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!

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

yeah, Brown let you down

and took a **** on your porch

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


wrote in message
...
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!

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
newsPFEd.46442$8l.1374@pd7tw1no...
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

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.

wrote in message
...
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!

"Kelly Jones" 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...

Tony Hwang 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...

writes:
yeah, Brown let you down

and took a **** on your porch

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

"Greg O" 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.

"Bob Schmall" 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


wrote in message
...
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 Tue, 11 Jan 2005 02:22:58 GMT, blueman 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 *******.


First of all, Cedeño is not my buddy.

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


Halter Sucks!

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

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.

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.

wrote in message
...
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

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.

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

In article , says...
writes:
yeah, Brown let you down

and took a **** 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.

--
is Joshua Putnam
http://www.phred.org/~josh/
Updated Bicycle Touring Books List:
http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/tourbooks.html

wrote in message
...
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....

"Dr. Hardcrab" 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.

"TURTLE" writes:
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.

"Edwin Pawlowski" writes:

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.

"Uncle" writes:
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...

"buck" 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.

Joshua Putnam 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.

wrote:

"Dr. Hardcrab" 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.

blueman wrote:

"Greg O" 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 ****ed 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"

wrote:
"Uncle" 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.

wrote in message
...
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

wrote in message
...
"Dr. Hardcrab" 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 ****ed 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......

blueman wrote:
Tony Hwang 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

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 02:20:59 GMT, blueman 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 :-)

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 03:10:58 -0500, "Ross Mac"
wrote (with possible editing):

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

That only works if there IS a UPS store. OP said he was in northern
New England. So am I. No UPS stores up here anywhere within driving
distance. Actually, no UPS stores anywhere in northern NH. I use a
friend's store, he might want to do the same. Oh well.
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 04:11:51 GMT, Tony Hwang 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.

"L. M. Rappaport" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 03:10:58 -0500, "Ross Mac"
wrote (with possible editing):

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

That only works if there IS a UPS store. OP said he was in northern
New England. So am I. No UPS stores up here anywhere within driving
distance. Actually, no UPS stores anywhere in northern NH. I use a
friend's store, he might want to do the same. Oh well.
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

That would be hard for me to know down here in Florida...But you *do* have a
similar biz called Fedex Kinko's that does the same thing. Besides that,
there are a muriad of independant places too. Being "UPS" would not have
solved a misdelivered package anyway since he was not the sender. The idea
is that the package is secure and there is someone to sign / call......In
your own words.....OH WELL!!!

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:

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.

Here's two more interesting aspects.

First, I've also had expensive packages just left on the door step by
UPS, that I didn't think was too
smart. Doesn't UPS offer the shipper
a choice to require a signature before leaving a package? They must,
because I used to get notes left
that they tried to deliver a package that required a sig. Haven't had
that happen in a long time, did something
change or do less companies do that now? I wouldn't be too worried
about a random person taking something
where I live, but it seems to me, if this is the normal practice, it
would be real easy for a car of thieves to just
follow UPS around and take what he leaves.

As for customer service, I have sympathy for Blue. It's not unusual
to find complete morons in customer
service, with no common business sense. A friend of mine had a recent
experience with one of the biggest
cell phone companies that was the best case of this stupidity I have
ever heard encountered.

He's an exec with a $500mil company. He had a Sony cell phone that he
obtained thru this major national
carrier and had used it for a couple years with no problems. One day,
a box shows up from them with a new
Sony phone, explanining they are replacing his with a new and better
one for free. So, he starts using it
in NYC and it works fine. Couple weeks later, he goes to europe and
the phone doesn't work. His previous
phone worked there perfectly. He calls the wireless company from
europe and they waste hours of his time
trying to get it to work. They insist that it should, can't understand
the problem, etc, but it never works.

He comes back home and after more contact with them, finally finds
someone who tells him, "Oh, that model
doesn't work in europe." But it gets better. They refuse to now give
him one that will work in europe, unless he
pays like $150 for it. He tells them, "You switched these phones, not
me, you should give me one that works
or else give me my old one back" They refused to do it. He escalated
it all the way thru the customer service manager.
Same answer.

Now, here's the best part. In the process, he's telling them that when
he's in europe, which is typically for several weeks
twice a year, his phone bill is $3,000. This has to rank as one of the
classic stupidities in customer service of all
time. This same company had rooms full of monkies dialing people and
trying to get $40 a month customers to
switch to their service, offering all kinds of promos, etc, and here
they inisist on ****ing of someone who spends $8K+.

Eventually, by going to a local storefront for the company, he did get
it resolved. There someone with a brain finally gave
him a new phone, better plan, etc.

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

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!

"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 **** poor customer service.