Bad behavior in the thrifts!

[MrsGoodwill]

<sigh>

Okay...is it just me or are there some really rotten people who shop the thrifts? People who behave badly -- pulling things off the racks and leaving them on the floor, leaving half-full drink cups on the shelves (spill hazard!), spitting chewing gum on the floors. Some of these badly behaved people are 'small' and the 'big' people who are supposed to be looking after them, don't seem to notice(? care?) when they run through the shops like little maniacs, making a terrible mess.

I mention this because it *really* bothers me. I feel bad for the folks who work in the thrift. Do people think that because the store they're in is a thrift that they don't need to worry about the mess they make or do you reckon that these folks would behave that way no matter the shop?

Thoughts?

[Big Daddy Audio]

I would think that you get such boorish behavior just about anyplace.  You get it in restaurants (kids screaming, running around, making the dining experience miserable for everyone), movies (idiots with cell phones, people talking, kids crying and carrying on) - just about anywhere.

The bad behavior that really gets my goat are the inconsiderate shoppers - people who use shopping carts to block aisles so that others can't browse, people on line who are checked out, except for these 12 other items that their family members or friends are bringing to the register right now, people who let their kids run wild - like you've said (I've actually seen kids break things in thrift stores - nothing I was interested in - mainly toys and whatnot) making the whole place unsafe.

That is all.

[Mattie]

The worst behavior I've ever seen in a thrift was a little boy whipping a golf club around in an aisle.  He was "chopping" it at people, as well as holding it over his head and spinning around.  No parent in sight.  He cleared the entire aisle.  Parents pulled their kids out of harm's way and several adults told him to stop but the little demon just laughed.

[Good Buddy]

Bad adults breed bad kids....
I agree with BDA that it happens everywhere.
But, I think in a place that sells things so inexpensively you'll get a clientèle that might not be so concerned with social graces as folks that choose to shop at thrifts for neeto reasons.
There's not that much bad behavior in Macy's....Is there?

GB

[Jay2TheRescue]

Bad adults breed bad kids....
I agree with BDA that it happens everywhere.
But, I think in a place that sells things so inexpensively you'll get a clientèle that might not be so concerned with social graces as folks that choose to shop at thrifts for neeto reasons.
There's not that much bad behavior in Macy's....Is there?

GB

I shop thrifts for both reasons.  I like the price, and for "neeto" reasons.  Where else could I have found my toaster oven that looks like it came straight from the Jetsons?  I agree, some of the shoppers are not concerned with social graces, and in my area many of the shoppers don't even speak English, so I would say they may not even be familiar with our culture and what the average American finds to be offensive.  Even the adults play with the merchandise, so why not their kids?  I see it every day in my local Goodwill.  There's about 5 guys jabbering away in a foreign language, testing all the stereos to see how loud they get.  I have yet to see one of them actually buy any of the stereos.  The Salvation Army stores around here actually have signs in the electronics department that say don't play with the stereos in several languages.

-Jay

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

That blocking the aisle with the carts that BDA was mentioning is my particular pet peeve. It's very BIG here as a protective shopping technique for the older generation... Put the cart at a diagonal, block one end of the aisle, and then go through the aisle item by item...

Unfortunately, though, it's the same technique used in other stores, like TJ Maxx and Marshalls.

I always think to myself how much I'd like to reassure them that it's okay, we're not going to take anything from them that they might want to buy...

[Vintage PurseLover]

Good Buddy....Macy's is worse.My mom worked at Macys..well her ladies club volunteered to work there...but anyhoo...she cleaned out dressing rooms and hung clothes back up on hangers for the employees.
My mom says wealthy women are witches.She said they think they are  beyond better than anyone else.She watched a young wealthy woman walk in Macys one afternoon and she appeared to shop for business suits.She picked out at least 10 different suits and ran out the front door without paying for them as the security tags were going off.She looked at my mom and told her not to come after her as she would be long gone.
Now back to thrift stores..I have never experienced bad things from our Kissimmee Goodwill store.
Dianne

[Jay2TheRescue]

Good Buddy....Macy's is worse.My mom worked at Macys..well her ladies club volunteered to work there...but anyhoo...she cleaned out dressing rooms and hung clothes back up on hangers for the employees.
My mom says wealthy women are witches.She said they think they are  beyond better than anyone else.She watched a young wealthy woman walk in Macys one afternoon and she appeared to shop for business suits.She picked out at least 10 different suits and ran out the front door without paying for them as the security tags were going off.She looked at my mom and told her not to come after her as she would be long gone.
Now back to thrift stores..I have never experienced bad things from our Kissimmee Goodwill store.
Dianne

Why would anyone volunteer to work at Macy's?  Macy's can afford to hire the help if they need it.  Anyway, what your mother encountered was not a rich lady, it was a thief.  For the most part when I go into Macy's the place is very quiet, almost like going into a library.  Step into a local thrift store and you will be faced with loud customers and unruly children. 

[alexandra]

The two worst types of people IMO, are either abusive husbands (I've seen more than one idiot yelling at his wife and kids) or ill behaved children (loudly playing with and breaking items).  Mostly, I have seen much worse behavior from lower-economic patrons.  But, as a former retail manager, I can attest that the public is a messy and piggy lot that expect anyone in a store to be their servant, and have very little disregard for putting anything back.  It's like the whole crowd mentality, but rather than one big catastrophy, each individual seems to add with their own distinct version of bad behavior.

What I can't wrap my befuddled mind around, is why staff in general doesn't ask the offending parties to stop -- I'd rather offend one person/family and get them out of my store, than risk good customers leaving.  Maybe I am part of the piggish/sloppy public -- but I will drop my merchandise and just leave if the atmosphere gets too annoying.

Gosh, I sound snotty.

Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.blogspot.com

[Jay2TheRescue]

The two worst types of people IMO, are either abusive husbands (I've seen more than one idiot yelling at his wife and kids) or ill behaved children (loudly playing with and breaking items).  Mostly, I have seen much worse behavior from lower-economic patrons.  But, as a former retail manager, I can attest that the public is a messy and piggy lot that expect anyone in a store to be their servant, and have very little disregard for putting anything back.  It's like the whole crowd mentality, but rather than one big catastrophy, each individual seems to add with their own distinct version of bad behavior.

What I can't wrap my befuddled mind around, is why staff in general doesn't ask the offending parties to stop -- I'd rather offend one person/family and get them out of my store, than risk good customers leaving.  Maybe I am part of the piggish/sloppy public -- but I will drop my merchandise and just leave if the atmosphere gets too annoying.

Gosh, I sound snotty.

Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.blogspot.com

I've done that too.  If I am too annoyed I will leave unless I have found an item that has been totally underpriced to the point that I feel I must buy it.

-Jay

[MrsGoodwill]

Gosh! I realize that this thread brings a negative vibe to the forum. I think it's good to have a vent every now and again, but I don't want to cause people to have to bring out their inner grump! Sorry!

I am glad to know that I am not the only one who has noticed this. When I see that kind of bad behavior, I wonder if it's just me judging people by *my* standards or if most people see the behaviors as bad.

[Big Daddy Audio]

Here's a different twist on the unruly kid:

At the Goodwill on Cave Creek just south of Cactus, there's this kid, I don't know - maybe 10-11, who's with his mom shopping.  She's looking in the housewares, and he's back in the furniture, yelling his head off about how she "has to hurry up and come right now to look at this table" (which was a really old and crappy cabin style - you know - legs made out of tree trunks - coffee table which had been run through the wringer) and she just kind of blows him off, so he keeps it up.  It turns out (I was looking through the men's shirts - a different part of the store - later) that this kid is just one of those "loud" talkers.  He's standing right next to his mom, using the same volume that he did when he was yelling across the store.  Sometimes I feel like going over and just asking people (mainly kids) to use their "indoor" voice.

That is all.

[MrsGoodwill]

....It turns out (I was looking through the men's shirts - a different part of the store - later) that this kid is just one of those "loud" talkers.

Oh, that makes me think of 'Loud Howard' in the Dilbert cartoon (that used to be on TV)! Anybody remember that show? I find loud talkers funny. Except for when I don't.

[LV4GDWILL]

"LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATE'S~YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA GET" UNFORTUNATELY SHOPPING AT THRIFT STORES WHERE THE PRICES ARE MORE AFFORDABLE FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE, YOU WILL HAVE TO PUT UP WITH CHILDREN RUNNING AMUCK AND THOSE WITH THINK BECAUSE FOR "SOME"(NOT ALL) WHO  PAY THE LOWER PRICE MEANS LITTLE RESPECT FOR OTHERS.  BUT THERE ARE SOME THRIFTSTORES THAT ARE MANAGED WELL WHERE YOU WILL ONLY OCCASSIONALLY HAVE A RUN IN WITH BAD BEHAVOIR.  MY PRAISE TO THOSE WHO CAN MAINTAIN THIS TYPE OF SHOPPING ENVIORMENT FOR THOSE OF US WHO CAN'T TOLERATE THIS TYPE OF BEHAVOIR.

[Other People s Junk]

I've seen worse behavior in WalMart than in the thrifts, esp with the cart thing. Hello!  It's just groceries!   

The absolute worst experience I had in a thrift store came from a middle aged woman... I had picked up a great old orange enamelware teapot.  Since I have an orange and blue thing going on in my kitchen, I immediately fell in love with it.  I was deciding over the $3.99 price tag, still holding the thing, when this woman came out of no where and grabbed it out of my hands!  She said something about that being hers or some such thing.  I was in complete shock, so I just stared at her in disbelief!  She looked it over, and then decided she didn't want it as the bottom was rusted and so she set it down and walked away.  I didn't say anything, just picked it up and put it in my cart.  (I was just going to use it for looks, so the bottom didn't matter.)  Anyhow I was shocked at the rudeness.  I overheard her laughing about it to her male counterpart- saying something about how young people these days are so rude and she showed that girl (meaning me) a thing or two.  I so wanted to tell her off, but what would have been the point!  I'm glad my Mother raised me better than to ever do anything like that!  Sheesh.