Daily Dose of Sultnpapper 01/21/18 > Auto parts stores, the new competition for McDonalds and Burger KIng
I am plumb worn out as I write this, had a very long day on Saturday. I am the type of person who actually likes doing things with my hands, and the weekend is about the only chance I get in the fall and winter. With rain in the forecast for today, Sunday, I needed to get as much done outside as I could on Saturday.
I’ve got some car projects that I need to finish and Saturday I decided to dedicate time to those projects. When you work on old cars it can be a challenge when it comes to locating parts. I guess that I am and school when it comes to how the auto parts supply business works. Back in the day, auto parts stores employed people who actually had some knowledge of the mechanics of how a car worked and what was necessary in order to repair them.
Those days are so long gone, now if you need advice on something automotive relating to repairs the last place you need to go is an auto parts store. The people working the sales counters at these establishments do not have a clue about what they are selling. You can take a part in to them and hand it to them and say, “I need a new one of these”, more often than not the response will be, “and what is it?”
The auto parts business owes a debt of gratitude to the computer, internet and You Tube. These three things have allowed the owners of auto parts stores to reduce their overhead tremendously. I’ve had more than one counter sales person tell me, “just google it, I’m sure You Tube will have a video on it.” No longer is it necessary for someone working at a auto parts store to have any knowledge of how things work, they just need to repeat the phrase, “just google it.” Those three words are all that a counter sales person needs to know now a day. If an employee can run a barcode reader and ask if this transaction is “cash or credit” the warm body possessing those minimal skills is qualified to work the parts counter.
It use to be that people with such little skills were only found working in fast food establishments but I see that changing and the auto parts business is well on its way to looking more and more like McDonalds and Burger King. Not only by the employees they are hiring either, it seems like there is an increasing amount of auto parts store popping up everywhere. Three auto parts store chains has two stores located within 3 miles of each other right near me, plus I can think of five other auto parts store in that same 3 mile radius. My math skills tell me that there are at least 11 auto parts stores within 3 miles of me, I’m not sure but that may exceed the number of fast food establishments now that I started thinking about it.
The computer has also aided in the problem with inventory, and the term “just in time inventory”, while these auto parts stores have plenty of locations none of the locations are very well stocked with actual parts. I needed to replace some fuel injectors on Saturday, between getting the injectors, some gaskets, and a power steering reservoir I had to go to three separate locations, and two different chains. A person would think that they build the locations for customer convenience so you don’t have to drive as far, but if I have to drive all over the area to get a few parts because one location didn’t have them all under one roof, that is inconvenience not convenience. Oh, the counter people also are trained to say, “We can have it for you tomorrow “, if I wanted it tomorrow I would have come in tomorrow.
The more I think about it I believe that the auto parts supply business model is more ridiculous than the fast food people. I don’t have to go to three drive through locations of McDonald’s or Burger King to get a hamburger, fries and a drink. I can even order cheese on that burger and it won’t cause me to have go to a separate location for the cheese.
Maybe the auto parts people need to revisit their business plan, how about one location in that three mile radius that would be fully stocked with parts. That would be convenient in my opinion, driving around from location to location is not; repeat not convenient.
On a positive note, I did win the Steem Poker League free roll Texas Hold ‘Em tourney Friday night, I think there were forty some odd players in that tourney. The tourney on Saturday afternoon I didn’t quite do as well, finishing in twelfth place out of about the same number of players. The best thing about the Saturday tourney was that I didn’t even play; I had my youngest boy play for me because I was busy. I told you before he is becoming a decent online poker player and the proof shows in the results. He didn’t know any of the players and managed to finish in the money. That is quite an accomplishment because knowing a person’s tendencies in certain situations can pay big dividends and he had never played with any of these people, he actually was at a disadvantage. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, so he plays his cards very similarly to the way I play them, so the advantage was with his competition. Well done Aman, well done son.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
they should just combine them...'um, yeah..could i get a carburetor filter, a spark plug and 2 whoppers with fries please'
glad to hear your boy is winning for ya...gotta get a few extra copies of myself out there in the world for easy earnings. 😎
It's my version of crypto mining. It isn't easy though, good players in there.
Where you headed next?
well we are heavily leaning toward Thailand...but have really come to love tenerife...we have a few more days to decide...no tickets booked...we are remaining open to the wind of our life...
Well I'll keep an eye out for you. Travel safe.
After reading this, my mind is in in a McD loop.
Mc Hardware Store
Mc Bicycle repair
Mc Plumbing
Mc Electicity
Mc PetStore
Mc Gardening
even Youtube seems yo go Mc
The old guys who have the real knowlegde are disappearing faster then the whiz kids that are created.
Everyone thinks that the Tube holds all the knowledge but thats only true for the average crap.
More specialised knowlegde on very specific things is vanishing at a scary pace.
Most of the you tube videos that have to do with building or repairing anything are done by older folks who have been frustrated by the lack of knowledge at whatever business they had a business dealing with; car repair shops come to mind very quickly, car shops are a license to steal from people who are afraid to get dirty or turn a wrench.
Young people now see everything as disposable, it breaks ; throw it away and get a new one. Ironically these are the same ones who want you to recycle every plastic bottle and aluminum can.
Manufacturers have recognized this too, that is why computers are being implemented into so many devices that would last for decades prior to computers, like washing machines, clothes dryers, refrigerators and automobiles. The manufacturers learned that if they computerize the controls, then it is easy to get people to understand the failure or that the controls are now "obsolete" and the device has to be scrapped and you need to purchase a new one.
I would guess it will only continue to get worse at as time goes on, landfill space will be at a real premium price as we need places to dump all this junk we are creating.
But those video's by older guys are now being McD'ed by kids in HD... And they use bots and tools to hype their shit, pushing the old guys into cyber-history.
Everyhing Chinese is todays way of life, partly because China's business model makes it so cheap, and partly because western business models make western crap far overpriced.
Our western goodies are allready 100% overpriced when they leave the factory, then add tax, then the retailer doubles the price and ... well.. add more tax... Retailers want to make more profit, so they also know that Chinese stuff is cheaper, so whenever they can they prefer to sell the Chinese stuff. Who can blame them.. The average customer has to live in the financial crisis that the industry created. And they still want goodies. The only thing they can afford is the stuff with the lowest pricetags. China wins.
The solution? First find the cause why everything 'western' is so expensive.
Is it tax, is it overpricing, is it overpayed executives?
Or all of the above?
Or even other factors?
Why do people go to McD?
It isn't even cheaper.
Does it taste better?
Is it healthier?
Is it the styleful atmosphere?
Is it the stressfree environment?
McD never made sense to me, but McD seems to fill some kind of void in the human psyche.
Clever for for McD's bank account, but not very clever for society somehow.
And it also hasn't improved the health and lifestyle of the average cow.
We live in a 'throw away' world. Where everyone speaks of 'recycling' that's a paradox in itself.
We create crap to feed the recycling machine, instead of making better stuff that doesn't break, and if it breaks can easily be repaired. That would be far better then any recycling.
And then you indeed also need sales people who have actual knowledge of the things they sell.
We live in the McD vortex, but how can we get out? The capitalist 'suction' keeps pulling us in ever stronger.
Yes, I've touched on the same things you speak of here with the throw away mentality and why things don't last in a recent daily dose, and also how my Dad back in the 1960's and 70's use to warn me that the Chinese would own the world if we kept buying their inexpensive costing inferior products. A vortex would be a very good description of what is taking place.
Recycling is a whole another subject, in most cases it is not a profitable operation and has several government subsidies in order to keep the places in operation. That could very well be that the government realizes their bad decisions have led to the mess so they feel obligated to help by keeping it out of the landfill, and sending it back overseas so they can clean the crap up and start the cycle of building inferior products and shipping them back here again, yep "vortex" is the right word.
Breaking the cycle could well be accomplished by banning the recycling of any materials that need to be cleaned by using water. Water is in such short supply in quite a few places and it gets wasted washing plastic bottles and aluminum cans. That could be a place to start.
yeah, the oil industy makes big money on bad recycling that ships old crap across the globe
Congrats on the poker game! Perhaps next time a big winner? It's just not the auto places. It is becoming popular in DIY stores, large retail lumber stores and hardware stores. I go in knowing more than the gum chomping clucks.
Yes, it is surfacing in more and more places, it just happened to really stick out to me on Saturday as I was trying to get some things done on some ongoing projects that I had to put on hold because of the weather. I'm not a cold weather person. More like a bear that needs to hibernate in the winter.
just in time inventory -- grrr that drives me nuts as well it
It probably makes good business sense and profits for the company but the buyer like you or me gets screwed neever able to get anything when you really need
Congrats on the win in the poker
Just in time inventory doesn't work in retail type business, there is no way to measure lost sales, if you can't get what you came in for you turn around and walk out. Computerized inventory makes for easy counting, easy reordering, but to many companies run inventory levels at to low of thresholds. Once that last item leaves the store there is no way to measure your lost revenue, and depending on the type of business and reordering policies of the warehouse or vendor that item may be out of stock for a few days or a week. Could be quite a few people come in walk to that isle and find an empty bin and walk out.
I see less problems in the wholesale distribution chains than the retail, because those are B 2 B transactions where orders are done by computer and will generate a back order condition, allowing time for filling the out of stock condition in most instances. Retail and wholesale are two different animals and need different solutions for sure.
Thanks on the poker congrats, it is a fun game to play.
all very good points
I know a couple of the big shoe chains seem to have limited stock in stores they always seem to not have the shoe I want but the next day they cN have it
I will go find something else in another store lol
That is what they now consider as "just in time", well for me it doesn't work that way , just like you, it should be just in my time, like when I'm there to get it, not just in "their'time , which is "tomorrow.
exactly I will look all over and find an alternative rather than going back the next day
Congrats on the poker win..about the car parts I get your frustration..one of my previous jobs required me to go shopping for parts sometimes..that was fun, as you can imagine..I got to learn all the parts locations in the area and beyond haha..I even “googled it” hehe you should give it a try and start calling them before you go there..might save you some time..:)
Thanks for the congrats, I use the online shopping features of the auto parts companies websites to check their inventory and see what locations have what I need available for pick up, I don't just drive around hit and miss. that would really add an additional layer of aggravation, some locations didn't have anything I needed on Saturday. There is a online company, rockauto.com that I have started buying from about six months ago that really has great prices and free or reasonable shipping charges and when I have time and can plan I use them for parts. This past Saturday I didn't expect that great of weather and decided to take advantage of it, so it really just reminded me that planning ahead is important to prevent frustration.
I made it a point to have my shopping list on a big yellow legal tablet sheet of paper with each company by name listed, their part # and price on each item, so I could point out to them what each was missing out on lost sales that day from me. I know it makes no difference to the counter sales people, but a store manager at Autozone did hear me tell the sales clerk and came over and looked at it, then he told me ,"we can have it tomorrow for you." I just laughed at him, and replied, "If I needed it tomorrow I would have come in tomorrow." He just said "I understand, I'm sorry we don't have it." His store could of had an additional $100 bucks about in sales that day from me, no telling how much other from other people who were not able to get what they needed that day, and as a manager lost sales is lost profits and their earnings are in most cases tied to profitability of the store so that hurts him in the wallet.