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Harbor Freight Tools

Engaged employer

Runaway locomotive that thinks it doesn't need a track. - Anonymous employee Harbor Freight Tools Employee Review

1.0
6 May 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Paid relocations; PTO accrues quickly as a store manager (mainly because you're given 18 reasons as to why it would impact the business if you were to take it)

Cons

Where should I begin? Executive leadership consists of a half dozen people who view the company as nothing more than a piggy bank. Field management turns over more than any company I've seen. 5 regional managers in less than 5 years. The DMs that last have no business sense, ability to develop people, or desire to overcome obstacles. What they do have, is an incredible ability to find someone at the store level to blame. If that blame is not legitimate enough to document, then they take the "promote them to a customer" route. Operationally, I have never seen a company that claimed to be process oriented yet failed to properly execute on every single SOP. Your job will be threatened if you do not complete training on an SOP on time, the roll out will occur and one day later, be retracted due to "unforeseen issues". This lack of execution philosophy is compounded by the constant turnover in store operations causing massive disconnect between related procedures. Bottom line. If you're here, RUN! If you're thinking of coming here, steer clear.

Explore other reviews about Harbor Freight Tools

5.0
26 June 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.

4.0
16 June 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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