Communication is the lifeblood of our industry. Without accurate and timely exchanges of information and ideas just about anything we might try to do that involves much more than breathing requires some type of communication with others. In the parts business, the lines of communication can be quite long and sometimes seem to be expressed in totally alien terms, which can lead to all kinds of misunderstandings and unexplained screw-ups.
The sequence of events leading up to the acquisition of the right part always begins with the vehicle. Being a mechanical device, it has no notion of right or wrong terminology or even what year, make or model it is: it either works or it doesn’t. The vigilant driver who can determine when something is about to fail now becomes the first link in the chain.
If you’re lucky, the driver may have some sort of clue as to what’s gone wrong or the problem has manifested itself in some obvious way — such as a wheel falling off or smoke pouring from a vital underhood component. Other times, however, you have to try to decipher exactly what that funny little grinding noise or that “whump whump whump” sensation is that the customer is talking about. You may be the one on the frontline here with a DIYer, or perhaps they’ve realized that the problem is beyond their mechanical ability and taken the vehicle to a garage. In that case, it’s up to the shop owner or service writer to translate that funny little noise into needed parts and repairs.
After the technician has communed with the vehicle via eyes, ears, hands and possibly a scan tool/code reader, he then has to translate needed parts into a parts order. At this point, things can get a little tricky. Never mind that what they think they need isn’t always what the vehicle requires. There are far worse things that can happen to a simple order. For example, two people using the same words can speak different languages, such as when one says coolant temp sensor and the other translates it as coolant temp sender. They sound alike, and both do the same kind of job, but for entirely different reasons. Also, as vehicle systems and components are added, the list of acronyms used to describe them begins to sound like leftover letters from a Scrabble game. This can be confusing enough to a seasoned professional and downright alien to the poor DIYer who doesn’t know his IAC motor from his elbow.
More examples of “the same words, different language” occur once the counter person starts to look for the requested part. I recently looked for tune-up parts for an early 90s Toyota and was prompted by the computer to select the engine’s size. In this case, it was a 1.6L DOHC, the only choice available. After selecting what was needed from that part’s sub-group and before allowing me to continue to another, I was prompted to select the engine code from the VIN and the only option code listed was “A.” Before I was allowed to move on, I was asked if the vehicle had a 4AFE engine. These are all ways of asking the exact same question, but because aftermarket manufacturers each use their own language, it must be asked three times for one parts order.
The automotive repair business can be hard enough without these communications barriers, but it would be nice if we could at least stay in the same book if not always on the same page. It’s like being in a big chorus where everyone is singing a different song; you may sound OK, but from across the room, it’s just a bunch of noise.
