Charity shop rant

[blubkins]

Took a donation into the local charity shop over the weekend. The guy at the till told me to take the donation to the back. The door to the store room was open so I put it in there. Another lady came along and put a huge donation in there. Not a second later, a woman who worked in the shop came rushing to the back, shouting at us and lecturing us in a very patronising tone about not going into the back and putting our donations outside the door "because of health and safety". She was extremely rude and said to the other lady "can you please get out" tutting and in the most angry teacher type voice. I explained that the man had said to take it to the back and since the door was open I had just popped it inside (where there were loads of other bags). She insisted on explaining to us why we shouldn't have been in there and I told her back that she needs to explain that to her colleague not us as his instructions were not clear.

The other woman leaving a donation was great, she simply said to the charity shop worker that it was "fine, but please can I have my donation back". At this point the worker realised what a mistake she had made and tried to halfheartedly apologise but the other donator took her bag, left the shop and gave the donation to the other charity shop a few doors down.

I was so shocked at how rude the shop worker was and I pointed out that we were donating items and she shouldn't be so rude. It's a shame because it is a small shop that needs support and I imagine the other lady won't donate there again (and I will reconsider now).

AIBU to think that if you receive a donation you should be thankful and not abuse the people giving stuff in (wealthy middle class area where people tend to donate high quality stuff)?

tinfoilhattie
Of course charity shops are money spinners, isn't that the point??? If you donate to a shop belonging to a registered charity, where would the money be going if it's not to the charity? A shop which is only giving a % to charity isn't a charity shop. Have never come. Across that sort of shop. Charity shops may get reduced rates but pay rent and other overheads at market rate.

Most naive and clueless post on here.

You're in cloud cuckoo land if you think the charity in question sees more than 20% of the profits. The majority is creamed off and put into the pockets of the fatcats that run it.

BeMorePanda

No, people who behave so rudely and ungratefully when people are actually trying to help a charity, do not deserve "a break".

hate to burst your bubble, but the volunteers who staff these shops are doing a lot more to actually help a charity than someone dropping off their unwanted tat is.

And lets face it, what you are actually doing when you take stuff to a charity shop is helping yourself - which is OK, but there is no need to ride in on a high horse.

I don't know about you but what I deliver to charity shops is not "tat", as you put it.
Luckily, the hospice shop to which we now donate is staffed by lovely ladies who are always nice and grateful and not in the least bit rude.

Don't understand the rant.

I agree with CaraAspen, if people didn't give their TAT as a few people have so rudely put it, these con merchants charity shops would go out of business. Where would they get all their fatcat profits from then?

I've been astonished many times to hear volunteers in charity shops slagging off other volunteers in front of customers without being worried who is in the shop and can hear every word. It's put me off volunteering.

I also knew a daughter who was a charity shop manager who put aside everything decent for her mother, even a bike, before it could get to the shop floor. She no longer works there though....

Here I donate a fair bit and have always been given a thank you. But I've had a volunteer sneer at me when I bought a table once ' You want that thing? What on earth do you want that for?'..... Errr, because I like it and want a small table, not your opinion of my taste in furniture [Scandinavian/New England actually] when I'm handing you money.

I've noticed quite a lot of abruptness when people are donating to charity shops. Lots of brusque "Put it there thank you" sort of thing. No smile.

I think it's because the volunteers might sometimes encounter people who expect a pat on the back for donating and they're trying to discourage that....but really, all they need to do is smile and say some stock phrase such as "Oh that's very kind of you, thank you we appreciate it"

Just to offer a different perspective....

I was in my local Oxfam shop when a man and his dd (6 ish) came in. They had tied up their bikes outside. They ambled round the shop looking at stuff and left. A customer went to the counter with a child's pink cycle helmet and asked how much it was as there was no price. The staff were a little baffled but agreed £5 and the customer bought the helmet and left the shop. A few minutes later the man came back in with his dd and asked the staff if they had seen his dd's pink cycle helmet. The staff - very embarrassed and apologetic - realised they had sold it and tried to explain. The man went ballistic, shouting at them and cussing, then stormed out yelling this wouldnt be the end of the matter (even though it was entirely his fault). I know the staff fairly well - they are very kind, gentle and helpful and they are volunteers. They were hugely upset and embarrassed by the outburst. It was awful to see.

It's worth remembering customers can be horrible to voluntary staff too. Maybe she'd had one of those days...

... not sure if I made the story clear. The man's dd had carried her helmet into the shop and put it down.

Bloody hell Panda I don't think anybody was expecting breakfast in bed and sole charge of the TV remote for a day, just not to be shouted at.

And people could ebay their 'tat' if they wanted to or just not donate it then what on earth would the charities use to fund their directors huge salaries and massive running costs.

A lot of staff at charity shops have poor social skills that would preclude them from paid employment for a variety of reasons. I'm doing a slow, steady clear out and getting to know all of ours, quite well. A lot of obvious ASD and I'm hoping those people really are there voluntarily and not on some version of workfare.

I did have one peer into a bag with a slight sneer, last week, but I'd donated a few less than perfect books to a shop that I know puts less than perfect books in the 50p box, rather than chucks them out (as many do).

I can't gift aid, either. I simply say "sorry, I don't pay any tax"

it gets them a lot more money out of your donation, so it's not churlish of them to ask.

And FTRm I usually just leave stuff on the counter, but this particular volunteer might have had problems with carrying stuff?

Well as a counter to the horrible experiences some posters have had, my DC recently had a clear out of toys. All really good quality stuff that they had just outgrown. I usually go to a big Barnardos near us, but had the things in the back of the car, and happened to park beside a tiny independent charity shop which looked very unpromising. DS was with me and helped me carry in the boxes. The staff were really lovely. They made a massive deal of thanking DS for his generosity and told him other children would get a chance to play with his old toys. DS came out beaming. I don't expect effusive thanks when I drop off donations, but actually this was really lovely for DS.

I find a lot of these volunteers have no interest in the particular charity they are working for but are doing it either to show they are a do-gooder or do it purely to get themselves out of the house/for social reasons.

Or, in many cases, they'll lose their disability benefits, otherwise.

I have also encountered a very rude charity shop volunteer, who was actually aggressive (shoved me) as I didn't put a dress back on a hanger to her specification.

Oxfams response when I complained both in person and in writing was appalling. I won't go there again .

Those less than perfect books simply had bent corners and maybe the odd cracked spine, btw. No dust and any kid sticky had been cleaned off!

YANBU but I'm not surprised. Volunteering of that nature seems to attract a certain type of person... the type that also seem to gravitate to GP receptionist jobs.

I was a charity shop volunteer and now a GP receptionist. I'm rude to no one, no matter how much they are rude to me.

Check your charity here to see the breakdown of how they use their funds if you are concerned and capable of rational thought

I thought it was just me! I've found a shop that I don't much like, but which has donation bins by the door, so I donate and run. In the past I've

• been told to take it away we've got too much stuff already
• been publicly humiliated over the quality of my donations (which were fine)
• had to wait while each and every book was checked to see if it would be something they would sell
• been told off for not putting all my items in plastic bags
• received a death glare for donating
• donated a huge pile (in bags) of barely worn clothes (changed job and didn't need so many glad rags) only to have the staff fawn over someone who donated a few maternity clothes behind me (not that it mattered, but it felt like a snub).

I've also encountered rude staff on the sales side of things, including one woman who shadowed me each time I went into the shop and demanded that I turn out my bags. In the end I calmly asked her why she always did this to me because I never saw her doing it to anyone else. She got very nasty and I complained to management who sent me some store vouchers as a 'thank you' and I never saw her there again.

yanbu. I have had so many bad experiences and also a lot of good ones. Unfortunately you don't want to be dealing with the rude ones each time you visit a store. Some shops do get greedy. £40 for a coat that was only £20 in the shop, primark tshirts marked higher than in primark. volunteers running down the customers when they 'think' they are out of earshot. lack of manners. the 'but people pay that for it on ebay' yes because ebay has a worldwide base. No one is coming half way around the world to pick up the exact item found only in your shop. If you can sell it on ebay why is it not on the charities ebay selling page?

I've worked in charity shops, many of them. I have seen the cherry picking first hand and the good stuff never sees the shop floor. In many cases not even out the bag before its been claimed by someone looking in! Oh and don't even get me started on the day I had to deal with a customer claiming the bag in the window was false advertising as it was clearly a fake. It was and the manager denied it. I think it depends on the shop and the manager. They do have a lot of leeway as to how they run the shop.

Gosh - this seems to be a pattern - I thought it was just the staff or volunteers in my local shop - I leave it outside 5 mins before they open to avoid staff as they are so rude and ungracious.
Perhaps they volunteer because they've all been fired from jobs for being so bloody rude. I do know exactly what you mean - have had the same.

Agree she was rude but a lot of posters seem to think they are donating to the volunteers rather than to the charity , or that's how it reads anyway.
My dm has volunteered for years at a wonderful small charity that does amazing things for terminally ill people. When I give that's why I give. Also because the shop is in a very poor area and one mans tat is another's treasure.
My dm has helped many people gain treatments and others gain life's essentials by giving her time and her smiles.

Very rude but doesn't surprise me. I used to give a lot of stuff to one charity shop and would get a letter once a year telling me how much money they had made from my items, usually about £100. Then one day I took a bagful of stuff round and the shop manager told me they weren't accepting donations. She wasn't polite about it and the shop was really tidy and minimalist so not overflowing. So I take my stuff to a different charity now.

wealthy middle class area where people tend to donate high quality stuff

Why is it relevant whether the area is affluent or is located in the most impoverished town in the country? Charitable donations from the rich aren't any more worthy or kind than donations from the working class.

The staff member was abrupt yes but you've put me off sympathising with you due to your apparent belief that you're entitled to respect/gratitude based on living in a "wealthy middle class area"; I don't think it matters whether you were donating £20 worth of Primark t-shirts or a £5000 Armani couture gown!

That is just bonkers.

I am in the US and donate regularly at a place called Goodwill, a national chain. I shop there frequently too. The staff are paid, as part of the Goodwill mission is to provide job training, experience and a reference for people who may for one reason or another find it hard to get a foothold in the world of employment (ex cons, people with various barriers such as SN, people who have been homeless but are now in the care of an agency, etc). Retail is a good start for many, and those who need support in the area of interacting with the public can be supported.

They are always super nice. It is a pleasure to donate and to shop (I buy most of my clothes there and have picked up many items for my home too.)

They have a solid system for receiving donations, sorting, sanitising and placing on the shop floor, and keeping the merchandise well organised, as it provides training for the employees in many aspects of retail and also helps to move the inventory.

Basically you arrive in your car and they come out to greet you with a big rolling bin, and you put your bag/s into it, or if they're busy with someone else and you have to hurry, you can take your stuff and put it inside their vestibule. The receiving entrance is different from the shop entrance. They thank you graciously, offer a tax receipt for you to fill out yourself, and off you go.

If you buy a large household item they offer to help you load your car.

It is all a very pleasant and impersonal experience.
..........

JamButtyLand, judging from the OP's post and many subsequent comments, I think it is actually the other way round - that the volunteers think the donors are donating to them and not to the charity. Either that or they have allowed their own personal identity to be subsumed into that of the charity. The volunteers have done the opposite of what your DM does - they have discouraged people from giving and from buying. When people take the trouble to sort out their belongings and lug them to a charity shop the least a volunteer can do is be tactful.