August 2023 by Fi
I called into the Oxfam Belfast Ormeau Road branch today. It?s a small store that sells mainly clothes and bric-a-brac. Perhaps because of the small size, there is a musty, airless smell as soon as you walk in - to be expected in a charity shop so no complaint there. Sadly, the one star is for the staff.There were about 5 customers in the shop and two young female staff members. I was there for less than 10 minutes, but in that time, they were rude and unhelpful to multiple customers. One woman brought an item to the counter to pay and was told the till was broken and only cash would be accepted - the lady was confused about where she could get the exact cash and change, but rather than help, the staff were impatient and flippant. Another woman was told by one staff member there was no changing room but she could return items if she needed to, then the second staff member (both were behind the counter) said they couldn?t do this for everyone. A man who wanted to leave a bag of donated items was told loudly that nothing was being accepted, with no further explanation or elaboration. He looked embarrassed when he asked, ?have you no room??. There then followed a conversation between the two staff about what time it was, how tired they were and what a mess everything was - apparently the phone was broken too. I won?t be back.
