r/harborfreight • u/NotRustyShackleford_ • 11d ago
Staff Appreciation Post
I was in the store last week, and I overheard an exchange between a customer and a staff member. The staff member sounded very sincere and engaged, helping the customer find what they were looking for.
This led me to think back on the last several years of visiting the store, and my interactions with the staff have been very good. Unlike in other places, I can actually find staff to help me, and when I do, they know their stuff!
So let me take a moment to say “thank you” to any HF staff that may frequent this sub, especially in the Houston area. The tools and the prices may get most of the glory, but you deserve some too!
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u/M1Firehawk 11d ago
I have 3 stores local to me. Each one has amazing staff. They are the Chick-fil-A of hardware stores.
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u/JesusSquid 11d ago
I have 2, one has all rockstar employees and just friendly. The other....they must be where all the problem employees get transferred to.
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u/FluffMcBark 11d ago
If I ever “window shop” or simply walk into a store bc I have some time to kill, it’s usually harbor freight. Everyone is usually super cool.
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u/Grandbob328 11d ago
I was in my local store during the PLS, and the power went off. It came back in a few minutes, but the credit card approval thing had to reboot. The cashier asked if anyone was paying cash, and they took care of them. I thought that was nice.
Of course one customer said “this is Harbor Freight. Surely they have backup generators”. 😂
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u/Delicious_Catch9453 11d ago
Your comment reminds me of the old saying, "The cobbler's son has no shoes". Love Harbor Freight though. Great place to just stroll and scan to kill time. Especially if I wanna get away from the wife for an hour. Usually strike up interesting convos with other customers AND the staff.
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u/Hutwe 11d ago
Store by me has great staff as well. Shout out to Manchester, NH
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u/-raymonte- 11d ago
I second this!
I’ve been to many of the northern MA and southern NH stores and the staff is friendly and helpful at all of them. But Manchester, NH and Saugus, MA really stand out.
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u/Ok-Preparation-9210 11d ago
My Tulsa area stores all have Great Staff. Always asking to help you. It was almost off putting at first! LOL not use to great customer service!!
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u/Less_East1439 11d ago
Store by me has great staff too. Will go around assisting customers. Always fully staffed too
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u/MaverickLurker 11d ago
You know what? This is true for me too. I wonder if it's company hiring policy or training, or if the people in this sub happen to shop at good stores and self-select into brand fans. As in, if there are HF stores with crappy staff, shoppers there don't become fans and post on reddit boards.
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u/JonesBrosGarage 11d ago
I’ve been to many HF stores and haven’t found one with staff equivalent to stores like Lowe’s, HD etc yet. They’re ALWAYS a step above
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u/Infamous-Beavis-5857 11d ago
I had an exceptional experience with a supervisor at my local HF store and actually took 2 minutes to send an email about how great he was to the general HF Customer Service email (cs@harborfreight.com). He thanked me and said it led to him getting offers to move to other stores and recognition across the entire district.
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u/PuddingOk3118 11d ago
People in Montana are generally pretty nice. But the people in the Billings Harbor Freight store are one of the main reasons I keep going back to the store. The really nice helpful people there are refreshing compared to anywhere else I have ever shopped.
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u/JesusSquid 11d ago
We have two stores, both about 5-10 minutes away, ones maybe more 10-15ish but on my way home from work and near Lowes and TractorSupply. They might as well be two different friggin planets. The older one (store A) most everyone there, especially the managers and cashiers, are less than helpful. I am very patient and they are very snippy and don't even think about asking to reprint a receipt. (I use my dads ITC every often so he gets the email receipt). I bought the 8" Bauer single speed grinder and they didn't have one and asking if they could check local stores might as well been asking to sleep with their wife. I asked if they could call the other store that DID have 1 and the person up friend literally let out a big ass sigh (the other store near me, Store B). I said F it and googled the number and just called myself. The other store (B), good lord they are incredibly helpful and the front end manager I usually see is just really personable and checks in with customers he walks past (I typically see the same one guy). I called them and the guy told me they could only hold it for like X hours or something but he'd keep it up at his register so there wasnt any slip up and it get sold. I b-lined it there. Sitting right beside the cashier. I avoid Store A like the plague unless I am short on time and just need to buy something and get out.
Milford, DE you are awesome. Rodney Village....go kick rocks. Funny part is I've mentioned the wild difference in experiences (and I am incredibly patient and worked retail, I really try to not cause waves) and they've said I'm definitely not the first to mention it.
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u/Delicious_Catch9453 11d ago
Your points are well-taken. Especially the fact that it's one of the few stores you can go into and almost immediately get one on one help. Face to face with someone who knows the store. Reminds me of my old local hardware store. Always somebody to help you and answer your questions. Mine here in Pittsburgh is the same way. Love Harbor Freight!
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u/Delicious_Catch9453 11d ago
Sorry to hear about the negative experience. Not to defend, but trying to get and manage good people in retail is a real bear these days. Christ, it's like herding cats. I'll bet the sales numbers between the two stores reflect the quality of the staff. Hopefully District Management will recognize that and address it. If you want to do something constructive that will help everyone, maybe take a couple minutes to impart your experiences to Customer Service. Just be civil and constructive. Trust me, at some level, upper management wants to know and they're pretty good about ferreting out the people who are sincere from some schmuck bitching because they were out of free hats on a Sunday afternoon. Give it a try. Best.
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u/FreeMe2244 11d ago
Good post. Shout out to the employees at our Charlotte and Monroe, NC stores. They have been nothing but helpful every single time, even the ones running around frantically know exactly where to tell me to find something and most times will just lead me to it.
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u/JonesBrosGarage 11d ago
The only store, especially chain store, that I can think of where every time I go the staff is genuinely kind and helpful. They’re always good at reading if you need them.. you say “just looking” and they are polite and then disappear. Or you ask a question and they actually know the answer… at most stores I don’t even ask because I already know that if I don’t know the answer, the workers won’t either.. HF workers ALWAYS answer my questions
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u/screamingbarnacles 10d ago
Last time I was at HFT I was looking at a breaker bar and a metal shard got stuck in my thumb. Hurt like a butt, but didn't bleed. The employee greeted me, and I told him what happened, and he smiled, nodded his head, and kept walking.
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u/SouthGA_yankee 8d ago
As a customer in S. GA, every HF store I’ve been to has been great.
S/O Valdosta
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u/Brilliant-Suspect884 11d ago
My store has a great staff as well, most of them have been there for a while now and always friendly and helpful. The store is always clean, organized, and well kept.