Ive made 15 orders in last 2 months from Cat ,Volvo and Heavy quip and 5 times now im left with wrong parts ? *** I give all info serial year make model .........so we have to wait til they get it right .....I love my job but wrong parts suckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk..yes all are sent back but its down time that hurts
"A parts man is a guy with a pulse and a pencil we can pay minimum wage" a direct quote from a former boss. At the time I was a mechanic, but after some health issues and a change of employer I found myself working the parts counter at a Deere dealership. Equipment dealers love to cheap out on the parts people, get rid of the guys with years in because they cost more, reduce staff below adequate size. Training usually consists of showing them where the on switch is and giving them passwords. Couple that with computer software that changes constantly so you never top out on the learning curve and the ambiguities that often force you to use your best guess because the manufacturer can't be bothered to keep the parts books correct and up to date. Of course then there's the high turnover rate because the pay sucks and most dealers consider an entry point to other departments, there's no respect and everybody hates you, I mean really.... nobody want's to be dealing with the parts department, they suck, they never stock what you need, they don't get you the right parts and even if all that goes right, it all costs money, if not way too much money. Best day of my life was at a CAT dealer when they forced the field mechanics to start ordering their own parts. Guys that used to snarl at me and verbally abuse me coming to me with their paperwork in hand and asking very humbly if I would help them please to figure out which flaming parts picture was the correct one for the machine they were working on! Sorry, felt like venting, it's industry wide and won't change anytime soon.
It's only getting worse... I work in the auto parts aftermarket and all the chains are in a race to the bottom. I don't have to tell you there's no money at the bottom. Payroll is one of the few non fixed costs and one they squeeze the hardest. If you are smart enough to do the job well, your smart enough to realize you can do something else that pays better. Couple that with the attitude spoken above that I should just read your mind and know that you swapped some nonstock parts onto your machine 5 years ago and I should just know that it's a 95 not a 93 like you told me it was. You get the picture.... Every job is easy till your the one that has to do it...
I don't know how your dealers are but I think just about all the dealers around here I can sign up with them and order all my parts of the net and check inventory so I know if they have it ! I figure that I worked on the machine im guna know better than the parts man what I am looking at but like has been said some of the parts book software is hard to figure out! If I order the parts and they are wrong then it is my problem but hasn't happened to much! Jerry
I still call in my parts orders but I almost always give them the part numbers. Like still learn'n said, I'm the one working on the machine so I have a very good idea what I need and most (not all) parts people are not mechanics. Having said this, I've also seen what parts people go through when they order parts from other places. They deal will the same things.
I only deal with certain parts guys at each stealership and I ask for them by name when I call. If their busy I call back. That helps In two ways. #1 is that I know these guys know their stuff and #2 is that I build a working relationship with them and that cuts down on attitudes when mistakes are made. Let's face it- we all frig up once in a while.
I agree with Mike on talking to same person I do the same thing and I will hang up and call back if I cant talk to them then! Jerry
I understand your point and I offer them everything I have even pics ..I would rather have them say ok im not sure then yes we got it ....
Yes sir I make notes as I order parts and I always thank every one ...I m not hard to deal with at all and no I don't get a attitude with none they have life same as I do I try to gave all info they need plus pic if they have company cell phone or email to help ... Just lately even after its is in there hands its wrong
An email or a text forces some accountability on the parts man. It also is a record of when when the mechanic screws up and gives the wrong number. Also a simple opening of the boxes and reconciling what is actually in them with the invoice and your copy of the order at the soonest possible time makes the errors easier to correct.
I've also found that if theres any question the best thing to do is get an email with a parts diagram or I send them a picture. Almost everybody has a phone that takes pictures now and that helps because sometimes I may call a part one thing but the parts guy calls it another. also komatsu set me up with online parts books so I can open a diagram on my tablet and we can look at the same page.
When I worked for the CAT dealer, CAT apparently had a policy that no part would be called the same thing in the parts book as it was in the service manual. For example on a loader with hydraulic steering the unit the steering wheel connected to would be called a "pump" in the parts pages, the mechanics would come in asking for a "hand metering unit" which phrase was lifted straight from the CAT service manual. Geeze.