Goodwill Store & Donation Center — Local services in Denver

Never in my wildest dreams would I have seen myself writing a review for a Good Will store, but here I am.

I have never been in a Good Will that wasn’t deplorably filthy with racks packed so tightly that the hangers are intertwined, broken & falling over the place. You literally HAVE to expect this from pretty much ANY Good Will location. It just is what it is. I just happen to LOVE thrifting and typically don’t mind these “negatives” because I almost always walk out of there with something of incredible value for very little money.

Well, I live within walking distance of this location & am in here about once a week but that’s about to change after today’s visit. They stripped all of the aisles down & installed circular racks for the clothing and now there is zero rhyme or reason as to how it’s laid out. The racks are so close together, it’s nearly impossible to push a cart (if there are any available, that it) between them without knocking things to the floor (which is covered in about two inches of undeniable filth). If you want to circle the rack, make sure you grab your purse so one of the several homeless people just wandering around don’t get any ideas.

Their new merchandising for the shoes cut their selection in half, if not more. Oh, you wanna try a pair of shoes on? Good luck cause they’re now zip-tying the shoes together. If you can manage to actually get the shoe on your foot without a zip tie literally stabbing a hole into your sock (this just happened for real), don’t expect to walk in them because they are tied together with about an inch worth of give.

Two stars for only spending $10 on two cashmere/angora/alpaca blend designer sweaters & the always reasonably friendly cashiers. From now on, I’ll drive the mile to the Arc because this new layout isn’t fun to shop AT ALL. In fact, it’s actually kinda stressful. If you enjoy thrifting, I suggest...

This place gets MINUS FIVE stars from me. I had an emergengy with my 80 YEAR OLD dad who had an accident wetting himself. I thew a blanket down on the wheel chair and rushed him back to the bathroom to get cleaned up while I atempted to find him something quick and simple to throw on. I spotted an older woman named Pam who I quietly informed of my situation and requested her help in locating something quickly in fear of leaving my feable, elderly dad too long. She could not have been less helpful. In the entire store I managed to find exactly one pair of suitable pants. They were beat up and stained and marlked $9.99. WHAT? Yeah that much! I could have gotten a new pair at Walmart for $6. Pam decided to ring me up and I asked if there was any way she could discount them because of the high price and all the stains. She offered up a senior discount., rang it up without the discount but insisted she gave me the discount . I didnt have time to mess with her any longer, I had to get back to my dad. I took him the pants and while he attempted to change I asked two employees for a Manager. One disapeard to never return and the other straight insisted there wasnt a manager. I got my dad situated back i the car with my mom and went back in to locate who ever was in charge. It was a NIGHTMARE! No customer service, no empathy, no senior discount for an 80 year old man with an emergency bladder situation. Not to mention the OUTRAGIOUS prices and horrible customer service. After I pretty much insisted, the "manager" finally overroad the system and gave me $1.06 off. UNBELIEVABLE! I'll NEVER go back, the manager was less helpful then Pam! They do not care about the elderly, they didnt care about my crisis, they ONLY care...

Staff are fine here, and over the three years I've lived nearby, I've never had any problem with them. It's also clean as a Goodwill can get. However, the area has become over-run by transients, and not only does the store no longer have anything 'good' out (it would just be a target for theft), it also has regular 'customers' who are clearly just in there to be inside or try to steal stuff or to get warm or cool, depending on the weather. My last trip was a couple days ago, and there were two 'customers' in there who needed a bath and had backpacks on who gave me the worst vibes ever. There was a security guy who was giving one of the clerks his personal phone so he could go out of the store for some reason, 'in case there's an event'. So this isn't me being an uncomfortable Karen, the problem is very real.

One side effect of this area becoming so over-run though, is that the store now has a lot of furniture. I can only assume that's because this is a rental area, and a LOT of people are moving out. Actually, come the end of our lease, so are we. We just don't feel safe in the area anymore. :( You could score some pretty okay furniture right...