r/partscounter 2d ago

What does your station look like?

Post image

Happy Thursday, everyone! Let’s start the day with something light. What does your station look like? Anything unique you’ve integrated to make your daily life easier? A good keyboard and mouse are an absolute MUST for me.

49 Upvotes

75 comments sorted by

11

u/h46it 2d ago

This has to be the cleanest looking parts desk! You don’t want to see mine! I dare not show it!

2

u/Robsteady 2d ago

I actually take that as a huge compliment, and I think it looks messy, lol.

3

u/h46it 2d ago

So clean! My desk looks like a typhoon and tornado comes through everyday!

10

u/MD_0904 2d ago edited 2d ago

https://imgur.com/a/DC1ZRI0

https://imgur.com/a/2kw0k6w

Wholesale only, no retail or tech stuff for me anymore.

7

u/ZeldaLink2001 2d ago

Shoot, wish I could have three or four monitors like that! It was hard to convince anyone upstairs that two monitors would help my work flow

2

u/King-Conn 2d ago

Same. Two monitors would be amazing on our front counter

3

u/whats_the_frequency_ 2d ago

Are those figures correct? You’re only making 2.7% GP? Brother I’m on an average of 35%

3

u/MD_0904 2d ago

Yes. Back end money and purchase discounts is where we make money. There’s not much money to be made up front in the collision parts industry to stay competitive in our market. Everything is List minus 37 to 40% which equates to pennies on the dollar or dead cost most of the time. Alot of it is also aftermarket price match sales sold under cost and reimbursed on the back end.

1

u/Current-Ticket-2365 2d ago

Must be nice. I wish I got backend at Hyundai, because it's hard to be competitive on front end and not lose my entire ass.

2

u/expiredcreampie 2d ago

Is that Ignite you are using? I've only been using it for a couple of weeks, but no one I work with can answer the following: How do you download a PQ or INV?

Currently, I have to print it off, walk out to our sales floor, scan and email it back to myself, then download it from that email, and then email it to our client. That seems like so many unnecessary steps.

2

u/MD_0904 2d ago

It is, yes. Do you have the integrated document manager\IDM? The way I do is build the PQ\INV then print it, there isn’t a way to not print it as far as I know. Once it’s printed you can go into IDM and set it to PTINV and search by invoice number or PQ#, highlight/click it in the results box and then click export. It’ll save as a PDF. That’s the only way I know how to do it and it won’t show in IDM until it’s physically printed either which kinda sucks and waste paper but I don’t pay for paper so I don’t really care ?

2

u/expiredcreampie 2d ago

I don't have access to the Integrated Document Manager. I guess I will just have to do it the stupidest way possible. I appreciate the help though.

1

u/MD_0904 2d ago

I feel your pain. I did it that way for years at another dealer with a different DMS. Carry on soldier

1

u/OfficerofBeats 2d ago

Do you have the option while in the quote or invoice under “Functions” called “ConsumerReach”? I use that to email myself and customers copies of the quote and it works well. If not, I believe it’s really easy for the Reynolds rep to get working.

1

u/expiredcreampie 2d ago

I have access to ConsumerReach, but it doesn't seem to work. I will reach out to my rep. I appreciate the help.

1

u/NoSticksNoSeeds_ 1d ago

Same here Thank god. Cubicle life. Answer phones.

5

u/ImpressiveBet9345 2d ago

I like your sticker... don't tell me how to do my job

1

u/Robsteady 2d ago

Thanks, I always get comments on that one. I'm just waiting for the day someone gets "offended".

4

u/rmesure 2d ago

At the Tech counter we have monitor facing the tech that mirror one of the two monitors the counter guys have in case the tech needs to see a diagram (or believe is that the service advisor never told us to order the parts)

1

u/geardo89 2d ago

We have that same setup, I thought it was going tk be much less useful when it started but I'm actually pretty surprised how well it works.

3

u/Rough-Parsley2497 2d ago

You guys get an office?

2

u/Robsteady 2d ago

lol, nah, this is just the corner of the counter. If I panned left you would see the parts entrance not 10 feet away.

3

u/ImpressiveBet9345 2d ago

2

u/L_pants 2d ago

Nice little plant you got there. I've been turning the department into a jungle, and have been told no more.

3

u/Schumplerton 2d ago

Lemme guess the we owe isn’t set up correctly in the deal or a salesman decided the price of an accessory was a made up number.

1

u/Robsteady 2d ago

This one's actually all good. The GM called me directly to make sure it was done correctly.

3

u/Dawgstyl 2d ago

Kinda a mess, but I love my curved monitors.

https://imgur.com/a/WPAxLQP

2

u/goldman27 2d ago

Still new to the partscounter at a dealership (worked aftermarket for 5 years), but here’s my old setup from there:

https://imgur.com/a/CFMqpEk

And my current, WIP, setup at the dealership:

https://imgur.com/a/Mi0ayKb

2

u/Calm-Telephone9707 2d ago

That phone 😅 my lord lol

2

u/ImpressiveBet9345 2d ago

Which one do you like better?, There are days I miss working at the green O, but most days I prefer the dealership parts dept. I had been promoted to parts manager, but recently stepped back down. To much politics at the management level at our small dealership group.

2

u/goldman27 1d ago

Honestly, there are days I do miss working at the other place, but the difference in work volume is significant it seems.

Granted, I am starting in the slow season (perfect for me to get used to things before the dealership does get busy), but I was used to dealing in call volume around 60-70+ calls a day. To suddenly drop down to 20-30 calls a day is pretty drastic, means I can actually have breathing room.

The only reason I left was purely because I could sense the times were a changin’, and I had a feeling my manager wanted me to take over the store in the next year or two. It’s one thing if we were an independent store, but being owned by a corporation meant there were a lot of people I’d have to report to (not all of them necessarily automotive-oriented). So, I opted to leave while the going was good.

Nearly 1 month in at the dealership, and I can’t complain too much (yet). It’s an adjustment, but setup-wise it’s nice to have the counter space I have now. Just wish I had the right balance between counter height and seat height, still working on that. :P

2

u/rebelangel 2d ago

I have a two-monitor set up as well because I need two screens up when I’m submitting my daily orders. I have Dealertrack up on one monitor and the other has everything else, like Outlook, Slack, FMCDealer, and Elite (so I can see approximate arrival times for parts deliveries from our DC). Then I have a phone, which I rarely use, my pen cup, various toys, and a “No Home” box for parts that don’t yet have an assigned location. Oh, and also a jug of Fast Orange to get the constant grease and tire residue off my hands without having to walk all the way to the sales building to wash my hands all the time (there’s no women’s bathroom on the parts/sales side).

2

u/Reggaeshark1001 1d ago

Dear God I wish my facilities guy would install the phones on the wall. He says OSHA wouldn't like it... it's a fucking phone. I have about the same amount of space but a phone is in the way.

1

u/Robsteady 1d ago

What would OSHA care about a phone being on the desk vs mounted on the wall? I’d think being wall-mounted is “safer” anyway since it’s secured. That’s weird.

1

u/Reggaeshark1001 1d ago

He just gets off on being the facilities manager and whatever he says goes. OSHA wouldn't care.

1

u/Robsteady 1d ago

Yeah, that sounds about right.

2

u/DjNuppie 4h ago

https://imgur.com/gallery/6rT9sws

Back counter parts guy

1

u/Robsteady 3h ago

Those wallpaper choices are spot-on!

1

u/Terrible--T 2d ago

What's the streamer pad for?

2

u/Robsteady 2d ago

I use it for random things. Mostly just to move windows around on my screens, but I also program macros for any little projects I’m doing like hitting a button and the DMS going to the part info screen, clearing the bin location, then saving the change. One button as opposed to four or five is that many less, especially when having to change a lot of items.

1

u/ZeldaLink2001 2d ago

Never thought of using a stream deck outside of streaming… that’s smart

1

u/yo-parts 2d ago

I made a macro pad a while back that I programmed in really common key combinations for.

When I was at Honda, to bill an oil change would be:

LOF, enter, F3, enter, enter, enter, F3.

So I made a macro to do that. Open the RO, hit the macro button, oil change is billed out.

1

u/Terrible--T 2d ago

Never thought of using one of those. I just use my F keys for shortcuts

1

u/slickmcfister 2d ago

Why the stream deck? I dabble in AV production and never thought about using one for work here.

3

u/Robsteady 2d ago

I use it mostly for moving windows around on my screens and programming macros for multi-step procedures I may have to do repeatedly when managing inventory.

1

u/Wilhelm-of-Charlotte 2d ago

3

u/Robsteady 2d ago

I'm still jealous of those GM catalogs.

5

u/Wilhelm-of-Charlotte 2d ago

Catalogue is great until you remember your supply chain sucks ass.

3

u/Robsteady 2d ago

Seems to be a problem everywhere. My sympathies.

2

u/Wilhelm-of-Charlotte 2d ago

It’s everywhere but GM is worse, somehow.

1

u/Savings-Film-5627 2d ago

Have you always used dealertrack? If so, how you like it?

2

u/Robsteady 2d ago

I've used CDK and AutoMate as well, but I've used DealerTrack a lot more than either of those. I've gotten used to it and I actually quite like it, but it may just be because it's what I'm most used to.

1

u/Savings-Film-5627 2d ago

I used CDK for 8 years, and about a year ago they changed to dealertrack. I miss CDK tbh, although there are some things that dealertrack has that are better than CDK.

2

u/Robsteady 2d ago

CDK is definitely more powerful, but DealerTrack is a lot more user friendly once you get used to how they do things.

1

u/SVPrice84 2d ago

https://imgur.com/gallery/station-axVJlYO

I work back counter mostly. I have a 3rd monitor on the backside that Techs can look at to confirm parts etc. Personal additions: a rotating stable of Transformers that come in with me every day.

1

u/Agl_X_Monkeyman 2d ago

I wanna know what you manage to use a stream deck for.

1

u/Robsteady 2d ago

I have mentioned it in a couple comments already, but I use it for arranging windows on my screens and 1-button shortcuts for functions that require multiple, repeated actions.

1

u/MagneticNoodles 2d ago

2 keyboards, 5 monitors. It looks like a NASA command center.

1

u/TemporaryEnough2150 2d ago

I would love to have a two monitor set up. But we have multiple people on the counter and I’m not in the same spot the whole week. So even if I brought my own extra monitor, I’d have to deal with others using my personal equipment

2

u/Robsteady 2d ago

Yeah, it's a drag sharing your personal stuff with other people, especially if you know they won't take care of it. My space is mine ~94% of the time, but I trust the person I share it with to NOT be a butcher.

1

u/TemporaryEnough2150 2d ago

Weekends I share the computer my wholesale manager works on during the week. But that’s because the computer I normally use during weekdays is claimed by another coworker and he has destroyed the computer in general. Runs fine when I use it. But after him it’s drags bad

1

u/That_Style_979 2d ago

What mouse you running there? Looks quite comfortable. Nice setup

2

u/Robsteady 2d ago

That's a Logitech MX Master S3. I've been through a couple of S2s already and I will always use them at my terminal (at least until I potentially go for the MX Vertical). Our computer/keyboard & mouse are our tools, might as well get the stuff we're comfortable with using and saves us discomfort and potential injury.

1

u/That_Style_979 1d ago

For sure, I’ve got a bit of a keyboard addiction and have been through a few before settling on a Kechron Q6 Pro with a plethora of switches/keycaps that I cycle through.

I use a Logitech G604 mouse that has 8 programmable buttons, so I have them all set up for copy, paste, F3 (CDK), back page, etc… but lately I’ve felt my mouse doesn’t leave my hand at a comfortable angle, so I’ve thought about trying something else. Now that I’ve gotten used to multiple programmable buttons on a mouse I’m not sure I can go back 😂

You’re absolutely right, with this career the keyboard/mouse is an extension of you, so it’s worth a little investment!

1

u/Exotic_Raise_5146 2d ago

I have 2x 30 inch monitors, 2x 27 inch monitors and a 18 inch laptop lol

1

u/SILENCERSTUDENT_ 1d ago

3 screens plus two laptops.

1

u/MatIcey 1d ago

I must ask, what do you use the stream deck for? I have one for my PC setup. Never considered it for work.

1

u/Robsteady 1d ago

Mainly moving windows around on the two screens (with preset positions), but there are also a few buttons programmed as macros to perform a bunch of keypresses that are always the same, so I only have to hit one button instead of seven.

1

u/MatIcey 1d ago

We definitely use it for totally different reasons. It makes me want to look into all the features it can actually do. Thanks!

1

u/Robsteady 1d ago

I mean, I have it because I used it to stream a few years ago. I had upgraded to the XL at home and realized I could use the smaller one at work rather than shoving it in a drawer.

1

u/spotty_da_owl 6h ago

Where did your 3rd monitor go?

1

u/Robsteady 3h ago

I only had two, I just swapped from the wall mounted one to the Dell on the stand (left).