Most times I have visited Resource, I would give them 6 stars. A few times I would give them 0 stars. Overall I value this place, but there are some big negatives in some of my experiences here. I'll try to be fair and objective and point out the issues while suggesting some improvements.
Buying items here is a big money saver. Be careful if you need to keep your big purchase here with a "sold" sticker on it (even in the "sold repository"). Make sure you come back to get it as soon as you can. I've had nice cabinets and an arbor press accidentally sold "again" out from under me before I could come pick them up.
Donations are the trickiest part of dealing with Resource. Resource does not give upfront and clear instructions on how to donate. Here's what happened the last time I brought in some high-value items to donate: I called ahead to verify that they would take 7 custom kitchen cabinets I had. This was a full pickup load. When I pulled into the donations lane, I was curtly admonished by an employee (before I could even say "hi") that they will not take my cabinets because I had removed the doors and they were apparently incomplete. For the record, I had removed the doors so I could fit them all in one load to save on 30 mile round-trips to Boulder. All doors were present and I told the employee I could pop the doors back on if they would help me unload the cabinets. Each door takes 20 seconds or less to snap back on. Unloading, rearranging and reloading big cabinets solo is dangerous and time-consuming. This employee again curtly advised me that I could do just that -- leave the premises (actually said, "Go out the entry gate or into the big dirt lot next door") unload everything myself, reinstall the doors, and haul them back to donations a few at a time with said doors installed. Absolutely no assistance would be provided.
I'll let the reader decide what was reasonable here.
To be fair, after complaining to upper management, I was kindly told the employee was in error and that it would be addressed. That said, there apparently is a policy regarding "complete" items only for donation, but it is not stated anywhere and is up to interpretation, which easily leads to problems.
Resource, please POST critical donations instructions on your website, as phone instructions, on big clear signs BEFORE somebody goes to the effort to donate and is told when they pull into the donations lane that their items are rejected for sometimes obscure and subjective reasons. I've talked to many people with the same complaint. Habitat Restore does a MUCH better job of this.
Changing policies without notice or communication. For over ten years, Resource had a loyalty policy in which a customer could get a 20% discount on any purchase if they spent $1000 in preceding purchases. This $1k accrues over time, and then you can uses the reward. In Summer/Fall of '23, they suddenly changed the policy without notice so a new computer system could be adopted. Many people who did not have a receipt from the previous loyalty program stating their 20% reward lost it because management neglected to inform customers, nor did they preserve previous system records.
Another example of a surprise policy change was that Resource had a 14-day return and full refund period for as long as I could remember. Without notice it changed to 7 days. I was burned by this and was not allowed to return a decently expensive purchase I had for less than 14 days, but more than 7. No grace, no exceptions. I ended up having to donate the items back to Resource because I did not have a use for them.
Overall, I strongly believe that Resource is an excellent place with unique items and dedicated staff. There are a few weak spots that can quickly turn into big issues though. To remedy many of these issues, I think clear communication from management about policies would save staff and customers serious trouble time...
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