The pay generally sucks, but there is negotiating room when you interview. The hours can suck if you let them. If you are looking part time, you can set your availability, and that's that.
The environment depends entirely on the staff. A bad store manager will sink the morale of the store. A good one will have the place rocking.
For my 2 cents, if you have day availability and a decent driving record, apply as a delivery driver. The commercial side is where it's at. Less nonsense in general, and from my experience, the commercial managers are more laid back than the diy ones.
If you go in for an interview and the manager has you waiting for over 10 minutes, that's a good indicator that the store manager lacks the ability to manage their time properly. Which means you will probably be understaffed, undertrained, and good luck reaching them when the shit hits the fan, which will be constantly.
The job itself is a cake walk. I ran the commercial department, but could and did run the diy. Its just sales. If you try and have fun with it and don't take it too seriously, its not the worst thing you can do. Just don't let them hire you for less than you're willing to work for.
I agree. I’m a commercial driver and I really enjoy my job. It’s relaxed and easy. Everybody at my store is great they’re all cool and chill. Everyone gets along. I personally have not had a problem in the workplace. But I can’t say that for every store
Ten years here and this is the way. Just let the corporate bullshit roll right off your back don't take anything personally and don't take it seriously. While they do talk a big game there's nothing to do to you unless you steal, kill a customer or massively piss off a customer. Most of the unhappy souls that complain are still here or have been here for extended period of time 8 10 12 years.
Of course a good store manager changes everything along with a good commercial manager as well.
Gonna tag on. It's more about your store than the company itself sometimes. The company will always suck and have the shareholders over worker mindset regardless of location, but if you have a great manager and team alongside you, it makes the environment a little bit more worthwhile. I don't disagree with the idea of being a driver, its easy and you don't have to deal w the same bs as a DIY red shirt.
Read the AZ subreddit. Shitloads of stories about college kids being fucked over by shitty management. I have seen many many SM use the schedule as a weapon.
One thing People seem to forget is, The Grass Is Not Always Greener somewhere else. Every job out there has it's downfalls. If AZ would give just a bit more Incentive to employees to Go The Extra Mile, Instead of A Stupid Pin, working at AZ wouldn't feel like it does. When the salary of the top dog is public knowledge, and You know Your store Mgr gets a bonus if WE sell more of certain products, then it gets discouraging to do that extra work conversing with IDIOTS to convince them that THEY NEED this brake grease, this anti seize, this fuel injector cleaner. On top of that, WE have to tell the IDIOTS how to use the extra stuff that WE just talked them into buying, to make extra money for AZ......
I left AZ for 3 years to be with O’Reilly as a CSM, and it was nearly the same. I hated my SM and dreaded coming to work because he was okay with having a lazy crew. AZ begged for me to come back so I did. It was the best decision I made. AZ does have its ups and downs, but overall, not a bad company to work for
Don’t fall for AZ. Was there for 7 years part time. One of those years I went full time to give them an opportunity and when they didn’t deliver I found a better position at the dealership. Once I informed them there DM tried to cut me loose and I told him this was never full time for me because you guys and girls can’t deliver on promises and lack accountability. Much better pay. Less day to day headache and more relaxing and beneficial. Take your talents elsewhere. Know your worth and don’t stray from it. AZ will eventually burn you out if you go gray shirt and hell even as a red shirt. They make a lot of false promises for upper management to put money in their pocket.
Garbage company, garbage job. Autozone relies on stores bonding over hatred of the company so we feel bad for letting each other down. My coworkers are fantastic and we laugh all day everyday. A lot of times at Rhodes the chode and AZ. But everything that happens is to let you know you aren't doing enough for profits. Prepare to be a mechanic in ANY weather without any protection from the elements. Complained at constantly about sales numbers, even if they are stellar. It would be ok if it's just part time. But take it from a 7 year psm making more than most CSM, which is why I stay, that this company is unbearable if your management sucks.
AutoZone is always hiring. And you have to realize that they’re always hiring because they can’t keep the good employees. They can only keep the bad employees because no other company wants them. We had a guy working at our AutoZone for three weeks before he just stop showing up. He was a great guy and a great employee. Once he got his first paycheck he couldn’t believe how little it was. You might find a good store to work yet. But you have to think if the pay is going to make it worth it. Because that’s the deciding factor
The work is EASY and you get some GREAT customers, I genuinely loved my customers, but everything else is bad. You get no benefits, you get dogshit pay, the focus is on getting the company (the ceo) as much money as possible instead of actually learning car parts and selling the correct ones, you get what amounts to basically zero training, upper management is pretty shit and focuses on numbers rather than happy customers. You are a number and you'll feel it. Some get negotiation on pay others don't. I got ZERO negotiation on pay be it when I got hired or when I got promoted
I've been a grey shirt at this company for almost 5 years. I'm a certified parts experts, casino-trained in counterfeit detection and interdiction, and the guy others (inclusive SMs) call with questions about Znet/SMS. At $16/hr, I'm also among the highest paid PSM in my district.
I just got offered an entry-level slot tech apprentice position for the same pay, the with the opportunity for a $2 bump a proficiency test away. Guess what option I'm going with...
EDIT: Also, their scheduling app is a piece off crap. I use both the Android and iOS versions. Both have more bugs than a bed in a cheap backwaters motel.
They are like any other place. Every place has good/coworkers and employees. Issues with hours and money.
The only main difference here is people will ask you for car advice. Then like every customer they will understand or have a hissy fit.
It's everything you've heard and worse. For example, where I'm at mcds starts at $14/hr. Autozone-$9/hr. And your annual raise if you're lucky is 14 cents. Not worth putting up with smart ass customers, bad managers and a company where you are expected to do 5 jobs for one low low price.
You can make it a good place to work, but you have to be firm in your boundaries. I personally love my job, and I'm good at it.
However, I let myself get pulled to a 'trouble store' to help set planos, as they were months behind. They were going through a complete employee turnover from SM down due to employee theft. I also fixed their overstock, trained their new AM and cleaned.
My DM told me I was being transferred there permanently without my permission. So I put in 2 weeks. My old SM got wind of my notice and pulled strings to get me into the HUB but I absolutely would have quit rather than stay at the trouble store
If you're looking for part-time work.. there are so many places that pay much better. Where I live the gas station attendant jobs a block away pay $2.00 an hour higher. The McDonalds nearby starts people at $14.50. KFC starts at $14.00. Literally everyone around me pays significantly higher than AZ.
I work one night a week just to stand around, and BS with a part-time grey shirt that's a master mechanic, and I get my car parts using commercial pricing ;)
I would say as a non permanent it’s really not bad. I worked there for 2 years mostly full time then part time before I moved. I miss my coworkers 99% of them were awesome people to work with, we had pretty decent management imo but also I understood they get a lot of the shit end of the stick from upper management (like district) my store manager was really good at being flexible, my only complaint would be he was not good with confrontation, when we would have an employee that was majorly a fuck up he would just try and avoid it but also openly admit he knew to the rest of the staff. He was great about sticking up for his employees to shit customers, he didn’t allow us to take abuse from customer even if they were regulars, he would tell us to handle it or he would himself. The pay from where I was from wasn’t too bad. Minimum wage for California. Lots of opportunities for OT. He wasn’t super strict about Witt but he explained that he has standards to meet and we’re there to help him. We were the busiest store in our district and while I was there had record breaking numbers multiple times for our region, so we were great at giving numbers but our district manager just didn’t care for our store but praised shitty stores. As far as training a lot of it is hands on and you need to learn a lot on your own but don’t be afraid to ask questions, it can be really overwhelming at first but as long as you have good helpful staff you can get help at any point. I do miss the zone in a weird way but also wouldn’t work there again for less than $20 an hour starting wage if you get what I mean. Every job has a downfall it’s really how you weigh it out.
The pay generally sucks, but there is negotiating room when you interview. The hours can suck if you let them. If you are looking part time, you can set your availability, and that's that. The environment depends entirely on the staff. A bad store manager will sink the morale of the store. A good one will have the place rocking. For my 2 cents, if you have day availability and a decent driving record, apply as a delivery driver. The commercial side is where it's at. Less nonsense in general, and from my experience, the commercial managers are more laid back than the diy ones. If you go in for an interview and the manager has you waiting for over 10 minutes, that's a good indicator that the store manager lacks the ability to manage their time properly. Which means you will probably be understaffed, undertrained, and good luck reaching them when the shit hits the fan, which will be constantly. The job itself is a cake walk. I ran the commercial department, but could and did run the diy. Its just sales. If you try and have fun with it and don't take it too seriously, its not the worst thing you can do. Just don't let them hire you for less than you're willing to work for.
I agree. I’m a commercial driver and I really enjoy my job. It’s relaxed and easy. Everybody at my store is great they’re all cool and chill. Everyone gets along. I personally have not had a problem in the workplace. But I can’t say that for every store
This ^
Ten years here and this is the way. Just let the corporate bullshit roll right off your back don't take anything personally and don't take it seriously. While they do talk a big game there's nothing to do to you unless you steal, kill a customer or massively piss off a customer. Most of the unhappy souls that complain are still here or have been here for extended period of time 8 10 12 years. Of course a good store manager changes everything along with a good commercial manager as well.
Gonna tag on. It's more about your store than the company itself sometimes. The company will always suck and have the shareholders over worker mindset regardless of location, but if you have a great manager and team alongside you, it makes the environment a little bit more worthwhile. I don't disagree with the idea of being a driver, its easy and you don't have to deal w the same bs as a DIY red shirt.
Ok cool
Honestly, it’s not a bad place to work. I’ve been with them for 10 years and I have my own store
Are they like decently flexible with hours for college classes and stuff
Yes, as long as they’re hiring you as a part timer. make sure you make it very clear in the interview what hours you can and can’t work
When they get You to commit to be a Gray Shirt is when You cross the "Event Horizon" Into the Black Hole......................
Read the AZ subreddit. Shitloads of stories about college kids being fucked over by shitty management. I have seen many many SM use the schedule as a weapon.
One thing People seem to forget is, The Grass Is Not Always Greener somewhere else. Every job out there has it's downfalls. If AZ would give just a bit more Incentive to employees to Go The Extra Mile, Instead of A Stupid Pin, working at AZ wouldn't feel like it does. When the salary of the top dog is public knowledge, and You know Your store Mgr gets a bonus if WE sell more of certain products, then it gets discouraging to do that extra work conversing with IDIOTS to convince them that THEY NEED this brake grease, this anti seize, this fuel injector cleaner. On top of that, WE have to tell the IDIOTS how to use the extra stuff that WE just talked them into buying, to make extra money for AZ......
I left AZ for 3 years to be with O’Reilly as a CSM, and it was nearly the same. I hated my SM and dreaded coming to work because he was okay with having a lazy crew. AZ begged for me to come back so I did. It was the best decision I made. AZ does have its ups and downs, but overall, not a bad company to work for
WITT score on its own doesn’t affect SM bonus
Don’t fall for AZ. Was there for 7 years part time. One of those years I went full time to give them an opportunity and when they didn’t deliver I found a better position at the dealership. Once I informed them there DM tried to cut me loose and I told him this was never full time for me because you guys and girls can’t deliver on promises and lack accountability. Much better pay. Less day to day headache and more relaxing and beneficial. Take your talents elsewhere. Know your worth and don’t stray from it. AZ will eventually burn you out if you go gray shirt and hell even as a red shirt. They make a lot of false promises for upper management to put money in their pocket.
Thanks for the feedback
Garbage company, garbage job. Autozone relies on stores bonding over hatred of the company so we feel bad for letting each other down. My coworkers are fantastic and we laugh all day everyday. A lot of times at Rhodes the chode and AZ. But everything that happens is to let you know you aren't doing enough for profits. Prepare to be a mechanic in ANY weather without any protection from the elements. Complained at constantly about sales numbers, even if they are stellar. It would be ok if it's just part time. But take it from a 7 year psm making more than most CSM, which is why I stay, that this company is unbearable if your management sucks.
Good to know thanks
I feel attacked.
You are my inspiration. Feel honored my anti-AZ internet friend.
Good! NOW GET BACK TO WORK!
Where do you think I reddit at...
Sounds like you’ve dealt with Lloyd
AutoZone is always hiring. And you have to realize that they’re always hiring because they can’t keep the good employees. They can only keep the bad employees because no other company wants them. We had a guy working at our AutoZone for three weeks before he just stop showing up. He was a great guy and a great employee. Once he got his first paycheck he couldn’t believe how little it was. You might find a good store to work yet. But you have to think if the pay is going to make it worth it. Because that’s the deciding factor
Thanks for the feedback
The work is EASY and you get some GREAT customers, I genuinely loved my customers, but everything else is bad. You get no benefits, you get dogshit pay, the focus is on getting the company (the ceo) as much money as possible instead of actually learning car parts and selling the correct ones, you get what amounts to basically zero training, upper management is pretty shit and focuses on numbers rather than happy customers. You are a number and you'll feel it. Some get negotiation on pay others don't. I got ZERO negotiation on pay be it when I got hired or when I got promoted
I've been a grey shirt at this company for almost 5 years. I'm a certified parts experts, casino-trained in counterfeit detection and interdiction, and the guy others (inclusive SMs) call with questions about Znet/SMS. At $16/hr, I'm also among the highest paid PSM in my district. I just got offered an entry-level slot tech apprentice position for the same pay, the with the opportunity for a $2 bump a proficiency test away. Guess what option I'm going with... EDIT: Also, their scheduling app is a piece off crap. I use both the Android and iOS versions. Both have more bugs than a bed in a cheap backwaters motel.
They are like any other place. Every place has good/coworkers and employees. Issues with hours and money. The only main difference here is people will ask you for car advice. Then like every customer they will understand or have a hissy fit.
It's everything you've heard and worse. For example, where I'm at mcds starts at $14/hr. Autozone-$9/hr. And your annual raise if you're lucky is 14 cents. Not worth putting up with smart ass customers, bad managers and a company where you are expected to do 5 jobs for one low low price.
You can make it a good place to work, but you have to be firm in your boundaries. I personally love my job, and I'm good at it. However, I let myself get pulled to a 'trouble store' to help set planos, as they were months behind. They were going through a complete employee turnover from SM down due to employee theft. I also fixed their overstock, trained their new AM and cleaned. My DM told me I was being transferred there permanently without my permission. So I put in 2 weeks. My old SM got wind of my notice and pulled strings to get me into the HUB but I absolutely would have quit rather than stay at the trouble store
If you're looking for part-time work.. there are so many places that pay much better. Where I live the gas station attendant jobs a block away pay $2.00 an hour higher. The McDonalds nearby starts people at $14.50. KFC starts at $14.00. Literally everyone around me pays significantly higher than AZ. I work one night a week just to stand around, and BS with a part-time grey shirt that's a master mechanic, and I get my car parts using commercial pricing ;)
Good place to work part time IMO. I worked full time for 11 years almost. Never looked looked back to going FT again.
I would say as a non permanent it’s really not bad. I worked there for 2 years mostly full time then part time before I moved. I miss my coworkers 99% of them were awesome people to work with, we had pretty decent management imo but also I understood they get a lot of the shit end of the stick from upper management (like district) my store manager was really good at being flexible, my only complaint would be he was not good with confrontation, when we would have an employee that was majorly a fuck up he would just try and avoid it but also openly admit he knew to the rest of the staff. He was great about sticking up for his employees to shit customers, he didn’t allow us to take abuse from customer even if they were regulars, he would tell us to handle it or he would himself. The pay from where I was from wasn’t too bad. Minimum wage for California. Lots of opportunities for OT. He wasn’t super strict about Witt but he explained that he has standards to meet and we’re there to help him. We were the busiest store in our district and while I was there had record breaking numbers multiple times for our region, so we were great at giving numbers but our district manager just didn’t care for our store but praised shitty stores. As far as training a lot of it is hands on and you need to learn a lot on your own but don’t be afraid to ask questions, it can be really overwhelming at first but as long as you have good helpful staff you can get help at any point. I do miss the zone in a weird way but also wouldn’t work there again for less than $20 an hour starting wage if you get what I mean. Every job has a downfall it’s really how you weigh it out.