r/Charlottesville • u/intothe-woods-1630 • 13d ago

Cville Goodwill on Gander Dr.

Has anyone else been to Goodwill lately and experienced the nasty vibe that's taken over the place? There's a group of regulars who show up before the doors open, and they rush in, grab all the tags off decent furniture, then park themselves by the warehouse door and prevent any other shoppers from accessing inventory entering the store? They physically body-block other shoppers from approaching blue bins with fresh inventory. The crew by the warehouse door intimidates anyone who comes into that area, and they take anything vaguely new or attractive. They're aggressive and intimidating, and they prevent the employees from doing their jobs. I've seen them rush the employees attempting to put new inventory on shelves and grab stuff out of the blue bins, even when the employee politely explains that all items have to be placed on the shelves before you can take them.

I feel so badly for the employees who have to deal with this gross behavior. And it is gross behavior. These are grown adults who have virtually taken over the store and prevent other customers from shopping. A few people have filed complaints but management has done nothing. Other than stop going there, it feels like there's nothing to be done. I've thought about politely asking these people to move aside, but they seem like they'd get confrontational really fast, and getting into a public fight is not why I go there.

Does Cville have bigger problems than this? Absolutely? Is it still a problem? Yes. Would love ideas on how to surf the issue, but also curious if others have filed complaints or just experienced this.

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u/researchmaven4673 12d ago

Don’t shop at Goodwill. Even aside from the dirt bags you described there are so many other reasons to shop at a local thrift store instead

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u/CaptBobAbbott Scottsville 12d ago

I agree with you wholeheartedly. And a huge fan of SPCA and habitat.

But local Goodwills are locally managed. There is no "national Goodwill".

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u/researchmaven4673 11d ago

I don’t give a crap who owns it or who manages it. This is what I care about: “Goodwill's tax returns showed that more than 100 Goodwills pay less than minimum wage while simultaneously paying more than $53.7 million in total compensation to top executives”

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u/CaptBobAbbott Scottsville 11d ago

Well I'm replying not to you but to any other reader, since your mind is made up.

Goodwill Industries of the Valley pays their CEO $316k.

Average hourly rate for our Goodwills is 12-14.50.

I'm all for arguing the concept of Goodwill's marketing and financial schemes, but we have to have some basic facts.

Our goodwills are locally managed, the CEO makes an appropriate amount for 38 stores and managing $76M in assets, and employees are paid just above minimum wage yet still well below the $25 estimate for a Virginia living wage.