Hechinger - use caution

[Steve W]

If you are considering buying tools from this site, use caution. For those that want to skip the story, here is a quick summary of my experience:

They did not respond to multiple cancellation emails sent within 12 hours of an order. They did not respond to phone requests to confirm the cancellation made within 24 hours. They billed my credit card two weeks before they shipped it (in spite of the attempted cancel). They would not help me stop shipment. They did not respond to the AmEx inquiry after I asked for a hold on the payment.

Here are the details:

I ordered a TS on 3/23, but found it for about 150.00 less on Amazon later that day. According to Hechinger's site, orders can be cancelled without a fee before shipping. I cancelled the order less than 12 hours after it was placed, then called them the next morning to confirm the cancellation before ordering the other TS. The rep told me she could not confirm, but she would give the information to the cancellation department who would get back to me within a week. This sounded a little fishy to me, but with the way Amazon prices bounce around I went ahead and ordered the other saw.

The Amazon order went through fine and I had the saw within a week. then, on 4/5/06 I got a shipping notice from Hechinger! I emailed them, called them and called the shipping company to stop the shipment. Everyone said they could not stop it en route and the Hechinger rep could not explain why the order was not cancelled after 2 emails and 2 phone calls to be sure on

3/24. By the way, I never did get the cancellation confirmation email or any email response at all for that matter.

I asked AmEx to stop payment and they said they had already charged my card on 3/24! AmEx investigated the claim to get Hechinger's side of the story. Hechinger never responded to them so AmEx refunded my money. I was able to send to saw back when the delivery guy called me to schedule the drop off. A close call, but I came out of it ok.

Not only is their shipping slow by modern standards, but they seem to either be very disorganized or dishonest. I have never had an online shopping experience like this and suggest others steer clear to avoid a similar problem.

-Steve

[Steve DeMars]

That is why I never shop "PRICE" . . . If it cost more than I am willing to write off . . . it will begin it's life in the back of my truck after a face to face meeting with the dealer . . . I have driven to Houston, New Orleans & Mobile for tools . . . I live in the Baton Rouge area . . .

I know to some this is stupid . . . but I always know what I'm getting & always get good service . . or no $$$ change hands . . .

Steve

[Cap'n 321]

If the folks who run this outfit are related to the company of the same name that used to run home improvement stores in Maryland and other east coast cities, this report is no surprise. The was, without qualification, the worst retail experience I've ever had in terms of service and merchandise. They finally closed their retail stores about six or eight years ago. I wouldn't buy anything from these folks if they were the last shop on the web.

Cap'n

Steve W wrote:

[Mike Marlow]

A quick look at the web site and sure enough - it's the same guys. I did some private consulting to Hechinger back in the early 90's and it was a horribly screwed up company. They had some great technology and clearly somebody knew what they were doing and had set the company up for some solid, state of the art operations. Much like what the OP has discovered with his recent experience, the left hand and the right hand never seemed to talk to each other though. What should have been a pretty sharp operation was a flaming disaster.

[Steve W]

I'm with you, usually. I don't want to see good retail stores dry up.

However, in this case the online option was about 15% less. On top of that the nearest retailer is about 45 miles away, did not stock it, and would have charged me another 50.00 to ship it. We all have our limits.

-Steve

[TT]

And, on the other hand, I placed an order with them when they had some Jet woodworking clamps for half the normal price. Ordered 4 in the form of two dual-paks of clamps and received two (one dual-pak) instead of four. Called and complained and the missing two were delivered to me. A few days later, the website showed a price exactly twice what I had paid. My suspicion is that they put the single unit price on the dual-pak, but at least they honored it and didn't just cancel the order. Been kicking myself ever since for not ordering a lot more at the time! YMMV.

[Martin R]

It?s not the same family business that started almost a 100 years ago in brick and building material recycling. Problems managing a multi- generational business and competing with the BORG did them in the late ?90s. They were a beloved business in the Metro DC area for many years, but in their last few years their service was awful and spoiled their reputation. Incredibly, someone forked over $100,000 for the brand and motto ?The World's Most Unusual Lumber Yards" reborn as "The World's Most Unusual Hardware Site."

I truly wish crap like this was unusual!

More >>If the folks who run this outfit are related to the company of the same

[Bruce T]

Hechinger's was also noted as being opposed to individual rights, i.e. the right of individuals (you & me for example) to purchase and own personal firearms. It seems that the idea of what an individual with a gun MIGHT DO was the primary consideration. Kinda make you think about how Hechinger's views printing presses, huh?