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Anyone else work in charity retail?

14 replies

Spopssas · 14/03/2024 09:56

It's toxic. Discuss

OP posts:
TheDandyLion · 14/03/2024 10:04

You first.

MermaidEyes · 14/03/2024 10:10

Nope, but now I'm curious why it's toxic. More or less so than other retail?

Miloandfreddy · 14/03/2024 10:12

I know someone who is an area manager for a large chain of charity shops. She's a complete knob if that helps 😂

TheYearOfSmallThings · 14/03/2024 10:13

Are you a volunteer? A manager? A chugger?

Spopssas · 14/03/2024 10:23

Deputy manager...to the brown nosing manager who is hideous.
What a shower of shits. Thieves.

OP posts:
SilverFishcake · 14/03/2024 10:48

I’m a volunteer, no such issue in the shop I work in. Very supportive. Any goods brought in must go on the shop floor before purchase for 24 hours. We do get a 25% discount. They pay for us to have a buffet in the shop twice a year as a thank you. It is MIND the MH charity, we struggle for donations compared to the animal charities. Some of the volunteers have been there for years. My manager and another volunteer put their own hands in their pockets and bought new gifts to give to children that came in the shop at Christmas, wrapped them all up as well. It’s the best environment I have ever worked in. I’m retired and worked in education for many years.

Spopssas · 14/03/2024 10:55

Thank you silverfishcake. This is wonderful to hear. I worked (resigned this morning as they are awful) a local cancer charity in Somerset. Just awful.

OP posts:
Spopssas · 14/03/2024 10:57

eg, they have a volunteer who is a dealer and she buys stuff. I called her out. Blackballed eversince.

OP posts:
MothralovesGojira · 14/03/2024 11:30

@Spopssas
I'm sorry that your experience has been so bad. Some of the charities attitude to donations, staff and volunteers can be pretty awful but they're not all like it. Some volunteers and/or employees do use charity shops as a free for all as do some customers to be fair.

I work for one of the big charities and really enjoy my job. We process donations, prep them and then sell them so I do a wide range of stuff. I started as a volunteer and then applied for a paid position when one came up - very rare as it's an excellent shop so it's sort of a dead man's shoes situation with paid employment. The two managers are mainly great and the assistant team really works together well. The volunteers are long serving and mostly great too (you always get some who perhaps shouldn't be there).
Yes, we do get pick of the donations once they're prepped and priced but no one takes the piss and we do pay the same as customers. On top of my paid hours I probably do 4-5 hours unpaid each week which I'm happy to gift to the charity and most of us do unpaid hours every week as we enjoy the job although we are kept short of paid hours we need to run the shop effectively and head office are a nightmare. Generally it's good though and we are doing 'good'.

Brrrrrrrrrritscold · 14/03/2024 13:50

100% this. I was area manager for 8 months. Most toxic place I have ever worked with some really shady financials. It’s almost impossible to report them without masses of proof too, so they will continue to get away with it. The CEO screamed at people like a child having a tantrum. Never again!!

Isseywith3witchycats · 14/03/2024 14:11

i do the ebay work in an animal charity based in one of our shops and we have a great team everyone is friendly and we all respect each other no one syphons off items we have rules in place anything a volunteer os staff member wants to buy has to be on the shop floor for 24 hours first

Spopssas · 14/03/2024 15:17

I like the idea of things being on the shop floor for 24 hours first. Never heard of that.

It's the management that are so awful. Really treacherous.

OP posts:
Stevehotspur · 14/06/2024 04:27

Appalling that you work unpaid hours regardless of whether it’s a charity or not.

rwalker · 14/06/2024 04:34

Friend worked in fundraising for a hospice there was a number of them in a paid roll

left after a few months clique, nepotism and soon as they tried to change things ( what they were brought in to do ) accused of bullying
staff very uncooperative Volunteers thought because they have there time for free that was a license to please themselves and do exactly as they wanted .

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