Volunteer or Scrounger?

Hm. I am seeing a lot of moral high ground being taken. I’m pretty sure if people Voluntarily working in these charity shops were told they were NOT able to make purchases they would still freely give their time.
Sometimes there could be some jealousy, there must be some psychology behind it.

People tend not to like underhand dealings.
I certainly don't donate items so that ladies who give their time can have it cheaply.

I donate things I might not, except for the the thought that they will help a needy cause.

mae13 mentioned Save the Children. On its website is explains that £5 could provide antibiotics to treat 5 children with pneumonia each month or 40 water purification tablets or 30 malnutrition food sachets or 3 midwife’s birth kits.

Everytime someone lifts item(s) that could be sold for £5 they are reducing the amount of money that could be used to save children’s lives.

Look at most charity websites and they will tell you what even a small donation could pay for.

Nobody should be working in a charity shop for their own personal gain and who doesn’t have the charity's aims at heart.

As ever, it's down to good management and employing the right staff, just like any business.

Exactly.

They are scroungers and it makes me so mad to think about it.

My brother recently had a clear out and took a large number of items to a local charity shop.
He'd included a large number of dvd's... quite specific in nature.
A few days later he was in the shop actually buying something and while waiting to pay overheard the volunteers talking about the films that one had taken for a relative and it was totally clear from the conversation that they hadn't been paid for.
Yes, people give their time freely but personally for me, it's stealing.

Reporting it on here will not change anything, contact head office and tell them what goes on.

We are discussing it, not reporting it here.

It's a discussion forum.

I used to volunteer for a charity shop which sold "ethnic" clothes in an Asian area. My job was to unpack the stock and hang it up ready to be priced. There were some beautiful fabrics and embroideries (saris, and similar) and every session I used to pick several items for myself and show them to the manager, She would give me a price and I handed over the money and left. I dont recall the purchases ever being rung up on the till but she was manager and it was upto her to make the rules. I dont know what the other volunteers did as I was not on the shop floor. But I was certainly getting first dibs on anything that came in before it went out to the public.I certainly dont think it was dishonest or scrounging as I paid what was asked.

I was quietly impressed when someone close to me said she was working in a food bank. I later discovered she was being paid. So sad.

Most food banks will have at least one salaried worker. Perhaps the person in question is in one of these roles.

I used to work in my local Hospice shop (only stopped because I moved 100 miles away).

Everything had to be priced and on the rails/shelves in the shop before a volunteer could buy. The majority of things came priced and barcoded from the central sorting point; anything else was priced by the manager.

At the end of the shift, we would pay another volunteer for anything we'd bought; it was then logged with the till number in a book and countersigned by the manager.

There was no scope for cheating the charity, not that it would have occurred to me to do so. Apparently, in the olden days a 20% discount was given to volunteers, and some of them regretted that that had stopped.

My biggest bugbear were the customers who complained our prices were too high. Who doesn't love a bargain? but expecting good quality items for jumble sale prices was annoying.

I’m still unclear on some of the comments. I do give a lot of items that are no longer of use to me to local charity shops. I am happy to think that these items can be reused and money can be made from them.
If a voluntary worker takes first dibs then do I need to worry? Not really, I was done with it and money was made.
I do volunteer but not in a money making area, I would never judge others motives but whatever they get out of it long may volunteers keep working.

dogsmother

I’m still unclear on some of the comments. I do give a lot of items that are no longer of use to me to local charity shops. I am happy to think that these items can be reused and money can be made from them.
If a voluntary worker takes first dibs then do I need to worry? Not really, I was done with it and money was made.
I do volunteer but not in a money making area, I would never judge others motives but whatever they get out of it long may volunteers keep working.

I don't understand what's unclear. If you are suggesting that people shouldn't feel a bit annoyed that something they gave in good faith to be sold at a fair price to benefit both a charity and the buyer, as well as cutting the amount going into landfill, then IMO it is very clear that some don't like the thought that their good intentions are intercepted by (some) volunteers and what may have been a fair price is cut. That means that the charity gets less money and the public are less likely to go into shape if the best deals never make it to the hangers. You may view your donations differently, which is absolutely fine, but surely it is clear that others don't agree with you, which is also fine?

Sorry, I didn't proofread. 'go into shape' should read 'go into the shop'

I'd rather the full amount goes towards the people or cause, not even a tiny bit towards filling up some woman's bathroom with stuff.

The items are sold cheaply enough.

Having first choice, yes, that's fine, but pay the asking price.

Agreed, MissA

Doodldog, probably unclear why it’s that much of an issue. If you are done with something then you are done with it. Do not begrudge people who get something extra out of a voluntary role.
It’s actually better than sitting around at the back of my wardrobe or cupboard.
I wouldn’t be too quick to judge maybe.

Yes, but it would be better still if these people who presumably are comfortably off and don't need to work, paid the asking price.

Perhaps they need budgeting advice, in which case I'd be happy to oblige.
I want my extra pennies to go towards antibiotics and birth packs.

One point I would make here is echoing what Ailidh said and what we did in the shop I managed. Everything had to be priced and on the rails/shelves in the shop before a volunteer could buy. What I would not accept is what biglouis described - someone having first dibs before goods were shown to the public.

While it makes no difference to takings if goods are sold to staff or public at the same price, letting staff have first dibs can have a knock-on effect.

The amount of good-quality donations to charity shops is low. It would not be an exaggeration to say that up to 80% of donations are unsaleable other than to rag and paper merchants. A lot of donations goes straight in the bin at a cost to the charity to have taken away. It’s no secret that people use charity shops as a way of dumping their rubbish.

If staff are getting first dibs on the 20% of goods that are saleable and are nabbing the better stuff, that means that fewer items of good quality are going out on the rails and shelves.

Shops for different charities build reputations for having good or poor quality stock. Customers who find a good range of good quality stock can and often do become regular customers.

I know which shops in town have good, well-presented stock and which have a jumble of mostly rubbish. I no longer bother to visit the latter.

All other things being equal, why is there such a difference? Could it be because the latter shops are the ones where staff are taking or buying the better quality donations before the public ever gets to see them?

I volunteer in a community hub. Its not a charity but a community benefit organisation. There are several paid, parttime staff snd lots of volunteers.
I'm on the till but there's a café and I'm always asked if I'd like a coffee. I don't pay but I do pay if I have lunch there.

My DD brought her family there recently and wanted to give the young waitress a tip.
"I'm not paid so what's 10% of nothing?" She replied.

Your comments are all very interesting, thank you. My experience is similar to that of Ailidh, but there is still scope for cheating as the manager is a soft touch.... too kind and generous. However, that does encourage lots of regular customers

In bhf shop I heard a volunteer talking down to another helper. Some seem to think they are 'holier than thou' because they are volunteers. some need to remember their manners.
in another charity shop a volunteer on the till was having a shout that she hadn't had a tea break so as shutting the shop for 15mins. she locked the door with customers instore. fortunately another person came to let us out. this person wasn't signed to use the till. so full of own importance.

I once bought my own donated garment back from a charity shop. It looked so nice on the rail!
it had probably been washed and ironed

Grammaretto

I once bought my own donated garment back from a charity shop. It looked so nice on the rail!
it had probably been washed and ironed

This has just made me choke on my tea Grammaretto!