Plato's Closet — Local services in Battle Creek

To Whom It May Concern,

I would like to provide some constructive feedback regarding a recent experience my girlfriend and I had at your Battle Creek location on May 9, 2025. While I understand that policies must be enforced, I believe the approach taken by Employee “RB” as identified on my receipt reflected poorly on the standard of customer service.

During our visit, my girlfriend requested access to a changing room, and RB responded with an unnecessarily curt remark, simply stating that there was one open, rather than offering any assistance or courtesy. Later, my girlfriend asked for help zipping her dress, and I briefly entered the changing room to assist her. Although I am aware that only one person is allowed in at a time, in similar past experiences at your store, exceptions such as parents helping children have not been strictly enforced.

After helping her, I was temporarily unable to exit the changing room without compromising her privacy, as she had already begun changing again. Before I could leave, RB knocked rather forcefully and reminded us of the one-person policy. While I fully acknowledge and respect the need to enforce store policies, the tone and manner in which it was delivered felt unnecessarily harsh and confrontational.

Customer service should be about both upholding policies and treating patrons with dignity. Having worked in a thrift retail environment myself, I understand the challenges staff face in managing customer behavior and rule enforcement. However, professionalism in communication, especially in potentially sensitive situations is essential.

I hope this message is taken in the spirit of constructive feedback. My intent is not to complain, but to encourage continued growth in customer relations and...

The sign in the window says that they are always buying clothes, then they have a floor sign saying they need coats, athletic gear, along with other stuff and after cleaning out my closet I took a lot of the items that they said they were looking for, before I can get all the way in the door I see 4 girls standing there talking when one turns around and sees me bringing in clothing and say to the other girls “ not more clothes I’m tired “ I should have turned around and walked away but I brought my clothes in and all of the clothes are name brand and in excellent shape, after waiting for an hour for someone to look at my clothes I get the text telling me that they are done, I go back in and out of 2 large bags of clothes they tell me that my clothes were too worn and out of style and they were not interested in anything that I had, took the same stuff to the Kalamazoo store the next morning and they absolutely bought everything I had and told me that they were giving me top dollar for my clothes because they were all in such good condition, mind you these were the same clothes that the girls in Battle Creek said were too worn to buy the night before, and honestly I felt it was because I interrupted the girls talk session they were having, I love to buy thrift clothing but no wonder the Battle Creek store never has anything that interest me, I am done even going into the Battle Creek store, I don’t want to deal with a bunch of rude snobby girls that are truly there just to hang out with each other, do yourself a favor and go to the Kalamazoo store, way more clothing with a polite staff, no wonder I can’t ever find anything in the Battle Creek store, on top of that the Kalamazoo store has way better...

I came in to sell some clothes I no longer need. They were all very gently worn and in good condition. When I came to pick them up I was told that they couldn't accept anything and the reason I was given was there were some spots and busy prints and also they do not accept swimwear. I told her I didn't have any swimwear to which the girl behind the counter replied she wasn't the one who went through it. Walking back to my car, I realized that the bag felt lighter then when I had brought it in and checked to make sure nothing was missing. I had a pair of high-end, sequened jeans that had been on the top of the bag that was no longer there. I went back in the store to let them know I hadn't been paid for the jeans and the same girl who had been helping me said she didn't know anything about it. She then asked the girl who had gone through them and she denied that there had been any jeans in the bag. They were either lying to me or completely clueless but either way it was totally unacceptable behavior and they are incompetent to do their job as they stole my clothes. I paid a lot for those jeans and was not planning to give them away. The only reason I took them in was that I expected to get money back for them. I would not have taken anything in had I known there was no inventory system or accountability as to what was taken out of the bag in my absence. This store seems reputable and well-run when you walk in but there is obviously a huge disconnect behind the counter. I will not ever attempt to sell anything here again and I would advise anyone who is planning to bring clothes in to have an item count or stay with the clerk while they go though your clothes to avoid anything being...