Discounts for poorest Goodwill shoppers? "You're fired. We'll press felony charges."

[al66pine]

https://www.goodwillswfl.org/uploads/pagesfiles/290.pdf

pages 14-15 of link shows 2012 info with 27 retail locations, including Naples, FL,
w. Goodwill Industries of Southwest FL, (not So. FL referenced upthread).

If one employee at each of the 27 stores 'gave away' $4000 of Goodwill items, that would mean $108,000 lost revenue.
Maybe to their friends and family who may not be 'poorest customers.'

If each of the 675 employees of the organization 'gave away' $4000 of Goodwill items, that would mean $2,700,000 lost revenue.
Admitted not every employee works at one of the stores, but I can imagine some, many, or virtually all
could waste or give away $4000 in some way every year, if they were so inclined.

Page 15 show $20,711,299 revenue in 2012. If all the employees had done what Anderson did, that's 13% of the annual revenue.

Some say 'it's an insignificant amt. in such a big organization so what's the difference' while others would beg to differ.

As LadyL posted, this may eventually lead to a free for all.

JM:twocents:, and as always, I may be wrong.

 

[al66pine]

hate to break it to you guys, but goodwill is a complete scam. they aren't cheap, for one, and they also exploit the mentally disabled by paying them next to nothing while the ceo is one of the wealthiest around.

i would absolutely never donate to this ''organization'' and i donate A LOT. i also run a christmas gift drive for the poor which, to large degree, started bc i got so fed up with the greed that continues to grow and grow by these thrift stores. it's disgusting. perhaps you only notice when you're in them 3 or 4 times a week.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/07/30/does-goodwill-industries-exploit-disabled-workers/

doubt
Thx for the Forbes article link. Informative. I'll go back to read all the links in it.

Do you have a website or blog for you Christmas gift drive? And thanks for your charitable activities.

 

[CarmelEyesD]

My community has a an outreach program that runs a small store, staffed by church volunteers, and stocked with donations. There is NO charge for anything. Consumers are allowed to come in and get what they need, and donate what they don't. It is a huge success..It is only open 2 days a week, but one of the favorite shopping areas here. The staffers are warm and kind, and no one feels any shame. I would love to see this all over the country..perhaps the young man could get something like this running in his community..

 

[packerdog]

Who put the price of $4,000 on the items he gave a discount? This is what I would like to know. Was it furniture, clothes, housewares? How would they calculate the discounts?

 

[tiredblondy]

BBM S...BM


Hey, tired,
Good to know ppl take the effort to locate special places to donate gently used items and to tutor, as you described.

Curious about the S/A experience your friend/acquaintance told you about,
if you can share while maintaining confidentiality re the specific S/A site.

Thx in adv.:seeya:

Extremely poor management, they did not treat their employees right and a lot of the $ collected did not go to the missions/charities. It went to administrators. Where my friend worked in their thrift shop she could not get a schedule and just had to be on call. ????

I'm sure they are not all like that but that was the situation at one time in her experience. She just did not feel like enough filtered down to the truly deserving/needy. That does not mean they are all like that. It's just my opinion from her experience.

I shopped at Goodwill a lot until their prices went up. I understand costs go up but when they started building new buildings ( and they are not all training centers), I started wondering. At what point does it not become a non-profit?

I know too many people who are having to choose between food and gas on a daily basis. If I'm expected to pay full price it makes me furious that my neighbors who live on $300/mo disability are expected to pay the same as me at Goodwill.

I do not mean to offend anyone who likes Goodwill but the ones I'm familiar with seem to have changed.

 

[LinasK]

http://www.goodwill.org/about-us/our-mission

If you read the rest of this, it doesn't sound like they are feeding the hungry, or clothing the poor. Methinks one needs to looks at how much money was involved - quite a bit - I'm not sure where it went, but I'm not great on balancing PR statements.

IF they proceed to prosecute this young man, someone in the Naples, Fla area needs to step up to the plate and get a legal fund going. Maybe J. Cochran can find it in his heart, LOL, but one can believe the best, can't they? Maybe Al, or Jesse will take up the cause, proving they really want justice for the poor and clothing for the naked.

I am NOT being facetious at all, I want all people of good will to rally round and right, what I perceive to be, a wrong. If we ALL don't stick together and help each other, what hope is there for any of us in this corrupt world?

Are there any people of good will left in this world? If so, they/we need to speak out.

My opinion only

Ummm, Johnny Cochran is dead. He died awhile ago of cancer...

 

[Ausgirl]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/21/goodwill-workers-disabilities-low-wage_n_3478013.html

I found this appalling!

"Goodwill is paying some of its disabled workers just 22 cents an hour, while the charity’s executives make six figure salaries. A labor law loophole enables the practice".

Some Pennsylvania Goodwill workers who are disabled made as little as .22, .38 and .41 cents per hour in 2011, according to Labor Department documents reviewed by NBC News. That’s because a 1938 law........ that permits them to pay disabled workers based on their abilities, with no minimum.

So -- this bunch of bananas take free donations - sell those at inflated prices and make millions -- take those millions and train disabled people to work for 22c ph - making the mooks at Goodwill even more money.


^ This is a total scam.

 

[HMSHood]

I recently saw an exposé on agencies such as this one where breakdown of funds and it was appalling as to how the funds were dispersed. I now give my donations to an agency for the blind where volunteers staff the store.

Very sad if you think about it.

 

[drip~drop]

The entire story is only told from HIS perspective! He claims he was giving stuff away only to the "Poorest of the poor" which are presumably strangers.


When this sort of thing happens it is inevitably people they KNOW, family and friends etc.... and I have to wonder if that was the case but he conveniently left that part out of his story.

That is something to think about. How did he know who was the poorest of poor, or if he was being scammed.

 

[txsvicki]

I bought some 100% nice wool sweaters at Goodwill to make into an afghan, but have never found anything there before that was good to wear or use. Everything is old and out of style. Clearance racks at department stores are better.

 

[Karmady]

So -- this bunch of bananas take free donations - sell those at inflated prices and make millions -- take those millions and train disabled people to work for 22c ph - making the mooks at Goodwill even more money.


^ This is a total scam.

My singular experience with goodwill was buying a good-as-new designer purse for 4 or 5 dollars that would have cost at least $200-400 retail. I'm sure it was donated so, at most, goodwill would have made about $3.50 off it after taking into consideration the cost of their pick up and delivery service, employee wages, real estate costs and everything associated with that (utilities, property taxes, etc.), advertising, the cost of any other services they provide. Plus, the employees are obtaining job skills that they can't obtain in the regular market place AND are receiving disability payments on top of whatever wages they receive. Likely in addition to welfare and other supplemental programs available to people who are disabled and/or have very low incomes. Goodwill could have sold the purse on e-bay for 20 times what I paid for it, at least. jmo

 

[Sonya610]

My singular experience with goodwill was buying a good-as-new designer purse for 4 or 5 dollars that would have cost at least $200-400 retail.

Goodwill could have sold the purse on e-bay for 20 times what I paid for it, at least. jmo

They could have if the employees that priced it knew what it was! They would have asked for more had they recognized the value.

My mom used to love shopping the Goodwill housewares section because it was like a treasure hunt, she found more than a few sterling silver serving trays and some nice old gold/silver jewelry priced like cheap junk.

 

[Karmady]

I bought some 100% nice wool sweaters at Goodwill to make into an afghan, but have never found anything there before that was good to wear or use. Everything is old and out of style. Clearance racks at department stores are better.

I think it depends a lot on where you live. The Goodwill stuff in my area includes a lot of barely used new and newish clothes. A lot of crap, too. But there's a good mix. I know that a lot of the staff in my office goes there quite a bit and they definitely don't need to. The garage sales around here are the same. Actually, some of the stuff people put out for trash is nicer than the actual furniture in my house lol

 

[Softail]

Goodwill is not a charity. It is a business. Just like any other business. They could give a crap about helping people, that is just a myth. :twocents:

 

[Linda7NJ]

I think the guy, as wrong as he was, had his heart in the right place. I think he just didn't know any better. I think a good talking to should suffice!

 

[kline]

I actually meant the company (I can't call it a charity) pressing felony charges for an act of (albeit misguided) kindness.

But I guess some folks just can't see past the end of their own mean-*advertiser censored* agendas.

I hope this young man finds a path in life where his big, giving heart can express itself freely. The world sure could use more kindness.

I agree 100% Ausgirl.

 

[vulture]

I've worked in a few retail stores. One was an army surplus store. A man came in and said they were living in a campground and asked if we had any old tarps he could have. (Since my boss would buy weird lots of stuff at auctions, some of which was sellable and some which was not, that was not a weird request.) We only had "good" tarps at the moment so I asked him to pick out a couple off the shelf and I went to the cash register and asked the cashier to put them on my tab. That's how you do charity when you work in a store. It doesn't matter if the merchandise is donated. There is rent to pay, utilities, phone, store fixtures, maintenance, salaries, insurance - someone has to pay for that. If you don't own it, it's not yours to give.

 

[keeponsearching]

I dropped off a few bags over a year ago. Months later I went into a goodwill, and seriously it is just like Mardens, or tjmax. Same prices. I realized I just gave someone money. I will not be giving them any business every again. I also did some research and I have moo over it.
I have more clothes to donate. I will look for a shelter, or church.
For this guy. It is a business. Anyone would get fired, but I don't think he needs to be charged. When I did go, the checkout lady asked me if I had a discount card. I wasn't sure what it was.

 

[vulture]

I'd also like to say that you can't judge someone's financial means by how they look. My Dad and I sometimes shop at thrift stores and you would have no idea of our net worth by how we dress sometimes when we're out running errands. Goodwill wouldn't take some of our errand outfits, that's for sure!

 

[MissJ]

You should try shopping at the Hendersonville and Gallatin, TN stores. They get donations from the country music stars and some still have the tags and are designer apparel. But for me I've learned a lesson...I will never donate to a business again.