The Salvation Army Thrift Stores Reviews

I called for a Salvation Army donation pick up. I was very clear on what it was. I wanted to donate a TV armoire. I took off work to stay at home for the pick up and when they finally came, they said they couldn't take it. I explained I was very clear on what it was they were picking up. He said it's a call center out of Canada answering the phones. There are no guidelines saying they don't accept this. I wasted two weeks waiting for them and an entire day waiting for them to show up and not take it. They completely wasted my time.

Well, I wanted to do something good and donate our gently used daybed to this organization. On the day of pickup, the truck arrived, turned around, and left without collecting our bed, which we carefully brought down and left by the door. We literally saw the truck drive away, and the driver didn't even bother to explain what was wrong with our donation. After calling customer service, we were told daybeds with drawers are not acceptable because they cannot sell them. How on earth was I supposed to know this? There is no information on their website about what types of beds they accept and what not.

I came to the Salvation Army to make a donation at the East Washington Store in Indianapolis, IN. I went to the back dock and started unloading my car because there was no one to help. After pulling a few items from my car a black man came out. He told me that I have to put the donations on the dock. The dock is about 5 foot from ground to top. I am 4"10, 67 years old and have medical issues. I told him I was handicap and his exact words to me were "If you can't carry it then don't bring it". He made it clear he did not want to help me and it was management orders that was how management want donations to be made. It is amazing to me that even though I was doing something to help your organization there was no compassion for me. This is suppose to be a Christian based organization but the very people you hire are anything but.

First, I had to wait a month to get an appointment for a furniture donation pickup. On the scheduled day, the Salvation Army website listed an ETA of between 11am and 2 pm for their truck. By 4 pm, their truck had not arrived so I called their office phone number. I was told that the truck was still out, but running late and would still be there. The truck never showed up. No one communicated anything to me about a canceled pickup or rescheduling. The next day, I called the office again but could only get a response that someone would contact me. They had no idea when that might happen. My advice is to not bother trying to donate to them. They have no consideration for your time. There are better charities to support.

I’m sure there’s a reason I can’t review them on Google. So here’s my review - I came in to shop with my two young children on Wednesday and spent about 2/3 hours in the store. Upon checkout I let the man (Alan) know that one of the tags had fallen off in the dressing room to which he rudely replied, "Well then you should have picked it up."

This is my experience donating at the Ann Arbor locations. I checked the website to get the hours and procedures for donating, it stated to stay in your car and the staff would unload the donations, I had to get out of my car to open my truck and two men, an older man and a very young man made no attempts to come out to my car, I asked them if they were taking donation, they said yes so I asked if they were going to take the stuff out of my truck, the old guy with a nasty attitude came out to my car and took the smallest things he could grab and the young guy did absolutely nothing, I ended up helping to carry my stuff in.

I visited the Salvation Army of Westfield, MA on Saturday, May 18, 2024, between 3 and 4pm. I was left with an impression of disgust with the attitude of an employee, who, almost shouting from in front of the bathrooms to the cash register area, to pick up the hooks and some items she had left in the fitting room. The customer showed her hooks that she had in her shopping cart, but anyway she (the customer) went to the fitting room and took two small baby stuffed animals that she had left there. I kept thinking about that attitude, if the employee always does it because the cashier remained as if nothing had happened, or if it was because the customer was **. I think it was disrespectful, because in my place I would rather go to the lady and tell just to her, not yelling like she did.

One tall, heavy fellow started shouting & talking ugly because he felt a small female customer had jumped in front of him in line. The manager courteously listened to both sides, they very professionally & courteously told the man to settle down, reminding him that "at the end of the day, you are being angry & abusive to a female, and that behavior was unmannerly and unacceptable in a store that exists to help people". It was a very sophisticated illustration of SA values. Impressed everyone in the checkout line, especially since he quickly moved on to take care of EVERYONE efficiently and cordially. What a powerful exhibition of the best of SA AND the best of humanity!

The music has changed. What in the world was playing today was horrible and too loud. Christian music was a lot better. But if you don’t play Christian music, for God sake play something worth listening to.

Salvation Army used to be a family store. These stores are way overpriced and the management and employees are very rude. They have stuff that’s from the dollar tree for $2 and they have items in here that are more expensive than purchasing new from a discount store. I can get items brand new from Ross for cheaper.

I was shocked at how expensive the stores have gotten and how two of the exact same items can have different prices and be off by several dollars. I brought this to the cashier's attention and her response was "we don't change prices, we don't care what the tag says." I can do better in a Walmart! Or a Dollar store!

Waited over a month to have donation (bedroom set queen) picked up out of my living room. The well maintained wooden items I have were listed on the site as wooden items they accept for donation. When they arrived, one of the guys clearly had no customer service etiquette, as he walked into my home without so much as a hello. He looked at the four items and IMMEDIATELY the first words out of his mouth were, "We can't take that!" Upon my questioning him, he goes on to say it's 6ft tall (it's my height, 5ft) and how their website stated that, as though I was lying about not having seen any height/weight restrictions when I scheduled the pickup online.

Although the drivers for the donation was right on time, the mishandling of the furniture was very disappointing. I realize once you give items away, then the receivers can do whatever. The cloth sofa, was dragged across the filthy floor, the wooded mirror was dragged across the cement outside, lots of bumps and bruises. When they put the furniture on the truck I was in disbelief. I thought they should have taken it to the dump. People just don't care anymore.

I am writing this review to acknowledge the staff and especially, Editha. She sets the example of how all customer service employees should be trained. I have a disability. I am aware that my ability to function at the register, can be frustrating for all involved. I keep returning to this store many times with consistent results as follows: I am always treated with dignity and respect. I am always treated with patience. I am always greeted with smile and familiar face, like I am visiting an old friend. She is always gracious, helpful and kind! She treats her employees well. She makes sure the store is clean, organized and displays are perfect! I hope someday, she will be selected to train all new hires! Thank you very much for your service!

I went to Blaine, MN Salvation Army on 89th and spent about $200.00 this time. There’re few items I wasn’t allowed to buy because the clerk told me “the price tags were not correct,” “someone switched them!” May be so or whatever the case might be, I had no idea and how she’s supposed to even remember prices of thousands of items, she called the manager.

They scheduled us two weeks out and the guys who arrived were two ** overweight guys that appeared not to want to lift anything. They looked at our donation and said it was not good or new enough for them to take. A guy named "William" was arrogant and didn't care. When I was in college, I worked for the west coast location and they were a bunch of drug addicts forced to work. They would keep the good donations. I can tell they wanted something to keep not help the poor.

Every time I go to the Salvation Army in Torrance Plaza by Michaels and this one Hispanic female cashier is there, there’s drama. She’s always accusing people of stealing or changing prices. Everyone else is very kind but she is crass and downright nasty to customers. Today I went to pay and she accused me of changing prices! I DID NOT!!! And she would sell me the items. As I was leaving, she ran outside and grabbed another Hispanic women's arm and grabbed all her purchases, screaming at this customer! I don’t understand why she is still working for Salvation Army! She is the worst!

First of all I want start out by saying I have always appreciate and applauded organizations that dedicate their resources around helping others in time of need and those who are less fortunate. I have donated several times to the Salvation Army and shop there as well on occasion. I know the store they have here in our community has decent used furniture and I don’t blame their organization for being careful with donations.

I scheduled a pick-up from the Akron store. When the truck arrived with one person I was told he could not take the furniture because he didn't have anyone to help him load the truck and that they didn't want the brand new recliner that I was do

Immediate damp smell noticed upon entering, like a damp basement. Crumbling walls and around entry door, uneven floors, no mirrors, filthy bathroom. But the toilet was clean. Sink and room itself filthy and falling apart... The building is downright falling apart. Shameful. Will NEVER go back in there.

Since 2017, I have donated various items from clothing to books to furniture to the Tampa Florida Salvation Army. Scheduling pickups have been simple online, and everything always worked out as planned---someone would call me 30-minutes before pickup, and the drivers would not "overly" scrutinize my items. I understand some Salvation Army in various cities may have forgotten the meaning of charity, but in Tampa Florida, there seems to be practice of the original concept in every way. I'll always think of them first for donations.

Miami, Fl - The Salvation Army has become a greedy organization. They expect donated good to be perfect, though it's a thrift store! I showed up with a van full of furniture and household goods from my deceased parents' home and they rejected most of the furniture due to minor wear. Some of these were expensive pieces of furniture with a lot of usable life left. Any of those would have been perfect for anyone who needed a dining table, book shelf, side tables, tv stand, etc. They said they were unsellable, but that was absolutely not true. Who do they think they are? Nordstroms...?

I went to the Saugus location to drop off a glass front TV stand and was treated rudely from inception. From "you parked in the wrong place" to "we may not accept your stuff anyways", it was the last time I will be dealing with this company. After a quick glance at the furniture, they refused the donation saying it wasn't in sellable condition. Totally not true, but after the welcome I got, didn't bother to discuss any further and just left. It's a shame some family in need won't get this piece. It will be going in the trash this week. Maybe someone will grab it off the curb.

I was surprised to find banking, health and insurance information and other personal information left in the drawers of several items on the floor. Is anyone responsible for checking this? I took a picture.

I scheduled a donation to be picked up in front of my condo. I SPECIFICALLY left instructions to leave me a receipt for my taxes. Well, the 2 bags of clothes were picked up without leaving a receipt. I called Customer Service at the Salvation Army and was told they were on their way to pick up my donations. I told the rep that they already picked up my donation and I saw the truck drive away. She said that they hadn't made the pick up yet. I again told her they did, as I saw them drive away and put the donations in the truck. I was told that they would email me a receipt for my taxes. It has been 5 hours and still no receipt. Evidently, all the Salvation Army does is talk and does not pay attention to special instructions on their website! Will not donate to them again!!

I schedule a pick up with the Salvation Army to pick up my sister's mattress ($399) I bought from Firm Mattress company. The mattress hasn't got much use because she was uncomfortable laying on it. All it had is a little stain caused by sweating. I have already washed it and is not unsanitary. I put the mattress on the porch and put the SA sign out on the railing. Well, I noticed that they didn't take the mattress so we made a call to find out why. They told us that it has stain in it. I couldn't believe it and am furious. What about all the homeless people who were out in the streets and they come in get clean and so on but they wouldn't take the mattress? Things wasn't they used to be years ago. That really stink.

None of the instructions I gave in the online donation form were followed. There was no notice before their arrival in the morning even though I was called days before and told that they are supposed to call before they arrive. The couch I was donating is in excellent condition but needed a vacuuming prior to pick up. Because they did not follow any of the instructions that I put in the request or their own instructions I did not have time to do this quick vacuum and then they did not pick up the product. They also knocked on the front door of home which I specifically had asked them not to do in the instructions by stating "knock on back door." I would not recommend this service to anyone. It is a waste of time. Anything you ask will be ignored. And they do not do what they say.

Awful! We are moving and I scheduled a donation pickup one month before the scheduled pickup date. The day of pickup they called and cancelled. Made arrangements to pickup next day. On that day, they called and cancelled again. Awful Awful Awful. Not donating to this organization ever again! Awful unempathetic people! I had to give them a star so I pushed one BUT if the option could have been ZERO, that’s what I would have pushed!

So I had SA come to pick up a number of pieces of furniture and they deemed some of them to be too "used" to accept. I understand that as they are planning to resell the items and it may not be successful if the items are too worn. However, I had an armoire that was in pristine condition and they would not take it. They thought the distressed design of the item (which is designed to be an antique reproduction) indicated that it was in bad shape. I tried to explain to them that the item was suppose to look that way and was in fact identical looking to the day I bought it and they said I was incorrect (I guess lying) and they refused to take it.

This was the worst experience I have ever had dealing with a company. I had scheduled a pick up for Thursday between the hours of 9 to 12. They did not come. Called the company, first they said they could not find my appointment. Then after waiting, they finally found my appointment. They finally showed up at 2. Walked in, looked at my furniture and said they would not accept my furniture. It was not in excellent condition and they just walked out. Prior to scheduling the pickup, as request sent them a picture of the furniture which clearly shows the sofa started to peel as bonded leather will do. I would never advise anyone to do any type of business with this company. The workers were extremely rude.