Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[PILOON]

When you do find employees, usually 4-5 in an aisle, and ask for info the say 'we are in conference' LOL, yeah, comparing last night's hot date!
Now days Sears has cut back so much that even the cashes are undermanned, never mind the aisles, sorry, exemption in depts that have been sublet like TV and electronics, or those that are on commission.

We needed a fridge and visited a few white goods retailers. Sears wanted to charge for delivery??? all others were free!
Guess who I purchased from? sears is wrong ans.

As a former sales rep sears demanded an additional discount as they had overhead but still needed to undercut competitors.
LOL, my response was , sorry but that's your problem!

 

[KubotainNH]

The HF near me in Amherst NH (I assume this is the one listed as Nashua in this thread) seems decent to me for people. I've only had an issue once or twice with stocking an item I'm looking for. I have yet to get to the Manch store.

HD and Lowe's seems to have lower quality people as of late except for the paint department in HD, they are quite good.

 

[sixdogs]

Oh, please, could some sales person in the middle of the store tell me he was in conference.

 

[dragoneggs]

I think the warranty was $3.00 when I bought my dolly.

This one cracks me up! :laughing:

 

[TomSeller]

I find that practice annoying at times. Most hardware stores have aisles numbered and as I've aged I prefer to "wander" my way over to XX aisle rather than to attempt to follow a teen age athlete in a speed walking contest.

There is a regional tire chain store out west where the employees have to run from place to place. Or at least they used to. Now it's probably not a "safe" thing to do.

 

[TheMan419]

I have used five different HF stores in MA. The level and quality of sales assistance varies widely in my experience. I'd rank HF about half a step above Costco. Not nearly up to the standards of HD or Lowes or even our local Stop and Shop supermarket. Of course none of those come close to Trader Joes! At TJ, if you ask for directions to an item, the employee will literally drop what they are doing and always walk you to the item. I think it is a company policy and it certainly does foster good customer relations.

This does. Our local grocery store does this as does the ACE Hardware near me. I really like it.

 

[300UGUY]

I have used five different HF stores in MA. The level and quality of sales assistance varies widely in my experience. I'd rank HF about half a step above Costco. Not nearly up to the standards of HD or Lowes or even our local Stop and Shop supermarket. Of course none of those come close to Trader Joes! At TJ, if you ask for directions to an item, the employee will literally drop what they are doing and always walk you to the item. I think it is a company policy and it certainly does foster good customer relations.

I would rank Costco as the best retailer overall. At out local store, if you ask where something is, they don't tell you, they will lead you right to it. I don't think most people go to Costco for any project work, mostly groceries, clothing, electronics. You can't buy different faucets there, no nails or hardware items. They do sell some tools, but it is pretty basic stuff. HD and Lowes are pretty much the same here. I think HD caters to contractors a bit better. I was roofing a house last year, Lowes system was to sell you the roofing material, and give you a number to schedule the delivery. I went to HD, bought all the material, and scheduled the delivery all in one shot. I think anybody who is a electrician or plumber is working at their trade, Lowes and HD don't pay enough to employ those guys.

 

[aeblank]

They're putting a HF in Cadillac, MI! 5 miles from my house. Oh boy......

 

[IslandTractor]

I would rank Costco as the best retailer overall. At out local store, if you ask where something is, they don't tell you, they will lead you right to it. I don't think most people go to Costco for any project work, mostly groceries, clothing, electronics. You can't buy different faucets there, no nails or hardware items. They do sell some tools, but it is pretty basic stuff. HD and Lowes are pretty much the same here. I think HD caters to contractors a bit better. I was roofing a house last year, Lowes system was to sell you the roofing material, and give you a number to schedule the delivery. I went to HD, bought all the material, and scheduled the delivery all in one shot. I think anybody who is a electrician or plumber is working at their trade, Lowes and HD don't pay enough to employ those guys.

I would agree that Costco is a top notch and indeed a benchmark as a retailer but I'm surprised you find attentive service in any of the aisles. In the half dozen or so Costcos that I have visited there is nary an employee to be found on the floor. The butcher shop is an exception and the ladies in the bakery are nice if you can get their attention in back. I just don't expect any human interaction other than to hand over my membership card and answer questions about "do you want a box" or "will you be charging this". All very pleasant but it seems to me that the whole Costco system is set up to avoid having sales people on the floor. Those that are out there are hardly familiar with the products either. I'm not complaining as I am a real Costco fan ($200 rebate last year) but it isn't like an old time local hardware store or a corner grocery.

In our area the HD and Lowes do seem to have some tradesmen working in the plumbing, painting and sometimes electrical areas. I know that the HD I frequent most often has a plumber because he often talks about jobs he did similar to what I am describing to him and he clearly knows what he is talking about. Maybe it is because I'm in a relative densely populated area where some of the solo tradesmen work at HD for the benefits or something like that. Some also appear to be retired based on age.

 

[300UGUY]

I'd say that at least half of the HD and Lowes folks are women. And a lot of the guys are retired, but few trades guys. The recession hit this area really hard, it was from 2000 - 2009, Manufacturing went south (literally!) and we went into the recession before everybody else. A lot of tradesmen left the state, and most didn't come back.

 

[California]

Here (Northern California) in Home Depot there's a good chance that the senior clerk in plumbing, lumber, paint etc is a retired tradesman or contractor. Or if female, then younger, and likely grew up in a trades-related family so she speaks the language. Maybe a third of the employees on the floor have this sort of background and their advice is solid.

Then maybe 50% are well meaning and well trained but the customer likely knows more than the clerk. The remaining few percent are the usual idiots who should be limited to restocking shelves and will always refer you to somebody who knows something.

It sounds like HD hires retired tradesmen when they are available, and are willing to be paid less than when they were out in the real world working far harder. That's not a bad job for someone who just needs a few more quarters to qualify for SS, for example.

 

[IslandTractor]

Here (Northern California) in Home Depot there's a good chance that the senior clerk in plumbing, lumber, paint etc is a retired tradesman or contractor. Or if female, then younger, and likely grew up in a trades-related family so she speaks the language. Maybe a third of the employees on the floor have this sort of background and their advice is solid.

Then maybe 50% are well meaning and well trained but the customer likely knows more than the clerk. The remaining few percent are the usual idiots who should be limited to restocking shelves and will always refer you to somebody who knows something.

It sounds like HD hires retired tradesmen when they are available, and are willing to be paid less than when they were out in the real world working far harder. That's not a bad job for someone who just needs a few more quarters to qualify for SS, for example.

That's a pretty good description of the situation in the Boston/Providence area too. I guess some areas where HD opens stores they don't have the pool of retired or part time journeymen to draw on so their staff are more like the generic Walmart crew. I'm always happy to find an experienced guy (or in paint dept often a gal) who knows the field well enough to bounce ideas off of and whose advice I respect.

 

[dragoneggs]

Here (Northern California) in Home Depot there's a good chance that the senior clerk in plumbing, lumber, paint etc is a retired tradesman or contractor. Or if female, then younger, and likely grew up in a trades-related family so she speaks the language. Maybe a third of the employees on the floor have this sort of background and their advice is solid.

Then maybe 50% are well meaning and well trained but the customer likely knows more than the clerk. The remaining few percent are the usual idiots who should be limited to restocking shelves and will always refer you to somebody who knows something.

It sounds like HD hires retired tradesmen when they are available, and are willing to be paid less than when they were out in the real world working far harder. That's not a bad job for someone who just needs a few more quarters to qualify for SS, for example.

Yeah I think you nailed it. I look for those guys that have the look if I have a plumbing or electrical project.

 

[TomSeller]

HD would be a good job after retirement from the day job. Lots of exercise, get to meet people, see the new stuff, give dogs treats.... All the fun stuff.

 

[lexluther]

What is the point of this thread?

 

[dragoneggs]

What is the point of this thread?

Read the title... or just move on.

 

[California]

Entertainment.

On a more related note - I inquired here about HF's old and new version pressure washers. I got a reply that someone had compared them to more expensive models at Home Depot and thought the similar HD model was a better buy, even considering the higher price.

I started a similar comparison and discovered the little suitcase-carry Ryobi washer was priced about the same as the HF and had better reviews. I bought the Ryobi, and used it for the first time yesterday. Its a keeper. More different tips than the HF one, far more convenient than a washer on wheels, more convenient soap reservoir than the old pressure washer it replaced, just an all-round good buy. Discussing pressure washers in this thread got me started on finding the ideal one. Thanks to everyone who responded to my inquiry a few pages back.

 

[IslandTractor]

What is the point of this thread?

All manner of HF quality related stuff. The current discussion on retail sales help relates to the quality of in store customer service and advice at HF and competitors. Clear?

 

[newbury]

What is the point of this thread?

If you are confused by the last few posts and want to understand this thread go back to post 1 and start reading, then if you still have questions after reading the 7,174 posts come back and we will try to explain it to you.

Note- My first post was back at #536 and I read up to that and ever since.

 

[downsizingnow48]

There are 3 HF stores within about 5 mi. They are all pretty much the same in terms of what is out on the floor and service. I would say the service is pretty good. All I ever need is someone to get something out of the back room if it is not on the floor, and they are good at that. There are two HD and two Lowes about the same distance. They are all four pretty awful for customer service. Hard to find people to help and usually uninformed when you do find them. The best by far is the local Ace hardware, there are always several people available to take you to the right place and help solve a problem quickly.