GoodWill Industries: GOODWILL? EX-EMPLOYEE SAYS NO WAY! Western Suburbs Illinois

I used to work at Goodwill a few years ago. Here's the deal:

What many of the people on this page fail to understand is that Goodwill is a business: it must pay for their expenses, much like what another poster said.

As for throwing out items, yes, that's true...BUT, there's a good reason for it: if items are not selling and there's room for products that COULD sell, why keep those items on the shelves? Goodwill accepts donated goods through every day people and some companies, such as Target. What was the person bringing in the items going to do with it if they couldn't bring it to Goodwill? Hmm?

Explain to me what a resale shop could do with items that they cannot use and have already been donated to them? Again, many people on this page fail to see the business aspect of this company. Goodwill isn't the best company in the world, but I believe that many people expect too much of a business concerned with helping others.

...and haven't for some time now.

Where we live, good items and quality clothing are shipped out of the Goodwill in our town to the bigger cities. We get the dross. And pay as much for it as the better items in the city.

That's only one reason.

Way back when goodwill started, it was with the intent to train people. Back then, they were trained in trades - furniture like chairs and sofas were recovered by trainees; clothing was wash, dried, ironed, repaired - seams fixed, buttons replaced by trainees. Electronics were repaired if they could be, and if not, taken apart for parts sales.

Today, none of that is done. Clothing goes into the shop in the condition it is received, regardless of it's condition. Also regardless of it's condition, the pricing remains the same. No discounts for torn or stained items.

Thanks but no thanks. We used to support them because they did, at one time, provide good training for those unable to get work because they had no experience. Now, all they want is money.

Currently, we donate our items to our Salvation Army. Not all SA's are the same. Ours is good, and generous (especially to the homeless). The shop is clean and the clothes are cleaned before hanging. You can buy a spring jacket for 99cents and a winter coat in good condition for $5.00.

There is another local place we make donations to - they support the local women's and children's shelter, and it is strictly a small, local shop.

I suggest looking around your town and city and finding places like missions (we also donate to Christian Lighthouse Mission for Men), and churches, and small local shops that support charities. A church my mother-in-law attends has a clothing give-away every Wednesday. Those in need come in and are given two grocery bags which they may fill with whatever they need, for free. Volunteers receiving the clothing wash & dry it during the balance of the week.

There are other places to donate - places where it's really needed.

Port Clinton Ohio Goodwill store:

Today my Dad took some things to Goodwill. Unfortunately he took a few things my mother had not given him permission to give.

I went with my mother about an hour after the mishap to see if we could retrieve the items. We were told we could look around the back, but we could not find the items. My mother found the stand that went with the keyboard she had donated in some sort of metal scrap pile (after searching the front of the store the keyboard wasn't there either but that's beside the point). My father had donated some packaged crafts that belonged to my grandmother and we noticed them in the dumpster. These were brand new items in packages! My mother tried to retrieve them and they started to yell at her. We went to the front of the store to see if we could find my other grandmother's christmas dishes (the original items we came to find) and we had no luck.

We are pretty careful about what we give to Goodwill and the fact that brand new items were being thrown out and the keyboard stand was separated from the keyboard because it was metal really made both me and my mother ill. They will no longer be getting any donations from my family.

Does anyone have any suggestions of a better place to donate useful items?

Because there is a "need" to put things out on shelves daily, many things get "salvaged." Perfectly good items, some never used even get salvaged to make room for new items. The most important of these items are one's that are received by Target. That takes precedence above all other items.
I never understood why 7-8 cart loads of items need to be put away daily. If there is already enough items on display, wait til they are sold and put them in reserve. But as I was exposed to, new items come in daily and you must swiftly find room on the often over crowded shelves.
I saw brand new toys, literally never out of the box, go to the compactor because there is no room. I've seen items just donated that go to the compactor as there is not enough room for them.
BTW-the donation attendant doesn't watch tv, he is always by the door waiting to assist people. The company can't be so keen as to offer the poor guy a chair. The donation attendant is the one that carries heavy furniture around and get's paid an almighty $.25 more an hour
The supervisor often don't do anything as they are seen above the sales associate. They seldom put away clothes especially when the store is closed and you have 3 racks of clothing to put away. The supervisors get a power high when the manager and asst. manager are not in the store.
The associates for the most part are very decent people. I miss some of them. How they manage to keep content with $8.75 an hour and have to put away racks of clothing that never ends is a mystery to me.
The Goodwill I worked for was in the same plaza as a Walmart and that was their main competitor. Alot of the items where over priced and could be bought new for a cheaper price. It's amazing that people automatically assume that if it's found at Goodwill it must be the cheapest.
Just read my post and you will see what an unethical company Goodwill is.

I wish I could sign but GOODWILL won't even talk to me.

They wouldn't talk to a friend of mine who has a certifiable hearing impairment and is a great Information Technology guy. What he doesn't know about a computer hasn't been found by him yet... He wanted to VOLUNTEER to help them and they said NO THANKS.

Makes me wonder what discrepancies he might have found on their hard drives...

So I am not sure who it is our local Goodwill helps.

It is said that 92% of goodwill profits go towards its charity organization. So dont think of it as an item sells for a dollar and .92 cents goes, it doesnt quite work that way. Companies like goodwill have to pay expenses. These expenses are deducted from sales which produces a net income that is then divided to the charity.

Employees for companies in the United States are offered a wage prior to them accepting a job. If a wage was not fair for an employee, said employee has the right to refuse the offer. So before you say people are overworked based on pay, ask those people if they want a job and are content with what they are earning. They took the job, the appreciate the pay, and they work hard for it. Not everyone's work ethic is lazy, some believe good work is rewarded later in life. Only 1% of the population is truly happy with what they earn, those people are known as the rich. The rest of the country just wants to make enough to survive and enjoy their lives also.

And ALL donations that go to goodwill impact the charity. Even the items that are "thrown out." Most businesses that use a compactor or baler recycle. This means that for every bundle you produce you receive money for this bundle. That money goes towards the operating expenses and once again when it is all said and done helps people in the long run. Several major retailers compact perfectly good merchandise on a daily basis, just remember its being recycled not "thrown out."

As for your managers and "pets." You may not know all the circumstances behind why someone is treated better than you. 9 times out of 10 it is because they are hard workers who have made a great impression on someone. If you want to be a "pet" you need to do what is asked of you without hesistation. And another tip is to be ahead of the game. Be ready for what will be asked, if its already done, you are truly on top of your job.

Hope this helps clear things up.

You are complaining that items people donate are being thrown out...well what do you suggest happens?

When items don't sell, room does have to be made for a newer selection. Many of the items that are pulled are recycled or sent to the discount stores. Some items cannot be recycled or sent away so yes, some things do get destroyed. The stores do not have the capacity to store customer donations forever. Its ludicrous to think otherwise.

Also a lot of the items that are donated aren't in any condition to be sold when they come in. From stained, torn clothes, to broken dishes, chipped and cracked knickknacks, and sometimes even household garbage. Even in these cases though, it is still sorted and what can be recycled, is in fact recycled.

Much of the negative you have read about this company is true. Goodwill based in Illinois is affiliated with the Milwaukee based organization.

As a manager, I watched as many donations are thrown away, yet the "higher" end merchandise is kept. Typically, employees are suppose to "salvage" once a week, however, it is done alot more often. Pricing is a huge issue. The company wishes to make top dollar for the merchandise, but many times, you can get it new at Target or the dollar store.

The area manager Dan Michael is a total d****ebag. He is suppose to be there for employees to turn to when there is a problem, yet he is unapproachable and demeaning. He is not impartial and always sides with his "pets."

The company explains it is for people with barriers, yet, the challenged people they employ are given minimal hours and work duties. They claim $.92 (yeah .92 cents) of every dollar is given back to the mission, yet they pay thier supervisors $10.00 an hour to start not counting bonuses, and Assistant Managers $17.00. Assistants are required to work 45 hours per week. Store Managers topple $50,000 annually. But their staff starts at $7.00. Seems unfair when the supervisors and managers do nothing. Then when you have hard working superiors, they are fired because the lazy ones do not like being held accountable or they are Dan's "pets."

You get a few people who are tagging that turn in money, but many times they just pocket it because no one really cares anyways. The reason goodwills are put in nicer areas is because of the donations they receive and how much they sell it for. They love the Naperville, Illinois and Orland Park, Illinois stores as they are located near upper class. They charge more thus go over in projected sales in excess of $100,000. But who benefits? Not the employees. The managers BONUSES and their raises...

As an ex-employee (2 Years) I have made the same experience. It's sad, but the truth.

Every year we clean out our closets and take the clothes to goodwill. My wife was still going through her closet so I took my stuff to the local goodwill dropoff center. It's interesting how they've put them and the goodwill stores in the higher rent areas, competeing with the second hand and re-sale shops. Anyway I pull up and the twit gets up from watching TV, rushes out with a cart and grabs about 20 shirts and 10 pairs of dress pants from me and slings them into the cart and rushes back into the shop. He has the paperwork in his hand and shoves it at me as he grabs the clothes. I say I need to count the items and the twit has the gall to tell me "You should have counted them BEFORE you brought them". Now he'll have to wait while I take the two minutes to count the items, thereby missing his tv program. No more goodwill for us. There are dozens of organizations wanting donations.

They actually did that? I am sorry , but if this is true, this is sad. I give all my stuff to goodwill. I don't sell it at yard sells or what not . I like to think that the stuff I give to good will actually goes to someone who needs it. This is really sad to think this is what happens but....I suppose with how things are going these days, who can expect different. Bad Goodwill Very bad indeed. Next time I will go to the base and give my stuff to the military. God knows military people are in need.