To be annoyed the charity shop would not accept my donation

[Bearbehind]

I've had a bit of a clear out and had some stuff to take the the charity shop.

I checked on line it was open today then took the stuff into town.

You can't park right outside so I carried the stuff, in the snow, to the shop only to see a sign which said they no longer open on Sundays.

Oh well, I thought but, all the lights were on and I could see at least 3 people inside so I knocked the door and someone opened it.

He said they were shut and I explained I didn't want to come in, just drop these donations off.

He outright refused to accept them, because they were shut, and I'd have to go to another branch of theirs that was open today or come back tomorrow.

AIBU to think that if someone has made the effort to bring a donation to a charity shop and if there's are people there, they should accept them.

I'll be buggered if I'm taking stuff to them again.

Charity shops cant be struggling that much if they are turning people away because they are 'full'

It doesn't work like that, it can be full of donations but unable to convert them into hard cash. That's the problem. The shop front might look well organised but the back office can sometimes be so full of bags you have to climb over them to move. Clothes have to be steamed, electrical items have to be tested, children's toys checked, shelf space made available, some item cleaned, some items researched.... Its not a simple matter of empty bag, stack on shelf money rolls in.

Of course we dont know this shop was full, there are plenty of other reasons why they cant always take donations when they are closed. Maybe they spent all Sunday emptying the shop to do a refit. Maybe they had spent all day telling people they were closed and pissed off that they had got no work done. Maybe they literally have a policy that stops them taking donations in when they are closed. Maybe the people hadn't done the training in how to lift bags (yes that is a real thing).

And a cold hard fact is that only 20% of donations are probably worth selling in some shops, if that offends some people then sorry but it is true.

Bearbehind - I have cast no aspersions whatsoever on the quality of your donations, you are just looking for excuses to be professionally offended. You have utterly failed to see how obnoxious it is to knock at the door of a closed shop and are intent on seeing yourself as 100% in the right. I, on the other hand, have said I would also have been annoyed if the shop had been closed, I just would not have gone on to have your bad manners by hammering on the door and refusing to acknowledge any fault on my part. Hold grudges if you want to. I personally think that is exceptionally immature of you. It really woukd not have been much more effort on your part to go to the shop they suggested.

I'm pissed off because so many posters have said they work in / have associations with these charity shops and get annoyed by donations and accuse donors of using charity shops as tips.

Nobody who is associated with charity shops/volunteering has said they get annoyed at general donations nor have they accused people of generally using them as dumping grounds.

What they get annoyed by is the fact they are expected to take every item any random person decides they want to bring to the shop and are supposed to just take it gratefully even if they are closed orhave suspended accepting donations for a period of time (for whatever reason). If they dare to say not to donations, they are seen as being ungrateful/rude/jobsworths when all they are doing is following a rule from Head Office/their store manager to not take anything else as they know they either don't have the volunteer manpower to actually sort through the donation bags or that they just physically don't have the space to hold anything else at this moment in time.

Also, PPs have said that some of the things they get donated are not fit for resale and some people act like the charity shop is the place to send stuff that they would otherwise put in the bin ... that doesn't mean everyone is the same, but this is a thread set up because you were "annoyed" they said no - so of course people are going to focus on the experiences they've had with regards to the reasons why charities aren't always wrong to say no.

Of course they are being anal jobsworths IF THEY ARE THERE AND OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR

julie

Yes thank you i realise that

I just was making a comment to the few posters who were saying that charity stores will fold if they don't accept donations

But I absolutely get your point

TattyCat - different charity shops seem to specialise in different types of things. Some accept large furniture items and may be willing to accept random stuff because people have been in asking if they have them, so it's worth asking in a shop that looks like it might sell that sort of thing if they would like it. I've been surprised by what they will and won't accept in the past.

ohhere

THEY OPENED THE DOOR COS BEAR WAS KNOCKING

They obviously felt they needed to reiterate that the shop was shut

JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE IS IN THE STORE IT DOESNT MEAN ITS OPEN

I feel like i am yelling a lot tonight

No round, you've cast no aspertions whatsoever

Well done tou, Bearbehind for justifying your selfishness to yourself. It's no more skin off my nose than yours if we drown in unrecycled rubbish left by people who offend far too easily.

That post by you at 17.40, as an example, must have been an imposter.

Whilst charity shops are grateful for continued donations, that does not mean that they can't occasionally get overwhelmed

I know. The poor dears seem to be surprised by Christmas every single year ... and then we get them bleating a few months later because they are short of stock.
Other businesses manage to cope with seasonal variations - why not charity shops?

roundaboutthetown thank you, I didn't know that. I'll ask before I turn up with lots of long poles and a crate of associated bits (although I will, of course, try and pair everything up first!!).

rufus you are getting way too hung up on the original point.

Yes, it pissed me off at the time but what has pissed me off much more is the assumption that everyone who donates to charity shops is a skank who sends dirty, unsaleable items that are offensive to the people who have to deal with them.

If they were there and had not opened the door, of course the OP would have gone away a happy bunny... Not. At least by answering her, she went away armed with the knowledge of where she could go to donate her stuff, instead, she just chose to drive home in a strop rather than go there. And only someone with no imagination whatsoever would think that when someone gives you a bag of donated items, the only work involved in accepting it is to smile and dump it on the floor.

Another question for those in the know... I can't give time to charity shops but I can help by washing a load of stuff and ironing, and hanging before returning it. Would that help or do I just need to go in and ask?

I think I've just answered my own question, haven't I?!!

bear

Im not talking to you

I am replying to ohhere

I know you have moved on but people are still talking about the shop staff being anal jobsworths

Would charity shops want them?

@TattyCat honestly, the best answer is - ask them.

Some charities won't take home fixings, others will but only if they're in certain condition, others will but only if they are a specialist store or have a designated department for the item (EG British Heart Foundation has high street shops and dedicated "Home and electrical" shops ... Cancer Research UK have warehouse stores that would take them but their high street locations maybe wouldn't)

Your best bet would be to call them or pop in next time you're near one of your local stores and just ask them. I've occasionally had items that my local store wouldn't usually take, but because I've come in and asked them the manager has made some calls and it has been agreed that if I bring the item in before X date then they can arrange to have it sent to one of their other stores/warehouses where they can actually make use of it.

Yeah i think you have tatty

So I suppose if OP had wanted to hand over a cheque for £10K they would have refused it because they were closed. What rubbish. YANBU OP. It's put me off donating. I think I'll chuck this cardigan and few books (nearly new) in the bin. I won't of course but it's enough to put anybody off donating.

Bearbehind - that is not casting an aspersion on the quality of the items you did not donate, it is a reference to the fact you said you were just going to bin it because you were annoyed - ergo, you were planning to turn it into unrecycled rubbish.

Rubbish which we will all drown in because you would rather bin something in a fit of pique than find another charity shop that is open.

Or to put it another way, you suffer as much as anyone else from your silly attitude, where your offended pride is more important than anything else in the world to you.

TattyCat,

Genuine answer, (only in the shop I volunteer of course). Clothes (undamaged) are always wanted if they have a good label. We steam all clothes before sell. Tesco, Asda brands are not wanted. Its not snobbery its just business. No used under ware.

Curtain poles not wanted, just because they take up so much room (unless very valuable like antique ones). Small cheap electrical items not wanted. Safety items not wanted, like car seats, helmets etc And no baby items involved in bodily functions.

Any jewellery (even if cheap) is brilliant as its so small we can keep them for ages to sell.

Stuff that will fit on a shelf and have resell value above £5 are wanted. It will only be on a shelf for 2 or so weeks so think would someone buy it in that time. Kitchen stuff is ok as long as it isn't chipped or look well used. Niche items are good as they can be moved to specialist stores. And expensive electrical items are good if they work.

Children (or adults) battery operated items are good it they work, otherwise they are binned. Handmade (or foreign) stuff are no use as everything has to have the relevant safety label on it. Books are only resold if they look in almost near new condition. Puzzles and games only useful if all the bits are there. VHS tapes should be thrown in the bin, DVD and albums welcome, singles are not, and definitely no pirated anything (yes we get a lot of that).

Womens shoes in good condition are usually a big earner. Anything of glass should be definitely worth a bit before donating, as we cant transport glass if it doesn't sell it really is binned.

HTH

Of course they are being anal jobsworths IF THEY ARE THERE AND OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR

Ohhh ... I work in a supermarket, we had a power cut this week and nothing was on in the store - no checkouts, no fridges, no freezers, no overhead lights, nothing. This meant we could not trade, but there was enough emergency and back up lighting for us employees to still work on the shop floor - mostly emptying fridges/freezers of all the fresh stuff that needed to be put in the waste.

We originally left a note on the doors apologising to customers and explaining we had had a power cut and would not be opening until the following morning when a new emergency generator was connected. We still had customers rattling and hammering at the doors because we should be open. In the end the manager stationed a colleague to stand at every door and as customers approached we were instructed to basically read out the note and reiterate that we were closed.

We still had some customers who were outraged because they had come all the way out to the store and we should be open and/or should have warned people of the sudden and unexpected closure

melj

We shut the shop and had someone knocking on the door for a refund

We had to open the door to apologise for being shut and not being able to accept the refund

The charity I work for recently closed their last remaining shop. Judging by many of the utterly thick comments on here tonight they did the right thing - ffs. I mean how dare those idiots volunteer their time, and then not JUMP REALLY REALLY HIGH when Bear told them to eh? Some people, don't they know they are lucky to be allowed to volunteer, and that they really need to get their act together and serve Bear?

What are these people like? Fuck your life Bear eh? Fuck your life.

I do look forward to telling my manager she was an anal jobsworth when i am back in work on Thursday