Goodwill Store

By now, it almost seems redundant to keep reviewing Goodwill locations. As an adult with a disability in the workforce, though, I feel compelled to address issues when they arise and to look at those businesses that specifically are designed to serve individuals with disabilities.
To be fair, Goodwill is no longer quite that specific in describing their mission. While it’s well known that they offer job training programs and quite often specifically serve those with disabilities, their published mission statement is incredibly generic — «a social enterprise that offers opportunities, provides services, and leverages its resources with those of others to improve the economic self-​sufficiency and well-​being of adults and the future employability of young people.» They do report that ²⁄₃ of those they employ have a disability, low education level or criminal history.
I’m assuming some have all three.
So, when I go to Goodwill I’m acutely aware of accessibility issues and the friendliness of their stores to those with disabilities. You can imagine my surprise when I pulled up to this Northeastside location of Goodwill just south of East 96^th Street near I-​69 and drove around the parking lot looking for their accessible parking spots.
«Oh wait,» I said to myself. «They’re over there.»
WTF?
They have about 4 accessible parking spots located a handful of parking spots back from the front of the parking lot. While I’m thrilled that they apparently want to treat those with disabilities equally, I’d always thought that the whole purpose behind an accessible spot was to have it be CLOSER to the actual store. Maybe I’m wrong?
Oh, and then there’s the fact that NONE of these spots has a metal sign identifying it as an accessible spot — that, of course, is why I couldn’t find them originally. Oh sure, they have the symbols on the pavement. But, really? Do they even know that without a metal sign in Indiana it’s not even enforceable?
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Fortunately, on this day one of the spots was open and I ventured on inside. They did have the curb cut. Inside the store, the layout is actually a bit more user friendly than one usually finds in Goodwill locations. The aisles are a touch wider and I found it fairly simple to get around. The employees were busy working and the environment was calm. While the word «helpful» might actually be a stretch, I did get at least one inquiry as to if I needed help or not. Trust me, that’s not true in every Goodwill location.
There’s not much else to be said about a «Goodwill.» After all, it’s a thrift store with a mission. The prices are pretty consistent from store to store as is the quality of the product. While I couldn’t find much in the way of coats, my desired item, I found the layout to be consistent with most other locations.
It’s just those silly parking spots. I mean, seriously, you’re actually specifically designed to serve individuals with disabilities. It’s on your mission page. You don’t have legally compliant accessible parking? That’s a problem. I’d still put this location on par with most other locations — primarily because the environment itself is a notch above other locations. However, what seems to be a systemic issue is inexcusable when an organization’s retail frontline fails to serve individuals the organization’s primary target audience.

I have posted this review specifically for this location because I feel it is probably one of the best in the city — no wait, the best. I can say this with some level of authority since I have probably been to 10+ stores across the city over time, and keep finding this location with the best level of consistently quality options.
This location can also be good for belts, handbags, and shoes (new). You can also sometimes score finds in the dresses, skirts, and suits categories.
I always find a nice, deep selection of women’s shirts, sweaters, pants and shorts. The men’s section can also be fruitful upon occasion. I don’t typically need to look for housewares and other items that often, but I do see new sets of furniture when I go in most instances.