Goodwill Stores

This is the worst Goodwill that I have been in. I have traveled all over America and have often found some great items and met some really friendly employees. This is the only one I have ever been in with items that look like trash and employees that are not friendly. Just today, I was trying my hardest to find dishes for my new apartment. My girls were within sight and earshot of me while I was browsing. My girls are well behaved and were quietly looking at toys. Usually I buy them something as well if they are really good, hence the better behavior. An employee goes up to my girls and tells them that they couldn't play with the toys unless I was "right there with them." She looks over at me and gives me a smirk that almost sent me into a tail spin. So we left. I won't go back. I'm not the kind that leaves her kids alone but she made it seem that way in front of a lot of people. I didn't give up much in the cart because I honestly feel that the stuff I had was over priced. Oh, and while this was going on there was a couple at a stereo, blaring the music entirely too loud. But my girls were a bother and a concern to this woman.

This is a large Goodwill store, sometimes offering real treasures. Watch out for many of the breakable objects being overpriced and even worse, being BROKEN/DAMAGED, overpriced and then offered on the shelves along with the other items. They offer a wonderful Book Store, however the manager has "strange" pricing practices. For instance, books without title/cover pages very likely will be priced the same as an identical book in near mint condition. If asked why, he goes into this rant about how many books HE sells there weekly and gets a "God-like attitude. The best of his stratigies however is to post a copy of an eBay page along with an item, showing what someone on eBay is asking for the identical item (forget the fact that said eBayer probably doesn't even get a bid on the item, lol)! The jewelry is priced much higher here than any other Goodwill where I shop in both NC and Va. As a matter of fact there are just way too many "specially priced items" anyway, which should all be offered at the same price, like the other stores do. ( A random example being "All purses $3.50"). A large sign listing prices in general should be posted in front of the store, as they do in NC Goodwills. I was there last evening and a cross, very pregnant associate announced the store would close in ten minutes. Approx 2 minutes later the lights went out. Another shopper and I just stared, dumbfounded at each other. We both probably coud have and would have purchased more during the last 5 minutes as we made final selections, IF we had been given the opportunity. Proceeding to the register, the pregant lady cashier/announcer continued to be extremely rude, offering no greeting, sighing and rolling her eyes b/c I asked for my senior discount, and very insulting with her general "you're making me have to do a little work" attitude. My son and I left and went up the street for gas. On our way back home, we again passed the Goodwill and the lights were all completely out. I looked at my clock and it was 8:54! The store is supposed to stay open until 9pm. Now this may not sound like a lot of time to you, but when you travel over 50 miles once a week just to be a patron to such a store (which helps the handicapped, b/c I also have a handicapped son), you want every minute up until 9 pm!! My final observation is that as a whole, the staff is rude and has a "know it all", "you are bothering me asking for my help" attitude. I think this is the biggest reason I go there less and less. You practically have to BEG to be shown jewelry in the locked display case, given a price check on an unmarked item or just get any general help of ANY kind. So, if you don't mind rude employees, crazy pricing tactics which may change on a whim and taking along a magnifying glass to search breakables for all sorts of hidden damage which have knowingly been put on the shelves along with the good merchandise, along with being prepared for the probability that any, "more desirable" item, which shoud have one price constantly, will likely be marked up 5 or 6 times higher b/c someone there deems it a very rare, "GRAND TREASURE" (when it's really just a "run of the mil"l collectible which can still be found fairly easily with a few searches at neighborhood yard sales, lol) , you just may enjoy your visit and if you're REALLY lucky, even come out with a few deals!.