Empty the Nest — Local services in Golden Valley

Have never been to the store so I cannot review that. When looking for reviews on this website all I saw were reviews for the store. Nothing for the clean out aspect of their service. Again can't really comment on the aspect of that either because we decided to go with a different company.

I sent an e-mail to have someone get back to me about having someone come out and look at the house we needed cleaned out. We wanted an estimate. They called me back within a day. Unfortunately I missed their call as I was in a meeting. I called back soon after and got her voice mail. She did not call me back. I than called different times throughout the day for multiple days thinking maybe one time is better then another. Did not hear back from her until I called the Store and chatted with someone to tell them I'm still waiting to hear back from someone. Within 5 minutes I had a call from the person. ugh... shouldn't have to do that.

So, we set up an appointment to meet at the house. She arrived on time and I proceeded to show her around the house and all of the items that needed to be removed... which was everything. She seemed kind of crabby about what we had. We had A LOT of Christmas stuff that we all know... no one wants. When I told her that our Church was coming in to take some stuff for their rummage sale, she said don't they want all of the Christmas stuff? You would think a church would want all of the Christmas stuff.

So as we continued walking around. We finished with the garage which at that point she stated... I'm just not sure there is much here we can sell.

I mentioned how I was anxious to have them come as soon as they could because we needed to get the house on the market. She then started complaining that they are about 2 weeks out. And that she wishes they weren't but they can't find people to work for them and where are all of the college kids looking for summer jobs? And that she couldn't even get her own kids to work there.

So, decided to look around to find a company that could come sooner, I found one that happened to have an opening the next day (Friday) or could be there the following Tuesday. I went with Tuesday. I did research that company as well and saw that they had a 5 star rating on Google reviews with over 350 reviews. Estimates were pretty equal in price.

They also are a Green company and try not to throw anything into the landfill. They are also about recycle, Reuse, donate, etc. The difference is that they don't have a store to sell those items in. Which made me wonder. Is Empty the Nest really about helping people clean out their homes or about getting items to sell in...

On Feb. 9th I sent an IG message to ETn regarding a set of dishes in a post. Denice responded and I agreed to pay through Venmo $175. I told her my daughter would pick up the dishes. Denice did not inform me that the store was indefinitely closed due to a ceiling collapse nor did she inform me that I had 72 hours to pick up my dishes. I informed my daughter of the need to make an appointment and she told me they were closed assuming she would need to wait until they reopened. When they reopened my daughter had a difficult time getting an appointment time. When she did the clerk told her that the dishes were sold. She also said that it was very crowded, no social distance, staff not wearing masks nor enforcing mask wearing. So, the FB post about ensuring strict safety practices is false. I have had a lengthy email exchange with the owner who is very defensive and takes no responsibility for not contacting me before selling my dishes or at the very least posting on FB that they were still available for pick ups during the closure. The person I paid is, of course, no longer working for them. I sent her all the documentation from IG and FB. She states that the dishes were donated. Who am I to believe? She said she would check her inventory and with their donation site. I have repeatedly asked for a full refund and been denied. Since then she is not responding to my emails.It was logical for us to assume they were closed to ALL business since we were not informed differently at the time of purchase or on FB.This is fraud. They have now been paid twice for the dishes. There are plenty of Thrift stores in the cities. I encourage you to not shop at this store that has no commitment to customer service or safety and values...

I have always loved this place, and have recommended it to many friends. I imagine that the pandemic and shutdowns have been difficult, but the recent changes to their process have not been handled well. (1) my mother bought a set of dishes, over $100 worth, sending payment electronically and had a confirmation receipt. She was not told that they had a 72 hour maximum hold for items purchased online. When I went to pick it up, I was told that it was as likely resold and they would not be issuing a refund. Requests for a refund have been met with defensiveness. So, I am very disappointed in their lack of commitment to customer service, especially with how much I have loved this store before. (2) they recently changed the way they take reservations to visit the store, attempting to limit people in the store because of the pandemic. Which I appreciate. However, they are now limiting the days you can make a reservation so there are many more shoppers than I had previously encountered. Impossible to keep distance. I felt uncomfortable the whole time I was there. If you’re weary of being in crowded spaces during this time, best to delay your visit until after the pandemic. Not sure I’ll ever make a return visit after these recent...