Goodwill !!!!!!!!! Update post #49 page 4

[jessica52877]

That's fine. They put me in the bad spot.

I used to donate items to them, but not anymore . . .

I used to shop there daily, but not anymore . . .

My loss, in reality, is their loss. The purchaser was not a regular because she didn't know to get the ticket off the item. She didn't know the employees well enough to know to ask what she should do. She didn't know the employees well enough to ask them to get the platform cart. She didn't know anything because she doesn't shop their. The cashier looked at my baby and said, "I'm sorry, Madeline." I've never been in a Goodwill that did it any differently than take the ticket if it is too big to carry without assistance.

I must say on this, I go in goodwill all the time and had no idea what so ever. I would call myself a regular, although I don't buy usually because it is junk (at mine)! I hear all these great stories and still go in thinking, one day, so don't just assume she wasn't a regular.

I am sorry your little one didn't get it. Since you go all the time though I am sure there are good chances of finding another. Just trying to look at the bright side of things.

 

[jessica52877]

Makes sense to me. BTW it is the same policy BJs wholesale and the local toy store use. Ex I got a bike for my DS and I had the last ticket so I got the bike even though there were two other people asking about it at customer service when I went to get it.

Are the tags different on the larger items at your goodwill? The reason I ask is ours are the same on every item, where at toys r us, it clearly states take this tag to the front. I am not familiar with either Sam's or BJ's but I would also think differently if the tag says something on it like at toys r us. Then by far it should have been yours!

The other day I was at a garage sale and there was a dollhouse. I picked it up to pay the seller, well the lady next to me had already told her she wanted it, so the seller told me that. Yes, it was in my hands, but I didn't think twice about stating that I had it. She clearly had told the seller. Just another viewpoint on same idea. Of course no written rules there.

 

[OceanAnnie]

That would make me mad too! It *almost* seems like the woman saw you getting it and decided it would be good for herself. Maybe she kinda *sniped* it by beating you to the register. That would be a double whammy. It's funny how people will gravitate towards items when they see someone standing in one spot. I've seen it happen often at many stores.

I would take it up the chain, because there might be another item down the road you really want and it could happen again.

 

[nowellsl]

I think you should move on - it's gone and you aren't going to get it back. You've made a complaint at the store. I'm sure thay will make adjustments if they feel they are needed. Look at it this way, maybe she needed it more than you did! Maybe she was going to take it down to the cancer wing at the children's hospital. It's just not worth getting that upset over a $5.00 item.

I'm sorry if this sounds bad, it's just my opinion. I just feel like everything happens for a reason - we just don't always know what the reason is!

 

[Hannathy]

Sorry about the item, But at our Goodwill if an item has it's tag off they won't sell it! They think you may be trying to change the price and will not sell it for 24 hours. They take it to be repriced and won't hold it either you just have to hope to be there when it comes back out- So there is no way I would have taken the tag if I was in your store yesterday. You knew it but the other customer didn't.
By the way your Goodwill area manager should be disciplined for pricing things so low and not making the money they should for the people they serve! That is a crazy price no one should have got that for that little. A LT small truck would be that much at ours. If it is what I am thinking it should have been priced at least 5x that if not more. (here it would have been at least $50.00)

 

[summerrluvv]

By the way your Goodwill area manager should be disciplined for pricing things so low and not making the money they should for the people they serve! That is a crazy price no one should have got that for that little. A LT small truck would be that much at ours. If it is what I am thinking it should have been priced at least 5x that if not more. (here it would have been at least $50.00)

Are you kidding me? Goodwill should be selling the items for whatever they can get, afterall, they paid nothing for the items. My Goodwill is WAY overpriced. It disgusts me to go in there and see items that are jacked up way beyond what they should be. ESPECIALLY the Target clearance items that they pay $.10 on the dollar for and sell them for more than Target had them on clearance for. Poor people cannot even shop at my Goodwill. Their clothing is way overpriced. I threw an area rug away in our dumptster once and I it turned up at the Goodwill...for more than I paid for it at Ikea! It was dirty, stained and just gross!

 

[phorsenuf]

What kind of tag was it? Just a price tag? Did it say to bring to the cashier?

If not then it makes sense to me she would just go up and tell the cashier she wanted the item. I don't think she was gonna lug it up there.
As far as knowing the "rules" and being a regular customer I don't agree. Just because somebody may shop in a store everyday shouldn't mean they trump anybodys purchase, that's pretty presumtious. If I were her and they gave you the item over me because I didn't know (and the tag didn't say) then you bet I'd be complaining.

Maybe she's new in town and hasn't had time to become a "regular customer".
Sorry, but to me its another one of those entitlement cases.

Sorry if that sounds mean but I just don't understand why one person should be treated any different than another just because they shop there all the time. Every customer should be treated equally.

 

[owtrbnks]

I think you should move on - it's gone and you aren't going to get it back. You've made a complaint at the store. I'm sure thay will make adjustments if they feel they are needed. Look at it this way, maybe she needed it more than you did! Maybe she was going to take it down to the cancer wing at the children's hospital. It's just not worth getting that upset over a $5.00 item.

I'm sorry if this sounds bad, it's just my opinion. I just feel like everything happens for a reason - we just don't always know what the reason is!

Hardly sounds bad . . . just realistic. That's $5 more bucks to put toward the next WDW trip. I can't afford to SHOP EVERYDAY, I have to worry about big things like my next trip!!!

 

[LegoMom3]

I . They told me that I couldn't adopt him until I came back with my husband, children and other dog.


Just curious...why did they want you to return with your family and your other dog in order to adopt the pupppy? Hope it went to a good home, but it should have gone to yours. Sorry.

Very common practice among animal shelters - with the people it's to make sure that EVERYone in the family really actually wants the pet and they all like it, and with an existing pet dog, it's to make sure THEY will get along!

-----------------------------

Sorry, didn't mean to take the thread OT, just wanted to answer this question!

 

[Liliyana]

Ugh, what city/state was this Goodwill in?

 

[XYSRUS]

I understand the Goodwill story is frustrating but not worth getting upset about...to me. I wouldn't throw a fit like someone else suggested. That's immature...over a bargain? Now that's setting a good example. Now the animal shelter puppy story is truly unfortunate and sad. Try and be happy that at least the puppy found a good home...and that there's another puppy out there who will love to have you as a family!

 

[LSchrow]

I think you should move on - it's gone and you aren't going to get it back. You've made a complaint at the store. I'm sure thay will make adjustments if they feel they are needed. Look at it this way, maybe she needed it more than you did! Maybe she was going to take it down to the cancer wing at the children's hospital. It's just not worth getting that upset over a $5.00 item.

I'm sorry if this sounds bad, it's just my opinion. I just feel like everything happens for a reason - we just don't always know what the reason is!

 

[cats mom]

Sounds like they really need to adopt a clear policy and have it posted at that store. I would have hated to be in the position to make that call without a written policy to refer to.

While pulling the tag seems to make sense, I can see problems with it as well. I've seen folks pull a tag from a large item at toys-r-us, carry it around for awhile, then put it down (not back where they got it) when they decided not to buy the item. Maybe 1st to the register would be better?

Either way it should be clearly stated.

How about making an appointment to speak with the manager and calmly explain your frustration and let her know that you were following what you believed to be store policy.
Maybe even ask that if they get the same item in again that they notify you and give you the chance to purchase it before putting out on the sales floor. That would seem fair to me.

Sorry you missed out on it.

 

[crisi]

I think you should move on - it's gone and you aren't going to get it back. You've made a complaint at the store. I'm sure thay will make adjustments if they feel they are needed. Look at it this way, maybe she needed it more than you did! Maybe she was going to take it down to the cancer wing at the children's hospital. It's just not worth getting that upset over a $5.00 item.

I'm sorry if this sounds bad, it's just my opinion. I just feel like everything happens for a reason - we just don't always know what the reason is!

I don't think she has any other choice, its Goodwill. They can't raincheck an item. They don't have profit margins to offer her compensation (if they do, she is taking money away from the services Goodwill funds). The more time Goodwill spends dealing with her complaint, the less time they are spending on their mission. She can stop shopping there, but frankly, it sounds like she gets a lot of out Goodwill, not sure she'd want to give it up over this. Chalk it up to "had I been five minutes later, I'd never have known it existed."

 

[sajetto]

i didn't know of any rules so if i were the customer at the register first i would have been expecting to get it, since i had no clue about the whole tag business.

That's what I would have thought too.

 

[ceecee]

Very common practice among animal shelters - with the people it's to make sure that EVERYone in the family really actually wants the pet and they all like it, and with an existing pet dog, it's to make sure THEY will get along!


A friend of mine volunteers at a shelter, they get lots of puppies back because the dog at home or one of the kids doesn't get along with it. So many people get puppies on a whim without thinking it though and fiqure they can just return it if it doesn't work out.
I agree with the other person who said ask the manager to notify you when the next similar item comes in. My DD really wanted this little toy at our thift store and the cashier would not let us buy it because the tag came off while she was carrying it around (we still had the tag it just wasn't attached). So maybe that is a common practice.

 

[undertheradar]

So the OP only shops at thrift stores but will never shop at Goodwill again? Perhaps rational thought should be in order. You saw a bargain and weren't the one to get it, life goes on! Was this an item that you absolutely had to have or the world would come to a halt? If this toy is so important to you, go buy it brand new and get over the complaining.

In reference to the animal shelters, they are getting worse all the time. The county shelter near us will not adopt out puppies to hames with young children! My kids are 15,10 and 8 and we were told that our children were too young for a puppy. We adopted our first dog(blind,1 year old mixed breed-mostly shar pei) from a rescue group and added our second 3 months ago from a horse rescue group(black lab puppy). The people at the shelter were downright rude and inconsiderate. The volunteer at the shelter even suggested that we adopt an elderly animal since they are harder to place. Needless to say, we avoid our county animal shelter.

 

[joha]

OT, I'm sorry, but like others said...let it go, hopefully another or a best thing will come along...

I'm glad your Goodwill has decent prices, the ones around my area are overpriced, and the quality is poor.

Good luck in your search.

 

[CheshireVal]

Odd thread.

Our Goodwill is kind of yucky. I can't imagine buying toys for my child there. I bought a Disney Trivia Pursuit at a thrift store a few years ago (kind of dirty and beat up) and I have a hard time bringing myself to play it because who knows where it's been?

Back on topic, I actually kind of side with the lady at the register waiting to pay. She saw it first, it's hers. She probably didn't know about the tag policy (I don't either.)

Either way, it's not worth raising a stink over. Just one of life's little annoyances!

 

[MyGoofy26]

I totally understand how you feel! I had it happen at our local animal shelter. I went in, found the puppy I wanted and filled out the application. They told me that I couldn't adopt him until I came back with my husband, children and other dog. Because it was the end of the day, I wouldn't have time to go home, get everybody and get back. We were so excited. We had him named and everything. So, we went the next day after work. When we got there, there was another family ahead of us and THEY GAVE THEM MY PUPPY! When I spoke up and said "Hey wait a minute, I was here yesterday and filled out all the paperwork on that dog and you told me I couldn't adopt him until today!" They told me, "Well they got here before you today." I couldn't believe it! I was sooooo mad !

Oh no! I would have been devastated! Our shelter is really good about "holding" animals. As soon as you put in an application, they make a note on the cage that someone has applied. You're more than welcome to express interest in an animal, in case the original family falls through, but they're very fair.

When we got our older cat, the cat I had since I was 9 months old had passed away after 19 years. We looked around for another Siamese but could only find them at Petland for more than $500 (no way were we spending that much for what was likely a "puppy mill" cat . . ."kitty mill"? LOL) So we called the shelter to see if they happened to have any Siamese and they didn't but said they get them in quite often and would give us a call. A month later they called so we told them we'd be there after the weekend (big 4 day music festival that pretty much stalls the region for the weekend that I had to work morning to night with the GM) We showed up early after the weekend and they took us to the cage with 2 kittens. Another family had come in over the weekend and wanted one and they wouldn't let them take either of them! Told them that another family was interested and after we chose which of the two we wanted, they could have the other one.