In my past life I was a store manager for AutoZone. I had a hard time hiring and keeping good people. Most people were hired on customer service skills vs automotive knowledge. I couldn't pay enough to keep smart, knowledgeable employees and got very little money to pass out for raises every year. It was a challenge getting (and keeping) good employees. I use to keep a cheat sheet of part numbers for common SBC parts, relays, internals, etc but that was not the norm. Most employees did not have very much car knowledge but I tried to schedule at least one knowledgeable employees per shift. I left right when they were switching from the old DOS based system to the new one. Also I had performance standards for high profit items we upsell. Obviously we were suppose to ask if they needed antifreeze for a thermostat or anti seize for spark plugs; but fuel injector cleaner, etc.
I order almost all my parts on RockAuto. Cheaper, no waiting in line, poor customer service, etc. Most times AZ is understaffed and customer service is poor. They price match but are not price competitive.
