Gather 'round folks while I tell you the story of "The Goodwill Preacher". I am a frequent customer at this Goodwill location; I have also donated items 2-4 times per year over the 14 years we've lived in the area. About 60% of the reason I donate items to Goodwill is convenience; I appreciate how easy they make it to donate goods and when you can literally drive up with a truckload and get help unloading, it's a no-brainer. About 40% of the reason I choose to donate to Goodwill is because I value the job training they provide. I believe they offer a valuable service to the community, providing job training and offering employment that prepares folks with solid skills to become/remain employable and to build on for future employment.
I had my first garage sale of the year on Saturday, June 10th, before the real heat sets in, and had a mixture of items leftover; two loads full in my medium sized SUV. As always, I weeded out anything that may need repair and donated only items that someone could actually use as is. I am careful not to send broken or dirty items because that negates the point of donating items to help with Goodwill's programs if they have to spend time weeding out garbage people drop off for them to deal with.
I took the 2nd load to this location at about 1:30PM on Saturday and was greeted by a donation employee; an older gentleman waiting with a cart, who I have officially dubbed "The Goodwill Preacher". I always get out and help unload and he was oddly gruff right from the start, not engaging in the questions I was asking, like "should I place this heavy box on top of what you already have in the bin"? He ignored my questions and commented on the weather and what a nice breeze there was, saying "AMEN - don't you agree?" I said it was a nice day in the shade and he again said "AMEN...right???", trying to force me to respond with an "Amen". He then commented on what a "blessing" the breeze was and didn't I agree it "was a blessing?" It was not a friendly small-talk sort of interaction, but a gruff, aggressive manner, all the while staring me down - it was a tactic straight out of the "How to Bully Someone" handbook. He then began to tell me his was the God of light and asked me several times if I agreed. I just wanted to donate and get back to the work I had to complete at home and chose not to engage in what I would now call a verbal assault; I didn't see the point in engaging him directly, as he was obviously a bully who wanted to force me to use words that would parrot his views and faith. I didn't respond and then he began to pressure me saying there was a God of darkness in the world and did I know that? I was getting very irritated by this point at the aggressiveness of his comments and stare-down and said very calmly and politely, "Well...everyone believes differently.", to which he responded, "Well yes they do, but they are wrong.", as he rolled the donation cart into the building to get a second cart. I rolled my eyes and sighed, at which time another employee locked eyes with me and apologized for the "proselytizing". The "Goodwill Preacher" then came out with another cart and I was helping load more of my donations. He was extremely aggressive with the items, not taking care with fragile items and literally - I mean LITERALLY - placed a heavy box on top of a lovely lamp shade and pushed down on top with his hands, breaking the perfectly lovely and usable lamp shade I had just donated to Goodwill (that was attached to a very lovely glass lamp base underneath - goodness knows if that made it to the sales floor!!!) to support their programs; possibly a program he himself benefits from. It was an altogether awful, inappropriate experience and one that reminded me that bullies are everywhere, trying to aggressively force their opinions and beliefs at every opportunity. It was, in every sense of the word, a verbal assault.
To the management of Goodwill and the "Goodwill Preacher" employed at this location: if anyone is so insecure about their own beliefs that they have to bully and aggressively try to get validation from random customers donating items, you might want to check yourself and your beliefs. Had this employee been of the Islamic, Buddhist or Mormon faith and been out their preaching to folks, my guess is they would no longer have a job because the more extremist Christians I know would not stand for it! Or what if the employee followed the Church of Satan and was trying to preach that belief to get a random, middle-aged woman donating lamps and dishes and fabric to parrot their personal religious "quotes of faith" as some sort of validation of their beliefs...do you think for one minute they'd still have a job? This behavior is NOT okay for any employee of any business that is not directly associated with a specific church or ministry - PERIOD. HOW YOU TREAT PEOPLE - ACTIONS - ARE WAY MORE IMPORTANT THAN WORDS YOU SPEAK! read more