sales associate

retail assistant manager

donation attendant

merchandise processor

retail sales associate

Goodwill

I was a senior citizen when I began to explore employment at Goodwill. I was twice retired from private industry in the Telecommunications field and was looking for additional income. I read the company;s vision statement and did some research prior to applying for the job. This seemed to be an ideal place to work. The on-boarding process at Glebe Rd was the most fun part of this job. The benefits were excellent, so I thought. When I reached the work site it was promised that I'd have cashier training. The first day, the Team Lead took me through the operation of the cash register. There were no written instructions or anything that resembled an SOP. After a half day of hands-on instruction I was left alone and told that the basics was all I needed and I'd figure it out. I did just that, at my own expense (shortages, overages and system failures that generated false cash register totals). I documented my complaints and offered possible troubleshooting approaches to get to the source of the problems. They fell on deaf ears and were dismissed with the often statement, "Oh, these computers are just stupid, Power off/on and start over." This went on daily. Finally I was told that the problem(s) I identified were investigated and no trouble was found after I complained to upper management about the lack of problem solving. They seem to prefer younger workers who don't question their judgement. There's an exceptionally high turnover rate due to being overworked and short staffed. My biggest disappointment was when they told me I was too friendly with the customers. They were there to make money, not friends. They place too much emphasis on customers rounding up their purchases, which most do not want to do. At the end of each shift they produce a printout of your precentage of sales rounded up by each cashier. If you don't make 50% on a daily basis, you're badgered and threatened to get a poor performance review. Overall, Goodwill is not Goodwill to all men. Try to find someplace else to work.

On a typical day you will be on your feet nonstop, you will push HEAVY boats onto the floor, load them and take them to the trash very routinely. You will not feel a part of a team because there isn't one. You will not get any acknowledgement for your hard work. You will be paid way too little for this hard, laborious job. 

Management is horrible, you will never know who is a manager or who's "rules" to follow. You will be disrespected and belittled everyday, you will never know what's going on or if your doing your job correctly. 

There is no heat in the break rooms. 

The customers camp out in the store all day and are disrespectful to employees leaving trash on the floor and leaving carts out while you try to stock the floor.
Management will tolerate everything the customer has to offer without hesitation. They will never make you feel like you are valued at all.

The hardest part of the job is the waste. Everything not taken by customers that day is considered trash or is sorted to be scrapped for metal or plastics. There are things hauled out to the garbage that you are NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE HOME!
Brand new items still in wrapping that is trashed!

THE HARDEST PART OF THE JOB IS THE WORK CULTURE, IT'T THE WORST I'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED.

I've learned a lot about the Goodwill's practices and I can say, I will NEVER donate to them again. They lie and they treat they're employees terribly.

Keep scrolling and find a better job that pays more.


The only few things I really enjoyed about working at my GGW store we’re being able to form relationships with my co-workers, most only managers, and some of the regular costumers. Other than that, I felt as if quota numbers and how much we had to do per hour were too high and unrealistic. Only a select few people were able achieve and even exceed their goals while most of us were always struggling to reach that goal. It also didn’t help that our boss was talking to us about needing to hit our quotas even when we were hitting our budgets, or that I got pressured into trying to hit my quotas when I could only work so fast, which caused me to feel overwhelmed and overworked. It a felt like to people who did more were the only ones who got highly credited and praised while those of us who were really doing the best we could ended with little to no credit in return. I worked at my store for 3 years and never got employee of the month one time. That’s how depreciated  I felt. They talk about high quality, yet it felt as if they cared more out the quantity. 

In the end, It was a blessing in disguise that I ended getting laid off during the pandemic. A year and a half later, I have since found a better job with better pay and managers who very appreciative to even their newest employees. My only hopes for the industry  is that they learn to appreciate all their workers, regardless of whether quotas are met or not.


What is the best part of working at the company?
scheduling and hours.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Theirs 1 manager who is very unprofessional. When I worked there I began to ask for a day off 3 weeks before that day came up. To make it to my uncles surgery, I needed that day off( It was on that day).  I asked probably 3-5 times a week and 2-3 times those days. Every time I was cut off from speaking just to hear the words "Tell me later Im not going to remember that, I have a lot going on right now"(those words exactly every single time). That day came and I was surely in there working instead of at the hospital and that same manager came into work(while he..was off). He made his way to my station, just to nitpick on small things(which I thought was a test, but still unsure) for over 30min of time....An doesn't even bring up an apology or at least ask about the issue. After work that day I found out my uncle died after the surgery, and I never went back into GoodWill ever since. I quit. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The fellow employees were very friendly and cool. 2 very helpful managers/leaders, but Just that 1 wrong person in charge.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
clock in, setup/clean station and electronics floor section, process electronics, place on the floor if there is space, greet and help customers to give them the perfect visiting experience, take a break, do everything again in the opposite order, and clock out.

Manangers not being managers always wanna point fingers or pass the buck, they try to give advice about being managers but ain’t one themselves, district managers are TERRIBLE they don’t care about you only the business and they give unreasonable and sometimes impossible tasks and expects it done and if you can’t then they suggest to just find someone who can.....your overworked the pay don’t match the amount of work you do, they down play the job at the interview but when you get here it’s a whole different ball game you have to learn quick cause they will throw you to the wolves whether you know or not, lazy team members no one wants to pull there weight, goodwill is a GOSSIP COMPANY everyone in your business once something happens in private the whole store gonna eventually know about it and then other stores will too, your gonna be doing different jobs and tasks some tasks you shouldn’t even be doing if your an associate trust you will be doing some manager things that they should do, customers will test your patience, goodwill is very shady they pretend to be on your side but will throw you under the bus real quick that’s with everybody HR ain’t no different they worse and petty, there is no room for growth at ALL they rather hire someone new then someone that’s been working for them for years.

For a so-called nonprofit, Goodwill cares about nothing but profit. This workplace has some of the worst management and staff I've ever encountered; Goodwill has no standards whatsoever when it comes to hiring either. If you're not a manager favorite, you will receive no respect or appreciation for the work you do. If you're young and able, the burden of upkeeping the store will fall on your shoulders while others will slack off. Don't expect any variation in your schedule either; you'll get endless closing shifts. The workload is outrageous and back breaking. You're overworked to death to achieve crazy goals. Major problems will get swept under the rug but you'll get lambasted over something trivial. In clothing processing, you're doing what's supposed to be a 2 person job all on your own for an insane quota; not to mention there's always a surplus of clothing with no space for it on a daily basis. This is not a safe place for women; predatory men are allowed to work here with only a slap on the wrist disciplinary action. The turnover rate is high for a reason.

I really enjoyed working at GGW. I learned tons and was able to contribute a lot while there. I regret not being able to see a pathway for growth, however. This was further compounded by seeing incongruity between the accolades that I’d receive for my work without any real opportunities to grow within the company, which was my desire. Meanwhile, others were promoted in other divisions which was a source of frustration for me. I also think that representation of the community served is important throughout the levels of leadership, especially senior leadership + the board. I think that embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion in its operations- from policies, recruitment strategies, employee pay, etc., would greatly improve the organization. Creating growth opportunities for younger, dynamic staff who are coming up the ranks in the company would also be a great way to not only attract but retain great talent. 

Management was always terrible and the turn over rate is ridiculous. We've had 4 different General Managers and 5 different Assistant Managers since I started in 2016 (only 2 years!!!) and a lot of them were terrible. Nasty attitudes, careless schedule making, forgetting about employee needs, shifting blame onto other people, giving unfair reviews, etc. Managers expect you to give your entire life to the company and don't appreciate you in return. One slip up and they're down your throat for life. Most managers sit in the office all day or float around the store not really doing anything while everyone else busts their butts. There is LOTS of in store drama... Management sometimes stirs the pot and spreads rumors about employees. Only have had one raise in the two years I worked with the company. Literally go home every day stressed out and sore all over from how hard I've busted my butt that day and I feel depressed going into work every morning.

It can be very rewarding working for a non-profit. But it can also be very tiring since you are required to wear many hats and there seems to be no "off" switch.  They also don't value administrative/clerical personnel or people without degrees.  There aren't many administrative/clerical positions and most professionals are overburdened with having to do their own admin/clerical paperwork on top of carrying out their specialized position's skill set.  This can make an organization run inefficiently and a little chaotically since they should be able to exercise their absolute advantage most of the time.   The culture is friendly and there's a lot of good-hearted people, but it can be quite cliquish. Through my tenure there, I find that many of "little" people believe in Goodwill, work hard for the mission, but receive little recognition while people with degrees come and go and get constant shout outs. It's unfortunate that the real heroes often get overlooked and cast aside.

I would not work at that store again.management kept changing every year. I worked there for six years. Each new manager wanted to make changes from the previous manager. That made it more confusing for us lowly workers. Once I got into a rhythm for a few months, something changed. Very physical job. Donations included very heavy furniture, like entertainment center, couches, China cabinets, desks, tables and such. Imagine told to put furniture in space dedicated for furniture and other large objects, then told to intake those items into warehouse space where there's not enough space and tripping over them. Huge safety issues there.

Coworkers fun to work with, mot of the time. Sometimes the frustration of the work created tensions.

Great news. They paid for to return to college for about three years. I appreciated that gesture.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Sales associate 43 salaries reported	$13.71 per hour
Retail assistant manager 14 salaries reported	$18.93 per hour
Donation attendant 1 salary reported	$12.50 per hour
Merchandise processor 28 salaries reported	$13.95 per hour
Retail sales associate 39 salaries reported	$14.46 per hour

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