without a model number.

[Hoop]

So .... most of you agree that these customer service providers are untrained, lazy, and stupid.

Maybe increasing the minimum wage will make them intelligent and work harder.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Hoop

So .... most of you agree that these customer service providers are untrained, lazy, and stupid.

Maybe increasing the minimum wage will make them intelligent and work harder.

Ya know, Nancy and Harry might just agree with that......FUNNY! DD

[chap52]

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Don't ya just love it...I took my 8ba block to be tanked and the owner told his young assistant to go het it out of the back of my truck. When we wheeled it in to the tank (actually pressure tank) area he told the young guy, "you have probably never seen a flathead before".
The kid turned and looked at me?
The boss and I both smiled and left the kid to finish the job.
( I knew that my hair line had receded over the years, but never noticed my head had gotten flat! No offence taken)

[corvette8n]

I printed out a two page crossover list of Ford 8N part numbers to NAPA parts and gave it to my local dealer, the manager thanked me and hung it on the wall behind the counter, I see it every time I go in.

[1938 Coupe]

In my neck of the woods O'Reilly is called O'Really because that is my response to their answers!....Go figure! They start them out at $8 an hour. Most the time I have to look to find the items I need. I suggested to one fellow not to take his full hour for eating his lunch, but use 15 minutes of your time to look around the store and see what you carry.
Our local Napa has older experienced counter people working there!...no problems!!

[Ross F-1]

My son worked at an Autozone to put himself thru college. After hearing the stupid things customers asked him, and the stupid things they did with their parts, I treat any CP with at least a fair amount of respect, unless they do something to earn my disrespect.

My favorite story he told me was a guy whose battery died, and he got a ride 70+ miles to this AZ. He took his battery home, and the next day called to say it was dead. My son told him to bring it back. When he showed up, the plastic protectors were still on the terminals, but all scratched up. My son asked him if he'd put the cables on over the plastic; sure enough, he said they were "real hard" to fit.......

[itslow]

This isn't a young vs. old issue. It boils down to the:

• motivated vs. unmotivated
• trained vs. untrained
• experienced vs. un-experienced
• knowledgeable vs. un-knowledgeable

A lot of older folks fall could be described by the adjectives on the right side of the above list, too. I'd hazard a guess that the proportion would be similar among the age groups. Those of us that are <35 weren't the ones that developed the welfare and unemployment programs, you know...