Harbor Freight Doesn't Deserve your Business

My sister bought me a vise for Christmas from Harbor Freight. She bought it in person in Pennsylvania, I live in New York. She didn't really understand what I was looking for or my intentions for the vise and bought me the 6 inch cross slide vise. The kind that you usually see mounted to a drill press.

So yesterday I tried to exchange it. The clerk told me to go get what I wanted and bring it back to the register. So I picked out the 6 inch swivel vise with an anvil and brought it up front. Another clerk then told me that Harbor Freight only does returns with a receipt. I can understand that they are trying to combat theft but I have never heard of a store doing this at Christmas time. The box has not been opened and even has a bar code sticker that proves it came from the Harbor Freight in Reading, PA.

Sucks because I was kind of excited when this store opened just a couple of month's ago. Now I will never shop there.

I have dealt with harbor fright for years.
I would have gotten the manger involved.
I have had to do this before.

I sent a message to Corporate through their website. Probably won't do a lot of good, but I'll wait a while to see if they respond.

I worked retail for almost 20 years. Going threw corporate is how to do it. Drop employee names, and you might even get a gift card.

Thanks. I told the employee I was going to take it up with corporate and made sure to ask her name. The look on her face when she told me her name can best be described as a look one of concern.

Good customer service is always a good measurement on how good a company is, but how they treat you after the sale or after an issue, shows their real colors.
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harbor freight is a good source for disposable tools.

for when you are likely to lose it, or the job would destroy a name brand one anyway.

I used a lot of their ratchet straps, I'm rough on them no matter the quality, but some had surprising longevity

I have used Harbor Freight for disable tools, but I at least expect to get them out of the box before disposal. If they cannot satisfy your concerns, please let us know. I for one will boycott them.

Not to hijack but it's not just Harbor Freight going with this shift in attitude(Wal-Mart's starting to get really bad about it now). It's a sign of restructure which usually means the company is on it's way up or on it's way out. Hope they get you sorted out.

why not ask her for the receipt?? who doesn't keep a receipt on a gift? not to mention HF emails you the receipt as well as the hard copy...

They only email receipts when purchased online. My sister is not organized enough to know where or if she kept the receipt.
Besides that really is not the point. It is our acceptance of shoddy customer service, not to mention automated answering systems and call centers overseas. Don't we deserve better?

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Originally Posted by HipoGear

They only email receipts when purchased online. My sister is not organized enough to know where or if she kept the receipt.

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Not true. I have never shopped HF online and I have every receipt emailed. My phone dings before I'm out their door.

If they asked for her phone number when she purchased, she is in the system and likely you were dealing with incompetent employees.

Go present your issue on their Facebook page. You'll get a response pretty quick. I did anyway. Ended up getting sale price PLUS 30% off when all I wanted to know was why they wouldn't allow a 20% coupon for a water pump. They have a few items the coupon can't be used for and this wasn't one of them though cashier insisted it was. HQ got involved, who put me in touch with local manager and cleared it up.

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Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

Not true. I have never shopped HF online and I have every receipt emailed. My phone dings before I'm out their door.

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Same here
I go thru at least one jack a month
I have their insurance on all of them, so the replacements are FREE and for $14.00 I get/replace the Insurance for the next time it breaks

You talk to the right person they have always treated me right

What the email looks like >>
Greetings john,

Attached is the receipt for your recent transaction 220651.
Thank you for shopping at BROCKTON MA #00439. You are a valued customer and we appreciate your business.

Regards,
Your friends at BROCKTON MA #00439




Please do not reply to this email. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact our customer service department at
Email: cs@harborfreight.com

to be honest the only thing I buy anymore at HF is gloves........They last about as long as the home depot ones and half the price.......Everything else is name brand tools......The tools I have bought there usually don't even last a day and not even worth the effort of standing in line for return......Hate to say it I tried to like HF but in my opinion HF=JUNK

I was trying to look at it from the cashier's perspective. She's just a drone. She's expected to follow company policy and be nice to the customers. If it's company policy that there no returns without the receipt she really doesn't have any say in the matter. You could check with the store manager. He might have the authority to make a judgement call on the matter.

Really though .... Harbor Freight is just a tool store that sells lower quality / lower priced goods. It's not like Macy's in regard to after Christmas returns.



You know how it goes:

If you've been a good girl Santa brings Snap On -or- Craftsman tools.

If you've been naughty you get a lump of coal -or- ummmmmmm ? ;)

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Originally Posted by mikeinreco

to be honest, in my opinion, HF=JUNK

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Well of course HF ( HoboFinds) = Junk

That's his thing dude. :)

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Originally Posted by JohnC4X4

Same here
I go thru at least one jack a month
I have their insurance on all of them, so the replacements are FREE and for $14.00 I get/replace the Insurance for the next time it breaks

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I started out with the steel 3 ton floor jack. Such a pita to lift and haul anywhere. Got the aluminum jack and I can swing that with one hand into the truck. Easy to maneuver when removing tires off cars that are on trailer ready to go in.

The nearest HF to me is 73 miles ... oddly enough, they are the closest store that sells real C-clamps.
I have never had issues with returning or exchanging their cheap junk.

For the most part ... you get what you pay for.

If you don't have the tool ... you can't do the job.

It all depends on what your needs are. If it's a tool that you only use once every couple of years you can probably get by with the cheapest thing. If it's something you use every day then you probably want to get something of quality.

True story: I was in the local hardware store a couple of years back:

Lobster fishing is a huge industry in this area but it's also one of the top ten riskiest jobs in America. There's always the danger that the pot wop (rope) will wrap around your leg and pull you to the bottom of the ocean when you push a trap overboard.

The lobstermen are notorious tightwads. More than a few have died simply because they refused to kick off their rubber boots and swim to the surface after they were pulled overboard. ( They didn't want to lose their boots. )

The fisherman ahead of me in line at the store asked to see the knives in the display case. When the clerk asked him what it was going to be for he replied that it was so he could cut the rope free if he got tangled up in the wop. She brought out a selection and the next words out of his mouth : What's the cheapest one ?

Normally, i wouldn't have said a thing, but i've known him a long time and we're on good terms. Just had to playfully bust his nuts on that one. Did the facepalm, shook my head and said: "Your life is on the line and you just bought the cheapest thing ?"

It got a little bit of a rise out of him .... but if i didn't like the guy i wouldn't have said a word.