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

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...

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

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.

"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

"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.

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"

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 :-)

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...

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

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

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

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!

"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!

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...

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...

..

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

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

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

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.

"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.

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.

"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...

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.

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.

"Dave Hall" 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.

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 00:03:06 GMT, wrote:

"Dave Hall" 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.

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.

"Uncle" 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 =---

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
wrote:

"Uncle" 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.

"Uncle" 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.

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 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.



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!

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.

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.

"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.