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. :)

Quote:

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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.

I completely agree with what Scrappah said a few posts above. These policies are set in place to decrease overall loss in the business.

You can't give cashiers the ability to take every return no matter the reason. It's completely reasonable to have to have a receipt. People steal items and then try to return them all the time. Or, it could have been bought as a stolen item unknowingly by the customer. There are a lot of reasons to want that receipt. Of course, if you go up the chain of command, you will run into people with the ability to help. These checks and balances are extremely important.

I have known people when I was younger that would completely take advantage of relaxed return/exchange policies. A favorite was Nordstroms. I have heard stories that they are so relaxed on returns that you can just go buy things at goodwill and then exchange them there for new items! I don't know if that's true, if so, it's ridiculous.

No business is required to take returns. That is an extra service that most businesses offer with a few stipulations. Whoever came up with "The Customer Is Always Right" was a moron, and now everything we pay for is more expensive because of people taking advantage of the system.

I worked in retail for several years through high school and college, and as a bartender for many years. I have dealt with thousands upon thousands of people, and the number of entitled and demanding jerks increased as the years progressed. Utterly ridiculous.

And please, HipoGear, don't think I'm attacking you personally here. Your needs were reasonable, and you just have to put a little more work in to get the help you wanted. This kind of expanded more into a rant...and I'm sorry if people are offended, but I'm not sorry I said it!

I understand the theft issue. That is why most stores will only allow a store credit for items returned without a receipt. A thief is only looking for money in the end.

Final Update. I followed IdahoScrapper's advice and posted my complaint on Facebook. The admins there asked me to email some fellow named Jack, who contacted the regional manager, who asked the store manager to call me. As of today I have their permission to bring the vise back for an exchange. The manager said that they were discussing store policy and came to the conclusion they need to be more lenient on exchanges at Christmas. Happy that it was resolved but it never should have been this difficult to start.

Hip-O good to hear this is going to work out, sometimes we go the long way to get home! I have never been a big fan of Harbor Freight, their tools are not going to get you far. Sometimes you need to do with what you have available or what is easiest for that moment.

Recently Harbor Freight opened a new store close to my house (1/2 mile) so I have been using them more for conveniece and mostly buying consumables. I did buy two of their Preditor engine's to replace blown Honda engines on commercial "Billy Goat" parking lot blowers. I have since rebuilt the Honda's and when those HF engines go out the Honda engines are ready to go. So for the price the Harbor Freight engines was the right temporary replacement.

Harbor Freight for the most part sells tools that have a "Perceived Value", a brand name like a Honda engine has a "Proven and Confirmed" value.

I think your experience might have been an isolated one and hopefully you won't have the same problem in the future. I and others that I know have never really had a problem with exchanges and returns, which is good considering how many folks buy tools and just return them after they are done with the job.

I have the 12K winch and have feat the buck out of it and it still shows up for work...1/2" drill I use to mix 80 pound bags of cement still running as well...some stuff just lasts longer.

Problems with customer service can crop up with anyone. I'm currently duking it out with Fedex cuz they will only let you buy 5 labels thru ebay for an item sold. I had multiples of the same item and a customer bought them all so I needed 2 more labels and had to purchase the labels using my Fedex account and it was $4.55 more per box. Nothing like paying more at the source than you would thru the middle man.

Ahh yes. That 12k winch is a brute. I added the wireless remote and it makes loading anything a breeze. Receiver plate (HF) it's bolted to is junk though. On my 3rd one. I keep saying I'll make my own but I haven't.

glad you are getting it worked out, but just an FYI, they email you the receipt even in the retail stores...first thing they ask is if you receive their coupons, phone # and get you on their mailing list. it's stupid not to be on it, you get so many free coupons and 20% off coupons you can't possibly use them all...I have cartons full of their free tape measures, screwdrivers, DVM's, magnetic parts trays, and flashlights. and you can recycle the aluminum flashlights if you don't want them or if the batteries leak, as an added bonus!!

I've had hassles exchanging items before, but thankfully they did exchange the item. All and all, I find hf no worse then Wally World or any other corporate owned store.

The amount of return fraud is ridiculous. If a sticker = accepted returns, they would be copying those also.

I wouldn't blame the individual stores for tightening return policies.

Oh I've got a HF story for you regarding a return:

I once was lucky enough to be loaned an MK tile saw. The guy I borrowed it from moved and I lost access to it.
I went to HF when I had a floor tiling job to do and bought their highest priced "professional series" saw.

Right out of the box:
The left leg wouldn't lock
The nylon fitting was not done in the mold correctly so I had to hand drill it out to get the water to flow to the blade
The slide would "catch" about every 4 inches. I tried Vaseline and spray silicone.. still would "catch"
I bought a diamond edge tile blade there to go with the saw.

1st tile: Tile Snapped
2nd Tile: Arbor in the center of the blade broke out of it.

Went to Lowes to buy a better blade. Installed on the saw:
3rd Tile- Snapped!
4th Tile- Snapped!

I used the 4 (now scrap pieces of tile) to work on the technique of trying to cut this tile to completion without it breaking. As I said- every 4 inches I had to pull back on the saw and then pull forward again to cut the tile.

I went to HF to return the blade and asked them what I should do about the saw- I wasn't happy with it AT ALL. Guy says "Just bring it back and we will refund you."
So the next day I brought it back (of course the same guy wasn't working THAT day.) I told the cashier my story and that I spoke with a guy the day before.

Some guy who I assume is the Front End Manager (with no name tag mind you) says "What do you mean you want to return it" I said "It really isn't a very good saw- I've had all these problems with it- right out of the box" He barks "Well WHY DON'T YOU EXCHANGE IT FOR ANOTHER ONE!!?" I said "Quite honestly, I can't see the quality being any better from the one that came off the line right behind this one." He says "Well I think you should just get a new one instead"

My kindness and patience was gone. There were probably 15 people around the front registers at this point and I lost it I said "Do you want me to say it? I'll say it?" He says "What?!" I said "This thing is a piece of $HIT, and I want my **** money back" I got my $ back and walked out. Since he had no name tag, I had no one to point a finger too at corporate- but they sure as he-ll would have heard from me once I got out of the store if he did.