Napa(don't) know how.....

[Foxrunfarms]

Hey everyone. I'm not trying to go on a rant or bash a business but I wanted to let you guys know about my poor experience with Napa and on a corporate level and maybe save you guys some head aches.

I needed an atv battery. They're usually 50.00 to 100.00 at tsc or fleet farm but I decided to try Napa. To my shock their battery was 200.00. I figured well I'm here, it must be good and I'll have good customer support.......Wrong!

A week later the atv was acting up and flashing volt on the screen. I looked at the battery and the + terminal was cracked and loose. I grabbed the receipt and went back to the store. I talked to the younger guy behind the counter who had no idea what to do so he paged the Manger. The Manger looks at it and says warranty voided I either dropped it ,hulked the bolts on, or used too long of bolts......none in which I did. He said he can't do nothing. I told him fine I'll drop my account and let corporate know. He said that's fine and I left with a few choice words to him. He followed me out in the parking lot and asked if I felt like the battery should be replaced and I could solder it. I told him I wasn't going to solder a 200.00 battery.

I left and went to a Napa 2 towns over( the Manger manages a couple and didn't want someone calling him asking what to do)I went in told the guy I was closer to that store showed him the battery and 2 minutes I was in and out with a new one.

After I got home I gave the original Napa a bad review. Of course I get a call this number to discuss your concerns. I call and I get Ha mere with broken English. He told me the regional Manger would give me a call in 24 to 48 hours to discuss the situation.........that was mid August.......nothing yet. Once a week to kill time I email Napa asking why I haven't heard anything yet with my Case number....... nothing. I gave the battery a 1 star review..... they take it down.

Napa was my go 2 place especially for ag parts, all those times I had great service and free advice vs going to an auto zone or O'Reilly were a kid in high school autoshop is behind the computer asking what size my engine is for wipers.

I should be happy I got a new battery but just very disappointed in the customer support especially from corporate. I thought it was a good company.

 

[ve9aa]

Manger:

Sorry for your experience. Sounds like a MANAGER problem, not a NAPA problem. (unless you just got real lucky with the store who furnished you with a replacement one)


Edit: Why did I post a picture of a manger?

 

[Henro]

I sounds to me like the issue was not Napa, but the manager at one store.

The second store manager replaced your battery in a heartbeat, it sounds that way any way.

i’d be pissed and disappointed too, but I‘d try to focus my frustration at the source of it. Which it sounds like in this case was a manager that needed a little bit more training in customer relations….

 

[Foxrunfarms]

Manger:

View attachment 110909

Sorry for your experience. Sounds like a MANAGER problem, not a NAPA problem. (unless you just got real lucky with the store who furnished you with a replacement one)


Edit: Why did I post a picture of a manger?
View attachment 110912

I agree the Manger could've handled the situation a lot better. I'm sure too if he runs numerous stores they're short handed and he's burnt out. I'm disappointed that I want to talk to corporate about my situation and not getting anywhere with them to resolve or improve the issue.

 

[Foxrunfarms]

I sounds to me like the issue was not Napa, but the manager at one store.

The second store manager replaced your battery in a heartbeat, it sounds that way any way.

i’d be pissed and disappointed too, but I‘d try to focus my frustration at the source of it. Which it sounds like in this case was a manager that needed a little bit more training in customer relations….

I agree the Manger could've handled the situation a lot better. I'm sure too if he runs numerous stores they're short handed and he's burnt out. I'm disappointed that I want to talk to corporate about my situation and not getting anywhere with them to resolve or improve the issue.

 

[Henro]

Just my personal philosophy, but sometimes it’s best to call an A-hole an A-hole and move on, and not let the frustration eat at you.

At best I bet corporate will do nothing other than sweet talk to you a little bit… at worst they won’t even talk to you… Either way you won’t be happy.

At 76 years old, I give a little bit of fatherly advice sometimes! LOL

 

[fried1765]

Just my personal philosophy, but sometimes it’s best to call an A-hole an A-hole and move on, and not let the frustration eat at you.

At best I bet corporate will do nothing other than sweet talk to you a little bit… at worst they won’t even talk to you… Either way you won’t be happy.

At 76 years old, I give a little bit of fatherly advice sometimes! LOL

AS you get EVEN older, "fatherly" advice becomes even more "fatherly".
I try to let go of the frustrating chit ASAP.

 

[ctfjr]

For all those who say its a 'manager' problem not a NAPA problem I must diasagree. It's a company problem.

I am on the senior management team of a small company with 16 branches. Every line person is the company when interacting with a customer. That is exponentialy more important when a manager is involved. Even if the customer is wrong we do everything posible to please the customer.

 

[Foxrunfarms]

For all those who say its a 'manager' problem not a NAPA problem I must diasagree. It's a company problem.

I am on the senior management team of a small company with 16 branches. Every line person is the company when interacting with a customer. That is exponentialy more important when a manager is involved. Even if the customer is wrong we do everything posible to please the customer.

Where I work I was a landscape foreman every time you put on that company shirt or drive a company truck you're representing the company and owner. We had a guy who talked like a sailor. One day during lunch I told him to shut up.........you think the lady with 3 little kids behind us wanted to hear that or would consider hiring us to landscape with that language? With social media it's so easy to post stuff and spread the word. When I'm out in public wearing a jacket with the companies logo on people stop me and ask for a quote........I'm out to dinner with my family on my time but I still have to be nice. One little thing has a snowball effect. The Manger ordeal bothers me but what bothers me is corporate not willing to fix it but not my business.

 

[fried1765]

For all those who say its a 'manager' problem not a NAPA problem I must diasagree. It's a company problem.

I am on the senior management team of a small company with 16 branches. Every line person is the company when interacting with a customer. That is exponentialy more important when a manager is involved. Even if the customer is wrong we do everything posible to please the customer.

We had a single auto parts store in town.
Was started by father & son, and very successful.
Father died.
Son and son's wife, took over the business.
Began being nasty/rude to local mechanics.

I bought a new brand name battery that had a leaking post terminal after 6 mos.
Son would not replace it.
Never went back there, even though very close by.
Business folded .......two years later!

 

[The Evil Twin]

People just suck.
I was at one auto parts store looking for spark plugs for my wife's little sports car. The silly things are $24/ each! They didn't have them. I asked if I could just do a special order. The counter guy literally said "Olympus probably has them in stock. Do you know where they are?"
If I was the manager, dude would have been let go right there. He would have rather sent me elsewhere than do a little extra work for a sale. Never mind that I was going to get an oil filter, wipers, wiper fluid and some PS Silver for the diesels.

 

[lugbolt]

We had a single auto parts store in town.
Was started by father & son, and very successful.
Father died.
Son and son's wife, took over the business.
Began being nasty/rude to local mechanics.

I bought a new brand name battery that had a leaking post terminal after 6 mos.
Son would not replace it.
Never went back there, even though very close by.
Business folded .......two years later!

and now you have no parts store.

seen this happen. Sometimes the only place in town, even being imperfect, is better than no place in town.

What I also see a lot of, guys (and gals) go to a parts store to buy a atv battery, then gripe because it ain't no good, or it don't fit, or it don't last, or "I had to put the acid in myself and ruint a tee shirt", or whatever. The dealer has the correct battery. Real common on ATV's and SxS's. In some cases the dealer's battery may be less expensive too. I see it from both sides of the counter with that stuff as I work at an atv dealer and I am also one of the customers.

there are some things that are out of the store's control. There are some things that are out of the control of the store and the consumer. In cases like that the consumer almost never gets their way, the store rarely if ever gets their way, the consumer gets mad because the store can't do anything, and both are mad at each other. Nobody wins.

and sometimes the rest of the truth remains unknown.

Ever wonder what it costs to make a battery? In the case of one that I know of, about $25. Then it's got to be filled with electrolyte which is regulated and costs a bunch to ship it. So, now $35. Ship it to dealer. Remember shipping batteries is considered hazardous and carries a higher cost to ship. So dealer gets it at $68. Dealer's gotta mark it up. Why? Greed? If we make 10% gross, we've done well. Pay the parts guys, pay the sales guys, keep the lights on, the a/c running, insurance, taxes, fees, administrative costs, keep the heaters running, pay the shop guys, pay for stolen stuff that insurance won't pick up (ever seen what the deductibles and rates are for businesses??), clean the parking lots so the place looks halfway decent, clean the building up, pay a guy to do that cleaning, add in a percentage for losses that are part of doing business, such as but not limited to, a dropped battery that the manufacturer won't pay for, because it left their factory in good condition (shipper's fault), and the shipper only stands behind their shipped stuff if you mark it damaged at the time you sign for it (if you even sign for it, a lot of them are getting away from that too). Pretty soon that $68 battery costs $175 (not exact but you get the idea, hopefully) before the business makes a penny on it.

It's not complicated but there is a lot more to things than I think some fail to realize.

 

[D2Cat]

and now you have no parts store.

seen this happen. Sometimes the only place in town, even being imperfect, is better than no place in town.

What I also see a lot of, guys (and gals) go to a parts store to buy a atv battery, then gripe because it ain't no good, or it don't fit, or it don't last, or "I had to put the acid in myself and ruint a tee shirt", or whatever. The dealer has the correct battery. Real common on ATV's and SxS's. In some cases the dealer's battery may be less expensive too. I see it from both sides of the counter with that stuff as I work at an atv dealer and I am also one of the customers.

there are some things that are out of the store's control. There are some things that are out of the control of the store and the consumer. In cases like that the consumer almost never gets their way, the store rarely if ever gets their way, the consumer gets mad because the store can't do anything, and both are mad at each other. Nobody wins.

and sometimes the rest of the truth remains unknown.

Ever wonder what it costs to make a battery? In the case of one that I know of, about $25. Then it's got to be filled with electrolyte which is regulated and costs a bunch to ship it. So, now $35. Ship it to dealer. Remember shipping batteries is considered hazardous and carries a higher cost to ship. So dealer gets it at $68. Dealer's gotta mark it up. Why? Greed? If we make 10% gross, we've done well. Pay the parts guys, pay the sales guys, keep the lights on, the a/c running, insurance, taxes, fees, administrative costs, keep the heaters running, pay the shop guys, pay for stolen stuff that insurance won't pick up (ever seen what the deductibles and rates are for businesses??), clean the parking lots so the place looks halfway decent, clean the building up, pay a guy to do that cleaning, add in a percentage for losses that are part of doing business, such as but not limited to, a dropped battery that the manufacturer won't pay for, because it left their factory in good condition (shipper's fault), and the shipper only stands behind their shipped stuff if you mark it damaged at the time you sign for it (if you even sign for it, a lot of them are getting away from that too). Pretty soon that $68 battery costs $175 (not exact but you get the idea, hopefully) before the business makes a penny on it.

It's not complicated but there is a lot more to things than I think some fail to realize.

Lugbolt, you forgot the coffee and donuts and TV in the waiting room!

 

[Foxrunfarms]

People just suck.
I was at one auto parts store looking for spark plugs for my wife's little sports car. The silly things are $24/ each! They didn't have them. I asked if I could just do a special order. The counter guy literally said "Olympus probably has them in stock. Do you know where they are?"
If I was the manager, dude would have been let go right there. He would have rather sent me elsewhere than do a little extra work for a sale. Never mind that I was going to get an oil filter, wipers, wiper fluid and some PS Silver for the diesels.

A couple of months back I needed spark plugs for my B......2 cylinder. Tsc had a 4 pack for 24.00......O'Reilly had them 2.00 each.........that " for life out here" slogan must really up the price. When the kid behind the counter asked for a year make and model it really confused him when a 1951 John deere b wasn't in the system.

 

[GrizBota]

I’m a proponent of voting with my feet. I realize most folks have job, not a career. So they could not care less, many times. They can screw a new (or old, loyal) customer every day and never get back to the first customer they screwed. Well maybe some run out of new folks to screw and go under. That’s karma.

My local Kubota sales guy could give a crap if I bought new orange iron from him once, twice or every third year. He’ll sell every one he gets in stock, with or without my business. Guess who won’t be selling me any of my implements? Doesn’t bother me one bit to take a day and 400 mile round trip to buy from someone that treats me like a customer. I’ll do it the next time too. I’ll even mention it to someone looking for a similar implement.

Treat me like my business has value to you, I’ll come back until you don’t. Don’t have to kiss my feet or give me a free hat, just be respectful and professional. Act like someone that cares about what they are doing and realizes the only reason they remain able to sell equipment is because people “want” buy it from them. At a certain point in life most of us don’t “have” to do much.

 

[DustyRusty]

Last week my neighbor asked me to take him to Advance Auto go get an air filter for his Chevrolet Sonic, however, Advanced didn't have it in stock. We then stopped at NAPA which is within walking distance of Advanced, and asked for the filter. The fellow behind the counter looks it up and tells him it is $30, and he needs the filter now, so he said OK. The counterman heads out back to get the filter, and I ask the fellow that I usually deal with why the filter is so expensive. He walks over to the other fellow's computer and puts in the code for AAA, and the price is suddenly $13. The fellow that went for the filter looked at his computer to complete the sale and realized that there was a different price showing then turned to the counter person that made the change and asked him why he gave the discount. He replied that I have been a NAPA customer for as long as he can remember and that screwing a customer on the price was bad business. This is why I never use that one counterman, because he always quotes list prices and more often than not, they just go to Advance Auto who treats the customers well.

 

[Motion]

"Samson killed one thousand 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. That many sales are killed every day with the same weapon."

 

[Fordtech86]

Lugbolt, you forgot the coffee and donuts and TV in the waiting room!

Customers will find a reason to complain about those things too

 

[Biker1mike]

The majority of NAPA stores are franchises. As long as NAPA corporate gets their cut they do not care about store level operations. If your shop was a franchise you need to find the owner and let them know what is going on.

 

[fried1765]

and now you have no parts store.

seen this happen. Sometimes the only place in town, even being imperfect, is better than no place in town.

What I also see a lot of, guys (and gals) go to a parts store to buy a atv battery, then gripe because it ain't no good, or it don't fit, or it don't last, or "I had to put the acid in myself and ruint a tee shirt", or whatever. The dealer has the correct battery. Real common on ATV's and SxS's. In some cases the dealer's battery may be less expensive too. I see it from both sides of the counter with that stuff as I work at an atv dealer and I am also one of the customers.

there are some things that are out of the store's control. There are some things that are out of the control of the store and the consumer. In cases like that the consumer almost never gets their way, the store rarely if ever gets their way, the consumer gets mad because the store can't do anything, and both are mad at each other. Nobody wins.

and sometimes the rest of the truth remains unknown.

Ever wonder what it costs to make a battery? In the case of one that I know of, about $25. Then it's got to be filled with electrolyte which is regulated and costs a bunch to ship it. So, now $35. Ship it to dealer. Remember shipping batteries is considered hazardous and carries a higher cost to ship. So dealer gets it at $68. Dealer's gotta mark it up. Why? Greed? If we make 10% gross, we've done well. Pay the parts guys, pay the sales guys, keep the lights on, the a/c running, insurance, taxes, fees, administrative costs, keep the heaters running, pay the shop guys, pay for stolen stuff that insurance won't pick up (ever seen what the deductibles and rates are for businesses??), clean the parking lots so the place looks halfway decent, clean the building up, pay a guy to do that cleaning, add in a percentage for losses that are part of doing business, such as but not limited to, a dropped battery that the manufacturer won't pay for, because it left their factory in good condition (shipper's fault), and the shipper only stands behind their shipped stuff if you mark it damaged at the time you sign for it (if you even sign for it, a lot of them are getting away from that too). Pretty soon that $68 battery costs $175 (not exact but you get the idea, hopefully) before the business makes a penny on it.

It's not complicated but there is a lot more to things than I think some fail to realize.

Not quite sure what I.... "fail to realize"?

Parts store owner returns faulty battery (terminal leak) to battery supplier!
Battery supplier provides parts store owner with free replacement!
I did not over tighten terminal/cable........been installing batteries for 50+ years.
Customer gets free replacement.

You think customer should "eat" faulty product?
Is that how you think it should work?