Charity shops. Their noses are turned upwards

elsien

Don't get me started on ordering by colour rather than size. Yes it looks better but it wastes a lot of time rummaging through a pile of blue tops, none of which fit. One national chain lost my custom due to this - they say said it was policy and there was no discretion to change it.
Worst experience I had was when a volunteer who was a transvestite served me - after he'd been banished back upstairs, the witches on the desk asked if I'd realised "it" was a man, and they were disgusted he was allowed to set foot in the place. He had far better customer service skills than they did, which I was happy to point out.

Pollycat

elsien wrote: »

Worst experience I had was when a volunteer who was a transvestite served me - after he'd been banished back upstairs, the witches on the desk asked if I'd realised "it" was a man, and they were disgusted he was allowed to set foot in the place. He had far better customer service skills than they did, which I was happy to point out.

That's shocking!
I wonder why the person was banished upstairs in the first place.

I was once served by a really great chap (who just happened to be gay - he told me so) in Age UK when I was pondering on a Phase Eight jacket with much too long sleeves.
We discussed various options (I used to do lots of dressmaking & he was on a textiles course) and I finally bought the jacket.

He was so lovely and helpful and enthusiastic that when I got home I emailed the charity to tell them so.

seven-day-weekend

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Check which charities supplement their income with people forced to work there through the Work Programme. That'll most likely get you the majority of miserable people, who don't want to have to sort through bags of poo stained underwear (yes, it happens regularly), flea infested cuddly toys, mouldy books, jigsaws with bits missing, toys which are broken, have leaking batteries of sharp bits and stuff stinking of cigarette smoke for the equivalent of £1.79/h.

Still no excuse to be rude to someone trying to donate.

seven-day-weekend

FinancialController wrote: »

I read with dismay your post about your treatment by staff in charity shops.

Just over three years ago my wife died after a long illness and I decided to donate her clothing and jewellery to good causes.

I had struggled with the bereavement and was perhaps not taking as much care of myself as I ought to have done. I approached the local Oxfam shop carrying a large box and announced that I had a donation.

You would have thought from the reaction of the troika of witches behind the counter that I was wasting their time and the statement, "We are closing in twenty minutes, there's no time for further donations today" was delivered in such a horrible manner that I just turned around and walked out.

The single volunteer as the Sue Ryder shop was the exact opposite and took the time to look through the items with me. She actually offered to return some valuable items to me just in case I'd not realised what they were. The items were all of good quality with a lot of designer labels.

The lasting memory is though of someone who saw through the fact that a somewhat scruffy man who could have been donating nothing of value was treated with the utmost respect.

I now volunteer myself to help out and it amazes me the number of "do-gooders" who treat the charity work as a "badge" rather than actually wishing to do good.

That being said; all of the charities need the donations as much as ever.

We have always found our best bargains/customer service in Sue Ryder shops.

kboss2010

Pollycat wrote: »

No!!!!!
By author! It has to be by author.
When I'm in a charity shop I have a very strong urge to start sorting the fiction books by author order.

oh, in a shop, definitely! I just organise by colour at home :-)

Hermia

Pollycat wrote: »

No!!!!!
By author! It has to be by author.
When I'm in a charity shop I have a very strong urge to start sorting the fiction books by author order.

I once went into a charity shop that had two bookcases and one was labelled 'books for women' and the other 'books for men'. In the 'books for women' case was romance, chick lit, celebrity memoirs and cookery. In the 'books for men' case was crime and thrillers, literary fiction, history, science, politics and basically all books that were on serious subjects or required an education to read. The woman behind the desk said that soooo many women had complained, but the manager was very old-fashioned and wouldn't change it!

Pollycat

kboss2010 wrote: »

oh, in a shop, definitely! I just organise by colour at home :-)

Even at home I organise the books I have by the same author by author.
I also organise by subject e.g. all gardening/plant books together.

And my cookery books are organised by country/type of cuisine.

I even sort my DVDs by genre with all the sci-fi ones together etc.

I'm obviously a closet librarian.

kboss2010

Pollycat wrote: »

Even at home I organise the books I have by the same author by author.
I also organise by subject e.g. all gardening/plant books together.

And my cookery books are organised by country/type of cuisine.

I even sort my DVDs by genre with all the sci-fi ones together etc.

I'm obviously a closet librarian.

My librarian friend would be proud!

kboss2010

Hermia wrote: »

I once went into a charity shop that had two bookcases and one was labelled 'books for women' and the other 'books for men'. In the 'books for women' case was romance, chick lit, celebrity memoirs and cookery. In the 'books for men' case was crime and thrillers, literary fiction, history, science, politics and basically all books that were on serious subjects or required an education to read. The woman behind the desk said that soooo many women had complained, but the manager was very old-fashioned and wouldn't change it!

I wonder how many sales the manager lost because women walked out of the shop?

Gingernutty

I follow a local blogger who has cultivated a good relationship with the local charity shop volunteers.

She runs a business buying, renovating and selling vintage clothing. Nothing is wasted, she even cannibalises torn or faded clothing to repair something else.

She'll even have vintage suff that ends up in the rag bag - patchwork items only need small scraps or fabric.

The staff will keep stuff back for her.