retail sales associate

donation attendant

retail customer service representative

e-commerce specialist

janitor

Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia

One main concern I've had working as a textiles associate/cashier, has always been the lack of supervision on the sales floor and lack of awareness due to management always being in office or production area. A lot of my co-workers are often times on their phones or walking around aimlessly. Our work loads are extremely heavy yet with many call-outs, and lack of supervision, the heavy work loads are handed to just a few employees which causes a stressful environment to work. Because managers lack leadership qualities the employees are never talked to or warned about their behavior. Management is so unaware of what's going on in their own store, most the time the employees are left to figure problems out on their own. Lead managers are given no responsibilities and simply walk around most of the day. 

Management needs major improvement and better supervision is needed in the work area.

Although management has issues I enjoy this company because of its loyal costumers and it often gets extremely busy which makes the shift go by fast

I would have to say the management style for goodwill leaves less to be desired. The problem solving skills on top of that- there are little to no thought process. I’ve seen problems left for months until a customer had to complain directly to district management for it to be fixed, I’ve tried talking to my personal store manager of pre-existing problems and issues as an associate and little, if any, progress has happened. 
There is no promotional or raise based incentives. The company believes that 12$ an hour is competitive, when it is not. It’s barely enough to live on. We have to ask for breaks (15’s etc). The policy is no returns, managers go over the cashier associate from what they’ve been trained on and under mines consistently. This is all from my personal recap of my almost year at this company and things could and 100% should be run better by a company that’s for its employees

What is the best part of working at the company?
I thought it was cool to explore the things that some people call trash , and  those others happy to purchase in their eyes as " treasure". Also the opportunity to explore / research items that could be worth money or just to learn about that items background. Of course the customer's, I love meeting new people and trying my best to put a smile on to faces! 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Well not really any stress. Not enough to complain. Maybe working those days that seem longer then others, and we aren't busy me Also I would say when other coverse don't do their job and need it to you. 


What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fun , comfortable, . Worked with good people.



What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Say focused , no time for goofing off to much cause once you fall of track , it's hard to catch back up. Get to work, and make sure your duties are completed for the day!

Goodwill is great for a first-time job or as a second job for extra income. However, unless you plan to grow with the company and go into management (which is very easy, you just have to ask, and the job will sign you up and pay for your classes), there is little growth here. Typical retail job. Some coworkers and managers are great, and some are terrible. They are willing to work with your schedule if you have classes or a second job, but they also prefer people whose schedules are mostly flexible. The smaller locations tend to be understaffed and the company likes to cross-train employees to make up for it. I was cross-trained in all positions, but personally had no interest in moving up into management, so I looked for opportunities elsewhere.

As someone who works in support, I spend most of my time working with/in the other areas of the company (stores, donation sites, transportation, logistics, contracts, auction, outlet, ecommerce, warehouse, training).  If you like variety and are eager to learn new skills, this is the job for you.  So much goes on here, not just the thrift stores everyone knows about.  I even have a Career Advisor who is working with me on what I want to pursue a long-term career in, and how to get there which is pretty cool.  My boss is pretty chill, and if we don't have a bunch of people already out is very accomodating to my time off requests without asking why I need to be out.  This is a great place to work if you aren't lazy and really want to work on getting better at skills.

I had the greatest group of employees that worked for me.  They were very eager to learn.  They were very respectful.  I was able to follow their mission as best as I possibly could.  The hardest part of the job was Corporate, and the manager above me.  You would get training from their trainers, but it was difficult to incorporate that experience.  My Store Manager and I were never on the same page.  I witnessed a lot of unethical issues, that were not being addressed by Corporate the way it should be.  This made it very difficult to support their mission which was    " changing lives, helping people help themselves through the power of work."   They Manager did not share the same passion and drive that I did.  It is very important in Retail Management to have a passion and a drive for it.

The managers, aside from 2 of the 5, are the most unsupportive, unprofessional, and petty people I’ve ever met. There is obvious favoritism and those who are not a favorite get treated like dirt. They set unrealistic goals for each employee (except the favorites who get less work) and berate them when they are even just one less than their goal. The managers constantly complain and talk badly about other employees loudly. They also complain about having to do their job as leads/management and will always say they don’t care about anything and that they want to leave. There is a high turnover rate and for some reason the management thinks it’s because people can’t handle the workload and not because of THEM. 

It's an okay job with a not so okay pay for the amount of work that is demanded. The actual work I did was enjoyable and after fully learning the process, it became an enjoyable mindless task. However, the constant high expectation and sheer volume of product required to be pushed out onto the sales floor made the job less enjoyable. Despite being part time I have on more than several occasions been given the amount of work a full time employee would be given.

The management is decent to work with at best and at worst a certain manager had a
"better-than-you" attitude if not just downright disrespectful. Complaints regarding the disrespect were constantly dismissed and downplayed by upper management.

Overall, the job is okay. The environment, not so much.

A typical day for me is coming into work and going straight the the back room and start taking donations, pricing items, and loading or unloading the supply truck. I work with pallets and pallet jacks all day and also set up gaylords. I have learned a lot about the warehouse enviroment and what it takes to get everything in order and the steps I have to take to keep everyone safe. I love working with my co-workers they are great team players and always are lending a helping hand. The hardest part of the job is being understaffed and having to do one or more jobs that you have to do. It can be overwhelming if you are not use to the fast pace of things or the high quanity of items coming in.

Fun, interactive co-workers help motivation at work and help the day pass quickly. However, pay was very low (minimum wage) for the amount of physical labor and daily strain on the body. There is also a significant amount of goods thrown away- both in the process of sorting items to put on the sales floor, and also week-to-week as items already on the shelves are not sold. Also, when interpersonal situations are brought to the management team's attention, very little is done to rectify the issue.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Retail sales associate 391 salaries reported	$12.92 per hour
Donation attendant 267 salaries reported	$12.83 per hour
Retail customer service representative 290 salaries reported	$12.83 per hour
E-commerce specialist 44 salaries reported	$13.53 per hour
Janitor 38 salaries reported	$13.76 per hour

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