Retailers and Phone Priority

[mcwho]

I wanted to get some NGK plugs for my roadster as it had Champions. I did the research found the appropriate cross reference and wrote the two numbers down on a piece of paper. Where I live in a small FLorida town. I have a choice of NAPA, Action Auto, O'Reilly, and several other brick and mortar stores as well as all the online resources.

All I wanted to do is to see if this store had a cross reference chart that I could look at, and double check. I already checked the stores web site. they showed that the plugs were in stock. OK, all I was gonna do was just verify the numbers and pick up a set.

I walked in, there were at least 5 agents were behind the counters, they each had a cash station in front of him. It was kinda like a KFC moment I had earlier, 1 agent standing behind a register, I walk up to that register and she immediately goes to a different register. ? WTF

So, back to the story at "Advance Auto Parts in Orange City Florida".

3 out of 5 agents are busy on the phone, or busy looking at computer screens. I walk up to a station and state I want to check his cross reference for some spark plugs, he brings up a screen and asks me if I have a number, I give him the Champion number and he is having an issue with the screen and says something like its the wrong screen or something like that. So he then leaves his station and goes down the rows of parts and finds the Champion plugs, the ones that I Don't want to buy, but just want to cross reference to get the correct NGK plugs.

I hear the stores phone ring, the guy goes back behind the counter and picks up the phone, Now there are 4 agents on phones, and one guys reading a computer screen, I look over to the only last guy who is not busy, he says back to me "I'm in training", I suppose that is code for "I cant help you"

I was killing tme looking at other items like oil filters as I had done some research on them as well, trying to kill time until the guy I was dealing with got off the phone. SO now, the customer that took the time to drive to the store is in a queue behind all the people getting tech support from the guys on the phone. I wish I got this much attention when I called for tech help from my cable company or cell phone company.

Well, I could hear half of the conversation and it sounded like the person on the other end wanted free diagnostic help and the employee kept asking more questions on what he had done to analyze the problem. I stalled a few more minutes and decided to leave, that was after 5 to 10 minutes of waiting, as I was obviously at the end of the phone line queue. I did think of calling from my cell phone, probably should have.

When I got home I called the store and asked the name of the store manager, the guy said oh, that's Sam, I asked if he was there and could I talk to him and I was advised that he would be in on Monday.

I don't wine or complain as a rule, but our society of retailers who have a "Phone clients first priority" makes me wonder why they even have a storefront.

I went home and double cheked the numbers again and ordered the plugs online, on a sunday and they will be here on Tuesday with free shipping.

Should I even waste my time calling the store manager to reiterate my frustration?