AutoZone customer takes matters in his own hands after 45 minute phone wait...

[BuckeyeSVT]

Here's the story posted on Jalopnik:

 

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 shiz...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. fudge 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...NOW!?"

"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 fudge 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...

 

I read this and nearly fell out of my chair laughing...

 

-Dom

[imnotacop420]

Haha sounds like the autozone by my house....

 

 

 

 

 

On a side note I can post, WOOOOHOOO!!!

[rkctdwn]

Standard for ACD at most corporations, put new hires on the lines and give-em set replies. Used to be they put the more experienced that new inside and out of the business in customer support, "OH that's a waste of money!"

 

No training for employees, sounds about normal now days! How corporations keep the bottom line. Now I know why my brother said, 'should have bought Autozone stock 3-4 months ago,it's really went up!. So has their prices for oil, Walmart up but not near what all the stores are.

Edited April 2, 2009 by rkctdwn

[BuckeyeSVT]

No crap, I went to buy Motorcraft Semi-Synthetic 5W20 and it's now $4.09 a quart!! It used to be $1.99 then rose to $2.69. Now it's almost double? Geez...

 

-Dom

[spridget]

It's funny cuz it's 100% true.

 

I've had the same problem getting parts from AutoZone, Pep Boys and O'Reilly's. If they can't look it up in the computer, they can't help you. Doesn't matter if you have the old part with you to compare...

 

I tried to get hub bearings for a Mustang II front suspension in my Morris hotrod.

"What year?"

I dunno.... any year the Mustang II or Pinto were produced... just pick one.

"I need the year to look it up."

ANY FUCKING YEAR!!!

 

Again, trying to get motor mounts. Almost every old GM product from the 60's to the 80's with a small block V8 used the same motor mount.

"I need a year, make, and model"

Uh.... try a 1972 Chevelle.

"Engine?"

V8

"289, 350...."

Any V8!!! Here's the old one, go in the back and find it.

 

There are times when looking up a part # in a book is much faster than using a computer database.

 

It's still fun to pick out the newbs.... go in and ask for a thermostat for a 1970 VW Beetle.

[SVTDEMON]

Reminds me of every expirience I had with Murrays Discount Auto Parts,Autozone By my house has my Buddy with the 2003 Cobra,so they are pretty helpful.Great story!

[Aussie Ford]

Ya just can't make this stuff up........

[DAMiENS98SVT]

geez, sounds like the auto zone here as well...dumbasses couldn't even find me a 21mm socket. yea that was a pain, but found one online. they hire any retard on the side of the road. i swear everytime i go to auto zone (any town mind you) the employees have not a clue of what they are doing. lol and 80% of the time there is always a customer yelling at one of them! i haven't had a problem with advanced auto yet tho...

 

Joe

[jhurd]

No crap, I went to buy Motorcraft Semi-Synthetic 5W20 and it's now $4.09 a quart!! It used to be $1.99 then rose to $2.69. Now it's almost double? Geez...

 

-Dom

 

 

I just noticed this too. Heck it was a steal at 2.69. Now I might as well just run amsoil.

[MaddMike]

Well being that I work for Advanced, by the way, 5qts. of Syntec and K&N filter for 24.99.(Shameless plug). Anyway back on track here. We have our share of dumbasses in the store also. Our particular Dumbass just happens to be a woman and she holds the position of 2nd. Assistant Manager. She was hired at another store, could not do the job and got shuffled off on us. Her last job was at GNC, she has zero automotive knowledge. I have heard her tell phone customers that we do not have parts with out even looking in the computer. One of her best screw ups to date was ordering a 28" wiper blade for the back window of a mini-van.

 

I have had my moments to, we all do. Your bound to make mistakes once in a while, but hers are constant. None of our commercial customers will talk to her, we have even had customers come in and tell us that if they see her car in the lot(It's hard to miss, a POS Kia with no front end on it) they will not come in and if they get her on the phone they will hang up and call back or ask to talk to someone else.

[imnotacop420]

might as well just run amsoil

 

Ain't that the truth!

I just paid $ 8.10 a qt for amsoil...........no oil changes till 2010 for me!

I think I'll try one of their filters next time too, the cutout of one looked pretty nice.

[latterlon]

That is hilarious. It drives me crazy that they always begin with "What year and model of car..." to have to find anything.

 

Tip to everyone....I always search Autozone, Advance, whoever's website, find the part I need, write down the number and go to the store and hand them the part number. I try to be patient, but sometimes, it's just frustrating.

 

Now try to go and get parts for your Chevy S-10 with a V8 in it. That was an ordeal when I had that truck.

[TRicker]

yeah i'm not much a fan of autozone. there is one guy at one autozone i talk to, he's decent.

 

however, i live half an hour from tousley ford. so i go talk to steve and get parts there. i wouldnt use aftermarket seals anyways, they are junk ;)

[99ContourLX]

No crap, I went to buy Motorcraft Semi-Synthetic 5W20 and it's now $4.09 a quart!! It used to be $1.99 then rose to $2.69. Now it's almost double? Geez...

 

-Dom

 

The last time I bought Mobil1 EP 5W-30 from Walmart, it cost $28 for a 5 quart jug.

[DAMiENS98SVT]

a buddy of mine sells me a quart of amzoil for about $5.60 each. i have known this guy for years and he hooks me up. if i buy it in bulk he sells it to me cheaper. its all about who you know sometimes. i always run Amz in my svt.

 

Joe

[elraido]

No crap, I went to buy Motorcraft Semi-Synthetic 5W20 and it's now $4.09 a quart!! It used to be $1.99 then rose to $2.69. Now it's almost double? Geez...

 

-Dom

Are you serious!??!?! It is up to over $4 a quart? I am upset that Amsoil keeps going up around here. Since it is made only 60 miles away, we normally get good prices on it. A year or two ago it was only $5.50 a quart and the other day it was up to $7.89.