MIsleading Harbor Freight Website

[Joe From NY]

I had a problem with a cheap generator i ordered from HF last week. I went on their website to get the phone number of customer service.

Their webpage shows this image of customer service operators:

But in reality you get something more like this:

No matter how i tried to explain my problem, he would not diverge from his script. It was most annoying.

 

[Stinger]

Sounds like 90% of large companies these days...nothing unique to HF.

 

[Rickster]

You're missing the HF purchase diagram:

Buy - Works: use till it breaks - Drop in trash can.

Buy - Doesn't work:----------- Drop in trash can.

 

[ratdoggy]

You're missing the HF purchase diagram:

Buy - Works: use till it breaks - Drop in trash can.

Buy - Doesn't work:----------- Drop in trash can.

Lots of truth in that. I walked into Sears with a screwdriver I had found and they gave me a new one... No receipt, no problems.

 

[Crash913]

Lots of truth in that. I walked into Sears with a screwdriver I had found and they gave me a new one... No receipt, no problems.

And you would receive the exact same service from Harbor Freight. He is trying to say it isn't worth the hassle of returning

 

[Joe From NY]

Sounds like 90% of large companies these days...nothing unique to HF.

My point was you see the photos supposedly of their customer service people, and you think, "OK, they look like there would be no language barrier here", but then when you call the 800 number, you realize the photo was a misrepresentation, and you in-fact have reached somewhere in India. There appears to be a disconnect of comprehension on their part, and you speak with with zombie-like apathetic call takers who seem like you are bothering them, and seem like they are on their last nerve. Their answers to my questions were so vague and irrelevant that it seemed like i would get the same responses if i had read them the breakfast menu from McDonalds.

 

[Professur]

I've worked as upper level customer service for well over a decade, and I have to tell you ... those poor guys in 1st level support ... you couldn't make me do their job with a gun pointed at my head. They deal day in, day out with mouth breathers who'd have a hard time walking and chewing gum at the same time if it wasn't already an autonomous reflex for them. They're given an 'id-10-T list' of things that must be asked before they can go further. "Is it plugged in? Can you look and see that it's plugged in, follow the wire from one end to the other" and such. Naturally when the idiot discovers that neither of the plugs in that receptacle are attached to the appliance in question, and that the end is sitting right there on top of the pile of wire and extensions ... does he admit that it wasn't plugged? No way in hell. 'Oop, it jsut started working .. no I didn't do nothing'

That you're smarter than the average caller is unknown to them. They're paid to run that script before they try to address a problem that may well not even exist. Resisting only makes you frustrated, them more convinced than ever that the problem is you, and makes the whole thing take longer.

Believe me ... I've had emergency calls from company VPs who end ran first level and were willing to pay to have a tech on site ... only to eject a floppy disk from the drive and have the machine boot fine. No virus, no hard drive crash, 3hr minimum, sign here please. Yes Sir, we do have to specify what the trouble was on the work order. At least it wasn't a Post-It stuck in there this time, eh? Have a nice day.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I think it's interesting how people complain about Harbor Freight but keep going back there to buy more stuff.

 

[shotgunfatcat]

I called snap-on a month or two ago, I got someone in the states (can't remember which state, but I asked to make sure). She had a southern accent mixed with ghetto. Whether she was white or black (I have ran into some scary white ghetto speakers), she couldn't speak proper English worth a damn. Although I could tell what she was saying, and she could tell what I was saying, it's a trailing second to the India callers.

Unfortunately I have worked in a call center before (comcast/charter/time warner), I learned a lot about cable, and probably would never get satellite unless I had too, but we were Wisconsin callers from a smaller town, so we had midwest accents (the best and most understandable) and not much ghetto talk (even if there were some, it wasn't full blown from living in a city, kinda funny really). But I know we had other call centers, some in Atlanta, some in Milwaukee, etc. If is hit or miss when you call, it can go to whoever has a non-busy line, kinda crazy really.

 

[PaulR]

That white kid with the head set is looking like he want's to show the chick next to him his "o-face".

"oh, oh, oh!"

 

[GarageEnvy]

On a somewhat related topic, I was dealing with a new client (appraisal management company) and everyone spoke with a distinct Indian accent but didn't understand one word of industry lingo. Finally someone calls me from Florida who I can understand and who understands the terms of my industry. I said you should really stop outsourcing to India, those guys are clueless. Her response was the company is headquartered in India and outsources customer service to Florida because they know they don't have a clue and people hate dealing with them.

 

[Possum]

You mean my cheap chi-com **** isn't backed up by an American call center??!!! OMG!WTF!?

 

[drmarkr]

My point was you see the photos supposedly of their customer service people, and you think, "OK, they look like there would be no language barrier here", but then when you call the 800 number, you realize the photo was a misrepresentation, and you in-fact have reached somewhere in India. There appears to be a disconnect of comprehension on their part, and you speak with with zombie-like apathetic call takers who seem like you are bothering them, and seem like they are on their last nerve. Their answers to my questions were so vague and irrelevant that it seemed like i would get the same responses if i had read them the breakfast menu from McDonalds.

The same situation for Costco and Sprint, whom I've called after hours recently and could barely carry on a conversation.

Like someone else said, just return it to the store and get a new one.

 

[Stuey]

That's a stock photo they probably paid $2 for.

C'mon, did you really think they would maintain a call center in the USA?

If you ordered it last week, you should have just returned it rather than go through the hassle of trying to troubleshoot it.

 

[MichaelP]

Yesterday I had a pleasure speaking to an american UPS rep. Very polite young lady with no accent and no brain.

 

[Art From De Leon]

You're missing the HF purchase diagram:

Buy - Works: use till it breaks - Drop in trash can.

Buy - Doesn't work:----------- Drop in trash can.

That be funny!

 

[mooman]

You lost me at "I had a problem with a cheap generator i ordered from HF last week"

 

[NUTTSGT]

You lost me at "I had a problem with a cheap generator i ordered from HF last week"

But atleast he spelled it correctly in English.

 

[johno]

A bit OT here, but years ago I was dealing with Leon Rosser Jeep, ordering parts.
So all done, order in etc, ask the ladies name for ref. purposes. She said as best i can spell Keeam. I asked her to spell it for me, she did, K-I-M
Keeam.
I'm sure she thought I was an idiot, but i still laugh when i think of it, I think they were in Alabama, and I'm a Canuck, so there you go, different languages.

By the way they were good folks to deal with.

 

[Cameronl]

So all done, order in etc, ask the ladies name for ref. purposes. She said as best i can spell Keeam. I asked her to spell it for me, she did, K-I-M
Keeam.
I'm sure she thought I was an idiot, but i still laugh when i think of it, I think they were in Alabama, and I'm a Canuck, so there you go, different languages.

I worked with a woman from the south. My first name is Cam. She's the only person I know who would pronounce it with two syllables: Kay-yam.

 

[2chipped]

Unfortunately I have worked in a call center before (comcast/charter/time warner), I learned a lot about cable, and probably would never get satellite unless I had too, but we were wscaansin callers from a smaller town, so we had midwest accents (the best and most understandable) [/quote]
Sorry bud but i live in the south but when it comes to poor speech Wisconsin leads Pa , Mich and New Jersey. And I have friends and family in most of them.

 

[bdkruger1]

"Unfortunately I have worked in a call center before (comcast/charter/time warner), I learned a lot about cable, and probably would never get satellite unless I had too"-Fatcat


Ok, I have a question. Don't All of the channels on cable have their original signal generated by satellite?

I've had DirectTV and Dish in the past. DirecTV I had problems with rain fade and got rid of it. That was '99. I had Dish when I was in Idaho for a year and it was flawless. Currently have TimeWarner Cable again since moving back and I'm ready to drive to the nearest service center and fire bomb it.

Anyway, Why the negative toward satellite? Just curious.

 

[xcgates]

*Cue the new show, "Outsourced"

Rather amusing, at least the first few episodes.

 

[DCarr]

Out here they are dropping the price the same amount as an extended warrenty. I just bought a small toy air compressor, reg. 129$ on sale for 89$ sold for 72.99 + 2$ for the 2 year REPLACEMENT warranty. Drop off the old on, take home a new one .. so they said that day.

They did the same for a friend who bout a 100$ item ... forget what it was now.

 

[JOHNMAN]

People actually call to complain about HF ****?

Amazing.

I typically buy stuff there that is either consumable or that is one-time use. If it makes it the one time, I'm typically $$ ahead. It's when it doesn't last the one time that ends up costing me.

 

[6768rogues]

I called HSBC bank the other day about a promotion they offered. I talked to a very pleasant woman in Missouri. She was polite, friendly and helpful. I wish they were all like that.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Their answers to my questions were so vague and irrelevant that it seemed like i would get the same responses if i had read them the breakfast menu from McDonalds.

Now thats some funny **** there, thanks for the good laugh.

Ive long given up calling any customer service anywhere, having done so in the past, it just ain't worth, don't need the stress. The last Indian I talked to introduced him self as Elvis... and I'm thinking, no, not a chance.

On a related note, when I lived in suburbia, I was working at a body shop, in town, and across the street was a strip mall that had not done so well. So one of these "call center contractors" had set up shop in several of the stores, or "units" and was employing at least 75 people per shift. Turns out, it was such a "diverse" crowd, 2 armed and uniformed off duty city cops where employed to be there about 30 minutes before and after each shift changed, because there where so many problems in the parking lot as the "help" would come and go. Suffice it to say, these call centers dont hire "the best help", just ones that might show up...

 

[PAToyota]

Hmmm... Buy from a place known for its imported, cheap, disposable products and then are amazed that they don't offer high quality customer service? Who'da thunk it?

A little hint - their products look better in the pictures too!

 

[Joe From NY]

Hmmm... Buy from a place known for its imported, cheap, disposable products and then are amazed that they don't offer high quality customer service? Who'da thunk it?

A little hint - their products look better in the pictures too!

The customer service wouldn't surprise me, except for the purposely misleading photo of their alleged customer service reps.

 

[kc-steve]

. . . but we were Wisconsin callers from a smaller town, so we had midwest accents (the best and most understandable) and not much ghetto talk (even if there were some, it wasn't full blown from living in a city, kinda funny really). But I know we had other call centers, some in Atlanta, some in Milwaukee, etc. If is hit or miss when you call, it can go to whoever has a non-busy line, kinda crazy really.

He-he, as one who lives in the Midwest, I agree wholeheartedly. That so-called Midwest accent is called proper English. Yet, there are even people in my own neighborhood I don't understand.

I say, if they want a job, learn the global business language, ENGLISH!

Steve

 

[jake00]

*cue the new show, "outsourced"

rather amusing, at least the first few episodes.

completely agree