Harbor Freight — Local services in West Springfield

I really want to give this store 5 stars but today for the first time I they made me feel like a criminal. I went here to buy some wrenches. I did not count the wrenches leaving the store (maybe that's my fault). For some reason the smallest wrench was missing from the package. Anyway, I go home and attempt to use the largest 22mm wrench on the top nut of my car's front strut. It didn't fit the nut. Considering that these offset wrenches are generally a low use item for me, I brought the wrenches back. I could only justify keeping them if they had fit the nut. Believing that the nut was actually a 21mm and therefore the closest would be a 13/16, I simply planned on buying the SAE set instead. As I reached the counter the associate looked at the wrenches and stated that there was a wrench missing. I was obviously surprised considering the only wrench I had removed from the package was a 22mm (before immediately returning the wrench to the package). I told her that I had not removed the smallest wrench and that it must have been missing when I had purchased it. With a sarcastic look she replies: "mmmhmmmm" with a lilt in her tone. I felt slightly offended and stated once again I had not seen the wrench at all and it was like that when I bought it. She maintained her sarcastic expression and tersely told me to sign the receipt, refusing to acknowledge that the package MAY have been like that when I purchased it. I could not believe that I was treated this way after being a LOYAL customer for MANY years. I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars here, yet an employee had a hard time believing that I did not take a $1 wrench? Really? Check your cameras and you will see. I even went home to DOUBLE check that the wrench had not fallen out on the floor by accident. It was nowhere in the garage.

Apart from that, this store is great. The employees are usually helpful, the store is clean, well stocked etc. But they just need to remember that not everyone is a thief. I understand that area has slightly higher crime rate, but acting like that towards customers is a guaranteed way to...

I called the Westside store on Veteran's day to purchase the last electric log splitter ($240) they had in stock (for my father, a veteran). I hoped to save him the pain of manually having to saw/ax the remnants of a tree taken down in his yard. It was early in the morning that I called and spoke with "Jonathan". I asked if he could hold the splitter for me because it would be a 35-45 minute drive to West Springfield. He said, "No. I can't hold it. First come first served." I asked if I could buy it over the phone with a credit card. "No. We don't take card purchases over the phone." I asked to speak with a manager... HE IS THE MANAGER! Terrible way to keep people coming back to your store! I have had other HF's hold items (more than one at a time to make $1000+ purchases before). Keene, NH is the BEST store I've have ever had the pleasure of frequenting. Two different managers, a woman (with an accent) and young man, are outstanding! Well worth the 1 hour drive for me to go where I know my business is appreciated! I told them how impressed I was with their efforts in accommodating me, and the response was, "if you're happy, you'll come back." That's no lie! I have been back three times. The Hadley, MA store isn't bad (closest to me) but often doesn't have the things I'm looking for in stock (and won't ever sell the floor model - FYI, Lowe's will). They told me, "sorry, but we never know what's coming in until it's taken off the truck". That aside, they are helpful when I am there to make a purchase. To reiterate, I highly DO NOT recommend the W. Springfield store. I can understand a "curt" employee, but the manager, Jonathan, is a detriment to...

I recently ( yesterday) purchased a welder from the W. Springfield store. After seeing it advertised on line for $169.00 I was told by a sales rep. that the advertised price was for members only. I thought this was a bit deceiving however I decided to become a member to get the discount price as I was purchasing other related items. The store had one of these welders left on their shelve. The box it came in was pretty beat up so I had the rep. open it up to make sure it wasn’t damaged. After getting it home ( 35 miles away) it was obvious it had been previously purchased, returned and put back in stock. After carefully reading the manual I attempted to try the welder, well it didn’t work. I’m guessing someone else went through this same scenario and returned it to the store only to be placed on the shelf again. I guess I should have listened to my gut feeling and passed on this unit. I did however return it to the Boston Rd. store and exchanged it for a functional unit without any hassle. Going forward I will limit my Harbor Freight purchases to smaller simpler tools and shop at the Boston...