Habitat ReStore -- Durham-Chapel Hill — Local services in Durham

My experience at this store a few days ago was odd and disappointing. I purchased a dresser the first day there. When it didn't fit in my car and I asked the guy at the loading dock if I could come back the next day to pick it up, he said that was fine and that all I needed to do was show them the receipt the next day. Since that day was my first time buying something in the store (though not the first time donating something), I didn't know anything about their store procedures apart from what the guy was saying. The next day I pull round to the loading dock to pick it up. No one shows up so I walk in to ask for help. I see an employee walking towards me, he sees me and I motion to him to get his attention, to ask for his help when he gets a sec, but he looks away from me and walks right past me, as if I'm not even there. When I finally do get his attention, he asks if I filled out the 'paperwork'. I had no idea what he was talking about, and when I tell him that the guy yesterday said to just bring the receipt, he got all mad at me. When I point out the dresser I had bought, he gets mad, at me again, saying that that can't possibly be right- that this can't be the $60 dresser I'm referring to, he would've priced it for only $40. It was pretty odd- he seemed to be accusing me of buying one dresser and then knowingly pick up a different one, but if that was the case, why would I attempt to sneak out something that was worth less than what I had bought? Then, as I'm pointing out the price difference, another employee gets mad at me that I'm pointing out inconsistencies in their stated prices, saying "hey, buddy (he actually called me that, it was pretty rude and inappropriate and a number of other customers heard him), look!, I marked it down yesterday for $60- so what if we're saying now that it's $40 and you ended up paying $20 more. That's just how it is!". There were other things too- the tag was marked incorrectly, the lower half of it wasn't filled out, and for some bizarre reason they thought this was my fault, or they thought I was trying to do something devious, I'm not sure. In short, they made a number of mistakes- the guy on the loading dock should have known that I needed to fill out paperwork, and if he did know that he should have told me, they should have be clear about pricing- but more importantly, if there was some kind of confusion they shouldn't have automatically assumed that the customer was wrong, or lying, or trying to get away with something, or whatever they were implying, especially if there was no evidence of that happening. The problems I encountered involved only those two employees (the other employees were polite), and one of the two sincerely apologized for the confusion. They also refunded the $20 which was good. In the future though, they could do better at how they run the store and how they deal...

This is by no means a negative review for the store and it’s volunteers. It’s a great place and I thank them for their effort, hence the 5 stars. What gave me a 1-star experience is some customers that just takes from other peoples cart.

The first encounter occurred when we left our cart on a corner just to walk down a narrow aisle to look at furniture. Upon our return, an item was removed from our cart. To clarify, I’ve seen the volunteers haul stuff from the warehouse to the floor and they’re on flat metal trucks, not the carts customers use. I brushed it off as my fault because I was not supervising my cart, but still.

The second encounter happened AFTER we made our purchase. We pushed our cart near the entrance, FAR away from the floor items. Some items in the cart prevented us from just straight moving the cart past the doors. So for the first bit, we had to haul some items from the cart, past the entrance, to the car. It’s during that moment that someone took not one, but TWO items from the cart. Due to the amount of items we purchased, we were not aware of this until we unloaded and surveyed the haul at home.

These “swiped” items were what I would consider a “rare” find; great deals that got looked over as they were hidden or placed in oblivious places. I’m a person that loves a great deal, and when someone just takes it from you after you’ve bought it, I feel a certain amount of wrath and disappointment towards humanity.

Word of advice when you’re here: find great deals, contribute when you can, but most important of all; GUARD YOUR CART AT ALL COST. As Max Black from 2 Broke Girls said: “You know the rule; turn you back on the rack, you’re under attack! - that’s the law of the...

Previously, I had a great experience at Habitat Restore as a customer, but today I tried to donate a full-size mattress and it seemed like the volunteer at the back was looking for any excuse not to take it. She scrutinized every inch and pointed out a “stain” she didn’t like, then refused to take it. She suggested I take it to Durham Rescue Mission.

So I did, which cost me more time and money to continue using the Home Depot rental van I was in. I called Durham Rescue Mission and let them know that I had a mattress that Habitat just refused to take. They said they couldn’t promise anything but would happily look at it once I arrived.

I was greeted by 4 people at Durham Rescue Mission (2 volunteers, 1 supervisor, 1 manager), and all 4 of them said, “Wow, that’s a nice mattress!” They were more than happy to take it and couldn’t understand (like me) why Habitat wouldn’t take it.

Also, I noticed later that there was a zip cover on the mattress, so that “stain” could have easily been removed by taking off the cover. I wish the volunteer at Habitat would have offered that idea, but perhaps that type of knowledge only comes with experience.

At the end of the day, I was disappointed by the particular volunteer with whom I interacted at Habitat Restore. It seemed like she was looking for any excuse to not take the mattress and was needlessly Habitat from the get-go. It truly was and is a phenomenal mattress, and I wish I had a picture to post to prove it to you.

If you value your time and want to give to people who actually appreciate your donations, I would personally recommend Durham Rescue Mission over Habitat Restore Durham, at least in...