Plato's Closet - Madison, AL — Local services in Huntsville

I am moving and needed to get rid of some clothing. I've lost weight in the past and have all sizes of things to get rid of. I had a wide variety of things in 7 different white, drawstring bags. I had never sold clothing to Plato's Closet, but have shopped at both locations before, Madison and Huntsville. I called the closest location to get info on how it works when selling them clothing. I was told the Huntsville location was under renovation and that if I wanted, I could instead take my bags to Madison. I did so. I was not expecting to make much money off of the clothes as it was merely my intention to get rid of them when I bagged them. I did, however, think that more would be used. Upon entering the store, the atmosphere was the same as it always has been...chaotic. There always seems to be at least half a dozen young girls working. Maybe it's because of their young age, their inexperience working with the public, or possibly because they all seem to be the same type of "clique"... but literally every time I've ever walked into one of the Plato's Closets, I subconsciously question their professionalism or aptitude for conducting a business. You can never tell who's in charge. The girls often "pass the buck" on who's going to assist you. They seem to be more concerned with socializing than anything. That being said, I already knew this and didn't have super high expectations to begin with. I filled out the required form and left my 7 bags of clothing. I was told to return in an hour. Upon returning, I was intentionally NOT getting my hopes up for return on my things, because, hey, let's face it, I was getting rid of the stuff. After being shuffled through employees, both upon drop off and pick up, the girl who paid me told me that I would be getting $2 and some odd cents for what they took. ?!?!? "Umm.. out of 7 bags??" I asked. She said yes. They literally took ONE item out of aaaall the things I lugged to Madison. She even told me what the item was. A pair of athletic pants, of all things. I now had to find something to do with all the bags I brought. Then, when they gave me my bags of things back, I realized that they had destroyed every single bag. They were drawstring. Tied in a bow. They ripped open all of them, breaking the strings, so that they would no longer close and could not be carried easily out of the store. Again, I'll say, I didn't have high expectations, but they STILL left me disappointed. I will never waste my time bringing anything here again. I'm not one to complain, but I want people who are planning to sell to Plato's to know what they are getting themselves into. I myself would have liked to know what I was wasting my time, effort, and gas on. I SPENT more money on ruined bags, gas to arrive with my things, and gas to still deliver them elsewhere, than I got in return. The time and hassle was a waste. I only gave them 2 stars based on their selection and pricing of items for sale. Their service has always been poor pitiful. At the very least, I hope someone is wiser to how things are run at this business because of my review. And it wouldn't hurt if management saw this and better trained these "youngins" about dos and don'ts when working with the public. .... P.S. The manager only identified herself via a Facebook message request AFTER this review was seen. She did not apologize for the poor service, but went to the trouble to remind me that she opened the door for me on my way in (because she herself was entering the store) and to let me know SHE was the one who went through my things.The sole purpose of her msg was not in concern of the service of her customers, but to keep them from being outed. "I just wanted to see what I can do to get you to remove the Google review." Umm... nothing. I took my time and posted for the benefit of others. I will not remove it, as nothing I said was unjustified, biased, or out of anger. But it goes to show what their true concerns are. Less time fixing the past. More time fixing your business...

The clothing is at a cheap price and of good quality, but the environment keeps me hesitant to come back. The facility is hard to navigate when there are people shopping, the music reflects the teenage drama the employees are into and the business feels unprofessional as a whole.

It is not a matter of morals, but a matter of professionalism. The employees are all female of gender and initially wore revealing clothing akin to what you would find at a strip club. If you chimed in to what these employees were saying (which isn't hard due to their loud volume), you will find all kinds of teenaged slander. I caught a conversation while standing close to the front desk between three of the employees about how one of the other employees dressed gross and how she was too overweight. Quite humerously, my mother (a business owner) became heavily fed up by these unprofessional notions and wrote a letter to the owner of the clothing chain. The owner actually replied with an apology and said they were not aware of the behavior of the employees. Ever since then, the employees have been wearing modest, professional apparel and have kept the volume down.

The facility is still overcrowded and the music is still loud, but the employees have been more professional as of late. Most will not find the employees offensive, but anyone over the age of 30 or anyone who appreciates professional standards will not be pleased...

just walked out this store feeling like a criminal. Tried on several pair of jeans...on one pair of jeans was a piece of paper marked jewelry. It was attached to the hanger grip. It dropped to the floor as I tried on the jeans. Didn't think anything about it until I got to the checkout. The young lady at checkout nervously asked me if I had a necklace and showed me this piece of paper. I told her no and explained what happened in the dressing room.. I explain this to her as all the other young associates and customers looked at me in disbelief. I was in this store for 45 minutes and in that time 3 associates asked me if I needed help. I felt that was odd and actually snapped at the last associate that asked me...I apologized to her I had a long hard day but that was no excuse to snap at her.....Now I understand why. Wow that is truly the worse feeling in the world. I am a professional with a net income of $120,000 per year. I know that doesn't matter because thieves come in all levels of society. I don't know if the employees here have had training on how or when to approach possible shoplifters but this was absolutely not the right way to do it.

I type this with a little anger so please excuse any grammatical...