Goodwill Industries
Reviews and Complaints

If you work for Goodwill, here's and inside thing they don't tell you after hired,
A processor of clothing is in a competition to get as many clothing out as possible. which would be fine if it weren't for co-workers that take the competition so seriously that they make new workers fell bad for being new.

I had a friend who was with a goodwill employee and she constantly complained about how he would switch price tags so instead of paying $10 or $20 for something he only paid $1 and said he would come home bragging about how he found this and that that he liked and wanted and so he would sneak it out of the back and put it in his car not paying anything for the items! And she found out from him that he would go to work high on marijuana and meth and many other substances! I cannot believe how people can be like that and continue to be employed! Very sad.

I shop at Goodwill daily as I shop for disabled people who are home-bound. Because of this, I do end up doing a fair number of returns as not all the items are exactly what my client is looking for. I've never had an issue as I always stay within the return 7 day window, always keep the receipt, and always leave the tags in place until a buyer accepts the item.

On June 15th, 2016 at around 9:30 AM I went into the Goodwill in Maple Grove MN on Dunkirk Lane to return several items and look for others. I was waited on by Debra G. I apologized for the number of items I had to return this trip and explained what I do. Debra did not acknowledge that I'd spoken and grabbed my bag and pulled out the first item. She frowned at it and said, this isn't right and called over the on duty manager whose name I did not get. She takes the pair of children's pant and starts admonishing me without any introduction saying they don't put their tags on the clothing tag and they use shorter plastic connectors. I said I don't understand what she was trying to say, I had purchased the item the previous day at the second Maple Grove location. She just repeated what she'd said. Again, I asked what she was trying to tell me. This is how the item came to me, how can I control what was done with the piece before I bought it.

She said, we don't do that here and I'm not taking this back. I asked what was I supposed to do about an error that wasn't mine? She just glared at me. So I said I would take my items back to the store I bought them at and that this was extremely unprofessional and rude. I don't know exactly what she was implying as I would have nothing to gain by somehow finding some misc plastic connector and replacing a shorter one. These were Gap Children jeans I paid $2 for, I'm not sure how this translates to a get rich scheme in her mind but it was incredibly insulting and just plain out of line.

I had been at the other Maple Grove site the day before so I decided to go to the Fridley location instead. There a young woman named Elsie W and her manager did my return and they couldn't have been nicer or more professional. Extremely good customer service! Still, the other interaction has left a bad taste in my mouth and I most certainly will not set foot in the MG-Dunkirk location ever again. I'm hesitant to continue to buy clients items at any Goodwill given this incident and the fear that I'll be stuck with items that don't serve my clients because some person decides it's impossible the company could, horror of horrors, made a mistake marking an item! It was just an awful and embarrassing incident that had no business happening.

I am not out anything monetarily so I'm not asking for anything like that. But I strongly feel I deserve an apology from the company, the manager, and the employee and I believe they should have repercussions for their actions up to and including termination. People that rude and unprofessional have no business working in a customer service role. It was just so uncalled for and wrong on so many levels and belies everything the Goodwill is supposed to stand for.

I don't know if client number translates to Goodwill Customer number but mine is [protected]. You will see I have a solid history of purchasing and returning items with no incident. I do this as a free service to help those in need and to be treated badly simply for doing so is unconscionable. Oddly, the day before at the Maple Grove 80th Circle location, a wonderful woman named Eileen P rang me up and told me I should get a job there as I seemed a great fit and how much she loved her managers and co-workers. Maybe their sister Maple Grove site needs to do a rotation there and learn some manners.

Date of Incident June 14, 2016

I am a regular customer of the Goodwill store located in the St. Lawrence/Mt. Penn area. I frequent the store almost every day. On this particular day I was purchasing items out of the bins in the back area. As I was walking back to the glass and book section I noticed that there were plastic bins on a pallet. I took the large bin all the way up to the cashier and asked how much the plastic bins were. I was informed that they were $2.00 each. I then asked if I could leave the current one at the cashiers desk while I went to get the other two. I then (now not that this matters to anyone at Goodwill, but I have a torn rotater cuff so bringing these large bins up was quite an effort), brought the other two up and finished up with my items in the bins.

As I was coming up to check out I was told by an extremely rude manager named Liza that there was no way I was getting the bins for $2.00 each. She said her employee had no right to tell me the price. She then went on and on about how she discovered all kinds of problems with her employees over the weekend and what they were doing wrong! In a very "in your face" attitude. She just kept getting louder and louder and ruder and ruder! I finally said "Okay Liza, shut the hell up". At this point I was beyond mad. This was so unprofessional. I have a store of my own. If one of my employees ever gave a customer a price and it was incorrect, I would honor the price either way. Then have a talk with the employee! She then "threatened" to call security and have me escorted out of the building. I asked her for what and she said I cursed at her. I refused to leave and just at that point had to let the bins go because she was causing a scene!

This particular Manager Liza has been rude since I have started coming to the Goodwill two years ago. There are many complaints around me with the "regulars" how rude she is. She has called the customers "animals"! I have also seen and heard how awful she treats her employees.

Most of the employees that work there are young people that may be working for the first time in there lives. A manager like her should never have been promoted in the first place. She's MEAN!

There are two extremely professional and friendly workers at this GW. I only know their first names, Kelly and Brad. They are both kind and considerate workers. They do not treat the customers like they are "animals"!

I also have one last complaint. The prices on the furniture are ridiculous! I have seen the prices rising and rising over the past year. These items are donated by someone thinking that these items are going to a needy family or person. This should be Goodwill prices not retail prices. This is a company getting Greedier and Greedier by the month. I am disgusted at the prices and the way the management treats their employees and and customers.

This last incident should not have happened! As I said if my employee gives a price to a customer - it is honored, whether the price was incorrect or not!

Sincerely,

Tina Landis

Goodwill Stores has been selling faulty electronics knowing that they are no good, thet constantely put them back on the shelves to resale. Goodwill knowingly that these products are no good they still put them out there for you to purchase, and their return policy is that you must return a non working product back to the store within 7 days..BUT you can only make changes with electronics items, which takes me back to the original complaint, that you will still end up with a non working electronic item. This is how they make their money, it is an illegal tip-off and no one does anything about it...You go into one of their stores to purchase a VCR, there is no way to check it out, and the clerk tells you it has been tested (which is a lie) you take it home, you try to use it, it dosen't work, you bring it back, they tell you you can change it for only electronis, which none of them are worth a dime, so you lose your money, because everything you try, it dosen't work, and they take that same VCR that you had returned, the put it right back on the shelf for sale.
If I don't get some results from you here, I am filing a civil complaint against Goodwill Cooperation. I have spent so much money and time trying out your products and none of them work, and it is about time somone take a bigger step to stop this ripoff.

Charles Sutton

On Saturday, May 14, 2016, my granddaughter and I were at the Goodwill store in Collierville, TN 38017. We shop here most every week. When we entered the store an employee(young man) was flying a remote control helicopter and 2 other workers were watching him. We were in the store for about an hour. We were headed to the register but I stopped to look thru the ladies blouses. I was suddenly struck in the face just above my left eyebrow by this helicopter. I was quite a jolt. His first reaction was to laugh. He came over to ask if I was okay. I told him " I don't know" because I was dazed. I had picked up the toy off the floor and handed it to him. As he turned to go I heard my 4 year old granddaughter say "That was not funny". I was not seriously hurt - I ended up with a bruise and a whelp mark. I shudder to think what might have been had I been struck just a little lower and it had hit my eye. I did not ask his name nor did I ask for a manager but I think his disregard for the safety of customers needs to be dealt with. He was not demonstrating this for a customer. He was playing.
I do not want anyone to loose their job -just better training for the employees.
Respectfully,
Ouida Crisp
Moscow, TN
[protected]@msn.com

In 2015 I was an employee at the Goodwill Store located in Foothills, AZ. During that time the manager, Diane, was discriminatory and harassed me for the last few months before I was fired. The reason why I was fired by my job was due to an alleged accusation of me asking a customer, to buy me a set of pots. When the customer reached the register, the manager told the customer that the pots could not be sold to her. Immediately after that, Diane, the manager, called me to the back and told me I was fired since I could not purchase merchandise at the store. Evidently, this was not the main reason she fired me, since she had been harassing me to back her up with a story accusing two other employees of stealing. When Diane, the manager, had told me to say that two other employees were stealing from the store, I refused. Since I had not cooperated with her story, Diane did not like the fact that I was refusing to help her in accusing the other two employees of stealing, she then fired me. When I say that the manager was harassing me, I mean that she kept calling me back to her office (multiple times) and at home to cooperate with her and her accusation towards the two other employees. I continued to refuse to cooperate with her accusation towards the other 2 employees, as an end result she fired me. When the District Managers come to the store, they should speak to all employees (individually) without the manager present, they would then find out how this manager discriminates against Hispanics and how she treats her employees. During the time I was employed by Goodwill, I observed that her discrimination against Hispanics was very noticeable, since she gives her Hispanic employees twice the work load compared to her favorite employees (non-Hispanic), that she even lets them sleep in the back room. She should not be in this managing position, since her treatment to her Hispanic employees is very unprofessional and degrading. When a manager yells and harasses her employees due to their race and lack of academic preparation, this person does not deserve a leading position. It is unfortunate that employees cannot speak up due to fear to get fired. Being a working class woman that lives pay-check-to paycheck, it makes it extremely difficult to be heard or for that matter to speak up when discrimination is evident. As far as I am aware, this store is one of the few stores that has a significant amount of employee chaos, since she is the cause of all issues. I am not accusing the corporation, but the manager of this store and her name is Diane. I am not acting out of spite but out of concern for my ex co-workers since they are afraid to speak up and lose their job. They have to still suffer daily humiliation from this manager. My assumption on this is perhaps, the employees must contact fair labor commission to see if this manager will once and for all be put in her place. A desirable resolution of this complaint should result in a deep and thorough investigation which eventually should lead to relieve her from her position.

Goodwill is not a Not for profit organization Where does it help people? The color of the week and the prices of these stores have become ridiculous. I myself have donated items that didn't sell at my yard sale. I went into the Smyrna DE store and found the item I donated with my marked tag of 25 cents and they had it marked for $4. Didn't even bother to take my orig tag off of it. They didn't know it was the item I donated. It was a small food storage container. I asked them about it and the employee ripped my tag off and then I told her I was the one who donated it and how can they justify selling a small under one dollar item for 4? Another thing that happened on their 50% sale on Jan 1. An employee gave her husband a brand new in the box Royal Daulton China set. She marked it. $2.00 so he paid $1.00 I witnessed this with my own eyes. She made no bones to hide the fact that the man was her husband. I was in the store when they opened at 9am and no where on the shelf or in the glass case was this set. I saw her go in the back office and bring it to him. I was standing behind him in line. I was also told that the night before these sales, the employees let their families and friends in and fill their carts with the items that aren't put out for the general public. Then let's talk about the color of the week. No where in the store will you find anything that is marked with that color. All items they are putting out will be marked in red. When red wk comes around, you got it, blue marked items come out. Goodwill isn't a not for profit organization. They don't help any one in need. They make up prices as they go along. I can buy new clothes at discounted prices with tags still on them at reg dept stores. The CEO of Goodwill collects a salary and a bonus. This can all be proved. I would rather give to those that truly need the items than to give them to Goodwill. Oh another thing, you have to know someone to get this. For the past few wks of Jan 2016 if you donate items, not only are u supposed to get the receipt for taxes if you want, BUT they have 50% off coupons that are valid until Feb 2016. How did I find this out? Well, I went into a goodwill in Dover, DE and got to talking to an employee who told me about it. I had just dropped off some stuff for my boyfriend and I wasn't doffed this coupon. When I confronted Smyrna about it, the woman said she never heard of it and would ask her mgr. 5mins later she said oh it doesn't start til the following week. I seen employees make up prices and the price list on the signs don't make any sense at all. Why are bridal gowns that are used and dirty and in bad shape marked $150? You could go to David Bridals and get a brand new one for that and less. Now, I see why you can't find nice things at Goodwill any more. I just stumbled upon their auction site. I'm not the only one who was clueless about this site and it's a frigging scam. Every item has a handling fee of 5 or mor bucks? Seriously and then the shipping. Fed ex only? I'm done with them. I was a good customer till I witnessed all this stuff at this and other DE location stores.

My son purchased a desk from the Goodwill store on Washington Road, Martinez, GA yesterday 12/22/15. The guys loading the desk into his truck broke one of the legs off of the desk and refused to give him his money back. He came home and told my wife and I what happened and he did not want to cause a problem. The desk is useless and he wasted his $45 on it. I am going by the store when I get off from work today 12/23/15 and discuss it with a manager. Donald D. Tankersley, Jr. [protected] d.[protected]@att.net

I am a frequent customer of the Goodwill in Foothills, AZ. I tend to shop there for items for my classroom and for my students to use as rewards. In a few occasions I have observed that some people (of white ethnicity) have asked the manager for a manager's discount and they have received it. I was not aware of such discount so I waited until the person getting the discount was done and I asked them what was the discount for. They responded that all I needed to do is ask the manager for the manager's discount. I went back to where the manager was standing and I asked her if I could get the manager's discount; at that point the manager gave me a harsh look and stated she could not do that. She said, I can't give you such discount." I then inquired about the previous people who had gotten a discount; the manager stated that she had not given them any discounts. I proceeded with my purchases and did not want to think the manager was discriminating against me since I was Hispanic. Two hours later I came back to the store with one of my co-workers (another teacher), I had her ask the manager for a manager's discount, and to my surprise, this manager gave my co-worker (the teacher who is white) the manager's discount. To me that is pure discrimination. I could not believe I was actually being discriminated due to me being Hispanic. I was very disappointed and still in disbelief. I wanted to test this once more to make sure I was not exaggerating. Unfortunately, I was not. This manager is a racist person, she discriminates against Hispanics. I saw a lady shopping in the store and I asked her if she would be willing to ask for the manager's discount. I explained my theory to this woman so she cooperated by asking the manager for a manager's discount. Of course the manager told her "No, there is not such thing" and walked away. I was in complete shock and my theory was not a theory but a fact. I hope that this is looked into since it is a serious matter. After these incidents, I paid close attention on how the manager interacted with Hispanics, and sure enough, she is rude, disrespectful, unprofessional, and Anti-Semitic. Thank you,

My last visit back in august. last time because, the counter person told me 6 year old Niece that she was not allowed to take her bike to shop and demanded that she leave it by the counter. so we being good people and trusted her left the bike only to return that she had stole it from my niece and sold it. when i called corporate and told them that she stole it and sold it for a dollar the response was "Everything in the store is a dollar" but that had nothing to do with the fact that they stole from a child and will not rectify it. They refuse to comment on it, and because the police refuse to let me file a report, no one will help me... I will get a lawyer.

I saw an item at my local goodwill store. It was a white desk with a brown top. I could not find a price on this desk anywhere so I asked an employee how much the desk was. He could not find the price either. He went to get another employee to ask about the price. Again the second goodwill employee could not find the tag. They had the cashier make an announcement in the store asking if anyone had a tag for a white and brown desk, no one came forward with a tag. They then said they would write me a tag for the desk. I went to the front, paid for the desk and asked if they could hold it for me until the next day because the store was closing and the desk would not fit in my car. They had me fill out the paper for them to hold it for 24 hours. I went back the next day to pick up my item, it was too heavy for me to pick up by myself so I asked for assistance, again I filled out the paperwork that was required. When an employee showed up to help me with the item they told me that that was not the desk that I had purchased and this desk was two pieces. They asked how much I paid for the desk, I told them, then they said that they could not let me have the desk. I did not know that the desk was two pieces until that time. The desk appeared to only be a desk with a brown top, it did not appear to be a desk with a brown top AND a hutch. The hutch was on the floor behind the desk facing the opposite direction so it appeared to be a separate piece of furniture in the other aisle. There was a tag on the hutch with a price but there was no tag on the desk at all, nothing saying it was part of a two piece set. If there was a tag saying it was part of another piece or if the two pieces were together so that it would have been obvious that they go together I would not have purchased the desk. After the employees spoke to the manager, said they called some other manager, and an hour later they still refused to let me have the item that I purchased, because they said that is not the desk I purchased. When the fact is that was the desk I purchased and their employees made a mistake. They made me do a return instead of letting me have the item I purchased. The choices they gave me were to purchase the other piece to go with the desk, which I did not want or need and would have cost me 3 times as much as I originally paid, or to have my money refunded to me. I will never shop nor donate to a goodwill store again because of this experience. Due to multiple goodwill employee mistakes I was not allowed to have the item I paid for. If I would have had them move the desk outside and called for someone to meet me with a bigger vehicle on the night that I purchased the desk, I would have the item that I paid for, but since I went back for it the next day I was not allowed to have the item that I paid for. To me this is horrible customer service, I bought an item and then was told no you didn't pay for that one you paid for this other one. I am pretty sure I know what item I purchased, since I am the one that paid for it. I was also told they were looking at the video from the night before to see which employees I spoke to. I told them that I do not believe that because if they were actually looking at the video they would see that the desk they refused to let me leave with was in fact the desk that I purchased for the price that I paid. I was not in the wrong in this situation but was penalized because of the mistakes of the goodwill staff. And on another note all of the items are donated, it is not like they needed to cover the cost of getting the item in. I feel that they should have let me have the item that I paid for. It would have been better if their staff would have said that they did not know what the price was and that I should return on the next day to ask about it instead of selling me the piece.

I went to your store on Annandale Rd in Falls Church VA this morning to donate books and clothing. Every item of clothing & shoes was unused and still had sales tags attached. I thought I was doing a good thing and did not expect to be treated soooo rudely. The attendant -- name of Hussein Sow -- never approached me, just stood there and stared. When I signaled him to come over he just shook his head "no". Finally I got out of my car and as I started toward him, he said to bring my donations with me. When I asked him to come over to my car he again simply said "no". No explanation! I took the donation bags from my car and put with other donations on the ground. Then I asked him for a receipt which he turned around and went elsewhere to get. I returned to the drivers seat of my car and left the passenger door open so he could easily give the receipt to me. Instead he walked around the car and gave to me thru my window. I thanked him and then asked if he would close my passenger door when he passed by it. For the third time he said "NO". And this time VERY angrily and rudely. He simply turned and walked away. I went inside the store and spoke with the female manager. She told me that the Goodwill rules say that employees can't put in or take out anything from a car. OK, I can understand that you have certain policies that should be followed. Apparently this policy is recent. BUT, this policy should be stated by the employee to the customer instead of just standing there, refusing to help the customer! I totally regret having left all these new, unused articles of clothing and shoes -- which should bring more money than any used or worn clothes. This will not happen again. I will drive further and donate to the Salvation Army, which I know, full well, has a better reputation than Goodwill Industries. They are more appreciative and helpful than what I dealt with today -- the Donation Attendant and the Store Manager! Here's an idea! Maybe you can have a policy for all employees to teach them that they are in a service industry and they need to learn how to deal properly with the public? If they don't like it, they can move on. Otherwise, your customers, like myself, will move on! I would appreciate a return email that you have read and acknowledge my complaint. Thank you. Maria Boyle. [protected]@aol.com

I hate your rules. When an employee's wife asks things that are classified, tell them. Because if you don't tell the wife and something like that happens you will get sued. I can make sure of that. Goodwill Santee. Now change the rule that when a family members come in, or I will sue you guys. This isn't a threat, its a promise. Other people like your customers HATE your rules. When someone like me is married to someone and worried about someone that works there, doesn't matter if its so called classified that person isn't going to hurt them, if you guys think they will, then you need help. Because married couples wont cause problems and wont hurt that employee. I can show you hurt if you want me too.. I cant tell names because its classified as you guys would say. So change the rules or I will sue you guys. And then those employees will be out of jobs and it will be your fault not mine. -A

I have been going to the store for years and don't get me wrong there are some very nice people that work there but, the managers are very rude especially the tall heavy women in her late twenties. She is very rude, and always has a poor attitude. I never once was rude to her I would smile and she would give me a dirty look. I ask her a question about a price of something and she responded rudely and always gives me a poor attitude. There is another old manager there with grey hair in his 50's that is rude also. I was there right before closing and there was a person in front of me with a hundred things in her carriage and instead of offering to check me out at the other register...he just stands there acting like hes doing something.I asked to see something in the case and get a poor attitude also from the same guy. Someone please hire more people with better attitudes and stop hiring head cases! I can keep complaining about the place but I would be here all night! Bad enough they raised the prices of everything and you have to put up with negativity! I treat them with respect treat me with it! No wonder why people litter all over the parking lot and leave cans and trash on the shelf! Goodwill does nothing to keep the place clean either except organizing the shelves.To the manager at Goodwill with the poor attitude, leave your personal problems at home! Never had an issue at any other Goodwill store except this place! I have spent thousands of dollars over the years and this is no way to be treated!

I went o goodwill with my daughter 08/19/2015 and the employee in the store advise we could not take her bike to the back so we put the bike inside the store in the front. The employee knew the bike did not belong to the store she saw us put it there she herself told us we could not take the bike to the back and she sold the bike to another customer for one dollar and had the nerve to say I'm sorry about it. I contacted good will and I was told there was nothing they could do about it and that they were not responsible for the employee's actions. There is a camera inside the store I mean come in really. Needless to say I'm am going to file legal charges, I have already filed the police report. I'm going to make sure I do no back down. I work very hard for my money. I can't believe she would sell the bike knowing it did not belong to the store.