patrs store kids, @#$%!

went to pick up a couple of oil filters today for my '49 cub, saturday so the kid's on duty in there, he didnt have one which i figured, i was there to have him order 2 or 3 so id have one when i needed one he tells me he cant get it thru his "usual source" and it will be 52.95 each out of kansas city! c'mon, they cost about 9 or 10 bucks and are pretty common, so, i wonder what the kid really looked up, maybe the hydraulic screen???

Possibly he was confusing "case/carton" price vs. "each" price.

they dont makem like they used to... parts people that is.
best parts person i have seen used to be here in our g.m. garage. when you went in for parts he seldom looked in the book, just walked to the shelf and got it. if he heard someone ask for a part he just told the other parts man the #. had everything in his head. guess too much lectric lettuce and crack heads and no room left for part #'s.

Maybe he was working on commission.

The smart ones don't last long because they quickly find a better-paying job.

It greatly simplifies the situation, both for experienced people and the less knowledgeable if you give them the part number. Their computer will tell them if they have it in stock and where it is if it isn't in stock. You can save a trip by calling the parts dept. It also helps if you know more about the part you are ordering than they do. A lot of the smaller items that are not commonly sold in that area do come in mutiples of two or more, doubt if filters do, although they can order them that way.

You went to get parts for a 63 year old tractor and expected a "kid" to know anything about it?

Really?

Go to NAPA, #1153.

what do you mean , he dont have to read the parts book either.?? but then city kids know little about the farm anyhow!

Back in the day--late '50's thru the early '70's--IH sold 376373R91 oil filters for Cubs in boxes of 3...but they were priced individually.

I'm slightly amazed that after 40 years I still remember the part number...but then, I sold a ton of 'em from the time I was 8 years old on.

Dealers and parts houses share the blame. Folks who sell them the computer software tell the business owners that their software is so simple to run, they can justify the software expense by getting rid of experienced parts counter people and hiring minimum-wage dopers off the street.

So business owners do exactly that...and then customers complain that there are no experienced parts people anymore. Business owners don't care if they p*ss off the customers, because there are only so many options in each market...and besides, the competition is in the process of doing exactly the same thing.

I've been a parts man, and a damn fine one. I've been a parts manager, and I've heard the software salespeople spout that crap. And I've been replaced by morons who couldn't look up the sun with a telescope, much less a part with a computer. But I understand how the game is played, and customer service is only measured by what's tracked on CSI scores, rather than how many customers you run off.

Because the customer you ran off doesn't get a survey to fill out.

If the parts person looks at Farmall or IH he will get everything they ever made. So, tell them to look at Farmall or IH "tractor" and it should have what you want.

(quoted from post at 02:32:48 02/26/12) It greatly simplifies the situation, both for experienced people and the less knowledgeable if you give them the part number. Their computer will tell them if they have it in stock and where it is if it isn't in stock.

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Kinda like those self-checkout lanes at the grocery store. Pretty soon the customer will be stocking the shelves and mopping the floors, too.

Most of the time I bring my part numbers with me. As a customer, I don't feel any obligation to do so. Maybe if they knocked 10% or so off of my parts for doing their job, I'd bring in the part numbers every time. The dealer has the computer/software/fische/books to look up part numbers if the customer knows what they are replacing. It's why they're the dealer and customers are customers. If some clown can't figure out something as incredibly simple as an engine oil filter for a Cub, how are they going to have the smarts to order it correctly even if you gave them the part number, or does the customer have to place the order, too?

Buzzman is right. When computers came in, good parts counter help got shown the door, or at best, didn't get replaced with good help when people retired. Anybody that knew what a keyboard and mouse was got hired, whether they know the differences between a spark plug, a turbocharger, and a bucket of Hy-Tran or not.

Few dealers care if the customer isn't satisfied when they leave, because the next dealer is usually 50 miles away, and the customer will probably be back the next time they need something.

AG

I have a good dealer with good parts people. I give them the part number because it is much faster for them and me both. There is no discount for that and I don't expect one. And if I give them the number I am assured of getting the right part. In dealing with this dealer for 10 years, them or me have only made one mistake.

(quoted from post at 16:57:03 02/26/12) I have a good dealer with good parts people. I give them the part number because it is much faster for them and me both. There is no discount for that and I don't expect one. And if I give them the number I am assured of getting the right part. In dealing with this dealer for 10 years, them or me have only made one mistake.

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I had a great CIH dealer that has good help and is excellent on the older IH stuff, on both service and parts. One mechanic told me that CIH decided they weren't selling enough new machinery (but they did sell a ton of parts and the shop was always full of stuff to work on), didn't have multiple stores, and didn't want 2 competing dealers in the same county, so CIH didn't renew the dealer's contract. This dealer with good help still sells parts they purchase from/through another dealer. If they're getting parts from the dealer I've been told they are, they're getting parts from a dealer that has mediocre at best counter help.

At that mediocre dealer, go ahead, bring those part numbers with you. Three times they told me stuff is NLA when it is still being made. Don't ask them to double check, the computer's never wrong, and neither is the operator. They give off an attitude that if you walk out the door and spend less than $250 on parts that you're wasting their time. Anything pre-Magnum is an antique to them. Lots of new iron leaves their lot and they have multiple locations, so their contract probably isn't in any jeopardy.

Thankfully there are a couple of decent full-line CIH dealers around here yet. For how long, who knows?

The 10% thing was a bit of a joke. I don't mind bringing part numbers, and most of the time I do. It shouldn't be the customer's obligation to do so. If the customer wants a part for something, he wants the part, not a part number. The part number means something to the dealer and the OEM or vendor, but squat to most customers. I do see the day coming when you walk through the doors wanting parts and a computer greets you, you have to look up the parts you need yourself, and the numbers are then turned over to an "order specialist" who checks inventory and places an order based solely on numbers you give them and substitutions given by a computer.

Parts counter people who posess knowledge on the machinery they can get parts for are a dying breed, partly because of computers and automation, and partly because of the pay scale. Bean counters at ag and auto parts dealers look at sales made and not potential sales lost. How the manufacturers are choosing to do business isn't helping any either.

AG

I liked to sit at the computer in the evenings and order parts on-line and address order to a particular parts man whom I worked with for 30 plus years. He would then drop them off on his way home at my place in town or at the local cenex station. Well, with the new on-line parts set up, they do two things that ruins that for me. One, if the part number has been changed you can't order that part as you cannot check in the box. You are supposed to call dealer. Second thing, they want it charged to my account. No way is that going to happen. No mechanic ever had enough spare change to charge a few hundred dollars worth of parts let alone a few thousand some times. I don't run the parts I install in customers through my paper work. It goes on them. Few little parts, yes. Now I call for everything, if my guy isn't available, I call back. Lost a lot of convenience for me. I look up the parts on the old site and give him those numbers, and any changed numbers he takes care of.

If you really want a problem, try to get parts for an older Case tractor from a CIH dealer. The parts kid is completely lost, even if you have the part #! (My $0.02 worth. jal-SD)

You know we all started out not knowing alot about this stuff but, where did theyget these kids that are behind the parts counters? Most of them have never heard of the older eqiupment we all take for granted. Now, I feel it is our job to educate these little smart---es (they know it all) on what we want and where to get it. All the older guys that knew where to go and how to get it is gone(darn the luck). Kenny.

My point is that if it is in their computer they should be able to find it. My dealer apparantly does not hire "kids", and anyone new is trained by the existing employees. On the rare occasion that they tell me it is NLA, I don't argue with them. If I believe it is not NLA I call Carter and Gruenewald, if they say NLA, then I believe them and have them do a dealer search. I have come up with some parts that way. You have a bigger problem than me because you make your living doing it, for me it's just an expensive hobby. I use the online prices to check and see what I am getting into if I think the parts are expensive. The CIH site is worthless for that because it appears the part has to be in stock before they will give a price. Not many antique tractors around here so all they stock is filters (not a joke). So I use Messicks or just ask when I call. You order many more parts than I do, thus you will have more problems. As I said, I received the wrong part only once in 10 years, probably 95% of the reason is that I am the one who makes sure the part number is correct.

(quoted from post at 03:13:43 02/27/12) My point is that if it is in their computer they should be able to find it. My dealer apparantly does not hire "kids", and anyone new is trained by the existing employees. On the rare occasion that they tell me it is NLA, I don't argue with them. If I believe it is not NLA I call Carter and Gruenewald, if they say NLA, then I believe them and have them do a dealer search. I have come up with some parts that way. You have a bigger problem than me because you make your living doing it, for me it's just an expensive hobby. I use the online prices to check and see what I am getting into if I think the parts are expensive. The CIH site is worthless for that because it appears the part has to be in stock before they will give a price. Not many antique tractors around here so all they stock is filters (not a joke). So I use Messicks or just ask when I call. You order many more parts than I do, thus you will have more problems. As I said, I received the wrong part only once in 10 years, probably 95% of the reason is that I am the one who makes sure the part number is correct.

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I've been assuming that the OP was talking about going to a CIH dealer and I just keep going back to this being over a Cub oil filter. Although it's an old tractor, this wasn't some terribly obsolete part that hasn't been made since Ike was in the white house. These filters were used for decades. Many CIH dealers handle another filter line (Fleetgard, Wix, Baldwin, etc.) and many carry aftermarket parts (A&I, Tisco, etc.) and finding a Cub oil filter either from CIH or from an alternative supplier shouldn't be rocket science at any CIH dealer, even if the partsman didn't know such a machine ever existed and even if the OP didn't have the part number. I can believe they might not stock one, but they should have been able to order one or several, and $50+ isn't the right price for a single Cub engine oil filter from any supplier. If the OP questioned the partsman on this, and the partsman couldn't figure it out, the partsman should have found someone else who could help the OP.

FWIW, the hyd. filter screen is around $60 on Messicks' site. Could be what the partsman looked up. Like Snoop said, it could be case price on the engine oil filters, too. Either way, it wasn't what the OP wanted.

I guess my point is that if a CIH dealer partsman can't find a Cub engine oil filter, he probably couldn't find a bulemic at a puke convention, either.

AG

Actually now that you mention it, it is strange that you have to go to the parts counter to get an oil filter.

At both CaseIH dealers I visit, the oil filters are stacked neatly on the shelves out in the store aisles. The shelf is labeled with the part number and the application.

The filters were less than $10 each last year.