Unfriendly staff in charity shops

Occasionally I get thanked. We are expected to quietly deposit our bags in a designated area and then leave.

I agree, you were not treated with respect. Like me, you have likely donated half of your household contents to a charity, so a smile and a thank you would be appreciated.

I'd be irritated too.

The charity shops where I live mostly have friendly staff. My favourite of the three nearby is the one run by young people, who will take absolutely anything and everything!

The charity clearly could have been more polite and grateful. However, I suspect the staff are quite new volunteers, unused to retail work and possibly on work experience, not employed by the charity itself.
When staff are recruited for retail work, they would be chosen for their people skills and receive training in customer service.
Sounds as though you were served by the “before” version !

At least 50% of enquiries and requests for information on our local Nextdoor website stipulate "I want........, I need........Anyone got a................ Nowhere does a please or a thank you appear. It's endemic these days, so not only in charity shops I'm afraid{sad}

Retread

I'd be irritated too.

The charity shops where I live mostly have friendly staff. My favourite of the three nearby is the one run by young people, who will take absolutely anything and everything!

It’s certainly not our shop, people pop into us for a chat and cupper. It’s like home from home.
We go beyond what others do. I collect big items ( I’m the only driver) and deliver big items.
We have a list in the sorting room with items that customers are looking for.
We are lucky in that we are a local charity for local people ( no jokes 😂)
3 of us run the shop without any interference from the organisation we support.
Our manager and our PAC tester are unpaid.

Retread

I'd be irritated too.

The charity shops where I live mostly have friendly staff. My favourite of the three nearby is the one run by young people, who will take absolutely anything and everything!

I’m afraid charity shops have to take what they can ( staff) they arnt exactly knocking on the door 😥

I used to manage a very large group of volunteers,including meals on wheels, drivers, friendly visitors etc. Only certain ones were sent to particular op shops ( no further comment) .There were, of course, some really lovely shops but then there were some others …

Gosh, that's counter productive. Charity shops can't do without donations. Like yours petra, the Oxfam near us, is a wee treasure trove. The displays reflect the season, they do colour themes. They had rainbow arrangements last week for Pride. Loads of books, jigsaws, games, toys. The manager is very enthusiastic. They can't always accept big bags of donations as the area is small, and so you check to see if the 'no thanks ' is at the door.

Desdemona
Sorry you had such a bad experience. Obviously charity shops and their volunteers vary but a simple word of thanks should be the least a donor can expect. You could contact their office.

Same here. I’d given this particular charity shop branch a wide berth for years, following an incident with MinL’s stuff.
I’ll not name the shop, but they have 2 frontages, side by side - separate doors to access either but connected behind the counters.
I lugged several bags of clothing into the clothing side and as I went to put them down was rudely informed that drop offs had to be made next door. Did as I was told, but they’ve lost this donor. I’ll continue to drive a bit further to support a different charity.

I've given up taking stuff to the local big name charity shops, the staff are rude and obnoxious. I take it to a local hospice shop who are pleasant and polite or just drop it off at a local Salvation Army hopper bin thing.

Nothing like our shop, everyone on the staff is very friendly and helpful in fact only yesterday a lady was desperate for a photo album, we didn’t have any in the shop, but I told her I had two new matching ones surplus to requirement at home and I only live 100 yds away from the shop if she wanted to hang around I would pop home and get them ( I would have donated them any way) I priced them at £2 each and she went out a very happy bunny and the charity had another £4
We have a lovely environment with good meaning staff and we are always grateful for donations even though we are often over run
Just like ordinary shops and life I suppose there are good and bad and many inbetween I wouldn’t use that one again if I was you Desdemona

Yes, that is rude. Can you go to another charity shop? Sometimes they are run by volunteers and some of them don’t actually seem to want to be there.

Petra we also keep a little list of particular needs taped on the wall and I will ring the person if they come in I love our shop and so do most people

There is no excuse for bad manners, and a smile and a ‘thank you’ is all it takes. I would suggest that you contact the charity’s head office to voice your dissatisfaction, confirming the date and time the goods were donated.

BlueBelle

Petra we also keep a little list of particular needs taped on the wall and I will ring the person if they come in I love our shop and so do most people

BlueBelle
Same as ours 🥰

To the ones who don't say thank you I just dump the bag and loudly say"
You're very welcome " Makes me feel good anyway.

I dropped a donation bag in recently to a charity shop and no acknowledgement
On my way out I said a thank you would be nice and woman on the till looked at me blank!
I did 25 years as a volunteer for well known charity and the first thing taught to us was to say thank you when someone donates

I am writing this as I await my brothers funeral on Wednesday. He did charity work for a local hospice shop and they are the nicest people ever. Cards phone calls and texts and I’ve never met them. Just wanted to say not all folk are miserable.

Same in our local food bank (where I used to volunteer!) dropped a few bags off, not even an acknowledgment never mind thanks. Set up a “this year’s charity” standing order, no thanks when it started or finished. All this from the paid staff …

Unfortunately I had the same when dropping off some of my dad’s clothes after he died. I found it very emotional packing up and letting go of his clothes and when I got a ‘you have left it a bit late in the day bring that lot in’ - it was three bags of his nicest M&M shirts, a few cashmere mix jumpers and pairs of brogues - I could of cried. I appreciate what a great job the volunteers do, but surely they realise that bereaved family often bring items in at a very sensitive time? I always shop and support our local charity shops but I’m afraid I have given that particular one the cold shoulder after that incident. I wish I had been in a stronger emotional place at the time to reply accordingly!

I've generally had very nice responses, particularly from ones that are dedicated book shops, they're always pleased with what we've taken there.

The manager of one of our local charity shops was and maybe still is, is ‘Shirl’ from Gogglebox. Always a warm welcome.

I tend to use the same charity shop most of the time. The staff are very friendly, always say thank you for donations and go out of their way to be cheerful. A while ago there were two teenage girls trying on prom dresses and the staff were making a big fuss of them, making positive comments and admiring the way they looked in each dress.

The manager has an amazing memory and sometimes tells me about my donations. "That set of mugs you brought in, it went to a young couple who have just moved to XTown." She is fabulous and very popular. I'm sure it increases the income considerably.