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O/T (Sorta) Times they are achangin'

Goose

Goose

Well-known Member
This afternoon I was 50 miles away from home inspecting houses when I happened to drive past a NAPA store in Wahoo, Nebraska. I thought of a couple of things I've been needing for my shop, so I whipped around the block.

When I went in, I found two personable, thirty-ish, good looking gals on the counter and not a male in sight.

From my dealings and conversation, and from other conversation I overheard and activity I observed, it was obvious these gals knew what they were doing and were doing a better job of hustling parts than probably the majority of guys I've dealt with at parts counters.

Then, too, our local O'Reilly's has a forty-ish gal on the counter who keeps the guys hoppin' to keep up with her.
 
Yep. The Agco dealer that I deal with,the parts department is run by the owners daughter in law. No need to ever go out back and ask one of the guys. She's the go to person in the place for that sort of thing.
There's a gal at the local auto parts store now too. Knows her stuff.
Way back in the late 70s the old guys who ran the White dealership retired,they sold out to a younger couple and the wife of that team ran the parts department there quite handily too. Darned shame they went out of business in the whole White Motors/White Consolidated/Texas Instruments mess.
 
Have to laugh on this one! We have 'Carol' at the local NAPA. She's been in the part business a good many years and practically knows what you want before you ask for it. Not real pretty, a little to the mature side but a joy to deal with. On the other hand we have a manager at the local Autozone that likes to play dress up, is about as personable as a rattlesnake and as knowledgable as a box of rocks, Don't get me wrong, she isn't hard to look at, but when I have a truck or car down hard I prefer to deal with Carol.
 
Well, up until a couple of years ago there were a couple of sisters that ran the fathers tractor parts and service place in Edwardsburg, MI. I guess its out of business now. One of them rebuilt the starter for my Allis Chalmers. And here in town, Bristol, IN, Barb and her husband Tom run the worlds best independent autoparts store because if they don't have the part, even for bicycles, and thats far and few between, they will order it, and Barb is one of the best parts persons that I've ever run into. She's good, and I'm grateful.

Mark
 
Well, donno how much they are a changing, but I have two or three parts people in my life, who are top notch parts hustlers.

One is the wife of my NAPA dealer, she's been with it for a number of years, and knows not only car parts, but tractor and other machinery. (Rural NAPA). Hats off to Lynette.

Another was the parts gal at a local impliment dealer. Dealership is closed now, and she's learning another line of farm parts at another dealer, some distance away. She was top notch too. Hats off to Jann.

Then there was the lady who inherited her husband's auto salvage yard. She knew parts, and the location of most every salvagable vehicle in the lot. Unfortunately she sold the lot and went into the florist business, did good there too! Hats off to Mrs. Whetstone.
 
LOL! I'd forgot all about Granny Whetstone. She sold me a 283 Chevy engine one time that had "just a little blow-by". That engine was in dire need of more than just a massage.
I ran in to Jan last time I was over to Jansons. Told her I was having trouble finding belt lacing for the round baler since they closed the other place. She went right back in the backroom and got some for me. Should'a started there in the first place I guess.
 
I married my wife when she was 17 1n 1966 My aunt basically ran our family dealerships parts dept. My mother was a highschool math teacher and did the books. They taught my wife the ropes. She was able to gain customer respect quickly, and basically evolved into overseeing everything except sales, which was my expertiese. Customers learned that she knew Case tractors inside and out and they could not BS her. To this day I'm sure she could do a better job than most modern day parts people.
 
Nothing new, back in the late 70's until I left in the mid 80's back in Hebron, NE the NAPA route driver was a young lady who knew more about AGRICULTURE parts than any of the men in the store.

That type of knowledge comes from growing up on a farm and then marrying a farmer.

It is too bad that even where I live now, the best parts person at our local O'Reilly's is a Mexican gal full of tattoo's and piercings. She knows so much more than the college kids that must have never worked on a car before they became a "parts man".

DOUG
 
I don't mind a gal at the parts counter. Or the checkout at Home Depot.(I go there most every day)
They always wear some kind of fragrance or ointment that is pleasing to be near. And if they can do the job, all the better.
 
Got two gals at what until the other week was the local NAPA that are both as good or better than any parts 'man' I've ever known. As of the other week now all of our local NAPA's which were a franchise off of the main, are now being converted to O'Reillys. Seems the main NAPA didn't want to deal when the franchise decided to retire so he sold out to the only outfit that would contractually guarantee with the guy that they would keep all of his employees.
 
Michele has been in the parts department at our closest John Deere dealer since the late 80's. She really knows her stuff and has helped me out of a couple of jams over the years--first rate. On the other hand the guys at the local Autozone haven't impressed me much.
 
A lot of it goes back to the 60 with the bra burning and then the 2 income homes. Sad to say when it got to the point that the man and woman both had to work that the family unit went down hill and that has in turn caused the U.S. many big problems. But yep now days it seems the females can find you more and better and cheaper parts then the guy but that has to do with the lazy and high $$ wanting
 
Our local Napa is managed by a farmers daughter. Got the managers job at about age 30. In the old days we had a local IHC dealer that had a woman parts person. You told her what you needed and she got it for you. Rarely opened a parts manual. Everything was in her head. Of course things were much simpler then.

Areo
 
O'Reilly's just opened a store here in Dec., and probably the best 'partsman' is a woman. Mid-'30's, used to work at her dad's Gehl dealership, until it went belly-up. Helped get the store to carry A&I too, I heard.
NH/Kubota dealer in Stone Lake is managed by a woman, has been for decades.
When I need MacDon parts, I call or email the dealer in Ridgeland, adn if Kayla isn't there, it usually means a note is left for her to take care of it when she gets back. She drives a Mustang, too. :)
 
May bug the guys on here but women pay close attention to their work and I think they are smarter.My wife says if you want a job done right have a woman do it.I asked a woman for a flat bed cart at TSC.She went and got one and loaded 2 pancake type air compressors on the cart before I could get my hands on one.Very pretty too, the kind that makes you bite clean thru your lower lip.
 
You must have drove thru Wickenburg Arizona then .Same deal there at that NAPA .All the men have moved on and the 3 women are left to run the place.Do a very good job of it from what I;ve seen.
 
Funny this topic comes up because there is a smok'n hot woman that "works" at my local Napa Auto Parts. However,..all I have seen her do is sit up on a tall stool while making eye contact with all the customers who walk in. ....works for me! :D
 
Yea on the perfume, the gal at the local Autozone wears that new bacon scented perfume. WOW, that gets a guys attention!
 
It wouldn't surprize me one bit if we find out that the employers can get away with paying them even less then the men !
 
So no one gets the wrong impression, by no means did I intend this to be anything negative about all the fantastic ladies who have been in the automotive/parts business over the years.

In fact, about 30 years ago when I was in the boat and outboard motor repair business, one day when I was off chasing parts or something and my wife was holding down the fort, a fellow brought a boat in and said it wasn't running right. He showered my wife with about ten different theories of his own as to what was wrong. He went through several carb issues, said it acted like the timing was off, (they ALWAYS said that), and several other theories he had.

My wife told him his spark plugs were bad, the one thing he hadn't mentioned. I guess he looked at my wife like, "What the he11 does a woman know about an outboard motor?"

Guess what? His spark plugs were bad.
 
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