Harbor Freight — Local services in Pinellas Park

Update Sept 2021: Many new employees now. Had an absolutely horrible experience today unfortunately. I was using the expensive extended warranty plan (I'm also an inside track club member, which is not free!) for a generator which was bad out of the box brand new. First run it had problems and could not use. Cashier was trying to charge me $150 restocking fee AND $180 for ANOTHER 2-year extended warranty on the swap! I said that does not sound accurate and asked if she could confirm this. She humiliated me and made me look like I'M a problem by yelling loudly into the store "All of the customers need to make a single line at the OTHER register because there's a problem here!" The other casher looked at her in shock with HUGE eyes because he was standing right behind her and heard the conversation. There were 3 people in line. The manager came over to confirm that YES this cashier was charging me for things that I do not need to pay for, as the casher did not know how to do a warranty swap. Then another employee came by to haul the new generator to my car, said nothing, and the cashier AGAIN yelled in my face "It took so long because of THIS problem here!" I have worked in CS which is why I am always respectful, polite, and reasonable. It is a business transaction, there is no need to be emotional towards customers. This behavior was highly unprofessional, uncalled for, and above all VERY disrespectful to a customer who was nice and accommodating, as well as to the other customers who did not need to listen to her personal tirade, they just wanted to buy tools. She must have been embarrassed that she did not know how to do her job and made a huge scene over her insecurities.

Feb 2021: Excellent little tool store with more than just the essentials. I bought an emergency generator here and customer service was excellent. They don't allow customers to haul their oversized heavy items to their vehicles themselves so that's cool. I'll...

I have continued to shop at this harbor freight for two years despite the attitude and poor skills of the staff, because it is close to my home and sells Chinese made, disposable tools and supplies at ridiculously low sale prices. Yesterday was the last straw. I will not be back. Shame on me. I handed a major retailer a hundred dollar bill for a five dollar transaction, in the middle of the day. How dare i be so rude. Clearly it was people like me that make my cashiers day so hideous, so difficult. Unfortunately, she was not just an unhappy, unpleasant cashier. She was a supervisor with the key to the front end office around her neck. With someone like her enforcing standards I understand why her staff is so bad at customer service and why they have such a high turn over rate. I've never been in the store when they were not training a new person. The woman serving me has been snotty in the past over things like my asking her if they carry something they don't (Answering me while conveying her distain that I was stupid enough to think they would,) or politely declining to give her my phone number (her face switched from fake customer service smile to so angry her veins popped on her face.) She really needs to find a new line of work. Retail managers have a hard enough job dealing with difficult customers and staff. If they lose their temper over normal, minor, reoccurring difficulties they will cost the store business and be constantly unhappy themselves. I have certainly decided to take my twice a month business to...

I have a Love/Hate relationship with Harbor Freight. No question that they have good prices on a wide selection of tools suited for the weekend mechanic. Products are generally not Craftsman-quality but that's OK because you're paying half the price. BUT, customer service is another story. I've had minor issues in the past, but my experience today was infuriating. Went to look for a 750-lb capacity engine stand I saw advertised for $49. The store had it on display marked CLEARANCE for $44. Great! So I go up to the register with one of the inventory tags and the cashier says "sorry, it's out of stock." I respond, "no problem, it's marked CLEARANCE anyway so I'll just take the display." "Can't do that," she says. Then she checks the computer and says "there are none in the warehouse and it looks like we won't be getting any more." So I ask, "if it's a clearance item and you won't be getting any more, why do you need a floor display?" She replies that it's just the policy. So, I ask for a manager and he gives me the same story. He claims to understand my reasoning but says he's just not allowed to sell a floor display until he's told to do so. So now, Harbor Freight loses a sale and alienates a good customer. I just placed my order for basically the same stand at Northern Tool in Tampa. Not as convenient, but maybe that will be my new source for cheap tools...