Parts salespeople among different brands???

rrlund posted this down below. His dealings with JD were poisoned by poor service form his local dealerships. I hear this often from fellows, that own other brands, when they are talking about JD dealerships in general.

"I called the new Agco dealer here for a throw out bearing for mine. There was a choice of two. I had a cross reference number from the Timken chart and gave that to the parts guy. He said it didn't come up as a good number,but he said he'd call Agco Tech Support and call me back. He called back and said yes,it was the right number,all we had to do was add an H to the front of it,it's on it's way.
I can give you a 100% certified guarantee that if that had been the case at one of the Deeremarts here they would have just said something to the effect that it's not a good number,I don't know what you're gonna do. Been there/done that too many times with those people."

Things like this make me sad and mad at the same time. It is just pure laziness on the parts person part. Between what JD has in parts and what you can get through A&I there are few parts that can not be found. Then Dealerships CAN use other sources too!!! We carried several brand of aftermarket parts other than JD supported. So a lot of this comes down to just arrogance and laziness on many JD dealerships employees.

You have to work fork every single customer business. There are many options in todays market place that mean you had better work at keeping your customer's needs/wants satisfied.

I KNOW that JD parts can be higher BUT they can also be lower price too. I sold a lot of bearings to the local MF guys when they still ran MF combines. I would cross the bearings by size to a JD number and they usually were cheaper than the MF ones.

I will admit I am old school when it comes to working/running a dealership. I tried to treat everyone that came into the store as an important customer. There where several reasons for this:

1) That other brand owner MIGHT just call me the next time he is interested in some thing. I had to show him that I would help him regardless of brand.

2) Just simple money too. Parts have around a 25% average profit margin. New equipment sales are usually around 5-7% when the smoke clears away. Selling high priced trade-ins many times is a loosing deal. So If I sell fellow $10K of parts in a year then The store makes as much off him as selling him one new pieces of equipment that would cost $75K.

With dealerships becoming "Chain stores" too many of the employees have little knowledge of where the actual profits are made in dealerships. The parts department carries the load in generating profit year in and out at every single store I was ever around. The "new" iron is all flashy and stuff but does not generate the profits year in and out that parts do.

Seems like most places not just tractor parts if I'm looking for something a little 'different' thats not immediately visible on their computer screen
the sales person can't wait to say "We don't have it".I deal at a locally owned Federated Parts store where the counter guys will really work to help me find what I need and the New
Holland dealer has some really good parts parts guys so there are exceptions.

Back in the day, I found that women and older men trended to be the best parts people. Don't see many of either behind the counters these days.

I think that good parts people are few and far between. The few good ones are the ones that will go the extra mile to locate
that NLA or oddball part, instead of just saying "Sorry, it is no longer available" instead of" Give me a day , and I will
see if I can locate one". My "go to" parts guy for any make works at a dealership that lost its Case at franchise shortly
after the merger but can still find and get parts for all brands whose dealers say" Sorry,it is obsolete" I have had him call
me at 11 o'clock at night telling me he located an oddball part. When questioned, he said he could not sleep thinking about
it! Now that is a GOOD parts person!!

I converted some JD plows with Syracuse bottoms a few years ago to newer style so I could buy throw away shares. I put on new moldboards and went to a JD dealer for them. Told him the model number of the plow
the new mold boards were made for and he got them for me no problem. Couple of months later I went back to see if moldboard extensions were available, told him the same model number plow and he told me JD
never made such a model - same guy as I got the moldboard from.I'm sure thats more the salesman than the dealership.

Here both the CaseIH and JD dealers have good parts people. AGCO is the problem child here. An example here was my BIL's tractor in for a major engine overhaul at the AGCO dealer. They called him and told him the crank was past specs to grind and wasn't available new. That he would have to find one from a scrapper. Now this was on an 8070 MFWA. He ask me to see what I could find online because he isn't too good on a computer. First thing I did was go to the AGCO parts look up and there it was, right there available new from AGCO. So he gave them the part number and they did get the crank. Then they told him that it was the wrong crank. That the bolt hole in the front of the crank was different and wasn't deep enough. Another quick search showed that was a change in the crank and that a new bolt was needed. I again provided a part number. That's the kind of service our AGCO dealers provides. When I sent an email to AGCO about it the response from AGCO was "they sell a lot of new equipment". AGCO didn't give two hoots about service or parts.

Both JD and CASEIH here will help you find what you need and even go as far as calling around to find you a part that's out of stock but you need right now.

Rick[/u]

I had good luck with the Deere Store in Bloomington when it was CB&C but since they are gone the ones who took them
over it has went down the gutter! Many guys in the area are complaining about them and even make the drive to the area
Iowa Deere dealer. For a few years the parts counter at the new guys had no clue but now have a young guy that knows a
thing or two, helps but doesn't fix the problem!

The case dealer near me is the worst.
They have two stores one by me and one
an hour and a half away. Ordered some
part for my baler last year. They said
the store further away has them be here
in 2 days. Still waiting for the parts
a year later. Always rude like it's a
big inconvenience to look for parts.
Their prices are always double what
they should be. JD dealer can order in
my parts usually in 2 days. Try to use
them when not an emergency.

I believe a lot has to do with the attitude of the employees. Our local dealer is now part of a mega chain and parts people stayed the same.The nice thing is they have a truck that runs parts between store so if another store has it theres no shipping charges and can have it later that day in most cases. I have never had bad service there but they have had trouble finding a few odd ball things for me. There are millions of parts out there so no way they can remember everything. A lot of people think parts people should know everything about the piece of equipment they want parts for,just because they have been around it all there lives does not mean the parts man has ever heard of it.

Our JD dealership is one of the best IMO, and I'm not a fan of JD tractors. I have JD hay equipment. With the internet available to almost everyone, I don't understand why people don't look up the parts themselves before they go to the dealer. I usually look up the part# and call the dealership and ask if they have the part. It has saved making a trip to town several times. If they need to order the part they call me when it comes in. CNH also has an online parts book, I'm sure others do too.

You can actually check the dealer's stock when signed into the JDParts website, and look for more at nearby dealerships. IF inventory is only one part, I would call to verify and hold it, but have never been misled yet.

It'd been my observation that all dealerships cycle up and down. A local JD dealer won "excellent dealer support" awards back in the '90s. Today, they still have a fancy building, but their parts staff
won't make eye contact with you when you walk up to the counter, and will even ignore you- choosing to answer the phone instead. Whatever happened to, "Can I help you?" The local NH/Massey dealer across
town on the other hand has improved remarkably, and is arguably now the best place in town to find something like a U joint cross, a PTO shield etc for a line of equipment they may or may not carry.

Another branch of the same Deere dealer, while smaller, seems to have collected many of the dealer's best employees- mechanics, parts people, etc. I go there now.

Other points JD made that I would like to add to: It seems like Deere, despite owning A and I, does not allow local dealers much ability or creativity to source other parts, or to offer special services.
Oftentimes, if I call and something is not in stock, I'll ask a dealer that since they have to have the part shipped in, can it just be shipped to me? Any other brand of equipment will gladly do so. Deere
not so much. Perhaps the other companies are losing the impulse point of sale purchase, but they are recognizing my time is valuable, and that it is much faster and easier to have the UPS truck drop it off
than to send someone on a 40-50 mile round trip.

One last gripe: Our Deere dealer has about 6 locations. It seems like that is an excuse to stock less parts. "We don't have it here, but it is at..." Which is a 100 miles away. And if I wait for their
own internal part transfer delivery might be until next week. So then you have the choice of 3 hours in the truck, pay extra freight for tomorrow's delivery to the dealer, wait to have it put on a stock
order, or wait for their parts transfer van. At least one time, their parts guy had the integrity to say, "it looks like the competitor Deere dealer has that in stock. The fastest way to get you going again
would be to send you there."

Last, I use my local Napa a lot for things like starters, alternators, belts etc. If they don't have it in stock, it is often there by mid afternoon, vs maybe tomorrow from Deere. They are also only 5
miles away, locally owned, open 7 days a week, and best yet cheaper! It is hard to be loyal to someone who is further away, more expensive, slower and harder to work with!

Yes its different now but on the other handwith a new model appearing every 5 minutes or so it sure cant be any fun. But they are there representing the manufacture and not held hostage so why not smile after all it sure doesent cost any money.

I agree,, what ever happened to "The Customer is always Right" I was taught to help however we could at our dealership from 66- 76. If we did not have the part on hand and you were in a bind, if we had a machine on lot with the part we would take it off and get you going, of course if was a machine under warranty or you bought it from us and were in a bind we loaned you a machine to get the job done, under warranty units were always a no charge loaner. a few years back a friend and I had some equipment across the Canada border, we needed a place to park a couple units over night to wait until we could all get there to haul the stuff home,, I called a week before to setup a place to drop them over night,, first call was to the local CIH dealer,, got the manager on the phone,, explained our situation,, he said NO WAY we do not store old Junk here,, end of story,,, I called the local JD dealer next,,, VERY Helpful manager there and was glad to help us however he could, when I got there I went in and met him face to face to settle up with storing our stuff,, he smiled big and gave a good hand shake and would not eve talk about it other than he gave me a hard time for the CASE hat I had on Great People are out there just wish they were all like these fine folks were, oh by the way I even told the cih dealer that I was a past CASE dealer,, his reply was So What?
cnt

Some one mentioned arrogance, we have an outdoor equipment dealer around here that has the following sign hanging in their service/parts department:

Your lack of maintenance and planning does not make your problem my emergency!

Why don't they just put a sign up that says: we think our customers are idiots! I mean I could understand the attitude if they're exceptional but they're not, they're mediocre at best.

JD

I have to wonder what percentage of ag dealership parts sales are still walk-in counter sales, probably well under 20 percent.

Someone mentioned parts sales people taking phone calls in the middle of a transaction.

I complained to the owner of a local NAPA store once when I was in the middle of buying a couple hundred dollars worth of parts and he interrupted to take a phone call.

He swore 80% of his business came over the telephone. But, there's a Community College in that town and the Auto Mechanics and Auto Body departments buy most of their parts and supplies through him so he may have been right in that particular situation.

The point is, it's all situational. Every town and every customer base is different.

The Deere dealers here are pretty good on parts. Case IH for me has the attitude of take it or leave it. I remember a bunch of years ago I called the Case IH dealer about a used disk harrow they had and they acted as though they frankly did not care if they did business or not. I do not go into any of the dealerships with a chip on my shoulder. NH is pretty good on parts but the local dealer and I have a complicated relationship that keeps me from getting excited on their whole goods. The two nearest AGCO outlets are pretty good to deal with but there is no getting around the high AGCO prices. We phased out a lot of AGCO dependent machines here and are down to an Oliver 88 and White disk. My collecting interests will require me to go see AGCO from time to time as I would like a 1550/1555 tractor and an Oliver corn picker for show purposes.
Area wide the dealer situation was a whole lot better for red dealers when it was simply International Harvester.

It's not just dealerships, our local NAPA used to be the place to go when you needed parts, filters or fluids for just about anything that rolled,
change of owner 10 years ago and it's been down hill every since, I guess the only reason they are not out of business already is because of
being located in a one horse town. I guess they only hire straight dummies by policy because the law of averages should ensure that out of 8
employees 1 or 2 would have more brains than a parakeet.

I honestly do think it's the chain store mentality. That said,the new Agco dealer that's been giving me such great service since the old dealership I'd been going to for years lost their contract,is the third location for these folks. The owner's family had owned a stand alone Deere dealership years ago.

The old local Deere dealership was a destination for any brand. There was a book right on the counter to cross any bearing to a Deere number. No matter what you needed,bearings,belts,chain,u-joints,hoses,that's where you went.

One of the last times I was at Deeremart,the parts manager who loaded the straw on me that broke the camel's back,was on the phone with somebody who must have been asking about a hose. He was just as nasty with that guy as he'd been with me. Told him "I don't know what you're talking about. You'll have to come in." and he hung up on him.

I will tell you what I heard when the new Agco dealership came in. I don't know this to be Gospel truth,but I'd heard they were hiring the best people away from other dealerships. I do know the store manager came from a Deere dealership. I can tell you this. If that's what they did,they succeeded in getting the best.

I agree with that sign to a point. I have a small shop just to keep busy on retirement.I have people bring me items that they just have to have today.
Then you ask them when did it stop working. Two months ago or what ever the time frame was.It will go to the fix when I can list.

If someone brings in something that I know they need now. I will get right on it.

The worst ones are driving sixty thousand dollar trucks. Complaining about a hundred dollar repair bill.

yes sir one of the reason I shut down my repair shop was the whining,, 25 years of it was long enough lol, one thing really gripped me was when I would ask if they had tried to fix it themselves first,, few admitted to working on it,, I always could tell and would tell them so, I also refused to work on anything while someone was standing over me,, I was not there to teach how to fix
cnt

With all due respect, Case Nutty, but I take some exception to your statement.
I totally understand why it would make one uncomfortable to have a customer standing over while you are doing repairs. It is distracting and annoying. It also adds a level of stress that you don't need.
As for the "teaching" aspect? Well, I have NO PROBLEM with showing somebody how to fix something. It takes part of the burden off my shoulders. After all, there is way more repair work out there then I can ever expect to be able to do. So, I am not concerned about somebody "taking my business" or going into competition with me. Whether it be cars, trucks, tractors, or implements, there is more than enough work to go around. I personally think that the main cause of loss of business is attitude.

(quoted from post at 00:23:31 09/10/16) Back in the day, I found that women and older men trended to be the best parts people. Don't see many of either behind the counters these days.

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Very true. My local NAPA back in Hawaii had two ladies who had worked that counter for close to 50 years each before they retired. They were used to me looking for oddball parts for my projects, so they would let me wander around in the back to find what I needed on my own, and give me last year's parts catalogs when they got new ones. After they both retired, service just went downhill to the point where I would drive a couple miles further down the road for parts than to go deal with the younger guys in there.

One local CNH dealer has a lady parts manager and she has a young man working under her.

When I bought my last combine (tail end of production 1660) I was inquiring about parts and shop manuals. Told the kid it was a late model 1660, he keeps looking at the lower
serial number books, I keep telling him it is a LATE model machine, he keeps showing me info for the lower serial number books. Finally I ask him what does he think LATE model
means? Well of course the lower number machines. I just shake my head and walk out. The few times I have been back for parts for that machine he gives me snarky comments
about the parts being for the late model machine. I asked the parts manager how long has he been here, answer was something like 6 months, still should have known what LATE
model means.

For the most part I get parts for this machine from the store in the other direction. Parts manager there knows her stuff and if I can wait till she gets home from work it cuts
my travel distance quite a bit.

Mother Deere for me is a pretty good situation esp if you get the right person, also it is in my home town.

jt

coonie Minnie The only good thing that has came about with the local JD store here being part of a ten store chain is parts from the other stores. They run several vans around to the stores twice each day here. IF the local does not have the part and one of the other stores does I can usually get that part by early afternoon if we find out before 10 AM. IF it is after that it will be around 9 am the next morning. The times are a little different at each store as the schedule of when the vans get there is different.

As for direct shipping parts to the customer. JD keep track of how many parts are "Machine down " ordered. This is the only way to direct ship form the JD depot to the customer. IF the JD dealership orders too many parts "Machine down" then they lose discounts they have earned from JD. JD set this program up thinking it would encourage stores to stock more parts but it has cause many dealerships to just quit ordering "Machine down" parts even if the additional cost is passed on to the customer/buyer.

Truthfully I rarely need parts ordered machine down any more. The JD dealerships around here get stock orders three times each week so it usually is just one more day to get it on a stock order. The only time I would need it faster is during harvest or planting.

As for JD allowing other parts sources. That is up to the store owner and parts managers. They can handle after market parts they just have to stand up to the territory managers from JD and tell them WHY. Your not going to get a JD 4020 hood form JD but there are after market suppliers. With the chain stores too many people are between the owner and the JD Territory managers. An employees is mush less likely to stand up to a JD Company man. So you get this rubber stamp mentality.

Sorry I should have said that better, I give advice out almost everyday for free,,, I have done over 10,000 posts here alone "helping" others for free, BUT when someone wants to know how to repair a powershift for example, they brought it to me for repair, I did that for a living,, and I had no time to teach someone or let them stand there and ask question and question me why I need to do this or that,, I am trying to make a living,, you want me to give you advise on a repair you are doing fine,, you think you will watch me and then save yourself the money next time BUY a BOOK like I did lol
cnt

oh and by the way,, when I decided to shut down my shop as I was tired of the hassles I have over 30 tractors to finish before I could shut down 10-15 at a time tore apart at one time,, I had Plenty of work to do,, I worked 7 days a week 16-20 hrs a day for seven years straight to build up the biz I had and I did it all Alone ordering setting up new equipment delivering it hauling in more to work on and all shop repairs,, I still turn down work today
cnt

I don't mind teaching someone. But the first time they say are you sure that is correct. The teaching stops Another thing I get tired of. Is a customer telling me he can get the same repair cheaper in Bryan.So I explain the facts to them. Bryan is 60 miles from here. 120 miles to drop it off and come back.When it is ready another 120 miles to get it and come back. So is it really cheaper than my fifty dollars plus parts.

I've said this before about our local Deere dealership. The place is far too money
oriented . Nothing else matters.
Parts transfers from store to store are nearly non existent. During the summer, they
have a truck that transfers parts between some of the stores(9 total) twice a week, but
this dealer system has a code system. There's a few different codes,but items that they
normally stock are given one code(7), and another code is assigned to items that have
sat too long or were ordered accidentally(5). They only want to transfer code 5 items,
and it's a long drawn out decision to transfer much else.
The next problem is that they have their daily stock order, 2 days away. Ordered
Monday, get it Wednesday. They get free freight, and a discount with the stock order, as
is standard. They also have their stock order discount tied to what percentage or their
orders are stock orders, and what percentage are FLASH/FLASH+ orders. They avoid FLASH
orders at all costs. I worked in the shop there, and I've seen the BRANCH manager get
involved in a decision as to whether or not they should next day a part, or order it on
the stock order. Flash+ orders were not a thing there, period.
This specific dealer had 5 parts people. 4 at the front, 1 for the shop. The 4 at
the front didn't hardly know that you could source parts from outside of Deere or A&I.
The lady that took care of the shop had worked at a few different places over about 35
years, and was as good a parts person as the other 4 put together. The place falls apart
when she takes vacation. She knows how to find all kinds of different parts from any
place you could ever imagine. She's the only good part of the whole deal.
Compare that to the competing Case IH dealership. They have 3 locations. They too
have their problems, but they transfer parts everyday, all year, between the 3
locations. If you want a part, and another store has it, you can have it. No big deal.
They can get parts next day from Canada or the States. They would prefer to stock order
it(same conditions as Deere, but the percentage of stock order vs FLASH orders doesn't
matter), but if you say that you want it next day, they do it, no big deal. They have
varying degrees or parts people too, as is always the case, but because they don't have
the Deere parts system backing them, they are more use to sourcing parts from outside
sources. Just a different mentality.
I think there is a certain level or arrogance attached to a lot of people that has
much to do with Deere. That is certainly the case with this dealership. Right from the
awesome branch manager, whose daddy bought him into the dealer, to the tech's in the
back.
I'll just say this. I've never once missed the place.

The old Agco dealer that we just lost had signs up all over the parts department saying things like "I've only got one nerve left,and danged if you didn't just get on it". I kind of took the edge off. If you're expecting a kick in the sack and all you get is a slap in the face,you're a winner.

There is no such thing as a parts person anymore. Used to go into a parts store and no matter how weird
or old there was a book or something that they could find the part. Nowdays I go into the parts store and
if its not on the computer they can't find it. Local jd dealer the parts person ask me what the part
number is so they can order it. One time they asked me to help them with another customers part.

Yup,RayP can back me up on this one. There was a Case dealer here between his place and mine. They lost the contract about the time of the CaseIH merger,but stayed open for a long time as a short line and irrigation supply dealer. There was a gal in there for 30 years who know everything they had in every little corner of every building. If she didn't have it there,she knew where to get it.
I needed an odd bearing and pillow block one time. She went out back in another building and got one for me. She said there were a couple of dozen on them out there. She said she didn't know what to charge me. How's ten bucks? Good enough for me. She said if I ever needed anymore and she wasn't there,tell them she sold me one for ten and said to let me have all I wanted for that.
The place finally closed and she went to work at a CaseIH dealership. I don't have reason to go in there very often,but when I do,she hasn't changed one bit. She'll still go out back and dig through things and exhaust every avenue to find something that'll get me going again.

I don't like to pile on,so I don't say it much about them anymore,but in my experience,you have it exactly right once they get that shirt on with the deer on it. They seem to have two mottos here,depending on which one they need to use at the time,"We're John Deere. We don't have to.",and the one that one of them actually said to me once,"Where else are you going to go?".

I have spent ALOT of time on both sides of parts counters. You guys should really work in a parts department sometime and see just how customers are ! Most have no clue as to what they even have ! Many more really make you wonder how they survive the day running machinery that is as dangerous to operate as most of it is. This equipment can really mess you up. You also really need to work at one to see how BAD the owners and managers are ! I have yet to work for an employer that gives a darn or pays you more for going the extra mile to help customers ! I have even been chewed out by a manager who thought I was on a personal call when I was actually helping out a customer. He meet me in the parking lot the next morning and fired me ! I have spent many a night worrying about someone's parts order like the one fellow mentioned his favorite guy did.
So maybe next time when you get poor service from a parts person remember it starts with management ! They are not hiring the good ones and they are not providing ANY worthwhile training to help any of them provide better service. You pretty much get on the job training trial by fire ! And it ends with you. If you don't even know what your model is and serial number good chance you are not going to get the right stuff the first time ! You would be surprised at how many people call into my work and have no clue to model number or pretty much don't want to look for the serial number even after being told where to look for it ! They would rather argue with you and make excuses instead of actually going and looking for it. Another great thing now is all those calling in from cell phones while driving down the road. You can barely hear them and connections cut in and out as they drive around. Find a spot with a good signal and stop and pull over !

I hear you. In the case here, the best ones, those who care- usually move on. Sometimes to another dealer, sometimes to another career. Yes, the biggest problem at many dealers is the owner...

I try to take care of those that take care of us. For a while, a local parts manager drove right by our place on his way home. He would drop off anything we needed. I made sure that he got an extra tip now and again... maybe something from the garden, or a gift card to Culver's or the like at Christmas. It was a bummer when he got transferred. And a bigger one when he took a new job.

There's a salesman for the New Holland dealership who does the same thing. He moves a pretty fair amount of equipment around here to happy customers. I don't know when that guy gets home some night. He drops off parts all along the way on his own time.

I think owners don't really get how much guys like that add to sales of parts and the like. Our Deere dealer has tried parts delivery on and off. And when it was available, I was much more likely to buy a Deere battery, bearing etc. Because it would show up here. That is worth a lot.

I hate bad parts people just like everybody else, but the problem in our area is no place wants to pay for quality people. You can make $4 more an hour starting wage working at
taco john's. Guy at one parts store has been there 7 years and is thinking about going to fast food for more money for drag racing. He has a lot of experience but they don;t wat
to pay what he is worth. Its just like everything, you get what you pay for and the owners/mega corporations do not want to pay for much.

I either order my parts myself or I go into the dealer with model number, serial number, and part number. PROBLEMS SOLVED!

Wanna bet? Last time I got anything from Deeremart,I took the tractor serial number,engine serial number,part number and the old part. I then explained that there were three different parts possibilities,explained the difference and said to make sure they got the right one. He got on the computer,pulled it up on the first page he came to with it on apparently instead of going to the page with the one for the right serial number and ordered that first one. It was wrong.

(quoted from post at 14:17:04 09/10/16) I have spent ALOT of time on both sides of parts counters. You guys should really work in a parts department sometime and see just how customers are ! Most have no clue as to what they even have ! Many more really make you wonder how they survive the day running machinery that is as dangerous to operate as most of it is. This equipment can really mess you up. You also really need to work at one to see how BAD the owners and managers are ! I have yet to work for an employer that gives a darn or pays you more for going the extra mile to help customers ! I have even been chewed out by a manager who thought I was on a personal call when I was actually helping out a customer. He meet me in the parking lot the next morning and fired me ! I have spent many a night worrying about someone's parts order like the one fellow mentioned his favorite guy did.
So maybe next time when you get poor service from a parts person remember it starts with management ! They are not hiring the good ones and they are not providing ANY worthwhile training to help any of them provide better service. You pretty much get on the job training trial by fire ! And it ends with you. If you don't even know what your model is and serial number good chance you are not going to get the right stuff the first time ! You would be surprised at how many people call into my work and have no clue to model number or pretty much don't want to look for the serial number even after being told where to look for it ! They would rather argue with you and make excuses instead of actually going and looking for it. Another great thing now is all those calling in from cell phones while driving down the road. You can barely hear them and connections cut in and out as they drive around. Find a spot with a good signal and stop and pull over !

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Mike that brings back memories of when I worked the parts counter at the Case dealership in the late 70's. I actually had a guy come get me out of the field while I was planting beans. He wanted me to get him a part that I had told him he would need. He had argued with me that he didn't need it and the customer was always right. I got the the part for him but I made him take me in and bring me back to the field, a 50 mile trip. That made me a week late in getting my beans planted.

Management hires a guy that flunked 8th grade arithmetic, then gives him 15 minutes of training stands, points him at
the counter, and then disappears into their office. Next week management gets to do it again, and 2 weeks later repeat.

Local Advance Auto had a whole staff of useless kids. They fired them, then replaced them with a bunch of useless and
out of work 60 year olds.......no improvement.

Went to local Case-IH dealer to get fine-thread Nylok lock nuts, and got into an argument with kid behind counter, he was SURE!!! that fine-thread and coarse-thread were the same thing. "Here!" he said, he threaded coarse-thread nut onto a fine-thread bolt about a half turn, said "See???"