I think there's hope for us....yeah, use guys that go in with a special need that doesn't pop up on the computer. Both Advanced/Discount and AutoZone locally, are back to using the books for items that aren't in their "machines". It might be that they recognized they were loosing the market-share to Napa, who has always been quick to dig up those "hard-to-find" DIY parts.
And as for female employees....it really depends on the store manager who does the hiring. It's easy to recognize the "greeters" who will open with a smile and the "diggers" who are confidently waiting for my next off-beat parts request. Both have their places in retail and it doesn't take long to figure out which is which.
In this day where new car prices are approaching real estate values, there are more and more folks opting to undertake more routine maintenance than ever before.
What alarms me, is that our schools seems to be
missing the boat by trying to prep every student for a college education. Vocational education....yeah, GENERAL SHOP, AUTO MECHANICS, AG and the other so-called "manual arts" have given way to more computer-based "exploratory" programs that lack substance and actual hands-on experience. It's cheaper to build a secondary school without "Shops", less liability from shop-related activities and you can hire a "certified" teacher for less than you can hire a "certified" experienced mechanics instructor.
I spent 33 years as an advocate of strong Vocational education in our public schools and watched as our programs were gutted by pea-brained school administrators who didn't have the foresight to see what has happened in America. We've lost much of our manufacturing base....our industries have bailed out to "off-shore" facilities and for the most part we've become a "throw-away" society. We have to be satisfied with mediocre products that nobody can fix....easy credit to replace them and all the while we're being "stroked" like a big fat dumb cat, into believing that this is the American way.
So the next time you go into your favorite parts house or machine shop and are met with those blank stares and get a shoulder shrug instead of the parts or service you need, you can thank the folks that are running our public schools. Don't waste your breath trying to explain to them that less than 50% of the jobs today require a Baccalaureate degree and that more emphasis should be placed on those kids that are not going to be headed for college. Yeah, that's the person you're going to have to deal with on a daily basis. Don't be too quick to turn them off because for the most part, that's exactly what their schools did. Give them a little extra info about what you want, take a minute to look them in the eye and let them know that you are really depending on them and you might be pleasantly surprised.
