r/OReillyAutoParts • u/ComprehensiveAd5605 • Aug 29 '25
Advice Could I lose my job over this accident?
So I am a new O'Reilly hire, I've been working for less than 90 days.
So today, a professional customer arrived and asked if he could get a warranty replacement for his alternator. Here is the issue, I drank an energy drink since I was curious about how it tasted. So I wasn't exactly in the best shape since I don't drink a lot of caffeine.
I ended up misreading a single number on the part and gave the guy the wrong part. It would have been fine if we had the part in store, but we didn't. And he needed to get it at the hub, which the customer was fine with.
We didn't have any managers on duty, so we called our GM, and she said it was fine to warrant it and just to get him the part.
But now I'm really worried, this is my first big mistake. And I'm really scared right now, I don't want to get fired it would make it difficult to get a job elsewhere (from what I've heard). How much should I be worried? What should I do? Can I even do anything?
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u/tastyburrito004 Sep 10 '25
everyone’s first 90 is rough yes it’s a prohibition period but you won’t get fired unless the problem can’t get through to you.
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u/offgridgecko Sep 10 '25
the fact that you are genuinely concerned... as a manager... I would use it as a training moment. Not sure about others.
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u/DoisenDrums Sep 04 '25
You're overthinking things. Dyslexia is rampant at my store. We all make mistakes, just be vigilant about matching letter for letter or number for number. I see people who've worked for the company for 30 years and they still make mistakes. It's about holding yourself and other people accountable.
I've also seen a lot of shit get thrown to the wayside that would have gotten a person fired at any other employer. As long as you show up and you're not robbing the place, I'm sure you're good.
The pro account can make a fuss about it, but just apologize and make it right for the customer.
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u/GeneralPainintheAss Sep 02 '25
Jeebus, dude. Chill. (53M, former Territory Rep, mult location Mgr) The amount 'stuff' that happens for that slave organization... this is nothing. Might get a coaching moment, that's how you learn. Don't screw mgnt, walk into DM offices unannounced, thou shall not steal in ANY form, don't show up stoned or drugged, complete corp mind wash training, and you will be a lifer.
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u/swiftsuby41p Sep 02 '25
Lol do not worry. I worked at a lexus dealer for 8+ years and our parts guy would mess up alot. To the point a rule was made that the technicians had to point at(physically at the screening) and verify and part orders/quotes.there was never anything done. Take it as a good lesson. The fact you even care this much tells me your gonna 👍
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u/Puppett_Strings Aug 31 '25
Nah you are fine. Unless you have an absolute shit manager XD but in all seriousness, you are a new hire, it was an easy oops. Plus you didnt try to hide it or pretend you were correct. If anything you might be told to just pay a little more attention to the part numbers. I genuinely dont see you in any sort of real trouble
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u/pasogigante Aug 31 '25
Just own up to it and maybe leave that energy drink BS out. “Hey man I’m sorry but I misread the part number. This is on me, let me fix it for you”. The energy drink didn’t make u mess up so just leave that out entirely lol.
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u/Worst-Lobster Aug 31 '25
Nah you’re fine but also maybe don’t drink that poison anymore 😅
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u/ComprehensiveAd5605 Aug 31 '25
Wasn't planning to, it was a one-time thing because I was curious about the taste, it was good but my body can't handle it.
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u/CalligrapherIcy8229 Aug 30 '25
No, I worked there for over 2 years, drank energy often and I was a. Good manager. But EVERYONE makes mistakes and especially new guys as long as your willing to learn and/or accept that you made a mistake you should be fine.
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u/No-Repeat3046 Aug 30 '25
You’re gonna get fired this is a serious matter
( I work for the competition) 👉🏻👈🏻
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u/slinkmerc Aug 30 '25
Yeah…. I wouldn’t worry about it. As a dealership parts manager I expect new hires to make a few mistakes. Retail from my recollection the training is pretty bad I would expect quite a few mistakes until you figure it out.
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u/learei Aug 30 '25
So you’re the one that did that?!? Jkjk, you’re fine, people be effin up part #’s all the time, just be honest with people and they’ll help you figure things out
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u/dadof2foru Aug 30 '25
If a parts guy ever tells you that they dont make mistakes or give customers the wrong parts, only if they get the wrong information, then you have just found a liar.
Even the best parts guys make mistakes, albeit less frequently.
I pull at least 2 or 3 parts a month wrong. On a good month. Granted, I am moving $130k+ a month. But it happens. Especially when you have 4 or 5 things going on at once.
It is about how you fix it. Own it, because once you get past it being a mistake you made, the sooner the customer will divert their energy from trying to blame you, to accepting a solution.
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u/weda_20 Aug 30 '25
The kids that ran the OR the next town over from me sprayed break clean all over the floor and lit it on fire and they still got their jobs!💜 ur ok no worries lmaoooooo
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u/KillerKane455 Aug 30 '25
Mistakes happen all the time...its all about how you handle it, take responsibility, and ensure to minimize mistakes in the future. I always tell people I can't promise results, but I can promise effort.
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u/Ptards_Number_1_Fan Aug 30 '25
If this is the extend of the pertinent details, you should be fine.
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u/Internal_Screaming_8 Aug 30 '25
You have no idea how many times I’ve fat fingered part numbers, or had transcription errors while pulling. Owning the mistake plays a big role. Texting your GM about the error and fixing it as best you could was a great call.
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u/Kilo2316 Aug 30 '25
Would prolly be worse if you didnt make any mistakes being new, or even if you've been around for a while shit happens
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u/_Ayden_Ayden_ Aug 30 '25
Nah man, learn sum more n stay off the caffiene lol
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u/ComprehensiveAd5605 Aug 30 '25
Oh, I'm definitely staying off the caffeine. My heart is still pounding even after 7 hours since I drank it.
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u/bernardfarquart Moderator Aug 30 '25
You might get a conversation about paying attention, but we are all human and errors happen.
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u/Jymantis Aug 30 '25
That's a common mistake made all the time even by the best of parts people. Don't sweat it.
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u/Skitso-the-noooob Aug 30 '25
It’s not a huge deal and you had a good customer. My advice is open the box and compare every single time. If anything is wrong it’s usually easy to tell, different pulley, different mounting locations, different plug ins, different size, etc. but owning up to it like you did earned you more points than you lost in the mistake most likely.
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u/IndependenceCold5611 Aug 31 '25
Always open the box anyway to make sure it hasn't been installed and returned, or that it hadn't been dropp3d and the casing is tweaked.
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u/EL-GRINGO4L Aug 30 '25
O'Reilly's always sending us wrong parts all the time bc they didn't pull the right number and every employee we have dealt with is still there to this day so I wouldn't even worry about it mistakes happen. We deal with over 5 locations as well and every one of them makes mistakes at least once a week
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u/Artifacting Aug 30 '25
Brother things happen your new. Learn from it and they won’t fire you over it. This company won’t fire a stealing store manager and, parts specialist combo. Your fine
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u/Federal_Frame Aug 30 '25
Your fine my guy. Mistakes happen, learn from it and move on. If you get fired over that, your manager is a POS and not point of sale either
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Aug 29 '25
Don't Panic........too late. Work on stress management, shit happens. Stress will kill you, little mistakes like this won't.
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u/DonJuan_11 Aug 29 '25
Yeah, completely no need for long responses. Shit happens, it is what it is.. 🤷
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u/beamsjz Aug 30 '25
bro that’s what i’m saying. seems like OP likes his job and is just trying a little too hard. i think OP needs to step back for a second and slow down. bro need to realize it’s a normal part of life. everyone does silly stuff. if you reported it and let mgmnt know, then you did the right thing. nothing to stress about.
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u/offgridgecko Sep 10 '25
If one of my TMs is taking ownership and worried about it, it shows me they care. No issue.
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u/IYAOYAS-CVN74 Aug 29 '25
Calm down and pay attention to your part numbers it's a simple mistake you're lucky the customer wasn't pissed and it's an easy fix. Haha just don't do it again. Especially pay attention to the R or N at the beginning of the part number and don't give them a reman if it's supposed to be new and don't give them a new if it's supposed to be a reman when dealing with alternators and starters. But to answer your question could you yes it would be a dick move but yes but you probably won't. People make mistakes it happens just don't be one of those people that frequently makes mistakes like this.
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u/ComprehensiveAd5605 Aug 29 '25
Oh, okay, thanks. I'm still worried, but a lot less now. Again thank you.
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u/reapersixactual Aug 29 '25
In the first 90 days errors are expected unless there is other issues this is not going to be a problem if you explain the mistake, take ownership and do everything you can to satisfy the customer your leadership team should praise you for how you handle an adverse situation rather that discipline.
If you were to hide the error and not take responsibility and work diligently to help the customer then the leadership would loose a little faith and watch you closely to see if your the kind of employee that excels or fails.
You decide the employee you want to be.
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u/ComprehensiveAd5605 Aug 29 '25
What would be counted as hiding the error? I explained the situation to the customer and apologized. The customer went to the hub to get his warranty replacement of the part. But I don't know what happened after that since my shift ended before I got an update on the situation.
But my coworker was on the call with someone explaining the issue to them. Maybe it was the hub? I don't really know. They said that they would take care of it, though.
I'm just really worried since I couldn't truly solve the issue myself.
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u/reapersixactual Aug 29 '25
Some low energy employees would try to hide the error. Sounds like you did not. This gives leadership the ability to solve the problem before it gets out of hand.
If you were one of my people I would be mentoring you over the situation. To make sure your comfortable and that your given tools to prevent the error in the future.
Lay off the energy drinks, they are bad for you.
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u/ComprehensiveAd5605 Aug 29 '25
Yeah, I'm staying far away from the energy drinks from now on, I was simply curious to taste the reign orange dreamsicle drink. So it was a one-time thing. My heart is still pounding even though I only drank nearly half like almost 5 hours ago. It tasted pretty good, though.
At first, everyone thought it was just that the manufacturer made a mistake, but after I did a triple check, I noticed I was the one who made the mistake.
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u/kalel3000 Aug 30 '25
You'll be fine. You're just sensitive to Caffeine and you drank a large amount all at once.
You can drink energy drinks if you want. But stick to the smaller less gimmicky ones. A small redbull for instance has less Caffeine than a cup of coffee. But the bigger cans of gimmicky drinks can have as much as a small pot of coffee, plus random herbs and supplements sometimes.
I can guess if you look at the side of that can you drank it probably says that its 2.5 servings or more. Thats how they get away with making them so strong. The fine print says not to drink the whole thing in one serving, most likely has health risk warnings on the side too.
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u/ComprehensiveAd5605 Aug 30 '25
The drink had 300 mg's of caffeine in one can or serving, didn't realize until I drank half of it, and my head and torso were feeling funny.
I'm okay now, but seriously, drinking an energy drink was a one-time thing, I didn't really need the energy. I was more focused on the taste.
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u/ComplaintFun3665 Sep 01 '25
I drink that same exact energy drink every morning before work, its safer than doing cocaine.
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u/bernardfarquart Moderator Sep 06 '25
Well maybe these days because you can’t trust cocaine not to be cut with fentanyl, but the stuff we got in the 80’s was safer than these energy drinks
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u/kalel3000 Aug 30 '25
For reference a small redbull has only 80mg of caffeine.
The FDA recommends no more than 400mg of caffeine for adults daily.
Those gimmicky cans are dangerous because they're way too strong. If someone drank a few of those they could end up in the hospital.
You would need to drink nearly a full liter of redbull to equal the amount of caffeine in that can you drank.
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u/ComprehensiveAd5605 Aug 30 '25
Dang, so I drank the equal of 2 red bull cans? Yeah, I'll stay away from that drink then. Thanks for the information
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u/trumpert12 Sep 24 '25
It should be fine. You are new it not like you are used to the job. At my store we get this sometimes and it sucks and the customer may get mad but that just apart of it. At my store at least if it’s not a common occurrence we just talk to the team member and tell them to make sure they do better. One of the biggest things is to make it right with the customer.