man, i've been saying the same thing for as long as i can remember. i cannot tell you how annoying it is (as a motorcycle mechanic) to go into a parts dept and have them look at me like i'm speaking greek when i ask for a particular part. alot of the smaller shops that i've worked for got thier oem parts from local dealers. probably 50% or more of the parts that were ordered were the wrong parts, mainly because the parts guys/gals don't have a clue what i'm talking about. that in turn, makes me look bad when i tell a customer that his/her bike will be done at such and such a time, only to have the wrong parts delivered, and have to push back the "done date" on the customers b/c of it. it got to the point where i would go to the dealers personally on my way home from work, and physically point out exactly what i needed on thier computer screens to make sure i got what i needed. i've said it for years, the people that work in the parts dept should have a minimum two years experience as a mechanic. makes everyone's lives easier. think about it this way. when a customer walks into a dealer or independent shop, and they have a problem, they don't talk to the mechanic, they talk to the parts people. if the parts people are clueless about the inner workings of a motorcycle, how can they possibly help the customer with his/her problem? hell, most of my day working at some shops was spent talking to customers to help them get exactly what they wanted/needed. that sucks for guys like me, who get paid on a bike by bike basis. if i'm not turning wrenches, i'm not getting paid. but... you have to keep the customers happy, or they won't come back, so i had to do what i had to do. my paychecks suffered because of it. there's a bright side though, as i got to know alot of my customers, and they have continually followed me from shop to shop over the years. i have my own clientel now, people that don't want anyone but me working on thier bikes, and that's a good feeling.

ok, i'm done rambling... i could go on a while.....