Supercheap auto working conditions.

[tim2x]

This may be a touchy thread to some members or might get deleted.

But does anyone have personal experiences with working at Supercheap auto?

Pleasent experience?

[BigCav]

not with supercheap but iv had freinds who have, the moneys horrible, the conditions are worse. my freind left supercheap for autobarn and loved the change.

personally i work for rare spares / auto one, best job iv ever had i recon. i love it

[Jack91]

I went for an interview at supercheap AGES ago, and they made me sit in a big room and do a test. I didnt get the job. My 2c anyway.

[Windsor220]

You must be under 18 and have pimples if you want the job.

[Veefore]

My sister had a casual job there working saturdays. She enjoyed it.

[DDXR6T]

LOL ... no comment.

"What's a H4? I dont think we sell them?!"

[b2tf]

I work at Autobarn so I may be biased but all I have heard from the local store is that its a horrible place to work - both thier staff past and present and customers come in all the time complaining about them, lack of knowledge, lack of stock, messy etc etc.

[NEEDspeed]

Pity us west-aussies dont get Autobarn. Supercheap are only good for widely known and often used consumable parts and whatnot.

Seems more and more there are just youngsters working at the stores I've visited recently. Cant imagine they'd look any more fondly or pay in kind any older people wanting a job there. Knowledge aint a requirement it seems.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by 93_eb_fairmont

I went for an interview at supercheap AGES ago, and they made me sit in a big room and do a test. I didnt get the job. My 2c anyway.

Haha what did the test involve? It mustn't have been anything to do with cars or parts of cars because every person I've dealt with in supercheap stores (and yes I have visited them many times, usually for consumable items like oil or gaskets) only knows one thing about cars: that they have 4 wheels!!

And these days REPCO (everyone remembers what that stands for, right? : ) isn't any better.

It seems that you need to be a surly smartass to work at REPCO in parts. I hate calling the twats, they act like they know everything (when mostly they DON'T).

[MOTORE]

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Super Cheap to buy some brake pads, and brake compression tool. I found the brake pads quickly but had to ask one of the workers there where I could find the brake compression tool... they stood there and looked dumb founded as they wondered what the hell I was talking about. Then the took me to the special tool section and asked me if I could see it.

Imagine if I had of asked for something more complex... good help us all.

[FTE217]

phhht I hardly know an ex employee in the parts game say anything good about their former employer, funny about that.
Not having worked for them but understanding their way to market they don't intend to be hard parts experts nor do they say so. Thats for Repco/Autopro/AutoOne and the other Independants who have many faults as some have mentioned above.
SCA is for the DIY customer, helps him/herself and pay at the counter nothing more nothing less......
I'm sure out of 200+stores there are many happy to work for them you can't please everyone.
At least they employ many young Aussies who may or may not stay in the game.
Any store can get a bad rep mostly due to bad management it's not the name of the stores fault.

[GRNKPR]

Originally Posted by Torxteer

You must be under 18 and have pimples if you want the job.

yep and no previous experience in motoring so its easier to give that token dumb look when asked about anything in the store : :



if you know what pimple cream is INSTANT DISSMISSAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


You can only be a manager if you have less idea than the formentioned staff and are under 20 yo and must also own a on its bump stops commodore with the Big tacho and cheap and nasty stickers plastered all over it and park outside the front doors for all to admire


I LOVE BASE WAGES IT BRINGS OUT THE TOP GUNS

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by Hunter

It seems that you need to be a surly smartass to work at REPCO in parts. I hate calling the twats, they act like they know everything (when mostly they DON'T).

How ture is that quote :

But as bule direver said they dotn market them selfs as hard parts people, more a K mart Auto section that sells camping gear and hand trucks as well

if your a weekend worrier that wants to slot a set of pads in his falcodoor and give it a grease and oil at the same time they'll have every thing you need, but if your going more indepth your at the wrong store

[noosacuda]

Good ol' Supercheap, "everything you want,but nothing you need."
In my experience to work at Supercheap you must NOT have any Automotive experience or knowledge at all and no customer relations skills.
To work at Autobarn,you must have a knowledge in Rice-Racers and doof-doof and know nothing about pre fuel injection automotive history.

[steamin63]

Originally Posted by noosacuda

Good ol' Supercheap, "everything you want,but nothing you need."
In my experience to work at Supercheap you must NOT have any Automotive experience or knowledge at all and no customer relations skills.
To work at Autobarn,you must have a knowledge in Rice-Racers and doof-doof and know nothing about pre fuel injection automotive history.

not here in brizzy. the two auto barn stores i use [capalaba and browns plains] are good as a few of the lads working there are old school rev heads and they know their stuff. cheers.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Dan635

LOL ... no comment.

"What's a H4? I dont think we sell them?!"

Sounds a bit like the time I went in for a steering wheel boss for a MOMO wheel.

I was asked "who makes MOMO?"

[BigCav]

i had to ring supershit yesterday to see if they stocked 11mm hose, they had to ask 4 times what i was after then when they did they came back and quoted me outer dimensions.

cant count the number of times people come into my store bitching about how usless supershit is

[b2tf]

Originally Posted by noosacuda

To work at Autobarn,you must have a knowledge in Rice-Racers and doof-doof and know nothing about pre fuel injection automotive history.

Speak for yourself

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by BigCav

my freind left supercheap for autobarn and loved the change.

Thats cos Supercheap is a company and Autobarn is franchised.

[prydey]

i know this is getting a bit off topic i regularly visit qld (folks live there) and at browns plains you have all the big stores including a bursons! all i can say is i wish there was a bursons in adelaide.

not sure if its that store or all stores but the guys behind the counter are more than helpful and i'm yet to pay full price on anything me or my old man has bought there. they just discount it without even asking. good business really 'cos they know next time you need something you'll come back there.

i don't mind supercheap cos they have a fair range of stuff esp cleaning products and i'm very capable of helping myself so don't normally ask the staff anything.

sprint auto parts jingle at the moment says something along the lines of 'hard parts not hardware' which i'm sure is a dig at supercheap.

[atec77]

Originally Posted by steamin63

not here in brizzy. the two auto barn stores i use [capalaba and browns plains] are good as a few of the lads working there are old school rev heads and they know their stuff. cheers.

I cant agree about all the staff in teh BP store , that kid who's father mated with a parrot ( the hair) needs a sound talking to .

[ST]

Seems to be very recurring with supercheap/autobarn. From my experience working at autobarn everybody came to us even when a supercheap store was closer because they had absolutely no knowledge or even good customer skills. The guys I worked with at autobarn would always have an answer for every question and query. That is how it should be.

[TUF_302]

I only ever go to supercheap to buy things like silly stikers for my tool box's, if i need some parts or some help i go to bursons or autobarn, Both these companies are very well run and the workers all no what they are on about!

[ELtim]

Every supercheap I've been in hasn't had that "car enthusiast feel" to it.

[blackers10]

I worked in the Supercheap Auto Distribution Center at Lawnton for 2.5 years or so...

their pay is "above award rate"(only just due to an EBA) (as in most LARGE usually on the share market companys)

they are a RETAIL store NOT an automotive specialist
they were ok to work for but career advancment was minimal in my time there.. but if you stay long enough the turnover of staff soon sees you rise up in a store no matter how dumb you are like anything in retail..

I then worked for Coventry Auto Parts in Geebung at their Distribution Center
they were a decent company that looked after their workers

similar pay rate to Supercheap
but are a PARTS store NOT a retail store(tried that and failed miserably in their own managers words)
Cov Auto and Bursons both employ Parts Interpreters (there is a qualification for it.. unsure what it actually is but it can be done as a traineeship)

but from my understanding.. if you can read the parts catalogues your doing pretty good haha

[ea90gl]

Originally Posted by atec77

I cant agree about all the staff in teh BP store , that kid who's father mated with a parrot ( the hair) needs a sound talking to .

LOL ah that made me laugh, any way not really a fan of supercheap, as the saying goes "you get what you pay for" and most of the cheap stuff in there is exactly that plus nasty, I bought some screwdrivers a while back and when using one sometime the plastic handle actually started twisting around the shaft of the screwdriver...... If you buy the good brands its different. And some things aren't even cheap, I remember purchasing something that I found cheaper in another auto shop. Ive gone off to the local autoshop Sprint Auto, made good friends with the staff and always get trade price - thats good enough for me

[ROOSTA]

If you guys are all so much more knowledgable than the young kids at supercheap etc then when they look bewildered at what your asking for why not try to educate them.. No need to get cranky or frustrated just try explaining what your looking for and what it does..

You might be surprised at the response you get..

After working for a company similar to supercheap in operations and etc i can tell you right now that i used to get blood frustrated with idiot customers coming in asking for items and i would have no idea what they were asking for.. and surprise surprise after having a quick chat allot of the time it was just a communications issue where i knew of something as one thing and they called it another..

Do you get frustrated when you go to coles and ask a staff member where something is and they can't tell you??

Seriously guys all this ragging of supercheap has nothing to do with the original reason for this thread..

Cheers,
Nik

FFS. If you want good service, go to Bursons. However Bursons retail prices are always at RRP, it's not worth it unless you're after a specific part fast or you're after their own brand. Bursons with a trade discount is awesome.

SCA gives crap service, but that's not what they bank on. They hire kids because it's Kmart, as said above.

Autobarn is more of a Myer, where you get better service. Older staff who often have a pretty good idea of what's going on. Although I've dealt with plenty of people at Autobarn who don't have a clue.

Repco is getting more on the trade side. They started off as a trade company IIRC and gradually transformed more and more into retail. The Repco's with a parts counter will get you pretty much anything at a good price and will get you good service.

Bursons give the best service because they deal with mechanics 24/7. Chances are the Bursons guy will know what you need before you do.

Complaining about SCA is like complaining about the lack of staff knowledge at Kmart/Coles. They're not there to help you, simply to scan your items. Anything additional is a bonus.

The market each store is targetted at is completely different. There is a bit of overlap, but good luck trying to get parts for anything other than a Falcodore at SCA. Now give it a shot at Bursons.

Originally Posted by ea90gl

LOL ah that made me laugh, any way not really a fan of supercheap, as the saying goes "you get what you pay for" and most of the cheap stuff in there is exactly that plus nasty, I bought some screwdrivers a while back and when using one sometime the plastic handle actually started twisting around the shaft of the screwdriver...... If you buy the good brands its different. And some things aren't even cheap, I remember purchasing something that I found cheaper in another auto shop. Ive gone off to the local autoshop Sprint Auto, made good friends with the staff and always get trade price - thats good enough for me

I suggest you try SCA Gold. It's exponentially cheaper than Kincrome, yet I would argue that the quality is on par.

The moment you hold one of the spanners you can feel it. It's truly trade quality.

They also back it up with a lifetime guarantee.

As for their normal galvanised tools. Yes, they're crap. But the spanners cost 99cents each, were you expecting Snap-on quality at that price?

My friend wanted me to change his oil for him and he didn't have any tools. I bought a $1 spanner that keeps serving me well. I'm not expecting it to last forever though.

[ea90gl]

thanks for the tips but no the tools that I bought that shat themselves weren't 99 cent cheapies, and btw the screwdrivers I bought werent the only things that were poor quality from there but I wont get into them since its not the appropriate thread. People dont expect the world when shopping but a bit of common sense goes along way, just look at the responses you get from people just because some kid doesnt know where things are kept at the shop he works at - it sounds like its enough to stop the people going there. Ofcourse employees will be asked where things are kept so they should learn this before they get out on the floor. Its small things like that which make a big difference to the rep of the shop, one thing that doesnt take much to change and one thing that really shouldnt be happening. Not looking for arguments here just stating my opinions