Harbor Freight (arrogance)

Bottom of the barrel products,,, did you really expect better than that?

Some of their stuff is very good. They'll sell me 6 pair of work gloves for $8, while 1 pair of work gloves at Lowes is $20. HF has also taken returns from me even though it was technically passed the return date. They also have "blue tarps" in every size imaginable. As has been said many times before, you just have to be selective about what you buy there. I don't think it's fair to expect them to provide extra customer service based upon their profit margins. They make their money on volume, not having extra personal around to provide extra customer service. They are what they are and you either take it or leave it.

In December, I wanted to buy (and am still on the lookout for) a "hot dog compresssor" from HF that was discontinued and the nearest one in stock was at a store 70 miles away from me. I didn't like reading that they would not ship it to a store closer to me, but I understood.

re: "hot dog compressor"

The only hot dogs that need compressing are Zweigles. Way too thick for my liking.

Give me a good old NYC Dirty Water Hot Dog any day of the week. Red onions please.

I certainly wouldn't say "very good". Cheap but never "very good". I used to buy nitrile gloves there but post covid there are places no more expensive. Expensive but no more so.

On Feb 16, 2022, Bill wrote (in article <8B7PJ.2793$ snipped-for-privacy@fx09.iad):

Agree 100%

Joe

Why would you never say "very good"?

What's not "very good" about their nitrile gloves, compared to others?

What's not "very good" about their Anti-Fatigue Foam Mats? (They have many uses other than standing on. I use them to protect stuff, such as the interior of my vehicles when I'm hauling stuff or when I need a small piece of padding to absorb vibrations or prevent scratching.)

What's not "very good" about their zip ties, e-track accessories, moving blankets, dollies, etc.?

Because nothing is "very good". OK, maybe.

Not everything in the world can be "very good". "OK" or "good", maybe. There is nothing any better about them than any other. I'm sure they aren't "surgical", not that they need to be,

Again, OK but nothing to write home about.

The operative word here is "very".

First you say 'Because nothing is "very good"'

Then you say 'Not everything in the world can be "very good".'

"Not everything" leaves room for something to be "very good" yet you said that *nothing* is very good.

Please explain.

As the person who first typed the word "very", I apologize for doing so. Honestly, I didn't really mean it. Here: Some of their stuff is truly good or at least quite acceptable. %-)

Sooo why would one need 6 pair of gloves if one pair is very good?

HF has also taken

That has nothing to do with the quality of the products that they sell. It has almost always been the policy of some stores to take back merchandise when it had issues, regardless of when it was bought.

I have found better tarps through Amazon for less.

I don't think it's fair to expect them to provide extra customer

I do not believe that the OP was looking for more customer service, so much as a courteous customer service. And with that I again say, bottom of the barrel products, did you really expect better than that.

They make their money on

Well I can assure you that most of this merchandise has higher profit margins that places like HD, or Lowes. Cheap Chinese merchandise is shockingly inexpensive for the retailer. Your gloves likely cost HF 10 ~20 cents. Another example, Rockler sells a blue anodized set of clamps for holding a sacrificial fence to a TS fence. A Rockler retail owner told me that those clamps retailed for about $15, 14 years ago. He was paying less that 50 cents.

And again I say...

Harbor freight saves you money on items that you are likely to only use a few times.

But having said that they do seem to be stepping up their game on some of their lines of power tools.

You must not have ever played Poker... ; )

What poker hand has 6 pair and or 12 cards? ;~)

The guy's who is about to get beat to crap? ; O

Nothing at HF, no.

Exactly. If everything is, then nothing is. The word is then meaningless.

HF was the context. No, nothing is "very good". "Very bad", certainly.

Again, the subject was HF.

There ya' go. ;-) Some stuff is good at a good or even "very good" price. ;-))

I rarely go to HF but I have drawers full of HF tie wraps. ;-) I keep them like pencils. I keep a stash anywhere I'm likely to need one.

I also like their pneumatic tires. I have several pairs that I use to move *heavy* items. I used them to move my bandsaw into the basement a couple of years ago and I have a jointer that needs to get there sometime soon. Maybe. It'll have to wait a while longer (or I'll have to hire a piano mover, perhaps).

Centipede? 1-1/2 octopi?

As you point out (below) the margin is so high that it's not worth pissing off any customer. Give them *anything* they want.

I think that's a local management issue too. There is no need for staff to be rude. Again, it comes down to pissing off a very profitable customer for such a small reason.

But your local Rockler doesn't pump out those fence clamps by the thousands either. It's still a nice margin but it's not surprising either. Pretty sells, even though it does have a big "Rockler" engraved into it. ;-)

We'll see. I can't count how many times the plastic on a tool (or whatever) turns to goo. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with tools.

Batteries are another sore spot that doesn't show up immediately. I got rid of all my Dewalt tools after their batteries kept dying after just a couple of years of gentle usage. That was during the NiCd days but it seemed like every time I picked up the tool the battery was dead (not just discharged). No more Dewalt. Even though I have four types of batteries/chargers, there is no reason to try Dewalt again.

A bad Gin hand?

I keep a pair in the truck. That's it.