Morals and working with the public

[mobilnissan1991]

I was raised with morals, treat people right, dont screw people over, etc and lately working at Napa has tested this. I work at a Napa that is owned by a local family, they have 5 stores. We have more than just auto parts and the local people go into an uproar if we dont carry what they need. A guy came in recently for a raincoat which I thought was ridiculous, I wouldnt even think of going to a Napa for that but lo and behold we have them. Ill just give a few examples of my experience there the past few weeks.

Guy comes in for a starter, my manager says his famous line, “no we dont have it but we can get it”. He then goes on Amazon, orders it and marks it up 30%. He says its business, I say its wrong. I cant with a good conscience do that to someone

Guy comes in says he wants motorcraft 15W40. Again “we dont have it but we can get it” this oil is $25 per jug at Walmart. Manager sends me to the local ford dealer to get 3 jugs at $35 each, and sells it to the guy for $38 each. This is a case of the customer being misinformed that it can be had elsewhere for cheaper and also getting screwed in my opinion. Again I couldnt sell the guy this oil without feeling bad.

And lastly, a guy called today he said “can you get a starter for a briggs and stratton lawnmower?” Didnt say what kind, what model etc I said well bring the starter Ill match the numbers. He said cant you tell by the number of teeth? I said no he said nevermind got mad and hung up. I told my manager, he sided with me and said what they think were magicians? The public thinks we can solve the worlds problems and if we dont carry a part they need, god forbid.

I hope Im not wrong here, what Im saying is dont drink the koolaid. There are better and less expensive ways to get parts. Napa is way overpriced. While I do like to shop local when I can, I quote one of my best friends when we were talking about living in this expensive world.

“Before I support local, Im gonna shop online and support my wallet” I cant blame him for that, I try to save where I can when I can. Just a lil rant for today.

 

[ctechbob]

Guy comes in for a starter, my manager says his famous line, “no we dont have it but we can get it”. He then goes on Amazon, orders it and marks it up 30%. He says its business, I say its wrong. I cant with a good conscience do that to someone

Guy comes in says he wants motorcraft 15W40. Again “we dont have it but we can get it” this oil is $25 per jug at Walmart. Manager sends me to the local ford dealer to get 3 jugs at $35 each, and sells it to the guy for $38 each. This is a case of the customer being misinformed that it can be had elsewhere for cheaper and also getting screwed in my opinion. Again I couldnt sell the guy this oil without feeling bad.

Why? It isn't up to you to teach people how to live and spend their money. If they don't want to put the work in to find the 'deals' then that is on them. It doesn't sound like your boss is ripping anyone off.

Some people just want to go to a place that is familiar and buy a product they need.

Just because you hold one set of values doesn't mean you can force other grown adults to have those same values.

If you worked at Publix and someone was checking out buying a bunch of products you knew Walmart had cheaper, would you have a problem with that?

 

[bullwinkle]

Well, if he ordered his parts from NAPA corporate, he would mark it up 100%, so the Amazon guy got a deal!

 

[GMBoy]

I think you are wrong. A business is in business to make money. If he has to take the time to locate what a customer doesn't want to do himself then why shouldn't he get paid? Are you willing to go burn your gas to get parts and sell it at the same price? Are you willing to tie up your credit ordering stuff and using your time to just give it to somebody at the same price? I markup my parts at a fair rate - it is business and I should be paid for my time and using my credit and contacts to get parts. Listen if the customer is too lazy or ill informed - not my problem.

 

[Leo99]

My morals are a little different than yours. If the guy doesn't want to order it off Amazon or got to Walmart himself, and he wants to support your local store, I'm not going to stop him unless he's elderly and financially strapped.

I remember about 40 years ago going to the local hardware store to buy a circular fluorescent bulb. I wanted to shop there instead of the new Home Depot. You know, support the small business. The same exact bulb was $15 cheaper at Home Depot. I wouldn't have minded paying a few bucks more but $15 was a lot insulted me and smartened me up to support my wallet

 

[Kira]

Another way of looking at it is: Support those who actually increase the value of the good or service provided. The chef in a restaurant, etc. You always need to include cost to you in the calculation.

When you utilize any chain store as a buying service (get me the Motorcraft), you're going to pay the freight. In this case the freight is the rent, utilities of the store , everyone's salaries, the company's cut.

Your boss should use the opportunity to offer more of what the guy might need. "Find a need and fill it", is a formula for success.

In the absence of a true rip-off, there may be no moral question or comparison to be drawn here.

 

[D60]

The thought of a NAPA ordering parts like a starter from Amazon is sketchy, but not necessarily immoral -- although I wonder if the franchise agreement allows this?

Beyond that, is it different than a shop marking up parts they sell to a customer? Is it different because they installed those parts?

 

[CDX825]

Business is in business to make money. If you gave them the part for what you paid for it you wouldn't be in business very long. Obviously people can shop around and get better deals but some people have no interest in going someplace different and some have no interest in tracking something down themselves.

 

[mobilnissan1991]

Why? It isn't up to you to teach people how to live and spend their money. If they don't want to put the work in to find the 'deals' then that is on them. It doesn't sound like your boss is ripping anyone off.

Some people just want to go to a place that is familiar and buy a product they need.

Just because you hold one set of values doesn't mean you can force other grown adults to have those same values.

If you worked at Publix and someone was checking out buying a bunch of products you knew Walmart had cheaper, would you have a problem with that?

I just look at it as, I wouldnt want it done to me so I dont want to do it to anyone else. Not trying to force anyone to have my same values. But I honestly do appreciate your feedback.

 

[spasm3]

I just look at it as, I wouldnt want it done to me so I dont want to do it to anyone else. Not trying to force anyone to have my same values. But I honestly do appreciate your feedback.

If you have a roofing business, are you going to tell the customer on a quote, that company x offers better shingles and will reroof for less than you will ?

 

[benjamming]

You not wanting it done to you so you don't want it done to anyone else is good but misapplied here. There are too many variables that you can't account for. You seem to be assuming that lowest price is king but to many (most?) people you encounter it isn't. They want to have a one stop shop it seems. That's convenience they're paying for & a service is being tendered to meet the demand. Note also that your manager is taking on risk providing items so markup covers more than just "pure profit" and other tangibles like building rent, utilities, etc.

 

[D60]

I just look at it as, I wouldnt want it done to me so I dont want to do it to anyone else. Not trying to force anyone to have my same values. But I honestly do appreciate your feedback.

I feel like anyone walking into a local NAPA for anything shouldn't expect them to have THE LOWEST price. If they do expect this, they're not particularly intelligent.

Consumers need to know to shop around, or there is a cost to failing to do so -- which is fine and some understand this, ie they're buying it because it's there and they're there and they need it. Granted, your examples of ordering parts muddies the water a little because the consumer could order directly, but if they don't, they don't.

 

[andrew_j]

You can always get something cheaper if you put effort into it.

However people go to Napa to get the part and convience of order. Markup is needed to pay for time of acquiring part and conveying to customer and paying overhead.

Observe and learn how business works. If owner did not do this you’d have no job along with other employees.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Guy comes in says he wants motorcraft 15W40. Again “we dont have it but we can get it” this oil is $25 per jug at Walmart. Manager sends me to the local ford dealer to get 3 jugs at $35 each, and sells it to the guy for $38 each.

Should have marked it up more, looks like he's doing the guy a favor, maybe a loyal customer.

Some savings accounts have a .01% APY and then the bank loans out your money for 7%+ Now there's a markup!

 

[supton]

I've always assumed that one had to sell their soul to go into sales and/or marketing. Maybe their brains too, when it comes to marketing.

End of the day, every middleman has to take their cut. If they added value (buy this, it's better) then they earn that cut and I'm ok with that. I don't expect any store/business to be a charity and I'm ok with them making a profit. End of the day, as yet another working stiff, somebody at the company I work at is yet another soulless salesguy fleecing someone.

I hate doing sales on CL. I'm a softie. I've talked people down on price when I'm doing the selling. But trading in a car? I might leave my morals at home, as I sure won't find them any the local dealer.

Local store might have what I want, but I'll have to pay a premium for "having it right now". I'd be ok with that, but sometimes I don't need it right now, and sometimes that local price is way way out of step with what I might find if I buy online, or even drive a few minutes (hour).

 

[eljefino]

I walked into an Advance Auto about 10-15 years ago to special order something. I knew they didn't have it in the store but was hoping they could get it put on the truck on a "hub run."

They wanted another seven bucks for shipping! I told the guy I could order it "from home" if I wanted to pay shipping-- and I did!

That's not a slam on his discretion; the store had its rules from corporate. They were some dumb rules though!

 

[bullwinkle]

Face it, RA, Amazon, even eBay will almost always be cheaper than any chain, AKA “auto parts convenience store”-when you need it right now, & don’t care what it costs, they SHOULD have it for more $$$. But, apparently not always!

 

[bullwinkle]

I walked into an Advance Auto about 10-15 years ago to special order something. I knew they didn't have it in the store but was hoping they could get it put on the truck on a "hub run."

They wanted another seven bucks for shipping! I told the guy I could order it "from home" if I wanted to pay shipping-- and I did!

That's not a slam on his discretion; the store had its rules from corporate. They were some dumb rules though!

Bizarre thing about that is, you can usually slap on a discount code & get free shipping if it’s over $35! AAP lately has been acting like NAPA-they seem to only want commercial customers…

 

[skyactiv]

The only thing wrong in my opinion is where the Napa franchise manager is sourcing some of the parts. Does he source spark plugs from eBay?

 

[vavavroom]

Should not conflate morals with ethics. What's morally questionable to a person may well be ethically acceptable. It's up to the individual to decide whether or not to compromise their morals if they clash with the prevalent ethics.