material handler

production associate

retail supervisor

sales associate

production supervisor

Evergreen Goodwill

Working at Goodwill has been mostly enjoyable. Though sorting through - sometimes literal - garbage is not always so glamorous, the occasional treasure passes through and it can be fun and amazing to see some of the stuff that gets donated; i.e. books from the 1800s, super rad vintage furniture, Seattle Opera costumes, that gold Bodum french press you've had your eye on. 
The materials we work with are not the only interesting thing about this job. The people are by far the best aspect of working here. Because Seattle Goodwill's mission is to provide jobs and job training to people facing adversity, you'll find yourself working side by side with people from all over the world. We've had employees from Ghana, the Philippines, Ukraine, South Sudan, Pakistan, all over central and south America. It's very humbling and fun to be able to foster relationships with people who often times have very different life perspectives from your own. Everyone I've worked with here has had a story, a unique personality, and something new to teach me. The hardest part of this job for me was the lack of empathy from higher up managers. They do not always make themselves present in the production room, and don't always seem to care about really getting to know their employees. I felt like people relied on me a lot to do their jobs, which of course can be frustrating. 
In the 6 months that I've been in management, I've learned that you can't do everything yourself. Initially, I found it difficult to delegate tasks to others, because I felt like the way I did things was the best way. I've found that training people and setting the example is an ideal way to get people to do things the way you want them done. I've also learned that there is no secret formula for settling conflict, which is why getting to know your employees is so crucial.

Everything about this company is terrible. They pretend to be a charity and care about their employees but nothing could be farther from the truth. They have zero incentive to take care of their employees because of the extremely high rate of turn over.
There are no opportunities for overtime or advancement. 
Their benefits are almost non existent. The health insurance is paid for by the employees and is basically Applecare( the public health insurance offered through the state) and the Human Resources office is a joke, they are more concerned with protecting their employer than the workers they are charged with helping.
The only thing that matters to Evergreen Goodwill is keeping up appearances, they take advantage of their employees are have zero concern for their employees well-being . They recently spent over a million dollars on a sorting machine that was supposed to boost productivity but all it has done is kill moral and increase the dangers of the job greatly while eliminating the meager 100 dollar Christmas bonuses we got last year. No matter how horribly things are going the supervisors will continue to pretend everything is going well and completely ignore the problems being brought to their attention and blame the employees for systematic failures( of which there are many) of a untried system that a C level executive decided to implement because they liked the salesmans pitch without actually understanding how their business works. If you need a job and have no other options then Evergreen Goodwill will gladly take advantage of you. 

Overall a very rewarding job. You assist customers as in any retail setting, you also have the privilege of assisting people (staff) who are new to retail (some of them are new to work) and from other countries. There is quite a bit of interaction with homeless people and panhandlers. Most people would think of this as discouraging but it was a very eye opening experience that brought me much joy. The biggest thing I learned at this job was that people are not always what they seem, some of the kindest people I met there had the least.
The management team/structure leaves a little to be desired. Communication is almost non existent and you are responsible for training yourself because management is too caught up in their routines to help you develop your skills and get a promotion. The promise of training was dangled in front of us from time to time but nothing came of it, with the exception of a few "select" individuals.
The hardest part of the job was trying to get any member of management to assist me with my development so I could get promoted to the next level. I don't want to make it seem like it was horrible, it was still a rewarding job despite the giving it my all and getting passed up for training and promotion.
There were very enjoyable times there too, most days were an absolute blast. The staff when I worked there was stellar, a good portion of them have moved on now and I'm not sure just how the store is operating but it was amazing getting to know all of the sales staff so well, such an amazing and diverse group.

Because that's basically what it's like here. At least, it was for me and the majority of my former coworkers.

Communication sucks. Any ideas or complaints mostly fall on deaf ears, which makes the actual work experience a strained and stressful one.

Favoritism is rampant! As long as you're in good with the scheduling supervisor, you're golden. But if you're not, you know it, your coworkers know it, the customers know it. The only people who don't are the higher ups, and mostly because they don't want to know it. If she doesn't like you, you're in for a treat.

HR is a joke. Remember what I said about deaf ears. 

The best part about working here was meeting the time-clock at the end of the shift. Or any day or time when that one person who knows how to cover her butt in any situation leaves.

I get it; work isn't supposed to be the most fun you've ever had. But it also shouldn't be something you dread. And it definitely shouldn't be a place where you're bullied by a manager. 

I don't know how it is at every store, but this one made me lose complete faith in the company with how situations were handled. Not something I am ever willing to let myself get sucked back into and I urge others to seek employment elsewhere.

If you're looking for a hit-the-ground-running retail experience, this is it. Minimum wage, narrow opportunity for advancement, but full benefits. Be prepared to greet, tolerate, and endure characters from all walks of life coming in through the sliding doors. I would not recommend this job for anybody with allergies, temperature or light sensitivity, high anxiety/depression, the elderly, those accustomed to working at a slower pace, or with chronic pain. You will be required to hustle. You will work closing shifts one day and be asked to attend a 6:00 a.m. employee meeting the next with as little as one-day notice. (it's your responsibility to check changes to the calendar EVERY. WORKING. DAY.) Lunch times are half-hour exactly and closely monitored as is your two 15-minute breaks. Employee break room is often a mess and less than sanitary. Read: I hope you like packing out a sack lunch. Do not expect a "weeknd" until after your 90 day trail period. Even so after, you will often be scheduled with days off apart from eachother. (E.g. Monday = off. Tues-Weds, on. Thursday = off. Friday-Sunday =on.)

Last week of Halloween season is gonna feel like running a Marathon (Read: Black Friday,) but at least you get to work in costume.

My days at work were anything but typical.  I am average to slightly above average intelligence with no family and a good work ethic.  At the time this translated to all the hours I could possibly want across all departments. Material handling,  production, and retail.  The hours were great the pay was good especially once I got into overtime.

The hardest part of the job was we lost several leads in one department leaving only two of us (plus salaried managers) to cover 12 hour shifts 7 days a week.  And with the way everything was set up one manager was unable to take a break unless the other was onsite. So in my case I came in to open and would not be able to take a break for 5 hours.  Again the overtime was voluntary so I am not complaining.

The most enjoyable part of the job was the entire job.  From accepting donations to sales the people and just the atmosphere was incredible.  I would still be working here had life not gotten in the way.  I would recommend this job to anyone.  With it being non profit (I didnt say no-profit) they dont drive their employees to the breaking point.  They train and coach but I have never seen someone get yelled at or blamed for prodcution numbers or sales.  They treat their employees really really well

Simple job. Nice coworkers. But obstacles are thrown your way if you're a material handler. I don't mean rude donors this time, i'm talking about management. First off, as a material handler, your work is under appreciated by EVERYONE. People seem to think we have easy duties when actually we have to satisfy: Retail, Production, and Managers. When a customer buys a piece of furniture from retail, we take it out to their vehicle. When production needs their trash bin emptied, we throw it away. When managers need someone to blame someone for bad sales, we take the heat. If someone from corporate comes to visit, a certain manager (who's name i won't mention) will be little us to suck up to the CEO. That is just disgusting and shameful. The people who are promoted have the worst management skills. We M Handlers can do our job just fine with our own system, but of course to feel more in power a manager has to come and change our ways. Their plans are usually unsuccessful but they won't care as long as they feel in control. My point is, this is a decent work place for Retail or Production. But if you're interested in the manual labor of material handling, look elsewhere because here you'll only be ridiculed for your hard work and other people's mistakes.

As someone who recently promoted myself to customer, I have a lot to say. I'll only mention 
a few things here. Firstly, I already miss a majority of my coworkers. I worked with a good team and some truly awesome people. 
CSA is a very labor intensive position. Being pulled in multiple directions while trying to get your own assignments done is very stressful. Merit increases do not exist, even if you earn one. You'll get an annual review which, (according to the printed copy you're given) should afford you one, depending upon your score. However, the company has decided not to actually give those EARNED increases. They blame the yearly minimum wage increases for that. What they do instead, is give an insulting pay bump around mid-year in attempt to keep people with seniority from complaining about new hires making nearly as much as they do. Hours get cut way back, and understaffing is a big problem. 8 employees plus management scheduled for 12 hours of retail operation is ludicrous. And I could go on...

Seattle Goodwill as a whole is the stereo typical greedy corporation.  It tries its best to not pay workers fairly.  Living on the Eastside you make $12.50 and hour, but if you are lucky and work in Seattle or Shoreline you make $15.00 starting.  They were forced to pay those other cities minimum wage and all the while they told the other stores they wouldn't be increasing our pay.  We do the same work and get paid less which has killed morale in the store I work in as well as in the others outside of Seattle. Someone from Corporate said to one of our supervisors, "What's the deal.  They only make $3.50 more on average."  Now for those of you who don't understand, that is about $600 dollars more a month altogether.  It may not seem a big difference, but for someone who needs to live off their salary every penny counts.

My store in particular has some of the most unhelpful managers I have ever met.  They don't walk the floor they hide in the office and take forever to come out to process returns or price items. This angers customers and makes us overall look bad.  It's gotten to the point where fellow employees shirk their duties and have just given up.  

I wouldn't recommend working at Seattle Goodwill.

Do not work in accounting!  The Accounting Director's management style has created a toxic work environment.  Employees who do not get along with the director tend to leave or are terminated. The lack of clear guidelines also affects contract employees, leading to high turnover rates. While the director presents herself professionally she talks ill about the employee/s behind their backs.  I was not impressed of this type of behavior.  I was let go and opted to sign the termination agreement, not in agreement with their assessment of my performance, but because I had reached a breaking point with the company's work environment. I have confidence in my work and abilities, but the leadership had failed to create a positive and sustainable work environment.  Effective leaders typically foster a work environment with high employee satisfaction and minimal turnover.  Since my departure, the turnover rate has increased dramatically to around 80%.  Although, she may have financial expertise, her understanding of accounting process is inadequate.  She even told me that.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Material handler 199 salaries reported	$19.52 per hour
Production associate 136 salaries reported	$18.78 per hour
Retail supervisor 174 salaries reported	$24.11 per hour
Sales associate 186 salaries reported	$19.11 per hour
Production supervisor 74 salaries reported	$24.14 per hour

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