lens wrote:

Harbor Frieght sounds like a better deal than Homier (though never
dealt with Homier). Each time I go to the HF store near me (Newark CA)
I have to say I'm impressed. It's chaos of course and full of a lot of
junk, but what impresses me is any time I ask one of the kids who are
running around stocking shelves or doing whatever, they know what's
what and find what I'm looking for pretty quickly. They speak English
(well enough anyway), they hustle, and are pretty friendly. Not what I
expect from a cheapy discount import store. Somehow they train (and I
expect treat) their employees better than Home Depot or a lot of other
places where no one seems able to answer a simple question.

I've noticed the same thing at two HF stores in my area. The store is
usually a bit disheveled due to the high inventory turnover, but the
employees there are always nice and on top of things. Very accommodating
as well if something is out of stock and you wanted to use a coupon on
it - coupon rain check, no hassles.

Pete C.