Goodwill Retail Store

How to piss off a Kitty:
Absolutely horrible customer service
My birthday is in a few weeks, and my husband was trying to be nice to me. We had lunch at Mini Corral and some frozen yogurt, and then he took me thrifting!
My first impression of this Goodwill was that it was pretty nice. The clothing was organized by type AND color. That’s really rare. I’ve only seen color organization at one other Goodwill, and it really makes the place look a lot nicer.
I was here on a Sunday at 4:30. I spent an entire hour browsing the tops, dresses, and skirts. The husband spent his time looking at the «entertainment» section: books, CDs, and the like. He didn’t buy anything, but he said it looked like someone got rid of their entire NKOTB collection. He also found a cassette single of Skee-Lo’s «I Wish,» which we had just heard on our drive from STL to Alton.
Between 5:30 and 5:35, I made my way to the dressing rooms. The place closed at 6, so I thought I had plenty of time to try on three skirts and three tops. I’m fast, anyway.
Unfortunately, the three dressing rooms were locked, and a cart full of stuff was blocking two of the doors. I stood there, patiently awaiting my turn. At 5:40, an employee came over to the dressing rooms and asked me, «Is she still in there? We close the dressing rooms at 5:45.» I didn’t know who «she» was, but I said I assumed so because all three rooms were locked. The employee told the person in one of the dressing rooms that she had 5 minutes left, and then the employee walked away.
It was then that I realized the two other locked dressing rooms were unoccupied. I also realized that if it was 5:40 and this other customer had 5 minutes left, I was probably going to get screwed out of a fitting room. However, I waited.
At 5:45, the announcement over the speaker stated the store would be closing in 15 minutes and instructed customers to bring their purchases to the front. The same employee again returned to the fitting room area and once again asked me if «she» was still in there. I said yes, although the presence of said customer’s cart o’ crap really should have served as some sort of visual indicator. The employee told the customer she needed to get out of the dressing room.
So, I asked if I should just leave. The employee said yes as the fitting rooms were now closed. I was livid. I put my clothes back on the rack and said something like «That’s great. I just wasted an hour and a half of my time here. Ridiculous.»
She and another employee continued to explain their 5:45 dressing room closing time policy to me. Nice try! I was there before this alleged closing time, and two of the rooms were already closed. It seemed more like a 5:30 closing time to me. As I left, I was unsympathetically and quite sarcastically told to have a nice day.
If you are going to have a policy like theirs, I have some advice for you: Clearly define what your policy is, and stick to it. If you close your fitting rooms at 5:45, close them at 5:45 – no sooner, no later.
The employee I dealt with today really ought to reconsider what she thinks she knows about customer service. I wasn’t asking for special treatment. I just wanted to, you know, buy something from them. It was obvious I was there waiting for a fitting room. Could she not have unlocked one of the other rooms for me prior to this 5:45 closing time she kept repeating? Instead, she wasted my time and lost a potential sale.
If this place hadn’t been so wonderfully organized by color, I would have absolutely no reservations about leaving them one star.

A young woman working at the store today around 2:52pm was extremely rude to my mother. She was very condescending and spoke harshly to my mom twice. Once because the lady’s register didn’t say it was closed, but (despite the long line), she didn’t feel like waiting on customers and sent my mom away. Then my mom was looking a purses in a glass case that was unlocked and open (again without a sign) and she yelled at her for touching a purse! If you hate people, don’t work in a store!

The newly remodeled Alton Goodwill while clean and nicely expanded has lost touch with reality. Since the reopening, prices at this store have skyrocketed past acceptable. On a recent visit this week I noted some of the following items– an old Crock Pot liner with lid $ 8.00 (no warmer unit), a returned and nonworking set of party lights from Target $ 8.99 (retails new at Target for $ 13), a used made in China space heater $ 45, a used oil filled radiator with large dent $ 35 (you can buy a new one out of the box for $ 35 – 45), an inexpensive used oak quilt rack $ 35, a beat down couch with visible rips on the arm $ 125, used men’s shoes starting at $ 10 +, a shot glass behind locked glass for $ 15, a decorative cow tea set $ 10 which is reasonable but all pieces were individually marked instead of selling as a complete set, new damaged jewelry boxes on stands for $ 35, used wine bottle openers for $ 6, a new electric heating blanket $ 60, etc. .. At these prices, one can go to Big Lots in the same strip mall or head to Wal-​Mart or K-​Mart just a few miles up the street and get these same type of items new for the same price or cheaper. Not sure who is running this store and doing the pricing, but they need help. This is still a thrift store isn’t it?

I’ve been to this location numerous times and I like the finds I have purchased. I have found baby items in new condition, a brand new baby carrier for $ 3! Tons of burp cloths and even cloth diapers in new condition. I went there yesterday and since the store is remodeling, everything was 75% off. I spent under $ 7 and I got tons of baby clothes for .25 apiece and a pair of new high heels for $ 1.50. I also was able to snag some great women’s shirts for $ .75 apiece. I was very excited to see the remodel. I’m also hoping to see better service and better dressing rooms.

When I am I a new town I always like to check out the local goodwill. I asked my new coworkers and they said this Goodwill was pretty good and I should check it out. So on my lunch hour I dived into the place. I was found the store to be very organized. The clothes did not appear to be shoved together. I was able to browse the skirts and dresses. I got lucky found the cutest dress (NY & Co) $ 4.50. I know it is okay to be jealous. I wandered over to the book section, this was not as organized. I think it is more of the customer fault than the stores. Scored a book that I had «borrowed» to a friend and never got it back. Next I found myself in the shoe section. I NEVER purchase shoes at a Goodwill, but they had the shelves so free of clutter I felt I was drawn to the aisle. From my years of resale shopping I knew it was time to try on my «treasures» That is where the disappointment started. Only one hook in the dressing room and one chair. I needed to hang my coat, purse and items. I could not sit in the chair because I had to put my things somewhere. When I had completed my balancing act. I made my way to the checkout counter. I was meet with a checker with a front tooth missing. She was so busy trying to find a sign to put on the counter to announce to the world that she was going to lunch. I kept trying to ask her how much each item because they did not have any prices. She would not answer. I ended up staying under my budget and yes I will be back just to see the cast of staff and if she ever gets that tooth fixed.