BEWARE: Harbor Freight poor customer service...

Since you already know where they consistantly leave them, why not check
it daily around the date you expect it to arrive. Seems like you are
your own problem!

bob wrote:

>I have two driveways - the one on the right goes up a significant incline to
>the main level garage. There is a sidewalk from this driveway to my front
>door. The one on the left goes to the lower garage under the house where my
>shop is located.
>
>
<snipped for clarity>

>The UPS driver consistently leaves packages at the lower driveway door.
>

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 11:27:23 GMT, "Red Neckerson"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
><[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> "Dr. Hardcrab" <[email protected]> writes:
>>> You have a problem somewhere else. I have been dealing with Harbor
>>> freight
>>> for over 20 years and have had no problems whatsoever. I'm not saying you
>>> CAN'T have a problem with them, but it just sounds like a problem with
>>> the
>>> transporter....
>>
>> Yes, but the test of good customer service is how they treat you when
>> something goes wrong. I have had incredible experiences with Dell,
>> Amazon, Lands End, Newegg, etc. If there is ever a problem, they ship
>> out replacements the next day -- they don't make you wait for months.
>>
>> Again, I am *not* saying that the original problem is HF's fault --
>> just that when something goes wrong they don't jump to correct it.
>
>So this pissed you off so much that you had to go on a vengeance campaign by
>posting your name as boycott@harborfreight,com and telling the world not to
>buy anything from them just because they didn't jump up and kiss your ass??
>
>You need to get a f*cking life, loser......
>
roflmao (while trying to wipe the coffee off my monitor)


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"Tony Hwang" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:pPFEd.46442$8l.1374@pd7tw1no...
> [email protected] wrote:
> > I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> > before the Holidays.
> >
> > Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
> > busy signals.
> >
> > Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
> > on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
> > public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
> >
> > Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
> > the error, the customer service person offered the following
non-solution:
> > - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> > - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> > reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> > even in stock)
> >
> > In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
> > order.
> >
> > The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
> > and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
> > to back it up with my credit card.
> >
> > They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> > agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> > boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
> >
> > I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
> >
> > If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> > Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> > can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
> >
> >
> > I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!
> Hi,
> IMO, your local UPS delivery person made a mistake not HF.
> Tony

UPS's problem for sure!
Next time have it delivered to a more secure lacation, next door neihbor
perhaps.
Greg

> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)

If you didn't receive the items, and presumably you paid by credit card,
call the credit card company and get them to do a chargeback. HF and UPS
can sort it out amongst themselves.

>> If you didn't receive the items, and presumably you paid by credit card,
>> call the credit card company and get them to do a chargeback. HF and UPS
>> can sort it out amongst themselves.
>>
> Yeah that'll work. First thing they ask is did you order the item. you
> say yes. they say work it out with who you ordered from! Been there,
> done that.

I've had to do two chargebacks in the last 18 months with Visa. I called and
reported that I had not received the order and that the vendor was either
unhelpful or uncommunicative. Visa faxed me a form that I signed and faxed
back, and the problem was taken care of. Easy and painless.

>> All you have to do is say they refuse to work with you and you can get
>> the amount charged back to your card. It's simple.
>
> Nope. They didn't refuse. They were very cooperative just incompetent
> about returning all the money. Three packages, money for one was returned
> in two weeks, the rest dribbled. Do you suppose that it was because they
> were Dell?

I believe he was referring to the credit card company, not the vendor.

>>I can't imagine even HF sending items that had to
>>have additional insurance, without a signature confirmation/acceptance.
>
> I have had packages that said on them signature required left by UPS
> on my porch. I am almost always home and often UPS will leave
> packages on the porch without even ringing the door bell.

Same here. It has happened too many times to me. I've long since given up on
UPS, even for my business. All of my suppliers are told not to ship via UPS,
and any outgoing deliveries are sent via other couriers.

On 1/16/2005 10:40 AM US(ET), Red Neckerson took fingers to keys, and
typed the following:

>"Duane Bozarth" <[email protected]> wrote> Red Neckerson wrote:
>
>
>>>"mp" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>>news:[email protected]...
>>>
>>>
>>>>>>I can't imagine even HF sending items that had to
>>>>>>have additional insurance, without a signature
>>>>>>confirmation/acceptance.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>I have had packages that said on them signature required left by UPS
>>>>>on my porch. I am almost always home and often UPS will leave
>>>>>packages on the porch without even ringing the door bell.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>Same here. It has happened too many times to me. I've long since given
>>>>up
>>>>on UPS, even for my business. All of my suppliers are told not to ship
>>>>via
>>>>UPS, and any outgoing deliveries are sent via other couriers.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>I am GLAD they leave the packages on my porch! You know how much of a
>>>pain
>>>in the ass it is to come home and find a slip telling you that "We
>>>attempted
>>>to make a delivery" and then you have to haul ass 30 minutes away to try
>>>and
>>>pick up the package before the place closes?
>>>
>>>
>>So do I, but they (as well as the others) are instructed (and we keep
>>same drivers pretty well, fortunately) to leave stuff in the shop, not
>>out in the open. On the farm, I don't worry much...in town I'd not even
>>think of it.
>>
>>It's a lot less pita to go get or have them deliver at another time than
>>it is to follow-up on a stolen delivery...
>>
>>I guess it's a calculated risk by UPS on whether it's cheaper in the
>>long run to lose a few as compared to keeping drivers on schedule...
>>
>>
>
>Agreed.
>
>I WAS talking about home delivery. I do not think I'd want them just to
>leave a package sitting outside the door at my place of business.....
>

They are usually more service oriented towards businesses, especially if
you have a good looking secretary or receptionist that they can chat
with for a few minutes.

--
Bill

yeah, Brown let you down

and took a shit on your porch

.
>
> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!


I ordered a replacement part for one of their brad guns a few years ago.
The part arrived after about 2 weeks, when I open the box the part was
broken worse than the one I was replacing. The box was in good shape, so
it was probably broken before it was packed. After about 30 minutes on
the phone they agreed to send me another part. Two weeks later (I only
lived about 50 miles from their offices at the time) another box
arrived. This time they sent me a 7/8" impact socket instead of the
correct part. After another 1/2 hour on the phone and another week I
finally got the right part.

Rick

"Sounds like a case of misplaced anger. I've never purchased from HF,

but by your own admission, UPS is responsible for your lost items; not
HF."

I wouldn't be so quick to assume it's UPS's fault. As I posted
previously, I know I've
received UPS shipments where they would not leave it without a
signature. I believe
this is still an option, which apparently the shipper in this case
chose not to make.

Second, I think the OP's main point was not that it happened, or who's
fault it was,
but that he needs what he bought and the vendor is unwilling to do
anything to get
something to him now, even if he backs up a second order with a credit
card. Now
that is just piss poor customer service.

Oh come on!!! Lee Valley is a great vendor and provides great customer
service. But they charge a premium price for that. Harbor Freight is a
pretty crappy vendor who provides basic less than steller customer
service but charges low prices. Anybody doing business with Harbor
Freight expecting Lee Vally service is living in la-la land. Anyone
paying Lee Valley prices but getting Harbor Freight service is getting
ripped off. I think we all have a pretty good idea of what we are doing
when we buy stuff from Harbor Freight - getting cheap stuff at cheap
prices with bare bones service. I have to go now I am getting my Harbor
Freight order ready...

Dave Hall

I don't see Amazon or Dell (never bought anything from or even know
what Newegg might be) to be bottom feeder discounters like I percieve
Harbor Freight. In fact I seldom see Amazon being more that a percent
or two below local sellers and lots of folks significantly undersell
Dell. Therefore to me comparing the customer service levels of higher
priced sellers like Dell to low price sellers like HF is less than
valid.

"> If you didn't receive the items, and presumably you paid by credit
card,
> call the credit card company and get them to do a chargeback. HF and
UPS
> can sort it out amongst themselves.



Yeah that'll work. First thing they ask is did you order
the item. you say yes. they say work it out with who you
ordered from! Been there, done that."



If that was your exper with your credit card company, I'd get a new
one. I have a Citibank
Visa and they have been excellent in resolving disputes with vendors
for me both times when
I got them involved. In both cases, I got a full refund.

In this case, it's premature to get the credit card company involved,
as the vendor is not refusing
to fix it or not responding, just indicating that their half-assed
process takes a couple weeks to do it.

"Uncle" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I can't imagine even HF sending items that had to
>have additional insurance, without a signature confirmation/acceptance.

I have had packages that said on them signature required left by UPS
on my porch. I am almost always home and often UPS will leave
packages on the porch without even ringing the door bell.
--
I am TERRIBLY cruel to my cat. I tease him with a vine tendril
until he either jumps up in the air to bat at it or zooms around
in a circle until he gets too dizzy to stand up. What is cruel about
it is that I don't do it nearly as much as he wants me to.

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 01:02:09 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

Sounds to me that your problem is with UPS, not HF???

If you ship something I bought from you, and USP screws up, I'm gonna
jump on UPS, not you... YMMV

>I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
>before the Holidays.
>
>Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
>busy signals.
>
>Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
>on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
>public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
>
>Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
>the error, the customer service person offered the following non-solution:
> - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> even in stock)
>
>In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
>order.
>
>The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
>and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
>to back it up with my credit card.
>
>They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
>agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
>boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
>I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>
>If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
>Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
>can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
>I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 1:02am (EST+5) [email protected] claims:
I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
before the Holidays. <snip>
Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week <snip>

Delivered? In that short a time? Over the holidays? From Harbor
Freight?

That alone makes me not believe you..



JOAT
Success is getting what you want.
Happiness is wanting what you get.
- =A0Dale Carnegie

Had dealings with HF approx 12-15 times with no problems... I suppose there
is always a first but then again you can have problems with any company.
Heck, I have problems with cable, telephone, check out clerk, seems like the
norm now a days......
-JMHO

George E. Cawthon wrote:

> Wanta bet? That's the way it is supposed to be, but if you pay off all
> but the contested charge, they will charge interest on the contested
> charge, and then the next month when you don't pay it, they will charge
> a late fee and interest, etc. You should get it back, but in the mean
> time your credit rating goes down and the interest rate increases.

Either you need a new credit card provider, you're not in the US, or
there is more to this story.

Barry

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> before the Holidays.
>
> Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
> busy signals.
>
> Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
> on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
> public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
>
> Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
> the error, the customer service person offered the following non-solution:
> - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> even in stock)
>
> In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
> order.
>
> The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
> and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
> to back it up with my credit card.
>
> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
> I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>
> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Thgis is Turtle.

Boy Cott , you must not know how to deal with mail order tool companys. Here is
how you go at it.

1) Call them back Harbor Freight and get a tracking number from the UPS
company and check the details of the delivery. If it has been already delivered
and you did not get it for what ever reason.
1A) call Harbor freight back and cancel all order as of now. 1B) Then Call your
Credit card company and 1C) have all charges made payiable to harbor freight
cancelled. 1D) Then order the needed tool from another company or call, Harbor
Freight back and completely make another order for the needed tools but make
sure the first order is totally cancelled or don't do any business with them
till the first order is cancelled completely.

Now Harbor freight should not have charged your credit card until the day the
tools was shipped. So you should have not paid for them yet on your credit card
bill. If they have it already billed to you. you should object to paying it till
the matter is solved.

Also when ordering tools from the cheapest supplier in the business don't expect
Premium Service on problem like this.

TURTLE

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "TURTLE" <[email protected]> writes:
>> <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> Thgis is Turtle.
>>
>> Boy Cott , you must not know how to deal with mail order tool companys. Here
>> is
>> how you go at it.
>>
>> 1) Call them back Harbor Freight and get a tracking number from the UPS
>> company and check the details of the delivery. If it has been already
>> delivered
>> and you did not get it for what ever reason.
>> 1A) call Harbor freight back and cancel all order as of now. 1B) Then Call
>> your
>> Credit card company and 1C) have all charges made payiable to harbor freight
>> cancelled. 1D) Then order the needed tool from another company or call,
>> Harbor
>> Freight back and completely make another order for the needed tools but make
>> sure the first order is totally cancelled or don't do any business with them
>> till the first order is cancelled completely.
>>
>> Now Harbor freight should not have charged your credit card until the day the
>> tools was shipped. So you should have not paid for them yet on your credit
>> card
>> bill. If they have it already billed to you. you should object to paying it
>> till
>> the matter is solved.
>>
>> Also when ordering tools from the cheapest supplier in the business don't
>> expect
>> Premium Service on problem like this.
>>
>> TURTLE
>
> I agree with you about how to get money back; however, I am not really
> worried that I won't eventually get my money back or the parts
> delivere; rather, I just want to fix the problem.
>
> Other online places seem to make the extra effort to make their
> customers whole. I am not asking them to lose money or take risks
> here. Just asking them to send out another order in parallel with
> their (slow) resolution process. If they are worried about fraud risk,
> then I am happy to authorize them to charge my credit card if their
> investigation proves otherwise.
>
> They just don't seem to have any flexibility.

This is Turtle.

You pay a higher mark up on tools from other companys and this higher mark up
come better service. If you want a company with 110% quality of service don't
use the discount companys to buy tools from. When you say discount on prices
your saing your getting a discount on service that comes with it. Low Profit
margin , Discount company, Discount service, and low mark up price all go hand
and hand with each other. if you expect quality your going to have to remove
thje discount from the name of the company to get this.

Now you wanting to change a discount company's policy is right next to getting
pease on the earth without war or starving people. It will not happen !

TURTLE

I don't order too much from mail order (email order?) places because of this.
I would rather pay a little more and visit the old brick and mortar. Not only
do I get to examine stuff before I buy, but the friendly staff and a free cup
of coffee help!

Grant



Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> > agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> > boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
> You can't blame HF for the policies of UPS. Why not contact UPS yourself
> and put in a claim? Fact is, once UPS picks up the package, the title to
> the goods transfers to you. HF has no obligation to do anything.
>
> I would not buy from HF anyway, but it has nothing to do with your problem
> with UPS.

"George E. Cawthon" wrote:
>
...
> ... So, I had a large charge on my card and was
> told that I didn't have to pay it until the issue was
> resolved (even says that in the fine print), but I didn't
> believe that so I paid it. Later I found out that if I had
> not payed it, I would have been charged late fees and
> interest even if Dell did give me credit. ....

If you make a formal complaint to contest the charge, there are no fees
or interest on <that portion> of the charges.

"George E. Cawthon" wrote:
>
> Duane Bozarth wrote:
...
> > If you make a formal complaint to contest the charge, there are no fees
> > or interest on <that portion> of the charges.
>
> Wanta bet? That's the way it is supposed to be, but ...

No, that's the way it is, by law (US Fair Credit Act). But only if you
make the complaint and follow up according to the rules are they
obliged.

Here's a link to a summary of the provisions of the Act...

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/cards/crbillng.shtml#Question4

Red Neckerson wrote:
>
> "mp" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >>>I can't imagine even HF sending items that had to
> >>>have additional insurance, without a signature confirmation/acceptance.
> >>
> >> I have had packages that said on them signature required left by UPS
> >> on my porch. I am almost always home and often UPS will leave
> >> packages on the porch without even ringing the door bell.
> >
> > Same here. It has happened too many times to me. I've long since given up
> > on UPS, even for my business. All of my suppliers are told not to ship via
> > UPS, and any outgoing deliveries are sent via other couriers.
>
> I am GLAD they leave the packages on my porch! You know how much of a pain
> in the ass it is to come home and find a slip telling you that "We attempted
> to make a delivery" and then you have to haul ass 30 minutes away to try and
> pick up the package before the place closes?

So do I, but they (as well as the others) are instructed (and we keep
same drivers pretty well, fortunately) to leave stuff in the shop, not
out in the open. On the farm, I don't worry much...in town I'd not even
think of it.

It's a lot less pita to go get or have them deliver at another time than
it is to follow-up on a stolen delivery...

I guess it's a calculated risk by UPS on whether it's cheaper in the
long run to lose a few as compared to keeping drivers on schedule...

Red Neckerson wrote:
...
> I WAS talking about home delivery. I do not think I'd want them just to
> leave a package sitting outside the door at my place of business.....

I know...many places of which I'm aware, including a significant part of
town here, I'd never expect anything to last 10 minutes on a
doorstep---too many sticky-fingered kids and transients...

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> before the Holidays.
>
> Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
> busy signals.
>
> Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
> on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
> public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
>
> Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
> the error, the customer service person offered the following non-solution:
> - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> even in stock)
>
> In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
> order.
>
> The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
> and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
> to back it up with my credit card.
>
> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
> I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>
> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Easy solution....Get a post office box at a UPS store and all the deliveries
go there. They will call you and inform you if something arrives....or you
can call them to check....works for me!...Ross

[email protected] wrote:

> "Dr. Hardcrab" <[email protected]> writes:
>> You have a problem somewhere else. I have been dealing with Harbor
>> freight for over 20 years and have had no problems whatsoever. I'm
>> not saying you CAN'T have a problem with them, but it just sounds
>> like a problem with the transporter....
>
> Yes, but the test of good customer service is how they treat you when
> something goes wrong. I have had incredible experiences with Dell,
> Amazon, Lands End, Newegg, etc. If there is ever a problem, they ship
> out replacements the next day -- they don't make you wait for months.
>
> Again, I am *not* saying that the original problem is HF's fault --
> just that when something goes wrong they don't jump to correct it.
>

AFAIK, HF has nothing that cannot be purchased elsewhere. How much did
you save by buying online from HF vs say Lee Valley? Whatever you saved
they made up some portion of that savings in crappy customer service. I
have a local HF and shop there now and then for 'disposable' stuff. I'd
*never* order from them by mail or online - especially after seeing some
of their goods in the store.

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 01:14:06 GMT, "George E. Cawthon"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Nope. They didn't refuse. They were very cooperative just
>incompetent about returning all the money. Three packages,
>money for one was returned in two weeks, the rest dribbled.
>Do you suppose that it was because they were Dell?

Actually, I was talking about Harbor Freight, not Dell. The original
poster said that HF refused to help, hence my suggestion to go back to
the CC company.

Assuming that the actual company does offer to reimburse you, then
complaining to the CC company isn't the way to go.

He's not asking for your email address, just your name. What do you mean by
"or worse"?

Joe

>
>> 3. What is your real name? Anonymity does not lend credibility.
> Unfortunately, in this day and age, leaving one's real name opens one
> up to spam and worse...

<[email protected]> wrote
> Well it did happen (as per both HF and UPS).
>
> My only issue is with the strength of HF customer service not the legal
> responsibility of who is at fault (obviously UPS). I am used to online
> discounters in other areas (e.g., Amazon, Dell, Newegg) going beyond
> strictly legal minimums to help their customers. The question is how
> good a customer service experience is HF creating and whether the
> deficiencies are worth it given the "discounted" pricing...

Obviously you must already have the tracking #, otherwise UPS couldn't tell
you anything. But, you didn't mention you have the tracking #, if you don't
have it, you are being misinformed. Since the package value was over the
initial $100 insurance provided by UPS on all packages, HF should have
insured it for the value. I can't imagine even HF sending items that had to
have additional insurance, without a signature confirmation/acceptance.
Something just doesn't sound right about your experience.

mp wrote:
>>>All you have to do is say they refuse to work with you and you can get
>>>the amount charged back to your card. It's simple.
>>
>>Nope. They didn't refuse. They were very cooperative just incompetent
>>about returning all the money. Three packages, money for one was returned
>>in two weeks, the rest dribbled. Do you suppose that it was because they
>>were Dell?
>
>
> I believe he was referring to the credit card company, not the vendor.
>
>
He meant for me to tell the credit card company that the
vendor (Dell)refused to cooperate and the credit card
company would credit the amount. Nothing about that is
true! In the first place Dell was cooperating, just very
slow, and in the second place the credit card company
wouldn't get involved until I had exhausted all effort with
the vendor. So, I had a large charge on my card and was
told that I didn't have to pay it until the issue was
resolved (even says that in the fine print), but I didn't
believe that so I paid it. Later I found out that if I had
not payed it, I would have been charged late fees and
interest even if Dell did give me credit. Over a 4 month
period that would have amounted to a considerable amout
(especially since late fee charges are about $25 each month)
plus the interest rate would go up because of the late fee,
etc., etc. Resolution and getting you money back is not
always a simple matter.

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> before the Holidays.
>
> Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
> busy signals.
>
> Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
> on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
> public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
>
> Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
> the error, the customer service person offered the following non-solution:
> - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> even in stock)
>
> In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
> order.
>
> The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
> and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
> to back it up with my credit card.
>
> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
> I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>
> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

You have a problem somewhere else. I have been dealing with Harbor freight
for over 20 years and have had no problems whatsoever. I'm not saying you
CAN'T have a problem with them, but it just sounds like a problem with the
transporter....

"George E. Cawthon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> mp wrote:
> >>They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> >>agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> >>boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
> >
> >
> > If you didn't receive the items, and presumably you paid by credit card,
> > call the credit card company and get them to do a chargeback. HF and
UPS
> > can sort it out amongst themselves.
> >
> >
> >
> Yeah that'll work. First thing they ask is did you order
> the item. you say yes. they say work it out with who you
> ordered from! Been there, done that.

Not with American Express.

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

I've placed at least a dozen orders with HF over the last couple of
years. The shipping has always been faster than promised and the
items have always arrived in perfect condition. There have been
a couple of occasions where the item ordered either broke or
wasn't as promised and one call to customer service took care of
the problem on both occasions. One time my money was refunded
and the other time a replacement item was on my porch within 3
days. On both occasions the problem was solved without me
having to return the items in question and the customer service
people were as friendly as could be. The items were fairly
inexpensive, (about 10 or less). There have been other times
where the description of the items on their website was vague so
I called to get more info. They were very helpful and got me the
info as professionally as Lee Valley or any of the "High end" stores
have done for me. Try getting *that* from Amazon. Do they
even have a phone number to call? No business is going to be
perfect all the time and I've found the HF's mail order service is
just as friendly as they are at the local HF store in my town.
It's hard to believe that someone would get this worked up over
HF when the problem most likely was with UPS. It's not like HF
has refused to help. I'm sure they're very busy this time of year
and following up with UPS to make sure you're not trying to rip
them off takes time. I'm not saying you're a crook, but they do
have to take steps to keep from getting ripped off. Good luck.

Bruce

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> before the Holidays.
>
> I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>
> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences
with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next
newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

<[email protected]> wrote in message
> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)

You can't blame HF for the policies of UPS. Why not contact UPS yourself
and put in a claim? Fact is, once UPS picks up the package, the title to
the goods transfers to you. HF has no obligation to do anything.

I would not buy from HF anyway, but it has nothing to do with your problem
with UPS.

[email protected] wrote:

> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.

I had the opposite experience. I ordered a bunch of stuff. Two items were
missing from the order. I called them up, was on hold less time than
expected, and told the person the missing items. They arrived a few days
later.

> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Now that a new HF store has opened between my home & church on many Sundays
I drop in on the way home from church. ;-)

-- Mark

UPS policy is to settle with the sender so it is Harbor Freight's problem to
fix.


"David" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Sounds like a case of misplaced anger. I've never purchased from HF, but
> by your own admission, UPS is responsible for your lost items; not HF.
>
> David
>
> [email protected] wrote:
>> I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
>> before the Holidays.
>>
>> Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
>> busy signals.
>>
>> Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
>> on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
>> public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
>>
>> Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
>> the error, the customer service person offered the following
>> non-solution:
>> - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
>> - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
>> reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
>> even in stock)
>>
>> In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
>> order.
>>
>> The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
>> and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
>> to back it up with my credit card.
>>
>> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
>> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
>> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>>
>> I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>>
>> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
>> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
>> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>>
>>
>> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

I seem to recall you making a similar claim in the rec.crafts.metalworking
NG a while back Your email address seems to indicate that you have been
thinking about doing harm to HF for some time. Sorry if I am skeptical
about your claims.

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> before the Holidays.
>
> Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
> busy signals.
>
> Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
> on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
> public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
>
> Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
> the error, the customer service person offered the following non-solution:
> - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> even in stock)
>
> In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
> order.
>
> The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
> and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
> to back it up with my credit card.
>
> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
> I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>
> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> [email protected] writes:
> > yeah, Brown let you down
> >
> > and took a shit on your porch
>
> They did but Harbor Freight who "contracted" with them as their agent
> is not doing anything to rectify...

Haven't looked at their shipping terms, but it wouldn't surprise me if
they were shipping FOB their warehouse -- as soon as it leaves their
dock, it's yours, not theirs, and straightening out shipping losses is
up to you. Dirt cheap discounting includes the service.

--
[email protected] is Joshua Putnam
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/>
Updated Bicycle Touring Books List:
<http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/tourbooks.html>

<[email protected]> wrote

<rant snipped>

Simply ask HF for the UPS tracking #, UPS provides tracking #'s on all
packages. You punch the # in online and it shows every place the package
has been. This way you will be able to tell if it was even shipped. Then
you can go from there instead of ranting about something that may or may not
have happened, and if HF is pulling your joint.

Mark & Juanita wrote:
> On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 23:27:23 GMT, "George E. Cawthon"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Duane Bozarth wrote:
>>
>>>"George E. Cawthon" wrote:
>>>
>>>...
>>>
>>>
>>>>... So, I had a large charge on my card and was
>>>>told that I didn't have to pay it until the issue was
>>>>resolved (even says that in the fine print), but I didn't
>>>>believe that so I paid it. Later I found out that if I had
>>>>not payed it, I would have been charged late fees and
>>>>interest even if Dell did give me credit. ....
>>>
>>>
>>>If you make a formal complaint to contest the charge, there are no fees
>>>or interest on <that portion> of the charges.
>>
>>Wanta bet? That's the way it is supposed to be, but if you
>>pay off all but the contested charge, they will charge
>>interest on the contested charge, and then the next month
>>when you don't pay it, they will charge a late fee and
>>interest, etc. You should get it back, but in the mean time
>>your credit rating goes down and the interest rate
>>increases. And you may not get it back and sure as hell the
>>credit rating and the interest rate won't change back. In
>>my case, one of the personnel flatly told me that I would
>>not get the interest and the late charges reversed.
>>
>
>
> So? If you have a disputed charge -- pay the full amount to the CC
> company, the amount is still in dispute and should you prevail, you will
> have a credit. If the adjudication crosses billing periods, you will not
> have to worry about interest or late charges, and if your case is refused,
> you won't have late charges or interest added to your account as you would
> if you had not paid the amount.
>
>
>
>
> +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
>
> Now we'll just use some glue to hold things in place until the brads dry
>
> +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Right that is what I did. The only problem is when you need
an item right away, you pay for the one in dispute and buy
another. In my case that meant making a check out twice for
about $2,000. I had the money so it wasn't a big problem
that I didn't get all of my original $2000 back for 3
months. For someone on tight finances it could be difficult.

[email protected] wrote:
>"Uncle" <[email protected]> writes:

>> Simply ask HF for the UPS tracking #, UPS provides tracking #'s
>> on all packages. You punch the # in online and it shows every
>> place the package has been.

Unfortunately, that might not be true anymore. My package UPS
tracking shows arrival at some faraway state and the delivery date
is tomorrow. That happened with my last UPS delivery also. Customer
service said that is normal.

>I am used to online discounters in other areas (e.g., Amazon, Dell,
>Newegg) going beyond strictly legal minimums to help their
>customers. The question is how good a customer service experience
>is HF creating and whether the deficiencies are worth it given the
>"discounted" pricing...

Not all online stores are the same. Since you depend on delivery and
not just picking the item off of the shelf, delivery is critical.
Place more emphasis on familiarity with the online store,
specifically shipping, and a little less on the price. Better luck
next time.

You know, someone needed to change this topic to UPS POOR SERVICE, as
this definitely is NOT a HF issue, but instead is a UPS issue

John

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 17:55:53 -0800, Daniel Prince
<[email protected]> wrote:

>"Uncle" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I can't imagine even HF sending items that had to
>>have additional insurance, without a signature confirmation/acceptance.
>
>I have had packages that said on them signature required left by UPS
>on my porch. I am almost always home and often UPS will leave
>packages on the porch without even ringing the door bell.

Let's deconstruct this:
1. The order was placed just before the holidays, the busiest shipping
period of the year.
2. Items arrived last week, about 2 weeks after they were ordered.
3. They were placed on the porch, but you did not notice them, or were not
told they were there.
4. Harbor Freight will follow up with UPS, but their policy requires
another 8-10 days to confirm with UPS and perhaps place a claim.
5. HF will reorder and redeliver, but it will take another 10-14 days,
perhaps because they must get satisfaction from UPS that the items were
damaged by UPS delivering them to the wrong place.

Questions:
1. Does UPS usually deliver things to your porch, or someplace else?
2. Why is it HF's policy to wait 8-10 days. Because they get fraudulent
claims and take time to verify them?
3. What is your real name? Anonymity does not lend credibility.

Bob


<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> before the Holidays.
>
> Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
> busy signals.
>
> Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
> on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
> public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
>
> Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
> the error, the customer service person offered the following non-solution:
> - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> even in stock)
>
> In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
> order.
>
> The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
> and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
> to back it up with my credit card.
>
> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
> I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>
> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

"John" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You know, someone needed to change this topic to UPS POOR SERVICE, as
> this definitely is NOT a HF issue, but instead is a UPS issue

No, what "they" need to do is drop it, PERIOD!

It's getting old and lame......like me......

buck wrote:
> Had dealings with HF approx 12-15 times with no problems... I suppose there
> is always a first but then again you can have problems with any company.
> Heck, I have problems with cable, telephone, check out clerk, seems like the
> norm now a days......
> -JMHO
>
>
>
>
Hi,
I often feel like i serve them not the other way around.
Hellooooo, good old days.
Tony

"mp" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>>>I can't imagine even HF sending items that had to
>>>have additional insurance, without a signature confirmation/acceptance.
>>
>> I have had packages that said on them signature required left by UPS
>> on my porch. I am almost always home and often UPS will leave
>> packages on the porch without even ringing the door bell.
>
> Same here. It has happened too many times to me. I've long since given up
> on UPS, even for my business. All of my suppliers are told not to ship via
> UPS, and any outgoing deliveries are sent via other couriers.

I am GLAD they leave the packages on my porch! You know how much of a pain
in the ass it is to come home and find a slip telling you that "We attempted
to make a delivery" and then you have to haul ass 30 minutes away to try and
pick up the package before the place closes?

I bought a PVC 1/4" air line from HF. It lasted 6 minutes before it
ruptured at about 100 PSI. What a POS product.

i

Ignoramus1946 wrote:

> I bought a PVC 1/4" air line from HF. It lasted 6 minutes before it
> ruptured at about 100 PSI. What a POS product.
>
> i

I 2nd & 3rd that. They opened here a while back, and I'd been avoiding going
there, 'cause I knew most (probably all) of their stuff is cheap import crap.
Finally couldn't resist, and bought a muffler pipe expander. It was
a only $15, and figured I'd try 'em, and hey, if it worked only once, I'd
win. Stripped the treads on it the very 1st time I tried to use it.
And I was using only hand tools, and was heating the pipe to a cherry red
before trying to expand it and before inserting the expander. Repaired
it by using a long grade 5 bolt & nut. The original compression bolt was
made from very soft metal. Should take the whole damn thing back, but I
won't bother for $15. Another thing I will not take back is myself.

Won't go there again, I hope.
I M...U...S...T R...E...S...I...S...T, M....U...S...T RESIST!
Buyer beware.

Thanks, Steve

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 04:48:57 GMT, Phisherman <[email protected]> wrote:

>I would probably not order from Harbor Freight, but I do visit their
>store once a year for cheap unusual items. Your waiting time is
>unacceptable. My last bad experience with customer service (10 years
>ago) was with Burlington Coat Factory where I avoid shopping.
>Thankfully, I have not had any bad experiences ordering tools. Before
>ordering, I check a few web sites and check out www.epinons.com where
>you may want to share your experience.
>
>
>On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 01:02:09 GMT, [email protected] wrote:
>
>>I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
>>before the Holidays.
>>
>>Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
>>busy signals.
>>
><snip>

I order from HF online almost every month... gets here sooner than
they say it will and everything in good shape...
My only problem with them is that they don't automatically give you
tracking info, you have to call them to get it.. no problem..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Dave Hall wrote:
> Oh come on!!! Lee Valley is a great vendor and provides great customer
> service. But they charge a premium price for that. Harbor Freight is a
> pretty crappy vendor who provides basic less than steller customer
> service but charges low prices.

If HF wasn't making a decent profit, they wouldn't have lasted as long
as they have. Some HF items are probably throwaway on a wholesale
level. Major shippers have good access to the right local people at
their shipper. They can choose to insure the package for extremely low
costs, but often choose to self insure.

I've also received stellar problem solving service from Tower Hobbies, a
deep discount, mail order supplier. We can toss Lee Valley out and
compare to tower, if you'd like. The one reship I needed from them was
$30 of balsa wood. Based on a $15 wholesale cost, the box, labor, and
the additional shipping charges, they probably lost money in an attempt
to keep me happy. But they did it.

At typical Chinese factory prices, HF probably runs at a HIGHER margin
than Lee Valley! My wife has actually gotten good service from a vendor
called "Oriental Trading Post" who sells crap that literally costs less
than a penny retail. <G>

Barry

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 02:20:59 GMT, blueman <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>Agreed (we just moved into the neighborhood)... but still Harbor
>Freight seems to be doing the bare minimum (at most) to resolve this
>situation.

And he paid the bare minimum he could. Sounds symmetrical
to me :-)

[email protected] wrote:
> "> If you didn't receive the items, and presumably you paid by credit
> card,
>
>>call the credit card company and get them to do a chargeback. HF and
>
> UPS
>
>>can sort it out amongst themselves.
>
>
>
>
> Yeah that'll work. First thing they ask is did you order
> the item. you say yes. they say work it out with who you
> ordered from! Been there, done that."
>
>
>
> If that was your exper with your credit card company, I'd get a new
> one. I have a Citibank
> Visa and they have been excellent in resolving disputes with vendors
> for me both times when
> I got them involved. In both cases, I got a full refund.
>
> In this case, it's premature to get the credit card company involved,
> as the vendor is not refusing
> to fix it or not responding, just indicating that their half-assed
> process takes a couple weeks to do it.
>

I related my experience to several other card suppliers and
each said they would do the same thing. First you put the
dispute in writing to the card company, but you can't do
that until you 30 days after you tried resolving with the
screw up company. Glad your experience was good, I was just
grateful that I got all my money back after nearly 4 months
an inch of letters numerous e-mails, and telephone calls
to idiots that knew nothing. But then, I'll never purchase
anything from Dell again.

blueman wrote:
> Tony Hwang <[email protected]> writes:
>
>>Hi,
>>IMO, your local UPS delivery person made a mistake not HF.
>>Tony
>
>
> Agreed... but Harbor Freight has contracted with UPS as their agent
> and therefore morally and legally bears responsibility for making
> things right.
>
> I never said that HF is doing anything illegal... just that their
> resolution policy is not customer friendly and puts all the burden on
> the customer.

For what it's worth...

I had an order totally obliterated by FedEx Ground. My package even
contained things that weren't mine, such as, GET THIS, a spray can of
pure silicone. Just what I want in a wood shop! <G>

After contacting a very nice person at customer service, the order was
reshipped that day via a different carrier, and a call tag was sent for
the damaged package.

Oh, that was Lee Valley. <G>

I've had a similar experience with Tower Hobbies after UPS destroyed a 4
foot long box of balsa wood. Tower TOTALLY took the ball back, ran with
it, and provided me with a satisfactory ball.

UPS was chosen by Harbor Freight to deliver the package, it's up to HF
to make good on the deal and then take it up with their subcontractor.
I had a similar negative experience when asking HF to follow up on a
long overdue package.

Barry

Notify your charge card company that the goods have not shown up and ask for
a charge back. That will get Harbor Freights attention.


<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> before the Holidays.
>
> Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
> busy signals.
>
> Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
> on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
> public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
>
> Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
> the error, the customer service person offered the following non-solution:
> - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> even in stock)
>
> In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
> order.
>
> The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
> and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
> to back it up with my credit card.
>
> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
> I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>
> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 00:03:06 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

>"Dave Hall" <[email protected]> writes:
>> I don't see Amazon or Dell (never bought anything from or even know
>> what Newegg might be) to be bottom feeder discounters like I percieve
>> Harbor Freight. In fact I seldom see Amazon being more that a percent
>> or two below local sellers and lots of folks significantly undersell
>> Dell. Therefore to me comparing the customer service levels of higher
>> priced sellers like Dell to low price sellers like HF is less than
>> valid.
>
>Newegg is a low price computer & consumer electronics vendor with a
>stellar reputation for customer service.

Correction. Check pricewatch.com Newegg has good prices but they are
higher than most of their on-line competitors. They also have MUCH better
service than many of the others and they are well worth every penny they
charge, but they are not in the "harbor Freight" category pricewise.

Check resellerratings.com and you will see the difference.

>
>I regularly find that sale prices at Amazon and Dell are the same or
>better than the lowest priced (non-gray market) competitor. For Dell,
>there are 10-25% off sales nearly every day.

"Uncle" <[email protected]> writes:
> <[email protected]> wrote
>
> <rant snipped>
>
> Simply ask HF for the UPS tracking #, UPS provides tracking #'s on all
> packages. You punch the # in online and it shows every place the package
> has been. This way you will be able to tell if it was even shipped. Then
> you can go from there instead of ranting about something that may or may not
> have happened, and if HF is pulling your joint.

Well it did happen (as per both HF and UPS).

My only issue is with the strength of HF customer service not the legal
responsibility of who is at fault (obviously UPS). I am used to online
discounters in other areas (e.g., Amazon, Dell, Newegg) going beyond
strictly legal minimums to help their customers. The question is how
good a customer service experience is HF creating and whether the
deficiencies are worth it given the "discounted" pricing...

"Bob Schmall" <[email protected]> writes:

> Let's deconstruct this:
> 1. The order was placed just before the holidays, the busiest shipping
> period of the year.
> 2. Items arrived last week, about 2 weeks after they were ordered.
> 3. They were placed on the porch, but you did not notice them, or were not
> told they were there.
> 4. Harbor Freight will follow up with UPS, but their policy requires
> another 8-10 days to confirm with UPS and perhaps place a claim.
> 5. HF will reorder and redeliver, but it will take another 10-14 days,
> perhaps because they must get satisfaction from UPS that the items were
> damaged by UPS delivering them to the wrong place.
>
> Questions:
> 1. Does UPS usually deliver things to your porch, or someplace else?
We just moved to the neighborhood. So I don't know

> 2. Why is it HF's policy to wait 8-10 days. Because they get fraudulent
> claims and take time to verify them?
Could be... but I offered to leave a credit card guarantee. Most other
companies seem to be satisfied with that and don't wait for the
situation to be fully resolved before trying to help the customer.

> 3. What is your real name? Anonymity does not lend credibility.
Unfortunately, in this day and age, leaving one's real name opens one
up to spam and worse...

> Bob
>
>
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> > before the Holidays.
> >
> > Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
> > busy signals.
> >
> > Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
> > on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
> > public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
> >
> > Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
> > the error, the customer service person offered the following non-solution:
> > - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> > - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> > reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> > even in stock)
> >
> > In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
> > order.
> >
> > The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
> > and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
> > to back it up with my credit card.
> >
> > They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> > agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> > boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
> >
> > I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
> >
> > If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> > Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> > can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
> >
> >
> > I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

"Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> writes:

> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> > agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> > boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
> You can't blame HF for the policies of UPS. Why not contact UPS yourself
> and put in a claim? Fact is, once UPS picks up the package, the title to
> the goods transfers to you. HF has no obligation to do anything.

I am not sure that that is true legally.
But in any case, I am not talking about the legal issue but about the
customer service issue.

They don't seem to have any interest in helping the customer even when
there is a way to do so at minimal cost or risk (e.g., using my credit
card as a guarantee on a reship).

In fact, if they thought about this right the cost of dealing with
multiple customer service calls (at ~$3/hour fully loaded) plus the
bad faith created is more expensive than the minimal cost and risk of
resending now (secured by a credit card) with possibly expedited
shipping (at UPS's cost).

Such treatment would earn them real kudos since as I have said
multiple times, I don't blame them for the initial loss (I fault only
the "discretion" of the UPS guy who apparantly has the authority to
use his "discretion" -- i.e. laziness -- to decide to leave the
package outside). Rather, I only blame them for not trying to come up
with a more helpful and flexible resolution.

>
> I would not buy from HF anyway, but it has nothing to do with your problem
> with UPS.

"Greg O" <[email protected]> writes:
> UPS's problem for sure!
> Next time have it delivered to a more secure lacation, next door neihbor
> perhaps.
> Greg

Agreed (we just moved into the neighborhood)... but still Harbor
Freight seems to be doing the bare minimum (at most) to resolve this
situation.

"TURTLE" <[email protected]> writes:
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> Thgis is Turtle.
>
> Boy Cott , you must not know how to deal with mail order tool companys. Here is
> how you go at it.
>
> 1) Call them back Harbor Freight and get a tracking number from the UPS
> company and check the details of the delivery. If it has been already delivered
> and you did not get it for what ever reason.
> 1A) call Harbor freight back and cancel all order as of now. 1B) Then Call your
> Credit card company and 1C) have all charges made payiable to harbor freight
> cancelled. 1D) Then order the needed tool from another company or call, Harbor
> Freight back and completely make another order for the needed tools but make
> sure the first order is totally cancelled or don't do any business with them
> till the first order is cancelled completely.
>
> Now Harbor freight should not have charged your credit card until the day the
> tools was shipped. So you should have not paid for them yet on your credit card
> bill. If they have it already billed to you. you should object to paying it till
> the matter is solved.
>
> Also when ordering tools from the cheapest supplier in the business don't expect
> Premium Service on problem like this.
>
> TURTLE

I agree with you about how to get money back; however, I am not really
worried that I won't eventually get my money back or the parts
delivere; rather, I just want to fix the problem.

Other online places seem to make the extra effort to make their
customers whole. I am not asking them to lose money or take risks
here. Just asking them to send out another order in parallel with
their (slow) resolution process. If they are worried about fraud risk,
then I am happy to authorize them to charge my credit card if their
investigation proves otherwise.

They just don't seem to have any flexibility.

[email protected] writes:
> yeah, Brown let you down
>
> and took a shit on your porch

They did but Harbor Freight who "contracted" with them as their agent
is not doing anything to rectify...

"Dave Hall" <[email protected]> writes:
> I don't see Amazon or Dell (never bought anything from or even know
> what Newegg might be) to be bottom feeder discounters like I percieve
> Harbor Freight. In fact I seldom see Amazon being more that a percent
> or two below local sellers and lots of folks significantly undersell
> Dell. Therefore to me comparing the customer service levels of higher
> priced sellers like Dell to low price sellers like HF is less than
> valid.

Newegg is a low price computer & consumer electronics vendor with a
stellar reputation for customer service.

I regularly find that sale prices at Amazon and Dell are the same or
better than the lowest priced (non-gray market) competitor. For Dell,
there are 10-25% off sales nearly every day.

"Dr. Hardcrab" <[email protected]> writes:
> You have a problem somewhere else. I have been dealing with Harbor freight
> for over 20 years and have had no problems whatsoever. I'm not saying you
> CAN'T have a problem with them, but it just sounds like a problem with the
> transporter....

Yes, but the test of good customer service is how they treat you when
something goes wrong. I have had incredible experiences with Dell,
Amazon, Lands End, Newegg, etc. If there is ever a problem, they ship
out replacements the next day -- they don't make you wait for months.

Again, I am *not* saying that the original problem is HF's fault --
just that when something goes wrong they don't jump to correct it.

Tony Hwang <[email protected]> writes:
> Hi,
> IMO, your local UPS delivery person made a mistake not HF.
> Tony

Agreed... but Harbor Freight has contracted with UPS as their agent
and therefore morally and legally bears responsibility for making
things right.

I never said that HF is doing anything illegal... just that their
resolution policy is not customer friendly and puts all the burden on
the customer.

Amazon, Dell, Newegg etc. first try to make the customer whole and
don't set up absurdly long delay periods to resolve a situation that
is not the customer's fault.

The Harbor Freight policy is only adding insult and injury to injury...

"Kelly Jones" <[email protected]> writes:
> I seem to recall you making a similar claim in the rec.crafts.metalworking
> NG a while back Your email address seems to indicate that you have been
> thinking about doing harm to HF for some time. Sorry if I am skeptical
> about your claims.

Have never even visited rec.crafts.metalworking and have no interest
in metalworking. Try again...

Joshua Putnam <[email protected]> writes:
> Haven't looked at their shipping terms, but it wouldn't surprise me if
> they were shipping FOB their warehouse -- as soon as it leaves their
> dock, it's yours, not theirs, and straightening out shipping losses is
> up to you. Dirt cheap discounting includes the service.

Well, that is all I was saying... maybe HF's discount is not worth the
lack of *effective* customer service.

On the other hand in other industries, players like Dell, Amazon,
Buy.com, and Newegg all offer rock-bottom-pricing and high quality
service.

Heck, it constantly amazes me how even the "super saver" or "free"
shipping from Dell and Amazon often arrives after only a day or two.

"buck" <[email protected]> writes:

> Had dealings with HF approx 12-15 times with no problems... I suppose there
> is always a first but then again you can have problems with any company.
> Heck, I have problems with cable, telephone, check out clerk, seems like the
> norm now a days......
> -JMHO

The measure of good customer service is what happens when something
goes *wrong* and not when it goes right.

When I spoke with the customer service supervisor, he mentioned that
they get a "large" number of better business bureau complaints
regarding their service policies.

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 02:22:58 GMT, blueman <[email protected]> wrote:

>> 2. Why is it HF's policy to wait 8-10 days. Because they get fraudulent
>> claims and take time to verify them?
>Could be... but I offered to leave a credit card guarantee. Most other
> companies seem to be satisfied with that and don't wait for the
> situation to be fully resolved before trying to help the customer.


That gives rise to the question, "how often does this happen?" If it
happened to me once I would arrange for packages to go to work or a
neighbor who is home after that.


- -

DL

http://www.geocities.com/dicklong14_ca/fanclub.htm

>> Evidently your buddy Cedeño is a bastard.
>>
>
>First of all, Cedeño is not my buddy.

::::::::::::::::


Halter Sucks!

[email protected] wrote:
> I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> before the Holidays.
>
> Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
> busy signals.
>
> Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
> on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
> public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
>
> Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
> the error, the customer service person offered the following non-solution:
> - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> even in stock)
>
> In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
> order.
>
> The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
> and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
> to back it up with my credit card.
>
> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
> I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>
> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!
Hi,
IMO, your local UPS delivery person made a mistake not HF.
Tony

"Uncle" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I can't imagine even HF sending items that had to
>have additional insurance, without a signature confirmation/acceptance.

I have had packages that said on them signature required left by UPS
on my porch. I am almost always home and often UPS will leave
packages on the porch without even ringing the door bell.
--
I am TERRIBLY cruel to my cat. I tease him with a vine tendril
until he either jumps up in the air to bat at it or zooms around
in a circle until he gets too dizzy to stand up. What is cruel about
it is that I don't do it nearly as much as he wants me to.


----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups
---= East/West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---

I would probably not order from Harbor Freight, but I do visit their
store once a year for cheap unusual items. Your waiting time is
unacceptable. My last bad experience with customer service (10 years
ago) was with Burlington Coat Factory where I avoid shopping.
Thankfully, I have not had any bad experiences ordering tools. Before
ordering, I check a few web sites and check out www.epinons.com where
you may want to share your experience.


On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 01:02:09 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

>I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
>before the Holidays.
>
>Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
>busy signals.
>
<snip>

I have ordered various things from them from time to time with some
slight problems. They had always rectified it until the last time 3
months ago. I ordered a huge silver tarp. It never showed. After 2
months of waiting they told me to wait another week or 2. I tried to get
it resolved over and over. According to UPS it was never picked up.
According to HF it was UPS's problem. UPS wouldn't take a claim since
they didn't pick up the package. HF wouldn't ...UPS wouldn't...
I called my credit card company and refused to pay the $120. Then I
called HF back and tried to work it with them again. I finally got them
to send another, and when I received it they were paid. I never did
receive the original. I am wary about ordering again after all the times
they did stand behind their stuff, this time they really pushed me too far.

Bruce wrote:
> I've placed at least a dozen orders with HF over the last couple of
> years. The shipping has always been faster than promised and the
> items have always arrived in perfect condition. There have been
> a couple of occasions where the item ordered either broke or
> wasn't as promised and one call to customer service took care of
> the problem on both occasions. One time my money was refunded
> and the other time a replacement item was on my porch within 3
> days. On both occasions the problem was solved without me
> having to return the items in question and the customer service
> people were as friendly as could be. The items were fairly
> inexpensive, (about 10 or less). There have been other times
> where the description of the items on their website was vague so
> I called to get more info. They were very helpful and got me the
> info as professionally as Lee Valley or any of the "High end" stores
> have done for me. Try getting *that* from Amazon. Do they
> even have a phone number to call? No business is going to be
> perfect all the time and I've found the HF's mail order service is
> just as friendly as they are at the local HF store in my town.
> It's hard to believe that someone would get this worked up over
> HF when the problem most likely was with UPS. It's not like HF
> has refused to help. I'm sure they're very busy this time of year
> and following up with UPS to make sure you're not trying to rip
> them off takes time. I'm not saying you're a crook, but they do
> have to take steps to keep from getting ripped off. Good luck.
>
> Bruce
>
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
>>before the Holidays.
>>
>>I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>>
>>If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences
>
> with
>
>>Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next
>
> newbie
>
>>can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>>
>>
>>I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!
>
>
>

blueman wrote:

> "Greg O" <[email protected]> writes:
>
>>UPS's problem for sure!
>>Next time have it delivered to a more secure lacation, next door neihbor
>>perhaps.
>>Greg
>
>
> Agreed (we just moved into the neighborhood)... but still Harbor
> Freight seems to be doing the bare minimum (at most) to resolve this
> situation.


Yep, that's why I never have anything other than US mail delivered to
our home. UPS does the same thing to us (also in New England.) anytime
they deliver to us during the week, 'cause we spend more time at the
business than at home.

All my HF shipments and anyting else too big to fit in our mailbox goes
to our office.

Certainly HF isn't bending over backwards to help you, but that these
days you never get more than you pay for, and you're often lucky to get
even as much as you pay for. Don't expect to get Tiffany style treatment
at a flea market.

Jeff (Who once got so pissed at UPS he filed a small claims suit against
their local business presence --- That got the problem fixed quickly.)

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"

"Duane Bozarth" <[email protected]> wrote> Red Neckerson wrote:
>>
>> "mp" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> >>>I can't imagine even HF sending items that had to
>> >>>have additional insurance, without a signature
>> >>>confirmation/acceptance.
>> >>
>> >> I have had packages that said on them signature required left by UPS
>> >> on my porch. I am almost always home and often UPS will leave
>> >> packages on the porch without even ringing the door bell.
>> >
>> > Same here. It has happened too many times to me. I've long since given
>> > up
>> > on UPS, even for my business. All of my suppliers are told not to ship
>> > via
>> > UPS, and any outgoing deliveries are sent via other couriers.
>>
>> I am GLAD they leave the packages on my porch! You know how much of a
>> pain
>> in the ass it is to come home and find a slip telling you that "We
>> attempted
>> to make a delivery" and then you have to haul ass 30 minutes away to try
>> and
>> pick up the package before the place closes?
>
> So do I, but they (as well as the others) are instructed (and we keep
> same drivers pretty well, fortunately) to leave stuff in the shop, not
> out in the open. On the farm, I don't worry much...in town I'd not even
> think of it.
>
> It's a lot less pita to go get or have them deliver at another time than
> it is to follow-up on a stolen delivery...
>
> I guess it's a calculated risk by UPS on whether it's cheaper in the
> long run to lose a few as compared to keeping drivers on schedule...

Agreed.

I WAS talking about home delivery. I do not think I'd want them just to
leave a package sitting outside the door at my place of business.....

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 00:59:10 GMT, "George E. Cawthon"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Yeah that'll work. First thing they ask is did you order
>the item. you say yes. they say work it out with who you
>ordered from! Been there, done that.

All you have to do is say they refuse to work with you and you can get
the amount charged back to your card. It's simple.

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 04:11:51 GMT, Tony Hwang <[email protected]> wrote:

>Hi,
>I often feel like i serve them not the other way around.
>Hellooooo, good old days.
>Tony


In the "good old days" the price people paid included
a higher markup. And "compensation" to high-end
executives wasn't out of line with the people doing the
actual work.

Sounds like a case of misplaced anger. I've never purchased from HF,
but by your own admission, UPS is responsible for your lost items; not HF.

David

[email protected] wrote:
> I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> before the Holidays.
>
> Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
> busy signals.
>
> Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
> on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
> public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
>
> Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
> the error, the customer service person offered the following non-solution:
> - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> even in stock)
>
> In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
> order.
>
> The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
> and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
> to back it up with my credit card.
>
> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
> I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>
> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 23:27:23 GMT, "George E. Cawthon"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Duane Bozarth wrote:
>> "George E. Cawthon" wrote:
>>
>> ...
>>
>>>... So, I had a large charge on my card and was
>>>told that I didn't have to pay it until the issue was
>>>resolved (even says that in the fine print), but I didn't
>>>believe that so I paid it. Later I found out that if I had
>>>not payed it, I would have been charged late fees and
>>>interest even if Dell did give me credit. ....
>>
>>
>> If you make a formal complaint to contest the charge, there are no fees
>> or interest on <that portion> of the charges.
>
>Wanta bet? That's the way it is supposed to be, but if you
>pay off all but the contested charge, they will charge
>interest on the contested charge, and then the next month
>when you don't pay it, they will charge a late fee and
>interest, etc. You should get it back, but in the mean time
>your credit rating goes down and the interest rate
>increases. And you may not get it back and sure as hell the
>credit rating and the interest rate won't change back. In
>my case, one of the personnel flatly told me that I would
>not get the interest and the late charges reversed.
>

So? If you have a disputed charge -- pay the full amount to the CC
company, the amount is still in dispute and should you prevail, you will
have a credit. If the adjudication crosses billing periods, you will not
have to worry about interest or late charges, and if your case is refused,
you won't have late charges or interest added to your account as you would
if you had not paid the amount.




+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Now we'll just use some glue to hold things in place until the brads dry

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Dr. Hardcrab" <[email protected]> writes:
>> You have a problem somewhere else. I have been dealing with Harbor
>> freight
>> for over 20 years and have had no problems whatsoever. I'm not saying you
>> CAN'T have a problem with them, but it just sounds like a problem with
>> the
>> transporter....
>
> Yes, but the test of good customer service is how they treat you when
> something goes wrong. I have had incredible experiences with Dell,
> Amazon, Lands End, Newegg, etc. If there is ever a problem, they ship
> out replacements the next day -- they don't make you wait for months.
>
> Again, I am *not* saying that the original problem is HF's fault --
> just that when something goes wrong they don't jump to correct it.

So this pissed you off so much that you had to go on a vengeance campaign by
posting your name as boycott@harborfreight,com and telling the world not to
buy anything from them just because they didn't jump up and kiss your ass??

You need to get a f*cking life, loser......

Duane Bozarth wrote:
> "George E. Cawthon" wrote:
>
> ...
>
>>... So, I had a large charge on my card and was
>>told that I didn't have to pay it until the issue was
>>resolved (even says that in the fine print), but I didn't
>>believe that so I paid it. Later I found out that if I had
>>not payed it, I would have been charged late fees and
>>interest even if Dell did give me credit. ....
>
>
> If you make a formal complaint to contest the charge, there are no fees
> or interest on <that portion> of the charges.

Wanta bet? That's the way it is supposed to be, but if you
pay off all but the contested charge, they will charge
interest on the contested charge, and then the next month
when you don't pay it, they will charge a late fee and
interest, etc. You should get it back, but in the mean time
your credit rating goes down and the interest rate
increases. And you may not get it back and sure as hell the
credit rating and the interest rate won't change back. In
my case, one of the personnel flatly told me that I would
not get the interest and the late charges reversed.

But enough of this, that's my story. Others may have had
better responses from their credit card company. I no
longer trust a credit card. I use to also trust the legal
system until I sat in a traffic court (and other small legal
wrangles) for several hours on different days. What I saw
of the various judges, lying to and misleading defendants
about what they (the judge) might do, ruined whatever faith
I ever had in the courts. And of course the county public
defenders, were no help at all to the defendant. BTW, I'm
talking about cases where the defendant may have done
something illegal but very minor and was no threat to anyone
except maybe some policeman(woman)'s macho image. Oh, well,
better leave that one alone.

"Steve" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Ignoramus1946 wrote:
>
> > I bought a PVC 1/4" air line from HF. It lasted 6 minutes before it
> > ruptured at about 100 PSI. What a POS product.
> >
> > i
>
> I 2nd & 3rd that. They opened here a while back, and I'd been avoiding
going
> there, 'cause I knew most (probably all) of their stuff is cheap import
crap.
> Finally couldn't resist, and bought a muffler pipe expander. It was
> a only $15, and figured I'd try 'em, and hey, if it worked only once, I'd
> win. Stripped the treads on it the very 1st time I tried to use it.
> And I was using only hand tools, and was heating the pipe to a cherry red
> before trying to expand it and before inserting the expander. Repaired
> it by using a long grade 5 bolt & nut. The original compression bolt was
> made from very soft metal. Should take the whole damn thing back, but I
> won't bother for $15. Another thing I will not take back is myself.
>
> Won't go there again, I hope.
> I M...U...S...T R...E...S...I...S...T, M....U...S...T RESIST!
> Buyer beware.
>

There is some pure junk on their shelves, that's for sure. On the other
hand, I've bought some stuff there that was a really good buy. Bulk nylon
rope - can't beat the price. I bought 600 feet for $9.00. Body tools - I
bought a slap spoon there for under $10 and have used the hell out of it.
Air hose - I bought 3/8 Goodyear hose there for 1/2 the price of places
around here. Works just like a decent air hose should. Grinder wheels,
wire wheels, cutoff wheels - all a fraction of the price other places and
they are perfectly fine wheels. Clamps - both woodworking and body clamps -
much cheaper and they work. Braising rod - a hell of a lot cheaper at HF.
Digital micrometer and dial indicator - both a good buy there. Jack
stands - the best buy around. There's plenty of stuff that you can buy at
HF and save a ton of money compared to other places. You just have to know
what you're looking for and how to recognize junk, and be a little selective
in what you spend your money on there.

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

mp wrote:
>>They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
>>agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
>>boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
>
> If you didn't receive the items, and presumably you paid by credit card,
> call the credit card company and get them to do a chargeback. HF and UPS
> can sort it out amongst themselves.
>
>
>
Yeah that'll work. First thing they ask is did you order
the item. you say yes. they say work it out with who you
ordered from! Been there, done that.

I have two driveways - the one on the right goes up a significant incline to
the main level garage. There is a sidewalk from this driveway to my front
door. The one on the left goes to the lower garage under the house where my
shop is located. It is somewhat hidden by a 9 foot tall brick wall that
swoops from the drive over to the house. There is no obvious entrance to
the house here - only a double garage door and a single entry door.

The UPS driver consistently leaves packages at the lower driveway door.
Last summer, a box of Indian River fruit that was sent by a friend
unannounced sat in the hot deep south sun for three days before we found it.
Every package they deliver goes down there. Last week, $250 worth of drawer
slides sat out in the pouring rain all night because we didn't know they
were there. (Thanks WW Warehouse, for the very fast delivery!). On the
other hand, Fedex consistently goes to the front porch. He parks on the
street and walks UP the driveway.

We've called and complained. We put a note on the door. Doesn't matter.
Me thinks the driver goes to the left side because the driveway is flat and
he can pull right up to the door. On the right, he isn't going to make a
tight right turn and uphill grade because he'll have to back out. Plus, on
the right, he has to get out of the truck and actually carry the package to
the front door or side door that we use. Imagine how heavy a box of 24
drawer slides must weigh.

G-g-g-r-r-r-r-h-h-h-h.



<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I made the mistake of placing a $300+ order with Harbor Freight just
> before the Holidays.
>
> Items never arrived. I tried calling customer service but got repeated
> busy signals.
>
> Finally, today, I was told that item was delivered last week and left
> on the "porch" -- the porch however is in clear open view to the
> public and covered in snow.. (we live in northern New England)
>
> Rather than take responsibility for it and attempt to quickly correct
> the error, the customer service person offered the following non-solution:
> - Wait another 8-10 business days for them to follow up with UPS
> - Then, order again and wait another 10-14 days for item to be
> reordered and redelivered (assuming of course that items are still
> even in stock)
>
> In all (at best) it will take more than 2 months for them to fulfill my
> order.
>
> The customner service droid and supervisor said that is the "policy"
> and they were not open to any other solutions, even if I was willing
> to back it up with my credit card.
>
> They showed no empathy and refused to even admit that they or their
> agent (UPS) may have done something wrong here (like leaving large
> boxes of expensive metal tools out on an exposed porch in the snow)
>
> I guess there is a reason for their cheap prices...
>
> If you have had any similar negative customer service experiences with
> Harbor Freight, please feel free to share them so that the next newbie
> can be fully "cavet emptor" before purchasing.
>
>
> I WOULD RECOMMEND AVOIDING HARBOR FREIGHT LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Brian Henderson wrote:
> On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 00:59:10 GMT, "George E. Cawthon"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Yeah that'll work. First thing they ask is did you order
>>the item. you say yes. they say work it out with who you
>>ordered from! Been there, done that.
>
>
> All you have to do is say they refuse to work with you and you can get
> the amount charged back to your card. It's simple.

Nope. They didn't refuse. They were very cooperative just
incompetent about returning all the money. Three packages,
money for one was returned in two weeks, the rest dribbled.
Do you suppose that it was because they were Dell?