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Harbor Freight Tools

Engaged Employer

The grass IS greener on the other side - Stocking Supervisor Harbor Freight Tools Employee Review

2.0
Jun 28, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are not many pros to working at harbor freight tools. Some of the things that I have found over the past 9.5 years that could be considered pros are. 1. The pay. Being an entry level unskilled retail job, harbor freight still manages to keep up with the compensation of their competitors and beat whatever it is they offer. 2. insurance. Having insurance through the company is both more affordable, and convenient than sourcing private insurance. 3. there is no 3…

Cons

Moving on to cons: 2. The turnover of part time associates is extremely high due to having bare bones scheduling more than half of the year. As a result of this, tasks that would normally require 4 or 5 associates get completed by 2 or 3 associates. This brings me to con number 2. 2. Stress. You will become stressed. Extremely stressed. Short handed or not the tasks scheduled for the day are still expected to be finished in the same allotted time. In addition number 3: 3. Nothing ever works when you need it to work and nothing is ever right the first time. For example, a price change needs to be completed before opening, you go to print the tags and uhhhohhhh there’s problem with sign post, 600 tags need to be printed by the mobile printer and it is now printing 1 tag per minute. How can you claim to have a store “in stock priced right” when a lot of the time the accurate prices won’t print? Further,don’t get me started on pog changes. These things are made months in advance and yet every single time you complete one , a pog update occurs. On a retail level associates are held to a high standard, why aren’t corporate positions? 4. Work life balance doesn’t exist. You will constantly be bombarded with texts at all hours of the day clocked in or not, it will get to the point where you can’t stop thinking about harbor freight. on vacation? Who cares ,you're going to know what’s on the agenda for the whole week because you won’t be able to remove yourself from the unnecessary group text. Finally on to number 5: 5. Gossip. EVERYONE gossips nobody is safe from it. You will not be able to go a day without hearing it. This job would be a lot better if people could just clock in do their jobs and go home, but that’s too much to ask.

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Harbor Freight Tools Response
1y
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We always welcome the opportunity to receive feedback from our current and former team members. At Harbor Freight, we value people above all else. We value who you are, what you’ve experienced, and how you see the world. We believe our differences can make us stronger. Our goal is to build and maintain a positive and healthful work environment where all our Associates can thrive and succeed. We are committed to providing our Associates with a work/life balance to support their lives and we strongly encourage them to reach out to their HR Partners regarding such concerns. Thank you for dedicating over 8 years of your career to Harbor Freight and we will forward your comments to senior leadership.

Explore other reviews about Harbor Freight Tools

5.0
Jun 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great store leader. Great team to work with. The company cares about its employees. The pay is better than most retail places. Open door policy. Good work life balance. Fun place to work.

Cons

Not getting to work overtime often.

1
4.0
Jun 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits, fast paced environment, good teamwork. I liked the hours, you get an education about tools, whether from your coworkers or the customers. And speaking of the customers, they were on the better side for retail. Most are down to earth and easy to converse with.

Cons

Supply chain issues, many parts would never be replenished, despite being featured, advertised, and on display. That would often lead to tensions with customers. Aggressive time constraints on tasks. Sidewalk sales, holidays, and also coincidentally inclement weather days, can be quite busy and therefore stressful. Especially if there's call outs, but if you have a good management team, you'll have good staff that will want to work for them.

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