True story!! Metric tap

[Choirboy]

So I needed a tap the other day, and upon comparing the threads to several known sizes I had on hand, I knew it would be a weird size. Around here my best chance of getting something weird is a national chain I'll not name, but we'll call it "Fasteneverything."

So I walk in, hand them the item with threads and say "I need to know what size this is, it is probably metric." So the guy compares it to various things on the handy check-a-size, and determines it is an M10-1. "Cool, I need a tap for that, please." So the guy walks down some aisles and returns with a tap, which he hands to me. Being the untrusting type, I open the package and compare the threads, which are obviously not the same. I mention to him that I think he grabbed the wrong one, and he replies with genuine surprise:

"Oh, did you need the same size I just checked?"

True story.

 

[zcbauer89]

Sounds a lot like the "Fasteneverything" in my town.

 

[Fixin'Stuff]

Sadly, that isn't the only place in the US that stuff like that happens (all too frequently!) these days. Our modern (lack of) education system is failing us.

 

[Movover]

Sadly, that isn't the only place in the US that stuff like that happens (all too frequently!) these days. Our modern (lack of) education system is failing us.

But I bet he can pass a standardized test with flying colors because that is what they teach in schools nowadays

 

[M6erfan]

Education or work ethic? They're not the same...

 

[maxpower_hd]

...or common sense...that needs to be taught in school too now. Along with counting back change, basic math, penmanship, the English Language (here in the US anyway) and the list goes on.

You would think the guy would have just figured that the one he checked and the one you asked him to get were the same thing unless you specified a size.

 

[Choirboy]

To be honest, I don't think he understood what a tap was for. The tap he gave me was a M10x1.75 or something coarse. I think he just thought "Oh, it is M10, I know right where those are..."

 

[Fixin'Stuff]

Reminds of a recent trip to the local Ace hardware store. I was trying to find out if they had a selection of replacement brushes for electric motors . A 20-something guy asked if he could help. I showed him my worn out brush and told him what I was looking for. He promptly escorted me directly to the section where they sell wire wheels. I guess that in his mind, that was a "brush" for "an electric (drill) motor". I wish I could have revoked his man card, right on the spot!

 

[jacked_72]

I'm in agreement with some of the basics of education. In the 70s and early 80s, we had to take woodworking, home ec and drafting in Jr HS. In HS, all the voc tec classes were optional, but we had to take a skills for living class which included how to fill out a job application, how to balance a check book, how to fill out a simple tax return, understand what you're paying in interest if you buy something on time, etc. Alright, I see cutting out the shop stuff, but the skills for living needs to make a comeback. And there should be now be a class on how to speak to adults, how to look someone in the eye and how to interact in social settings. Wouldn't fix the lack of common sense some of the younger people have, but it sure wouldn't hurt anything.

 

[M6erfan]

^^^yeah, "skills for living", that's called parenting, lol.

 

[Know Wosad]

Education or work ethic? They're not the same...

Neither provides good ol' fashioned common sense.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

All these comment on kids / education: You want your kids to NOT end up being like the counter guy who gets the wrong item for the customer and then laughs about it, then just teach them the right ways to act and how to work. Don't expect the education system / society to do it for you.

 

[Choirboy]

Eh, the more things change, the more things stay the same:
"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."
-- Attributed to SOCRATES

Morons have to work someplace, and I suppose Fasteneverything is as good a place as any.

 

[M6erfan]

All these comment on kids / education: You want your kids to NOT end up being like the counter guy who gets the wrong item for the customer and then laughs about it, then just teach them the right ways to act and how to work. Don't expect the education system / society to do it for you.

 

[4Kings]

Classic Ron Swanson

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Eh, the more things change, the more things stay the same:
"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."
-- Attributed to SOCRATES

Morons have to work someplace, and I suppose Fasteneverything is as good a place as any.

Yeah, seen that many times and I know it's true. The part that gets me riled up is people who say "THEY need to teach kids xxxxxx" My point was don't expect "THEY" to teach YOUR kids anything, do it yourself.

 

[Choirboy]

Yeah, seen that many times and I know it's true. The part that gets me riled up is people who say "THEY need to teach kids xxxxxx" My point was don't expect "THEY" to teach YOUR kids anything, do it yourself.

Thank you so much for saying that. I'm an educator with 8 years teaching experience, friends who have taught for 40 years, every summer I take continuing education classes on psychology/education subjects. All the research, as well as my own experience and that of my colleagues, shows that most learning happens at home, starting prenatally (fetuses can actually hear all the sounds around them while still in the womb). If kids don't get good education/manners/work ethic at home (and trust me, a large number don't!!) then we at school have to work an order of magnitude harder to try to instill it in them. It is possible, but extremely difficult. Especially when many parents actively sabotage their own childrens' learning.

But really, this post wasn't started for that purpose, just to hopefully share an eye-roll and a chuckle about a ***** at a parts counter!

 

[Pipe]

I like my Lawson salesman.

 

[bdelmar2]

Walked into Grainger last week, plopped a compressor check valve (minus its insides) on the counter in front of a younger looking guy, say 25 ish, and said I need one of these.

Expected to have to explain what it was and go through a bunch of catalog/computer hassle.

Wouldn't have been put out, Grainger has a lot of stuff for sale. An awful lot.

Plus I had just went through the routine at NAPA with a 50ish year old salesman.

To whom I had to explain what it was, what size pipe fittings are, and eventually find the item myself in his catalog.

He was however able to put the part number I gave him into his computer and determine it would be about 3 days to get the one I wanted - they did have a different one in stock, and another wrong one at their warehouse.

Sad thing here is that he is the best one out of the 5-7 people who work the counter at this napa and is as good as anybody out of the 3 stores I have occasion to visit.



Anyway, back to Grainger. The young guy took a look at my half of a part, grabbed a huge catalog (several times the size of napa's) and flipped right to the section he wanted, glanced at the part again, and went in back.

A couple of minutes later he comes back with the correct valve.

So I don't think age or education has much to do with it.

That the younger guy knew what the valve was without any help does show knowledge granted, but once given the name of something looking it up in a catalog is not rocket science.

Especially if the catalog is your store catalog where you have worked for years.

Napa probably doesn't sell a lot of air compressor check valves, but they do stock compressor parts and fittings so it shouldn't be way out of line.

Additionally I've had similar problems with quite a few vehicle parts. Nuts and bolts are even worse. I've given up on them getting that right, I just go back to the bins and find my own.

As a final note, the valve was cheaper at Grainger, and better constructed than the one I saw on the monitor at napa also.

 

[larry_g]

But really, this post wasn't started for that purpose, just to hopefully share an eye-roll and a chuckle about a ***** at a parts counter!

You walk into a store with something you couldn't identify and then denigrate the counter guy? Seems to me there were TWO morons at the counter, one on each side.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Choirboy]

You walk into a store with something you couldn't identify and then denigrate the counter guy? Seems to me there were TWO morons at the counter, one on each side.

lg
no neat sig line

I'm not sure what you mean when you say I couldn't identify the part. I didn't bring it up because it wasn't pertinent to the apparently not amusing story I was sharing. I need to tap some holes to install chicken ******* for a watering system I'm installing in my coop. They were of unknown country of origin with no marked manufacturer, so I didn't know if they were metric or imperial.

I could identify the part, but I couldn't identify the threads by sight. Perhaps machinists can but I certainly can't. He did correctly use the check-a-thread tool and identify the exact thread type. What he couldn't figure out was that when I asked for a tap for those threads, I needed a tap for those threads, and not a tap for some other threads. It was more his reaction I found funny.

I may be a *****, but on this occasion if you feel like insulting me, please call me a jerk for making fun of him instead. That would at least be applicable to the situation.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Generic plastic watering *******? like these:




If so, I hope you weren't putting them in PVC pipe.....

 

[454ragtop]

Common sense sadly isn't that common. A couple days ago at dunkin donuts, $5.21 bill, hand her $20.25, completely baffled, she says to another kid walking by "I need your help to figure this change". Seriously? Not to mention if she knew how to actually work the drawer it would have told her.

 

[Pantsfall_McFixit]

It doesn't help they're getting rid of shop classes. Some are replacing it with CNC, 3d printing and other manufacturing equipment though.

 

[Rileysan]

So I needed a tap the other day, and upon comparing the threads to several known sizes I had on hand, I knew it would be a weird size. Around here my best chance of getting something weird is a national chain I'll not name, but we'll call it "Fasteneverything."

So I walk in, hand them the item with threads and say "I need to know what size this is, it is probably metric." So the guy compares it to various things on the handy check-a-size, and determines it is an M10-1. "Cool, I need a tap for that, please." So the guy walks down some aisles and returns with a tap, which he hands to me. Being the untrusting type, I open the package and compare the threads, which are obviously not the same. I mention to him that I think he grabbed the wrong one, and he replies with genuine surprise:

"Oh, did you need the same size I just checked?"

True story.

Thanks for the laugh!

 

[pescados666]

I once went to an auto parts store to buy 1.5ft of fuel hose, guy then pulls off 1.5m from the roll, holds the ruler up to measure it and cuts it off. I told him I only needed 1.5ft of it and he said that's what he cut. He then charged me for 1.5ft of hose. I'm not sure if they just never get anyone who needs carb fuel hose and wanted to give as much as they could away or if the worker was legitimately thinking that was how it was supposed to be.

 

[DenisG]

I think that you need a 1/8-inch NPT pipe tap. It's close to what the counter-guy measured and it makes more sense given your application. They should be easy to find at a general hardware store.

 

[TigerDude]

Sadly, that isn't the only place in the US that stuff like that happens (all too frequently!) these days. Our modern (lack of) education system is failing us.

yeah, no dumb old people around

 

[maxpower_hd]

All these comment on kids / education: You want your kids to NOT end up being like the counter guy who gets the wrong item for the customer and then laughs about it, then just teach them the right ways to act and how to work. Don't expect the education system / society to do it for you.

Agreed. Thus my daughter has more common sense than nearly all the guys she knows. Her newest BF being an exception.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Agreed. Thus my daughter has more common sense than nearly all the guys she knows. Her newest BF being an exception.

Both my girls knew 100 times more about cars than their first boyfriends. But ultimately they got past the typical video game teenager types and found guys who are not afraid to work / and learn even if their parents never exposed them to any of it.

I think my youngest's now-husband fell solidly in love when she told him "We're hanging out at home so I can change the oil in my car"

Oldest daughter and I stopped in to an Autozone to get a part for her car a couple weeks ago while she was in town for a visit. Counter guy was the stereotypical dumb-counter-boy type so she took over the computer and found what she needed, and then proceeded to tell him where it's stocked in their inventory. Counter guy was speechless. Manager guy was even a little lost and commented on it...we just paid and walked out, giggling together - they have no idea my little girl manages one of those stores 300 miles away.

 

[Evilunclegrimace]

It seems that lack of attention and caring about customer service are a thing of the past. Two days ago my mother noticed a bulge on the sidewall of her cars tire and asked me to look at it. It was unsafe to drive so I called the local tire shop that she has been using for several years and explained the problem and gave them the tire size . The manager looked the car up from their service records and verified the tire size and informed me that they did not have one in stock and it would be a day to receive the correct tire. I agreed to bring the car out the next day and drop it of to have the tire replaced at their convenience.
I dropped the car of the next morning. Several hours later they called to inform me that the tire was replaced and the car was ready for pickup, but that it was past due for an oil change. I agreed to have the oil changed and picked up the car later in the day. I had my brother go with me to pick the car up, paid $183.22 and headed for my mothers house.

During the ride to drop the car of my brother called to say that the low tire pressure warning light came on. I figured no big problem I can check when I drop it at moms. We get to moms and my brother says that under a tight turn there is a rubbing sound from the LF. After a quick check to make sure that the mud flap is not damaged he notices that the is less wheel well clearance on the new tire compared to the other side. The shop had installed at 226/65R17 tire when it should have been a 225/60R17. checked the bill and it had a 225/60R17 listed.
I called the shop explained the problem and the manager apologized and offed to install the correct tire while I waited. Ok I have time and take the car back and they drive it right in and swap the tire. I receive apologies from the manager and the service tech, and I reply it is not really a big deal stuff happens. ( It was a 225/60 R17 this time)
My brother called later that evening to inform me that the tire was flat less than 2 hours later. He filled it and I am waiting to call the shop as I am typing this. Great way to start the day.

 

[bwringer]

I'm calling BS on the original story.

Fasteneverything actually had something (even the wrong thing) IN STOCK????!?!?!?!!!????!!!?!?!???!?!??

Bulllllllllllllll. ****.

 

[Choirboy]

i'm calling bs on the original story.

Fasteneverything actually had something (even the wrong thing) in stock????!?!?!?!!!????!!!?!?!???!?!??

Bulllllllllllllll. ****.

lol!!

 

[Lassen Forge]

We have a NAPA about 100 miles (as the crow flies) from us - old school store, catalog racks on the counter and people not afraid to use them (rather than fall back on their computer screens)... a wall full of belts on one side, and hoses on the other. I have yet to stump them for a part I need. And I have come up with some doozies. But they are the rare exception to the rule.

Then again, I had no idea that valve keepers for a 327 Chevy motor would be a "we don't have those in stock, we might be able to special order those (stares blankly into his computer screen)... I don't think those are even available anymore, sorry"... for an auto parts store. They have 114 kinds of hang up air fresheners, 12 different types of washer fluid (some in designer colors), 14 flavors of coolant, and chrome lug nut covers for a '12 Hyundai Elantra... but parts for an engine they built millions of? Powered everything from **** to shinola? Good think I didn't ask him for an alternator for a '67 T-Bird...

Reminds of a recent trip to the local Ace hardware store. I was trying to find out if they had a selection of replacement brushes for electric motors . A 20-something guy asked if he could help. I showed him my worn out brush and told him what I was looking for. He promptly escorted me directly to the section where they sell wire wheels. I guess that in his mind, that was a "brush" for "an electric (drill) motor". I wish I could have revoked his man card, right on the spot!

Be glad he didn't take you to the "personal care items" aisle and show you their fine selection of hair accessories... (Our ace is also a drugstore and mini-supermarket).

 

[R.Anderson]

Reminds of a recent trip to the local Ace hardware store. I was trying to find out if they had a selection of replacement brushes for electric motors . A 20-something guy asked if he could help. I showed him my worn out brush and told him what I was looking for. He promptly escorted me directly to the section where they sell wire wheels. I guess that in his mind, that was a "brush" for "an electric (drill) motor". I wish I could have revoked his man card, right on the spot!

Can't be to hard on the younger crowd these days with education system the way it is now, at least he was not working a McDs. Also with the how just about every thing being made to be disposable and not made to be repaired or last. The movie Idiocracy comes to mind, all that matters is selling stuff to make profit with no regards to environment, quality, pride, and common sense. The world is spiraling down the drain and is spiraling faster and faster. The future is going to be interesting. What gets me is the no regards to the future with resources and the all the landfills that are being created. If it can not be recycled it should not be made at all.

 

[M6erfan]

Can't be to hard on the younger crowd these days with education system the way it is now, at least he was not working a McDs. Also with the how just about every thing being made to be disposable and not made to be repaired or last. The movie Idiocracy comes to mind, all that matters is selling stuff to make profit with no regards to environment, quality, pride, and common sense. The world is spiraling down the drain and is spiraling faster and faster. The future is going to be interesting. What gets me is the no regards to the future with resources and the all the landfills that are being created. If it can not be recycled it should not be made at all.

Everything can be recycled, it's the cost which gets in the way.

 

[RedneckWelder]

If you want better service and smarter people working retail they gotta be paid more than jack ****. The better people are gonna go elsewhere and on to better things rather than tolerate getting paid little and being treated like absolute **** by both customers and management.

 

[Boilerhouse]

Some experiences are very different than mine. When I first started ordering parts in the late 70's, I generally found the parts people no more knowledgeable or conscientious as they are now. It hit and miss if the part you requested could be found in stock, or, if ordered, ever arrived or not. If it did come in, it was rarely next day delivery.
Last week I was sourcing parts and availability for some brake components. The parts person tells me one part must be ordered, delivery will not be until next day and (if I want it immediately) checks the data base of the competitors and informs me the local NAPA has it in stock and gives me their price and part number.