Harbor freight changing store hours.. To support family time.

[2ndGearRubber]

It cuts overhead. Don't buy into the "helping families" BS.

Sales likely just **** for that last hour of the day.

 

[Marcm157]

Yep. I'd believe the spin a little more if they didn't have Thanksgiving day and New Year's Day sales, etc.

Exactly!

 

[kctyphoon]

Well, a key factor in their success, in the reason they became a giant franchise, is that they've made sound financial decisions.

They are a for-profit business. Finances are the deciding factor in every decision.

One of the key indicators of success in retail is SPH (sales per hour). The formula for SPH is total store sales in a given hour divided by the number of payroll hours used in that same hour. If a store's given SPH goal is not being met than changes are made. First, staffing is cut, then when it's felt that staffing can't be cut any further, store hours are cut.

Where does Chick Fila's requiring all stores be closed on sunday for religious observations fit into that business model? Or CVS (?) no longer selling tobacco products? Wawa not having a lotto machine.... Not all decesions are to further profit. When u grow large enough you can afford inject certain values into your business motto..

If you honestly beleve cutting 3 hours of payroll expense and keeping the lights off an extra hour ( one single purchase in that hour could offset that cost) is the ONLY reason to cut hours youre only kidding yourself. Closing an hour earlier than the flagship stores in the shopping centers you are located in/near (by me its Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart ect.) is NOT a decesion that will end in financial gain.. I have 3 hf stores within driving.distance and i have never been in one alone around closing time..

 

[kctyphoon]

Exactly!

So you are both in agreement that this company does enough sales warrant being open on national holidays (just like HD does) but they are so slow on a national level between 8-9 pm that they can no longer warrant staying open... Funny
L

 

[Jacobson]

If they closed early due to poor foot traffic after 8pm, they would just close early without any stories. They wouldn't need to spin anything, b/c no one would even notice they changed their hours, by definition.

They closed the the reason stated. You can now put your tin foil hat back on.

 

[Bagherra]

Wawa'a around here sell lotto tickets...

 

[MattVette89]

I knew that no matter WHAT hf says, the same people in here will always demonize that store.. Yes guys ~ you figured it out.. The giant franchise that "pay people **** wages" is being crippled by that extra hour of paying the $12 an hour wage to the 4 people in the store..

If someone likes a company/person/product, they will find a reason to support them...if they dislike that same company/person/product, they will find every reason to hate them.

 

[Koken]

Where does Chick Fila's requiring all stores be closed on sunday for religious observations fit into that business model? Or CVS (?) no longer selling tobacco products? Wawa not having a lotto machine.... Not all decesions are to further profit. When u grow large enough you can afford inject certain values into your business motto..

If you honestly beleve cutting 3 hours of payroll expense and keeping the lights off an extra hour ( one single purchase in that hour could offset that cost) is the ONLY reason to cut hours youre only kidding yourself. Closing an hour earlier than the flagship stores in the shopping centers you are located in/near (by me its Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart ect.) is NOT a decesion that will end in financial gain.. I have 3 hf stores within driving.distance and i have never been in one alone around closing time..

CVS's decision was for profit:

http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/cvs-quit-smoking

"What inspired CVS’s rhetorical shift from saving pennies to saving lives? Again, as in the sixties, a change in the law has presented businesses with an opportunity. The Affordable Care Act of 2010, which expanded Medicaid coverage and required more people to buy health insurance, has helped push down the percentage of uninsured people in the U.S. (In the second quarter of 2014, about thirteen per cent of U.S. adults were uninsured, compared with seventeen per cent at the same time last year.) There is also a shortage of primary-care doctors in the U.S. CVS—along with Walmart, Walgreens, and other retailers—is trying to take advantage of this gap. Not only does it hope to fill more prescriptions for newly insured people, but it also wants to provide people with reimbursable health-care services, like what they might get at a doctor’s office.

Today, CVS operates about nine hundred “Minute Clinics” in its stores, where nurse practitioners and physician assistants treat and write prescriptions for ailments like strep throat, bladder infections, and joint sprains; they can also provide physicals to kids entering college and perform lab tests for people with conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure. Minute Clinics accept most insurance plans, according to CVS; for services that aren’t covered, patients can pay out of pocket. CVS hopes to operate fifteen hundred of these clinics by 2017".

 

[Marcm157]

So you are both in agreement that this company does enough sales warrant being open on national holidays (just like HD does) but they are so slow on a national level between 8-9 pm that they can no longer warrant staying open... Funny
L

I'm not sure what you are saying. I'm agreeing with the above statement inferring that the cutback of hours by HF for "Family" reasons is disproven by the fact that they capitalize on the commercialized holidays. I understand business decisions but trying to put a family spin on the hour cut back isn't sitting well with me.

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[Marcm157]

So you are both in agreement that this company does enough sales warrant being open on national holidays (just like HD does) but they are so slow on a national level between 8-9 pm that they can no longer warrant staying open... Funny
L

I am NOT a HF hater by the way. I do shop there on occasion. It's just not my go to source. I'm simply stating I agree with the statement I quoted. Nothing cynical, devious or funny about it.

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[99raptor]

Very noble of some on GJ to castrate customers of HF because it hurts American jobs.Yet they'll drive foreign cars,wear foreign made clothes and shoes or shop at Walmart.If you HF haters want someone to hate hate the CEO's of the companies that took our jobs to China or Mexico so they child improve their bottom line.

 

[Can I try?]

Where does Chick Fila's requiring all stores be closed on sunday for religious observations fit into that business model? Or CVS (?) no longer selling tobacco products? Wawa not having a lotto machine.... Not all decesions are to further profit. When u grow large enough you can afford inject certain values into your business motto..

If you honestly beleve cutting 3 hours of payroll expense and keeping the lights off an extra hour ( one single purchase in that hour could offset that cost) is the ONLY reason to cut hours youre only kidding yourself. Closing an hour earlier than the flagship stores in the shopping centers you are located in/near (by me its Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart ect.) is NOT a decesion that will end in financial gain.. I have 3 hf stores within driving.distance and i have never been in one alone around closing time..

There are exceptions to every rule. And, from a business perspective, when this decision is made it is generally not meant for financial gain. It is meant to minimize financial loss.

Now, taking a look at the emotional side of the debate, as you are doing:

If this decision by Harbor Freight were truly motivated by a desire to increase family time for their employees, then why didn't they decide to close even earlier, say 7, 6, or even 5 so that families could be together for a traditional family dinner? After all, this is the business model that neighborhood hardware stores follow.

Harbor Freight has never, to my knowledge, represented itself as a company that stood for traditional values. Why would they start now, and in such an insignificant way?

 

[Can I try?]

Also, it is wrong to assume that I am a Harbor Freight "hater." I dId not state that, nor even imply that in my posts.

I simply do not believe they made this decision for the reasons stated. I think they made this decision for financial reasons and are trying to capture an opportunity for some positive press.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

If they closed early due to poor foot traffic after 8pm, they would just close early without any stories. They wouldn't need to spin anything, b/c no one would even notice they changed their hours, by definition.

They closed the the reason stated. You can now put your tin foil hat back on.

Oh. How much free publicity would HF get if they quietly changed their closing times?

 

[fastbike02]

So ya'll think they're gonna let the 9yr old chinese girl who welded up the engine hoist clock out early too?

Maybe.... if she has to work at her second job of assembling our smart phones

 

[ChevyEFI]

Harbor Freight used to close at 7, maybe 8 some evenings.

Cutting back from 9pm is just an adjustment they made based on lack of sale volume. Yippee.

CVS's decision was for profit:

http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/cvs-quit-smoking

"What inspired CVS’s rhetorical shift from saving pennies to saving lives? Again, as in the sixties, a change in the law has presented businesses with an opportunity. The Affordable Care Act of 2010, which expanded Medicaid coverage and required more people to buy health insurance, has helped push down the percentage of uninsured people in the U.S. (In the second quarter of 2014, about thirteen per cent of U.S. adults were uninsured, compared with seventeen per cent at the same time last year.) There is also a shortage of primary-care doctors in the U.S. CVS—along with Walmart, Walgreens, and other retailers—is trying to take advantage of this gap. Not only does it hope to fill more prescriptions for newly insured people, but it also wants to provide people with reimbursable health-care services, like what they might get at a doctor’s office.

Today, CVS operates about nine hundred “Minute Clinics” in its stores, where nurse practitioners and physician assistants treat and write prescriptions for ailments like strep throat, bladder infections, and joint sprains; they can also provide physicals to kids entering college and perform lab tests for people with conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure. Minute Clinics accept most insurance plans, according to CVS; for services that aren’t covered, patients can pay out of pocket. CVS hopes to operate fifteen hundred of these clinics by 2017".

You pulled that from the article? They claimed for years it was not operating profitably.

They might still state that. I do suspect their accounting had no inclusion of the sales & Rx volume added to the stores in which the Minute Clinics operate. Although under the same corporate umbrella.

Minute Clinics were around years before 2010. So the ACA, while easily blamed by many for a lot of things, is just turned into a cute talking point by the author.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Very noble of some on GJ to castrate customers of HF because it hurts American jobs.Yet they'll drive foreign cars,wear foreign made clothes and shoes or shop at Walmart.If you HF haters want someone to hate hate the CEO's of the companies that took our jobs to China or Mexico so they child improve their bottom line.

I'm not a HF hater, but I did want to comment on your last line above. The United States has become increasingly unfriendly to businesses, especially over the last seven years, with a sh/tload of new environmental regulations, local minimum wage hike laws...with plenty of politicians wanting to implement these on a national level...Obamacare regulations, etc. that make it tougher for them to operate and compete here. If the only justifiable way for them to remain profitable and stay in business is to go elsewhere, why would a reasonable person be against that?

I don't like to see jobs go offshore but I certainly understand why and the politicians deserve the vast majority of the blame.

 

[unslow1]

I sympathize with those efforts.
I grew up in a family business that closed at 7.
People FORCED you to finally get firm with them the fourth or fifth time your nice polite hints were ignored.

Some people are just like that. Last night we finally had to ask two to leave an hour after close. Sorry but the staff is leaving so you have to also.

 

[Askme42]

My local store closes at 8 already & they probably spend at least an extra half hour trying to get people out.
On the side of them actually doing this for customers we need to move back in that direction. I remember when shops didn't have to be open all the time to be competitive.


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Meh. If they want the business they should be open. I live in a very small town we have 1 auto repair shop. They also sell and service hustler mowers and husqvarna chainsaws.

I would love to support them but I leave for work before they open and get back after they close and they aren't open on Saturdays at all.

 

[thegroundpounder99]

I'm not a HF hater, but I did want to comment on your last line above. The United States has become increasingly unfriendly to businesses, especially over the last seven years, with a sh/tload of new environmental regulations, local minimum wage hike laws...with plenty of politicians wanting to implement these on a national level...Obamacare regulations, etc. that make it tougher for them to operate and compete here. If the only justifiable way for them to remain profitable and stay in business is to go elsewhere, why would a reasonable person be against that?



I don't like to see jobs go offshore but I certainly understand why and the politicians deserve the vast majority of the blame.

With what government and corporate America has done, it amazes me any company makes stuff here, especially with no out sourcing.


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[Greg85mcss]

My point exactly. One company comes in & says we'll be open 7 days a week & till 8 every night then all the others have to follow suit. I parked cars at a dealership in college & everyone was gone by 5. Saturday they had 1 lube tech & 1 service writer for a short day. I don't mind working weekends because I get free grandparent daycare which saves me a lot of money but only one other tech in the shop has a kid & they all hate having to be there.


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[Greg85mcss]

*My response wasn't to the last post. The one before


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[[email protected]]

Who cares why

 

[justanengineer]

I knew that no matter WHAT hf says, the same people in here will always demonize that store.. Yes guys ~ you figured it out.. The giant franchise that "pay people **** wages" is being crippled by that extra hour of paying the $12 an hour wage to the 4 people in the store..

Hmmmmm....600 stores x 4 employees x 1 hour less/day = $24k/day. $24k/day x ~350 days/year = ~$8M/year. Crippled - no, quite a bit of extra profit for the owner - yes.

FWIW if your local store is paying $12/hr its bc youre in an expensive, abnormal area. My former next door neighbor is a GM over 4 McD's, he's full of interesting/funny/horror stories of former HF employees applying at McD's. JMO but it says something when senior HF employees arent up to the "high" standards of fast food like ******* in a cup or a basic background (no felonies allowed) check.

 

[jerseykat1]

CVS's decision was for profit:

http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/cvs-quit-smoking

"What inspired CVS’s rhetorical shift from saving pennies to saving lives? Again, as in the sixties, a change in the law has presented businesses with an opportunity. The Affordable Care Act of 2010, which expanded Medicaid coverage and required more people to buy health insurance, has helped push down the percentage of uninsured people in the U.S. (In the second quarter of 2014, about thirteen per cent of U.S. adults were uninsured, compared with seventeen per cent at the same time last year.) There is also a shortage of primary-care doctors in the U.S. CVS—along with Walmart, Walgreens, and other retailers—is trying to take advantage of this gap. Not only does it hope to fill more prescriptions for newly insured people, but it also wants to provide people with reimbursable health-care services, like what they might get at a doctor’s office.

Today, CVS operates about nine hundred “Minute Clinics” in its stores, where nurse practitioners and physician assistants treat and write prescriptions for ailments like strep throat, bladder infections, and joint sprains; they can also provide physicals to kids entering college and perform lab tests for people with conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure. Minute Clinics accept most insurance plans, according to CVS; for services that aren’t covered, patients can pay out of pocket. CVS hopes to operate fifteen hundred of these clinics by 2017".

off topic. But your avatar is the Best. Made me truly lol.

 

[Askme42]

Hmmmmm....600 stores x 4 employees x 1 hour less/day = $24k/day. $24k/day x ~350 days/year = ~$8M/year. Crippled - no, quite a bit of extra profit for the owner - yes.

FWIW if your local store is paying $12/hr its bc youre in an expensive, abnormal area. My former next door neighbor is a GM over 4 McD's, he's full of interesting/funny/horror stories of former HF employees applying at McD's. JMO but it says something when senior HF employees arent up to the "high" standards of fast food like ******* in a cup or a basic background (no felonies allowed) check.

It really is amazing to me the depths of the quality of HF employees.



I saw one yelling at a lady that she didn't get to choose the color for the tool cart. Red or black you get what I bring out.


I finally stepped in and was like she's not choosing the color they are two different carts. He huffs up and is like whatever someone else deal with this and leaves.

 

[Kev442]

A little of A, a little of B.
The managers never got out of there before 10 when they closed at 9. Now they might get home in time to tuck their kids in bed at 9.
I am reading replies in this thread from many, many people that have never worked in retail, let alone managed. Its easy to be cynical about HFs motives, but there is no doubt in my mind the employees are happy to be closing an hour earlier.

 

[nutsnbolts]

I knew that no matter WHAT hf says, the same people in here will always demonize that store.. Yes guys ~ you figured it out.. The giant franchise that "pay people **** wages" is being crippled by that extra hour of paying the $12 an hour wage to the 4 people in the store..

On top of that, hf now requires all employess to become organ donors so in the event of their untimely death HF can now harvest and trade their kidneys for chinese ratchets..

Let's see...4 (people) x 12 (dollars per hour) x 1 (hours per day) x 600 (number of stores) x 365 (days per year) =$10.5 million

Out of 11,000 employees with payroll costs in the area of around a quarter billion dollars, this results in about a 4% cut in payroll costs.

 

[upgrading]

Too much over analysis here.

I think HF is in such a good groove right now they can dictate to the cattle when they are allowed to travel into the pens without worry of backlash.

 

[nutsnbolts]

I am a Harbor Freight Hater. I am totally okay with that.

I believe that Harbor Freight has the American DIYer snowed. We shop there because the prices are so cheap that we think we can own something for nothing. We want a garage full of tools but we don't want to have to invest real money into it. We buy the cheap tool, use it a few times, throw it away and buy another one. If we just bought a quality American tool, it would last a lifetime, ESPECIALLY for the DIYer who doesn't use it everyday. But instead of supporting quality American industry, we would rather support cheap Chinese tooling. And we have clearly sent them the message that they have no reason to improve the quality of their products, because we are perfectly happy buying their POS tools by the boatload. Literally.

 

[nutsnbolts]

Too much over analysis here.

I think HF is in such a good groove right now they can dictate to the cattle when they are allowed to travel into the pens without worry of backlash.

Even if I wanted to shop there, I really couldn't now because traffic is so heavy in Seattle that I can't get to my nearest HF until 8 o'clock anyway.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

I am a Harbor Freight Hater. I am totally okay with that.

I believe that Harbor Freight has the American DIYer snowed. We shop there because the prices are so cheap that we think we can own something for nothing. We want a garage full of tools but we don't want to have to invest real money into it. We buy the cheap tool, use it a few times, throw it away and buy another one. If we just bought a quality American tool, it would last a lifetime, ESPECIALLY for the DIYer who doesn't use it everyday. But instead of supporting quality American industry, we would rather support cheap Chinese tooling. And we have clearly sent them the message that they have no reason to improve the quality of their products, because we are perfectly happy buying their POS tools by the boatload. Literally.

I hate to tell you this, but the quality of tools at HF is pretty decent for a lot of their hand tools. If the quality was sh/t, as you claim it is, HF wouldn't get the attention on this board that it does.

And just b/c a tool is made here in the states doesn't mean it's automatically superior to anything made elsewhere.

 

[fastbike02]

I hate to tell you this, but the quality of tools at HF is pretty decent for a lot of their hand tools. If the quality was sh/t, as you claim it is, HF wouldn't get the attention on this board that it does.

And just b/c a tool is made here in the states doesn't mean it's automatically superior to anything made elsewhere.

I agree, for the average DIYer it doesn't get any better! Yes some stuff is junk but some of it is not only good but quite great! I would put my $9 buck HF breaker bar against any other brand! Also the losing jobs in the US is kinda of a mute point... no one complains about where their tv or computer was made! Why do we complain about our tools so much?

 

[nutsnbolts]

I hate to tell you this, but the quality of tools at HF is pretty decent for a lot of their hand tools. If the quality was sh/t, as you claim it is, HF wouldn't get the attention on this board that it does.

And just b/c a tool is made here in the states doesn't mean it's automatically superior to anything made elsewhere.

I will give you the possibility that the quality may have gone up. It has been several years since I bought anything there.

That being said, I think it says a lot that there is a big thread here devoted to telling each other what is and is not worth buying there. This doesn't give me a lot of confidence that I can make a purchase and be happy with it.

 

[nutsnbolts]

I agree, for the average DIYer it doesn't get any better! Yes some stuff is junk but some of it is not only good but quite great! I would put my $9 buck HF breaker bar against any other brand! Also the losing jobs in the US is kinda of a mute point... no one complains about where their tv or computer was made! Why do we complain about our tools so much?

We no longer have a choice about where our electronics are made. Are we really okay with handing our tooling over as well?

Over the last couple of years I made a concerted effort to upgrade my tools to American, high quality tools. Most of what I have is Snap on, with some Mac, Proto, Bonney, Thorsen, Cornwell, etc. As I replaced stuff, I would bring my old tools in to work and throw it in an old tool box we have that is full of leftover tools. If someone wants something, they are free to it. I think it speaks volumes that the Stanley, Craftsman, and some other random stuff I threw in there is all gone, and all that remains is a pile of Pissburgh tools.

 

[Coach James]

When I was in college, I worked retail for four years. My third year, the manager made a couple changes that got everyone out 45 minutes earlier at the end of the night shift. It saved the store some labor cost, but greatly improved the morale of the evening workers.

About a year ago, I made some changes at my gym that resulted in my Friday night crew getting off work 30 minutes earlier. I was motivated by two things. One, I saved some labor cost and two, I thought my employees would like to get home a half hour earlier. I was right. When I told them, they were excited and several thanked me.

I don't understand the logic of people that wish Walmart and HF would close based on the employees and customers being "lowlifes" and "trash". If both companies close, those people will still shop somewhere and the former employees will still need jobs.

Coach

 

[404]

I am a Harbor Freight Hater. I am totally okay with that.

I believe that Harbor Freight has the American DIYer snowed. We shop there because the prices are so cheap that we think we can own something for nothing. We want a garage full of tools but we don't want to have to invest real money into it. We buy the cheap tool, use it a few times, throw it away and buy another one. If we just bought a quality American tool, it would last a lifetime, ESPECIALLY for the DIYer who doesn't use it everyday. But instead of supporting quality American industry, we would rather support cheap Chinese tooling. And we have clearly sent them the message that they have no reason to improve the quality of their products, because we are perfectly happy buying their POS tools by the boatload. Literally.

The deep impact sockets work fine for me. Lots of other items do as well. They may not be the "best" but I may well be pining for the fjords before they break.

 

[eyeball]

Very noble of some on GJ to castrate customers of HF because it hurts American jobs.Yet they'll drive foreign cars,wear foreign made clothes and shoes or shop at Walmart.

I couldn't agree with you more...

The only American job most care about is their own. People want to buy a sixpack of tube socks for $1.49 at Walmart while at the same time lamenting the lack of good paying american jobs. Sorry, the economy just doesn't work that way.

 

[reader2580]

I try to buy American tools when possible, but when I need a 15/16" wrench on a Saturday am I just going to wait a extra week for an American wrench to get shipped? (I completely forgot in this case that Menards carries Made in USA wrenches.) It did drive me to buy a set of USA made wrenches from Harry Epstein.

I only have a very few items from Harbor Freight. Mostly disposables. I don't think I have any hand tools from them.

 

[fastbike02]

IMO the average DIYer buys tools because they are available and they work! Most of my tools are craftsman, simply bc I can walk in and buy what I need and if it breaks it's just as convenient to exchange it. I don't see a Snap on truck meeting me at my convenience to sell me a rachet or replace on that I have broken.