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Harbor Freight Tools

Engaged Employer

Harbor Freight Tools reviews

3.6

65% would recommend to a friend

(3,439 total reviews)
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Eric Smidt

69% approve of CEO

59% positive business outlook

Harbor Freight Tools has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 3,439 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Harbor Freight Tools employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

3K reviews
1.0
May 12, 2016

Waiting for the buyout

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

no responsibilities no accountability easy work flexible scheduling decent discount

Cons

This company has poor management from the top to the bottom. No one knows whats going on, poor communication. Outdated policy and procedures that don't work in todays retail environment or in this size of business. Inside Track Club is a scam

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Harbor Freight Tools Response
8y
Thank you for sharing your feedback, as you may remember Harbor Freight Tools is committed to continuously improving our processes and we will make sure to share your feedback with the appropriate team members. Over the past few years we have made some big changes to the way we operate and how we recognize our associates and we have more to do and hope you will take a minute to learn about the changes we have made at Harbor Freight Tools. We invite you to visit our career site at www.harborfreightjobs.com.
2.0
Nov 8, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

PTO. company is growing, but not very intelligently from a strategic perspective.

Cons

Myriad cons, which unfortunately affects the potential of the organization: Discrimination when it comes to promoting from within (non-existent) against race, gender, and age unless you look like the DM. HR needs to examine those statistics and it will be evident which DMs hire excessively from the outside and individuals reflecting their race and gender. Programs that are stupidly task intensive, counter productive, inefficient, and vanity projects to demonstrate to owner they are doing something. Common sense is discouraged and rather the emphasis is on working harder, less productively, inefficiently at the expense of productively and efficiently. This is exacerbated by DMs who cannot do, yet expected rigid adherence even when it costs the company dearly. Absentee owner relying too heavily on incompetents to run the business into the ground. Great, you are raising prices, increasing margins, but are cutting staffing to the quick to manipulate profits. Revenues and profits will increase by committing to staffing stores to serve the customer. Draconian payroll budgets that don't account for task requirements and essentially demonstrate to customers the lack of commitment to the customer (both internal and external) Disengaged HR department who protects their own rather than having a coherent HR strategy concerning succession planning, retention, training, compliance with ethical and legal standards. DMs and RMs that preach leadership, yet don't know how to much less understand that leadership requires serving those they expect to follow them. This is evident by the same tired topics being discussed on conference calls where the outside hire store managers still can't take care of the basics. Lack of communication in the organization and certainly no communication with ASMs or lower whom are viewed as disposable resources by the DMs and above. Hiring of outside hire managers who were fired from previous organizations for issues such as theft, sexual harassment, fraternization with hourly staff, and individuals who spend the majority of the time hiding in the office. Majority of store staff woefully undercompensated from ASM level on down, while SM and above can earn six figures in a store that barely hits $8M a year. Even worse is what DMs are paid for a lack of commitment, belief in, and support of company's supposed core values. Laughable company contribution to 401(k) program, yet margins and profits are increasing. Lack of commitment to employees who are the drivers of the business (store employees). The emphasis needs to be taking care of these individuals, since they have the greatest impact on the business. Not those who are in cost centers (DMs, RMs, corporate staff (including HR), LP. Lack of leadership, lack of vision, lack of ethical conscience, lack of commitment to core values, lack of commitment to internal succession, lack of understanding of the realities in the stores, lack of compassion, lack of empathy, lack of strategic focus.

2.0
Jul 10, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It feels like family in the store. The dress code is awesome. The benefits are competitive with other companies. Fast paced, never a dull moment. Great Customer Base.

Cons

There is always so many tasks to complete and never enough hours to get the tasks done. The Truck process is unrealistic, and never gets completed on time which puts all other tasks behind. Lots and Lots of Heavy Lifting. Their HR and LP department are a joke. You never get a response from them and it seems that they ignore most problems. DO NOT call the integrity hotline as you are labeled then as a troublemaker and the person always finds out that you reported them. The POS system that they recently upgraded to is worse than the old one. It constantly crashes and customers get frustrated because of having to wait so long to get checked out. There is never enough payroll hours to get all the tasks completed plus keep basic store standards up to par. You are told to cheat to sale ESP's and ITC's but if the Corp finds out that you cheat they terminate you for it. Not a female friendly work environment due to all the heavy lifting in the store. Plus customers often ask to speak with a man instead of a female. Customers expect us to be able to tell them how to use the product when we are never trained on any of the products. You can never use your PTO because the store is always short handed. The hiring process is a joke. It can take upwards of a month or more to get one person hired in the store.

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Harbor Freight Tools Response
11y
We're so glad to hear you enjoy your work environment, co-workers, dress code and benefits at Harbor Freight Tools. We also thank you for your feedback on how we can improve. As the company continues to grow at a record pace, we are constantly looking for ways to make it a better experience for our employees and our customers. However, we have to disagree with the responsiveness of our HR Dept. and the confidentiality of the HFT Outlet Hotline. We maintain the privacy of our employees' communication with us and protect their anonymity. Thank you again for your input. Your contribution to the company is valued and appreciated.
Viewing 19 - 21 of 3,439 Reviews

Glassdoor has 3,486 Harbor Freight Tools reviews submitted anonymously by Harbor Freight Tools employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Harbor Freight Tools is right for you.