37 St John's Crescent
Rogerstone
Newport
NP10 9EY
**
We knew it was a bad sign when they opened a charity shop in the village. It always signals the beginning of the end for small communities. Shortly afterwards, the takeaway shut down. Now we have an overpriced Co-operative, a grocers of questionable quality, and 2 hairdressers.
We gave them a chance, though. We donated a lot of stuff when they first opened and my grandmother (who lives on the same street) went in there regularly.
But... there are so many issues...
Firstly, the staff.
I have had one woman (I think she may be the manager) actually sort through my stuff and give me back things that they did not want. Listen, love, you take everything or get nothing with me. Consequently, they now get nothing.
Then there is this other woman... My mother went in to pick something up (I forget what it was now) and when she asked how much the item was, the woman said £1.50. Mom said fine and started sorting out the money. Then woman then said "You can have this too" and passed her a hideous cooking utensil set. Mom said OK, whatever, though she did not actually want to utensil set. She gets to the till and the woman goes "That'll be £3.00 then". When mom asked her to clarify, it was established that the item the woman was "giving" to her was actually costing her £1.50. Mom caused great offence by saying she did not want it.
Then a couple of weeks ago, mom walked past and saw a musical instrument in the window. She went in and asked the price and the (same) woman said to make an offer. She offered a fiver and the woman said she would have to offer more. They eventually settled on £8. At the till again, mom opened her purse, the woman lent over her, looked inside and said "oh we'll have that tenner". Mom was a bit put out by this but agreed (remember - this was AFTER a price had been agreed). The woman also said "Give me all those coppers too" and mom felt forced to empty out her purse.
A quick side note... My mother is an Italian immigrant and she does not have the same forceful nature that I have. This woman's attitude with me would have resulted in her being told - very graphically - where to shove the musical instrument. Add this to the fact that mom was mugged last year and she recently suffered a stroke which has affected her memory and this woman was behaving totally inappropriately.
But it went further.
The woman had the nerve to say "Oh I know you're rich and can afford more than this". Mom said "Look, I am a poor widow living on a small pension". The woman (get this! Fucking cunt) said "I bet you killed your husband for his money. I know your sort". My father, a factory worker, died of a heart attack at the age of 45, leaving my mother with two kids under 16 and a third in the second year of uni.
Mom walked out (livid) and told her mother what had happened. My nan refused to go in again. She then told my sister who promised the same and me, who never liked the musty place full of broken crap anyway.
Late last week, my mom saw a soda syphon thingy in the window (I like my bar accessories) and we walked down there to have a look. It was too expensive so I did not bother even going inside but while we looked, the staff didn't half give us some dirty looks through the window.
And this wasn't the end of it!
Late last week, my mom was walking to my nan's and happened to walk past the shop. She got about 20 yards further up the road when she heard "OI! YOU! OI! YEAH YOU! GET BACK HERE!" Mom turned back to be faced with the same vicious old witch. The woman said "Get in here and spend some money!" Mom snapped back" No! I've learned my lesson and left my purse at home" and promptly walked away.
They've lost our business.
But it's not just the staff!
The prices! A "health grill" (used) for £8??? You can buy a George Foreman from Amazon brand new at that price! Hideous lamps for a tenner, even more hideous tea services for 20 quid. Rip off. And don't get me started on the time they tried to auction off a sewing machine. What these people don't realise is they are a charity shop that gets donations from good-hearted members of the public. They are not an antiques shop.
And wanna know something weird? They call themselves a charity shop but I thought all charities had to be registered with the Charities Commission. Guess what? No record of them... Now I'm not accusing them of scamming people but isn't that a little strange?
So why 2 stars? Because my mom once saw a filthy Chinese-style jewellery box in the bargain bin for 30p. She bought it for me because I collect that kind of stuff. A quick google search established that it is worth $450. Even our Chinese herbalist was impressed...
