Useless rant.....

[ACORN]

Because they advertise that they do. If they don't want to be in the business of installing batteries (and I get why they wouldn't), they shouldn't lie about it.

Ten years ago I went to the auto parts place for a battery, there was one guy working and he said he'd get to me but it'd be a while. I asked if I could just borrow the wrenches and do it myself in the parking lot, which he seemed grateful to let me do.

Five years ago I went to the auto parts place for a battery, the clerk told me that the one guy who knew how to change batteries was off that day. I asked if I could borrow the wrenches and do it myself, and he acted like I asked for the code to the safe. The manager finally agreed to lend me two wrenches "just this once" if I left my license for collateral.

Two months ago I went to the auto parts place for a battery and brought my own wrenches.

Not ALL stores do that.
In 52 years I've been in the business none of my employers offered it.
When you think about it by doing installs we are competing with our garage customers, who like it or not, are the majority of our business.
If the say they do OK.
Some newer vehicles have the battery located in darn difficult places. Some under the computer.

 

[Eddietruett]

I reluctantly went in Walmart today which is something I never do, but I needed a protractor quick and I'd have to drive 20-30 minutes to Office Depot. Mistake! I asked the first employee close to the office supplies where I would find one. Had no clue what I was talking about. 2nd employee told me to look on Isle but no offer to help me find it. After looking again, I saw the 2 girls talking to a supervisor and approached the trio. I had already checked stock but website didn't tell me a location. The supervisor nicely got out her pocket computer and told me they had been moved to back to school supplies and then asked the other 2 why they didn't look it up for me. The second girl replied she didn't know what it was and didn't know how to spell it either. The supervisor asked didn't she learn and use one in school. The reply was "I didn't pay attention to that crap" addressing me with an attitude like I had ruined her life. I politely reminded her that's why she would work at Walmart or McDonalds the rest of her life, because she chose not to care. When I'm in a big box store and need help, I try to find an older retired person for help. At least they usually care and have some work ethics.

 

[LVSteve]

Some newer vehicles have the battery located in darn difficult places. Some under the computer.

Tell me about it. The battery on my BMW is in a pocket on one side of the trunk. I had to engineer a way to hold the cables out of the way so they didn't keep grabbing the battery as I tried to lift it out. Oh, and the battery is huge, because the car is a diesel and it has the dreaded stop-start system.

 

[Onomea]

When I was 19, I was hired as a stock boy at a retail establishment in mid town Manhattan, NYC, Was going to college at night.

I was a good stock boy, so got promoted to the sales floor. Was good at that, too, so became a supervisor, with six or so employees below me for my section of the store. Was good at that, too, so, they set me to running a cash register.

I was fast. Had those sales taxes memorized. Had that machine smokin' when I ran it. Nobody faster.

So got promoted again, to assistant store manager, then store manager. Had 39 employees reporting to me. (As it turned out, most I ever had.)

Christmas time when the cash registers backed up with long lines, I'd step in — "Step aside, young lady. You wrap, he bags and I got the register" — and run those suckers so fast that the lines would soon diminish.

Looking back, I went on to other jobs, which paid a whole lot more, and that, I think, I was pretty good at. But... reflecting. .. I think of all the job skills I ever had, running that cash register was probably where I peaked in terms of pure skill.

(Damn! Wish I could shoot at that level...)

(My post reminds me of an article from The Onion, decades ago, by an accountant who brags about his ability to run a Mr. Coffee machine better than anyone else in his office... "Glory Days," by Weird Al Yankovich, perhaps?)

 

[ladder13]

Those evil employers, they need to pay their unskilled, entry level employees at least $100 an hour.