Charity Shops

[Fleurdebleurgh]

I bought two puzzles yday for my children from a local charity shop for £1.50.

When we got home and put them together, 1 was missing 3 pieces (of a 20 piece puzzle) and the other was missing 4 pieces (of a 24 piece puzzle) but had an additional 17 pieces in from what looked to be 2 completley different puzzles.

I took them back to the shop today and explained the problem, not really expecting a refund, afterall it is a charity, but perhaps to raise their awareness that its something they should check.

I explained there were pieces missing, and the lady replied with "And?" I said that i was just letting them know that they might want to check the number of pieces of puzzles bought in, that i didnt expect them to 'do' the puzzle, but it would be an idea to count the bits to see if they were all there at least.

She replied "You do know we are volunteers dont you? We dont get paid to be here"

Firstly, they are 20 piece puzzles, it would take seconds to count to ensure they are all there, and secondly how is the fact she is an unpaid worker relevant to the subject?

I asked if she would sell me a pair of shoes if only one shoe was present. She said no. Its the same deal isnt it?

Throughout the 'debate' she did not offer an apology or solution to the problem.

I think its a little crass to stand and argue with a pensioner in a charity shop over £1.50. But AIBU for thinking she could have handled it better, and also, that they shouldnt be selling incomplete items to begin with?

(Yes i realise this would be classed as a 'first world problem' )

and they all hate anyone...
who isn't white
Isn't english
Can't speak english
so that would be, then, most of our younger volunteers, and just about every single customer

I think a lot of these volunteers are missing the point of it being a charity shop. If you want to donate £1.50 to charity and receive nothing in return there are plenty of ways to do that, if you want to spend £1.50 getting your DC some toys and a charity makes some money out of it this is a bonus.

I thought charity shops were about offering low priced, reasonable condition goods to people who might not be able to afford the items brand new, as well as making money for the charity concerned.

Yes indeedy. Am white (ish) but not English and certainly under 65.

Ours let you take clothes back if they don't fit or items don't work.

YANBU

I bought a dvd for the kids (they were ill so I wanted to give them a little treat ) from the charity shop the other day.

I was more than a little peed off to find that when I opened the box there was 1 disk missing (out of 2) - the one with the actual movie on it. I didn't particularly want a disk of special features and the kids were really upset that they couldn't watch their new movie.

All they had to do was open the box to figure out that 50% of the dvd was missing I should have done that too but that's not the point!

I will be taking it back as they are a good shop and I go there a lot!

yanbu I bought a Harry Potter jigsaw from a charity shop a while ago, it was one of those 3d stand up ones and was £4.99 I asked the grumpy old man
assistant if it was complete an he said they were all checked first.I got it home and the whole base was missing it was useless .

OP... given that they were 20 and 24 piece puzzles respectively... why didn't YOU give them a quick check?

I'm astonished that you took them back and then proceeded to deliver a lecture. Charity shops don't operate like businesses, whatever is said about them.

LyingWitch "Charity shops don't operate like businesses, whatever is said about them" - I can only guess that you've never worked for a charity.

When I started volunteering and working for a charity I was amazed at how business minded the whole commercial operation is. It still surprises me now 2 years later.

The Sale of Goods Act applies to goods sold from charity shops including second hand. Therefore they should be in good working order.

I do some unpaid work for a charity. I still have to have my professional membership and liability insurance because even though I'm not paid the job has to be done properly. I also have access to funds (slightly different voluntary job) which I have to make sure is probably accounted for with an audit trail. We even have to charge and pay VAT but thankfully I'm not involved in that bit other than remembering to ask about it when getting quotes and including it in any pricing. I doubt HMRC would accept us getting it wrong because we're volunteers.

Does anyone remember Mary Portas going into Save The Children? It was a real eye opener.

f course they operate like a business!!
how else would they work?

When I said that they don't 'operate as a business' I mean in terms that they receive donations - businesses don't; they engage the services of volunteers for the cause - businesses don't (generally); they sell second-hand items - businesses mostly don't. People patronise these shops because (generally) they want to support the charity - they don't (as far as I know) do this for businesses.

In that vein, OP may be in the 'right' but her attitude stinks and the way her posts come across make me cringe.

Yes they are subject to the Sale of Goods Act. What a shame they care more about trumping up the fact they volunteer, than about their customers or goodwill. Not what you expect as the "face" of the charity.

I think she was being massively unreasonable. If she's a volunteer to run a charity shop, could she please run it and not merely stand behind the counter feeling sanctimonious? This sort of attitude is rife in charity shops, IME. It's hardly a massive undertaking to count (or even do, if it's such a small puzzle) children's jigsaw pieces, is it?

I am frankly that you weren't offered a receipt. You know she'll just stick the puzzles back on the shelf, don't you? Could you drop a line to the charity concerned? They won't want someone unhelpful working for them, volunteer or not.

YANBU!

As charity shops are charging higher prices and are even offering loyalty cards they are becoming more like normal high street stores.

As far as I am aware, they are also subject to the sale of goods act and must refund if an item is faulty or not fit for purpose.

I shop regularly at my local Red Cross shop and they would definitely have exchanged or refunded a jigsaw with pieces missing. And all without the bad attitude. The volunteers that work there, elderly or otherwise, are all polite and friendly. I enjoy shopping there, for the pleasant atmosphere as much as the chance to have a rummage and pick up a bargain.

I would send an email outlining your encounter to the head office of the charity concerned. I am sure they will want to be made aware of a member of their staff, volunteer or otherwise, behaving in such an unprofessional manner.

''Don't operate like a business''!!!! My goodness. I am
I have had all sorts of jobs over the years..
Hand on heart , I can honestly say..I have never, ever had the amount of paperwork and admin (and pressures / targets) that i do in current job as charity shop manager. In fact, most newbies don't last their training because they can't cope with the amount. Hence the fact I'm incredibly short staffed because no one can hack the pressures and amount of work we have to put in ie unpaid overtime, bank hols, weekends, come in on days off to work for free to catch up (if you are lucky to have one) etc
Then there's the budgets , the targets...we are performance monitored. I have to ring in figures daily but to 'the big boss' twice weekly which is horribly nervewracking and like being back at school only far worse . I have to compare to , for example, sales for that date (to the day) from the previous year. If I am down on that..I have to give an action plan on what I plan to do to change this. (so, if it is down, i have to report , and receive a massive bollocking, twice a week. It's hugely demoralising and stressful). Then there's Gift Aid sign ups..this forms part of my appraisals , contract, everything. When I was low on sign ups, I had a nasty letter sent TO MY HOME and not my work place, whilst I was on annual leave. I then received a disiplinery as I had not the previous month had enough Gift Aid sign ups.
I also have to account for every single penny. We therefore buy our own loo roll, tea, coffee , sugar, cleaning products etc.
It is all the targets and pressure to meet them (when I am incredibly short staffed and overworked) that are pushing me close to quitting.
So please don't say they don't operate like a business! It's not the very hard manual work or managing a bunch of often very difficult people that is making me feel like that..its the relentless statistics i have to read, maths i have to do and impossible targets i have to reach.
My doctor wants to sign me off sick because of the pressure being put on me as I have insufficient staffing and I am basically being bullied because I can't always meet my targets (and it was the same when I was working 7 days a week for this charity. They expect staff to shit miracles basically)
Also we are bullied into making pledges and commitments. eg say my gift aid sign up is low. I am named and shamed in a weekly newletter that hundreds of management read. Then at meetings..the same again and in front of everyone, have to make a written pledge to what I will up my GA sign ups too. If i have a bad week, my job is then literally on the line because and i quote ...have 'broken the pledge' and I have not kept my promise that they forced me to make
This isn't a whinge..I choose to work there. It is the facts. IT IS A BUSINESS .End of!!!!

I'm sorry that was so long but I think I needed to get that off my chest!!! Have just got back from a 12 hr shift at charity shop so got pretty wound up reading that!

lololizzy. . Whatever they're paying you, it's not enough. That sounds like a nightmare.

I'm on minimum wage but put in a vast amount of unpaid hours. I do the job for various reasons.It keeps me incredibly fit !! (no joke!) as it's so hectic and chaotic but i view it as a free workout! It's made me way fitter than I was 20 yrs ago. It's a challenge and many aspects are rewarding. It's got me out of my comfort zone eg taking on disabled volunteers (which I''ve had no previous experience of). Also the aspect of 'giving something back' . I will absolutely admit though, that also I was desperate for a job after being made redundant from a 'normal' longterm retail job and couldn't find anything suitable. I thought it would be good experience (and much of it is) but lately it's making me ill with stress because it is such very hard physical work , and the criticisms and targets and pressures on top of that make it pretty unbearable. If i don't get some back up/ support soon, I will not be there much longer, which would make me very but I simply cannot cope

YANBU. It's a pig to count but it's also a pig to buy one with pieces missing! One of my bosses in a charity shop I volunteered at used to have us count them, the other would make us do the puzzles! It was very frustrating to get to the end of the puzzle and realise you were missing a few pieces

It was a fun way to spend the day though, better than the piss covered clothes we'd usually get on a Monday morning (after a weekend of clothes being left on the doorstep and drunkards peeing on them)! :(

YANBU at all. First of all, it's not a big deal to count 20 pieces. Second, yes, they are volunteers - this doesn't mean they are entitled to give shoddy service. I think the Sale of Goods & service Act still applies to them. I am a trustee of a charity (not one that runs a shop) and it never fails to amaze me the dedication and efforts that some (actually, ALL) of our volunteers put in. it sounds like you ran into a particularly arsey individual and i'd say take your business elsewhere. Charity shops are 'businesses' in the sense that they want your money, they are providing goods/services and (in my high street at least) there is significant choice as to which one to spend your money in.

My mum unfortunately also had a problem with charity shops when she took my recently deceased gran's clothes in. having taken one look at them, the person made a comment to the effect that being mostly wintery clothes, they couldn't be bothered to take them and was quite unpleasant about it. my mum has since donated them to another charity who were pleased to receive them and hopefully give them a decent 2nd home. Bugger off, I say, if you've not the common courtesy or common sense to treat your customers properly.

Yanbu. Our local charity shops state on the box if it's a complete puzzle. You should expect a whole puzzle. You are buying a jigsaw after all!

We buy loads of jigsaws from charity shops and we have never had a piece missing! So I would say the majority of shops DO check them, no matter how many pieces. I'd be a bit peeved not to have all the pieces there too, doesn't matter how much I've paid, regardless of whether it's a charity or not. So you are definitely not BU and the lady shouldn't have been so rude!

I love you too LyingWitch.

I did not 'deliver a lecture' i pointed out it might be wise business practice to check items were complete before sale.

I said in my OP i thought it crass to argue with a pensioner, in a charity shop.
I hardly read her the riot act and stamped my feet.

YANBU, they should have checked the jigsaws were complete before selling it, and the member of staff was very rude.