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Harbor Freight Tools

Engaged Employer

Harbor Freight Tools reviews

3.6

64% would recommend to a friend

(3,437 total reviews)
avatar

Eric Smidt

68% approve of CEO

59% positive business outlook

Harbor Freight Tools has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 3,437 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
5.0
Jul 29, 2021

Great place to work

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The Company has great core principles that are applied in my everyday work life. Collaboration, doing the right thing, frugality, humility, keeping our egos in check and continuous improvement. The company is growing tremendously 1211 stores which means extreme opportunity for growth and development. Company believes in work life balance and really invests in their employees.

Cons

Overall technology could be better however I have seen much growth over the last four years.

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Harbor Freight Tools Response
4y
Thank you for taking the time to provide us your feedback. We are always happy to hear from our hardworking team! We rely on all our associates to bring value to our hardworking customers and we would not be able to accomplish all that we do without hardworking leaders like you. We strive to be the best place to work by listening to our associates and improving every step of the way. Your feedback will help us do that. We have heard similar responses from other associates and we assure you that we are continuously working to improve in this area. We encourage you to continue providing your suggestions as we strive to be the best place to work. Thank you for your continued hard work and we are glad to have you on the team!
1.0
Nov 20, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I guess they have coffee in every break room

Cons

Senior managment pretend to be on your side, but all they want to see is a BIG bonus. Lots of power moves. You work long hours and are shown no appreciation. If you want to work for a terrible company, go right ahead, but dont say I didn't warn you. People are very unfriendly. And everyone thinks Eric is god. Serisusly working at HFT is like being in high school all over again, all the same back stabbing and power plays. Its all about impressing people.

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Harbor Freight Tools Response
11y
We appreciate you sharing your input, but we're disappointed you are unable to share a single positive thought about your co-workers, the company, benefits, job, etc. Harbor Freight continually strives to improve the work environment and experience for its employees, and we encourage you to share your concerns with your HR representative, or anonymously call our HFT Outlet Hotline at 800-693-8377. Good luck!
1.0
Jan 31, 2019

DON'T WORK HERE

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

there really aren't any pros

Cons

Discriminatory, oppressive, retaliatory environment. The culture is horrible and no one seems to care. HR is a joke and is run by incompetent, junior people. Most of the VPs are running departments they have zero experience in and the senior management does not care. If you work in a department that drives revenue and you get face time with the founder, you get preferential treatment. If you are male and at a certain level, you are overpaid and over-bonused. There is 1 female VP. If you aren't in a department that drives or contributes to revenue, you make nothing. No company perks, the office environment is substandard and the parking is beyond horrible. I would rather stand on a street corner holding a sign than work for Harbor Freight. No wonder they make their tools in China. Cheap labor and they can take advantage of people. Corporate office runs on the same philosophy. Shame on you Eric.

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Harbor Freight Tools Response
7y
We want to thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. In addition, we want to thank you for your time with Harbor Freight Tools. You mention a few things in your feedback that we want to politely correct, as they are not true and misrepresent who we are as a company. First, we want to share with you that our HR leadership team has over 100 years of combined Human Resources (HR) experience, and we think that is pretty senior. Next, our Vice Presidents (VP) have at least 10 years of specific departmental experience in their fields—most have 15+—again we think that is also pretty senior. Third, you differentiate departments that add to the bottom line, but we believe all departments have the opportunity to contribute to the bottom line through their hard work. This is why we disagree with your statement that only certain groups have the opportunity to impact sales. We are opening 100 stores a year and have done so for the past 5 years, which means our offices are very tight quarters, but we take pride in this as we view it as “a good problem to have.” We are also in the process of opening a new office with ample parking. Our Director of People and Culture has been with the company for 3 years with over 40 people on his team and wants to assure you that they all care, they all work hard, and they aren’t the only ones who do. We aren’t perfect, that is for sure, but we are evolving to be “the best place to work in retail.” We are proud of that and our commitment to constantly improve wherever we can. Lastly, you mentioned that Eric should be ashamed, but again, we think otherwise. Eric is one of the most humble people on the planet who gives to so many and asks for nothing in return. He works hard and is committed to making HFT “the best place to work in retail” and we all agree and are working towards that goal. We wish you all the best on your career journey and appreciate your feedback as we are continuously improving. If you disagree or have more feedback, please feel free to email our Director of People and Culture directly at culture@harborfreight.com. He is happy to connect with you.
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Glassdoor has 3,484 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.