It's pretty firmly established that I have a love-hate relationship with most Goodwill stores. As…read morean organization with a central mission of "empowering people to increase their independence and reach their potential through education, health and employment," I often feel like Goodwill falls woefully short of this mission in the operational aspects of the average Goodwill stores. A good majority of the stores are incredibly lacking in terms of accessibility and while they do employ and train folks with disabilities I've often found the stores quite dismal in terms of basic work skills that would allow individuals to enter a more competitive work situation.
In short, I don't believe Goodwill stores tend to live into their stated values.
However, there are always exceptions and I believe it's important to acknowledge these exceptions. My visit yesterday to the Goodwill on Michigan Road was a noteworthy exception. This particular location is, I believe, an older location. It's in a free-standing building adjacent to Lowe's and Aldi. There used to be a fast food restaurant directly in front of it, though it has since closed.
This seems to be a smaller location than some of the more recent spots, though I did notice they seem to have a larger than usual storage area. There are a handful of parking spots up front and they do meet ADA guidelines - strangely, this is not always true at Goodwill. They do have the usual appropriate curb cuts and nearly every location, possibly every one here in Central Indiana, has automatic doorways.
Because this is a smaller location, it's organized a little differently than many locations. You still have clothing for women on the right, for men on the left, and housewares toward the back. The cashiers are close to the door. This is fairly close to other interior layouts, however, it's different enough that I actually had to look at signage.
While I don't get to this area often, I grew up in this area and it's a weird mix of slightly challenged neighborhoods, working professionals, and healthcare with the nearby Ascension campus.
I did find aisles a lot tighter here. That makes sense considering the issues with size, but it makes it hard for wheelchair users like myself. Several times, I had to either exit an aisle or not enter one because I couldn't pass through it.
However, there was a lot to like here.
The clothing was generally in good shape. It was mostly sized accurately (a huge issue for Goodwill). This Goodwill seemed fairly well staffed (though they are hiring). I did not see the usual "apply here" kiosk, though I may have just missed it.
The employees here were friendlier than I often find in Goodwill stores including a positive management (or leadership) presence. I was particularly impressed by the cashier, a young man who went above and beyond in customer service to the point of even assisting me as I returned the cart after getting them to my car. He was friendly, helpful, and I could easily see his skills transferring to a more competitive setting.
I tend to think Goodwill is overpriced. This has been exacerbated by the pandemic - jeans for $7.99? I don't think so. While you can still certainly find good deals, given that Goodwill does tend to have major issues with accurate sizing I tend to shy away from anything too expensive in clothing.
The 50% off Saturdays, I believe, are still on hold. They do still have Goodwill Rewards, though even the rewards have lessened since the pandemic. Essentially, you shop and donate to Goodwill because of the mission. It's a "feel good" thing. They tend to be the priciest of the thrift stores, though to be fair they also do MUCH more for the community than most of the thrift stores. Here in Central Indiana, that includes the Excel Center, Nurse-Family Partnership, Job Training and Support, and other services.
While I've definitely had my issues with Goodwill, I found this experience to be an overall positive one with a clean store, friendly employees, and customer service indicative of people actually being trained and equipped to improve their lives.