charity shop work

[P6662]

Managing a charity shop part time anyone have experience of this? What's it like?

No experience but Cancer Research are closing 200 shops.

Presumably running the shop is like any other retail manager job.
But....with staff that might change more frequently and not be as fully committed.
I know of some charity shops that can't open on some days because the volunteers simply don't turn up.

hopefully you have good people skills and are willing and able to deal with the elderly charity shop workers

in a large well known charity, the part time manager my mum knew was basically expected to do a full time job.

to always be on call on her days off in case the volunteers who needed guidance wanted to ask a question or a problem arose.

running round doing stuff. all the time. busy busy busy. every penny was a prisoner to that charity. the volunteers used to get a discount. it was removed. some volunteers had disabilities that they needed careful handling to ensure they coped ok. she got trained up in how to manage them (which is good but it was half the volunteer workforce)

she was ordered to open on weekends. no volunteers wanted to work. charity managers expected her to sort. how could she. they are unpaid staff!

id be asking who manages the shop when you’d be off. and who they contact to solve their problems during those hours. if it’s a manager if another shop she may not always be there either etc..

it’s a stingy way to manage a shop.

Seriously, dont do it.

Its very difficult to manage unpaid staff.

Ive worked in charity shops for years. The one I'm in, been here years and does not have a manager.
We have retail department with managers we can ring if needed but our shop runs well and is very busy because we have a good team.

I think I work hard but I enjoy it or wouldn't do it but I wouldn't want to stand side by side sorting through bags of crap if the person next to me was getting well paid whilst I was giving my time up for free.

Of course people are different and half of them bitch about the other half and the work is not shared equally as some volunteers are there to raise funds and improve the shop turnover whilst some are just there for the company and chatter.

There has been occasional talk about them putting a manager in each of the shops but there is so much resistance to that.

Just some of the comments last time it was suggested a manager may be of use-

I'm a volunteer, I don't get paid so I'm not being told what to do by someone on £28.000 a year.

I come and go as I please. I'm a volunteer and I chose my hours not some manager.

If I want a boss I may as well get a paid job.
etc, etc.

This shop has run perfectly for years, performs well financially and we know what we are doing. I will leave if someone comes along trying to change things.

The retail dept have said that our shop does not need a manager but we do think that if all our other shops eventually get one then we will be forced to have one. Some of our ladies have been here 20 years plus and are very set in their ways and I think at least half our volunteers would leave if a manager is placed in out shop.

I did it for a few years (granted a while ago) for a large national charity. I was a retail
manager in a shop prior to getting the role but also volunteered as a volunteer coordinator for a small local charity so I came to the shop with skills in both retail and the volunteering sector.

I was full-time, but over 3 charity shops and there were no other paid staff. Honestly it’s super hard work, lots of hours and you end up volunteering extra quite a lot but I absolutely loved it. My volunteers were fiercely outspoken, were experts in their knowledge and taught me so much about how to develop and lead a team collectively. You can’t just march in and say how it’s going to be (as the poster says above they will either just not do it or walk). It’s really a volunteer coordinator role with a bit of retail thrown in, it really works for some people and really not for others.

My daughter had a temporary role last year as a weekend supervisor for a different national charity and her experience was very different - national pricing structures, volunteers couldn’t be left in charge so things seem to have changed which is a shame.

For me it’s lead to a career in the sector where I still work with volunteers although in heritage rather than retail.

I used to be a 'cover manager' on a bank basis and this was ideal and i could come in and put without being utterly responsible.

It's a lot of work to manage a busy shop because you can be drowning in never ending donations. And if you don't have a solid core of faithful volunteers you will be doing a hell of a lot of sorting through donations (which can be full of crap) on top of all the Admin / stock rotation / display / pricing etc etc.

The vibe of charity retail I found much nicer than other retail and customers are generally kinder and less rude.

Some shops though had very bitchy volunteers and I felt I was probably on the receiving end of behind the back bitching here and there - there's often resentment towards the paid staff as one poster here has already demonstrated.

Like I say, it was much nicer to change up the stores than be lumped with one.

It’s a very physical role - lots of carrying heavy bags, sorting donations, hanging clothing, bending and stretching and on your feet all day. Can’t rely on volunteers to help you out (either because they don’t show or are not physically capable).