Thought these old cat part boxes and bags are interesting old memorabilia, and the motto too

Yea, those sayings used to be true, sad how things have changed. Used to walk into a dealership and there would be all kinds of support items on shelves for customers to purchase, our dealership is like a McDonalds or a funeral parlor, sliding doors, walk up to the counter {tekke bar] place your order, hope it's right or if they even have the part, walk to will call nobody there push the button for service somebody walks up says, who are you with?????? All they have in the parts area is shirts hats and toys. But it's all new and modern, whatever.

 

Rome: We had a tool man that would stop by each week at a customers; he had plenty of snacks to sell and few tools in his wagon; If you needed anything besides a screwdriver or sledgamatic, you had to order it and hope he either showed up with it next week or didn't sell it along the way to someone else that wanted it worse.
I miss the days of being able to walk into any dealership and getting what was needed from their inventory. They have all become glorified mail order houses. JM

Yep! you got that right.

I remember in the 70s in Stockton going to the parts counter telling them what I wanted and about half the time they didn’t even look at the parts book just go back to the bin and bring my parts out and!! It was the parts man himself that pulled the part not some parts puller that will pull out of a bin with the right bin number but the WRONG part. I knew some of the parts people they were nice easy to deal and was a pleasure. In the last year I have had a hell of a time trying to get the right parts and I am talking oil filters and fan belts easy stuff. I have got some other parts suppliers that have quality parts who I now call first instead of Cat. What a sad state we have sunk too

its not just CAT but all parts houses, the good guys all have retired and most dont care

Now you have me agitated LOL. I went for a set of replacement wiper blades last week, and the deer in the headlight guy behind the counter couldn't handle that one. My 2008 Duramax must have been too old...then he asked if I knew the part number...ummm no (Amazon would have been better)...then he uses the braille method of looking at the pictures on his computer screen. Meanwhile, the gal I know, grits her teeth and strolls over to the display rack and asks me what my preference was. Same place could not for the life of them sell me an alternator for a 3208T we have. NOPE!!! WE DON"T SELL PARTS LIKE THAT!, all while he is standing behind the banner that says "We sell heavy duty truck parts here too".
Yes, like Mr. 17A, I miss the days where the parts man knew your name, and knew exactly where the part was located without having to dig thru his books. Added benefit, if it wasn't in stock sometimes, their salesman would run it out to us in the field as a courtesy. Enough said. JM

juiceman wrote:

Rome: We had a tool man that would stop by each week at a customers; he had plenty of snacks to sell and few tools in his wagon; If you needed anything besides a screwdriver or sledgamatic, you had to order it and hope he either showed up with it next week or didn't sell it along the way to someone else that wanted it worse.
I miss the days of being able to walk into any dealership and getting what was needed from their inventory. They have all become glorified mail order houses. JM
 
Oh yes the Snappy guy.
I have a Snappy 1/2" drive ratchet GL715A  that I've had for close to 40yrs. Still works perfect except the little aluminum lever that shifts it from righty tighty to lefty loosey  broke off.
There's an auto service place down the hill that we do welding for that has one of those trucks stopping by on Fridays so I gave the owner my ratchet to see if it could be rebuilt since the last time I needed that service they would only rebuild your tool not give you a new one.
Well, after three weeks one of the young mechanics brought my ratchet back to my shop and told me the Snappy guy couldn't rebuild it and he was holding a brand new plastic rubber handled ratchet that he was supposed to give me a trade in and keep my old ratchet. I refused took my old one back and I'll just fix it myself. 
So, I'm in the market for a rebuild kit or just the tiny reverse lever to fix my old ratchet. 
I wouldn't be a bit surprised that the salesman was going to take my old ratchet and sell it on Ebay for $100 or so.
I remember my salesman trying to sell me at the time in the 1980's a $15000 toolbox. I replied no, I have Stanley Vidmar cabinets and they hold much more and cost much less.

Now I am reminded why I don't buy anything off those trucks anymore.
 

snap on the dearest shop in town. you can buy similar quality for much less. dad has had sidchrome and stanley tools for yrs we even have some of my great grandfathers stuff.
sidchrome is half the price but its not half the tool and it still has a lifetime warranty.

what shits me is most of the parts joints now want a vehicles registration number to look up parts for it you give them year and model and they look at you dumb. oh its supposed to be more accurate pfft nope that relies on the forms being filled out and entered correctly on the registration database multiple chances of error there. my reading the build plate is much more accurate.

its worked from model and year/build month for decades. i know why they are doing it to get the VIN number which they can then use to find the "correct" part.

juiceman i was told once when we wanted seals for a lawnmower engine dont say they were off a lawn mower just place the old one on the counter and ask for new ones or ask for seals the size and type required when we went to the bearing supplier. if you asked for seals for such and such "oh we dont have those".

Side Seat: I call them the Snap-Off man and the SMac man. As much as I disliked it, I would purchase tools, only if they offered me cash discount, as I did not believe in the payments for life program. If the guy worked with myself and the 11 millwrights, he got to return; If he was set on his ways, I would let them know that on alternate days, I will have other tool vendors come in with welcome arms, Get the message?
As for warranty, same thing. What a joke. They never wanted to make good on a broken tool. No problem. Writing a polite letter to the mother ship letting them know my franchised dealer refuses to honor their lifetime warranty always worked. Again, I irritate the guy, because it always has to by MY WAY.
Snap off man finally had it with me when he found out I bought many tools from the local pawn shops, that he "sold" originally to a deadbeat; my response was I had purchased from the pawn shop, and any disagreement was between him and the original purchaser, but alas, that is probably why the mark up is so great, to compensate for the bad deals. Rant over. JM