I know. I know. "Someone angry with a parts vendor?!?!? Say it isn't so!"

***Note: This has been sanitized of profanities. Not MY profanities, but those of the employees of the store, whom seemed quite oblivious to the few wives and children who were present at the time.

Anyhow, I go in there two weeks ago and order shocks for the diesel. The guy behind the counter, whom I will refer to ironically as "Tiny", proceeds to process my transaction between interjecting comments into the conversation his friends behind the counter, Jethro and Hipster, are having. Apparently Jethro has just got a line on a genuine, no crap, WWII German Luger and he is SUPER excited to tell everyone capable of communication in English about it.

I give Tiny the skinny on what it is I am looking for and have come prepared with what I believe to be the correct part numbers, according to the 4 Wheel Parts website. Upon hearing that I have (gasp) actual part numbers for what I am looking for, Tiny queries as to where I have obtained these mythical inscriptions on this strange sheet of papyrus. I tell Tiny, with a smile and obviously naive pride, "why, from your website!" This disappoints Tiny, whose face immediately reflects displeasure, apparently at the thought of not being able to mash the Johnsonville Brats he calls fingers on the keyboard. Tiny then tells me "Oh, I wouldn't trust that. It's so @$#% up you never know what it will out." Confused and slightly ashamed at my apparent unwarranted confidence, I stumble along as Tiny walks me through the process of ordering my shocks. (Apparently shocks are not one of the parts that 4Wheel Parts actually carries in their store.) Did I mention Tiny is using a computer to look up my part numbers? If 4 Wheel Parts website is so screwed up, whose site is he visiting? Maybe he was just surfing porn?

Finally, Tiny quotes me the price for my shocks. At this point, I am dehydrated, malnourished, and Seal Team 6 is planning an operation to rescue me (and my infant daughter sitting the in the car seat next to me) from what is apparently the most boring POW camp in the history of warfare. I have been turned. There is no resistance. Numbly, I hand over my credit card to make the purchase and manage one final act of defiance.."Military discount?" With a sigh so powerful people in New Orleans quickly looked towards the skies and wondered if this time the levies might hold, he punched some keys and gave me my new price. Receipt in hand, i drug myself out the door, content that I had accomplished SOMETHING today, but still unsure as to what that something was.

Flash forward two weeks and I am installing my shocks. Something just doesn't seem right. Yup. I have 4 front shocks. But not just 4 front shocks, 4 front shocks of two different types. I hit up the internets, once again (like I should have done before) and confirm that I have 2 shocks which are correct and 2 shocks which are for a dual shock set up. So, I call the store. I tell the guy I have the wrong parts. He asks me for my phone number. I give it to him (apparently I am THAT easy) and he looks up my order. Surprisingly he tells me, "well, I SEE two part numbers on your receipt." Captain Obvious has just stumbled up a fact: some times there are different part numbers for front and rear shocks. With zero hesitation he then tells me "hang on a second, I'm gonna look something up" and then puts me on hold. 3 days later he comes back on the line and asks "how much lift do you have?" I tell him "6.5" and "You know, I have the correct part numbers right here, if you want them."

"Well, your order has already been screwed up once so I want to do my own research. If we happen to meet in the middle somewhere then okay."

Remember that scene in the Incredible Hulk series where Bill Bixby starts that weird strobe effect transition in to Lou Ferrigno? That's exactly how I felt at this moment as, ONCE AGAIN, I am put on hold.

Captain O returns from the magical land of on hold and asks me "do you have part number 33-104645 as the correct number?"

Me: "You're kidding me, right?"

Captain O: "No. Why?"

Me: "That's the same part number for the incorrect shocks that are sitting in the passenger seat of my truck right now."

Captain O: " Oh. Well, how about 24-062466?"

Me: "Are you just going down the list of all the shocks Bilstein makes?"

Captain O: ".........."

Me: "Yes. That is correct."

Captain O: "Okay then. I can have those for you by Monday."

Me: "That's fine. Order them please."

Captain O: "Okay. I just need you to stop by and drop off the other shocks as a deposit for the new ones."

Me: "Okay. I'll try and get by...wait. What?"

Captain O: "I need the other shocks before I can order the new shocks."

Me: "Okay. First off, I'm at work today. And I am not off until 6."

Captain O: "Oh, that's okay. We're open 9-3 tomorrow!"

Me: "And secondly, why do you need a deposit? what about the $XXX.XX that you have IN YOUR REGISTER for the shocks YOU gave me that were INCORRECT."

Captain O: "Yeah, sorry about that. We need the shocks back, or a credit card number, or we can't order the others."

End conversation.

Lessons learned from this experience.
1) If I take the time to do my homework and walk in to a place with part numbers, I will damn well walk out of that store with those part numbers.
2) Spending a crap load of money at a store doesn't mean crap to them with they screw up your order and have to order new stuff. YOU PAY for their mistakes.
3) Rather than talking with minions who appear to live by the code "the customer doesn't know dick", I'll handle things like this with managers in the future.

And finally, I will not be shopping at 4 Wheel Parts again. At least not the Colorado Springs store.

Too bad to have done all the work and make it so easy for them, did all the research and hard work, to have it still go wrong. There are very few stores that any of us go into without knowing more than the people helping us. I stopped asking for help at Radio Shack, Best Buy, Lowes, Home Depot, and others long ago.

To share a completely opposite 4WP story today: My used winch did not come with clips for mounting the control box on top of the winch line - only the mounts for above the motor. Called 4WP, told them what was wrong and guy at the counter put me on hold, asked the instrall guys in the shop if they had any clips from installs that did not use them. Gets back from hold and tells me has a set of clips, no charge.

Zack - I feel your pain buddy. 4WP has screwed up more of my stuff then they have gotten right. I think it's been over 5 years since they have gotten my business. And when I was doing business, I also went in with part numbers from the manufacturers website.

I had great luck with this guy and his prices were among the best I found:
http://www.ctperformanceinc.com/

I ordered the Icon leveling kit, adjustable track bar, and 5100 Bilstiens for my truck from him. Zero issues. He's a PSD guy and a bronco guy.

Chain stores in general are places where you better know what you need or you will probably get the wrong stuff.