Barnardo's Reviews 

Hello everyone!

Believe it or not, I am a Christian. A generous spirit is often innate—you either have it or you don’t. Reflecting on charity today, one realizes that the past wasn't just a time of hardship; the people who reached out to help you back then genuinely cared about you. Not to mention the people one merely chatted with in passing—that kind of sincere human connection has become a rarity these days. As time passes and the world changes, people struggle to balance their children's education with the pursuit of a better life, often feeling there simply aren't enough hours in the day.

In reality, the quality of goods in charity shops is excellent; this model allows people to buy nearly-new clothing and household items at affordable prices—a shopping experience far superior to what it used to be. Yet, young people today might overlook this model or even harbor prejudices against it. Shopping at charity shops can invite scrutiny or judgment; some are even labeled "unsuccessful" or "losers" because those intent on "making it" often don't view it as a respectable activity. To outsiders, the simple act of shopping at a charity shop can seem undignified or out of step with the times. Honestly, faced with immense life pressures, people often have no choice but to compromise. Looking back, those who truly cared—like the people who discussed school lunches or talked about cooking a meal from scratch—were so precious. Seriously, did Jamie Oliver actually win the battle against the school dinner ladies? I remember getting a huge Yorkshire pudding with chips and gravy for just 85 pence—I really wish meals like that would make a comeback. Nowadays, people often lack the bandwidth to attend to the finer details of daily life, as simply building a life is hard enough; the effort to go all out for charity or a good cause in hopes of making a difference often seems insignificant by comparison. I remember once trying to make a pudding—I wonder if anyone still uses those oven molds to make pudding for their children these days? I was thrilled at the very idea and even started planning what dessert to have after the meal. Looking back, what I actually made was a pineapple upside-down cake; the thought of making something like that now; I had to figure out whom to share it with—after all there's no teacher present—It would probably take a whole week, month or even a year just to finish all of this.
Since I’d bought such a great tin, someone had to give it a taste. Then, the next day, I had a sudden inspiration: I could mix the leftover pudding powder with the macaroni and cheese. No leftovers.

I went into the Inverness branch today with a donation of good quality items only to be ignored until the young woman on the till managed to life up her head I said to her that I have a donation she then pointed at the floor and told me to put it down there. Maybe management should consider giving the staff a bit of training!!! Manners cost nothing! such a shame as it's a really good shop.

Today I visited my local Barnardos superstore in West Yorkshire to drop off some donations.
When I arrived, I made my way to a desk with a large sign over it which I could see from the entrance telling me to take my donations there.
When I got there I was met by a very nice lady who asked me if I was donating?....Yes.
She seemed concerned because the donations window might have already closed. So she went to check (The shop itself was still open for a couple of hours and is a very large open space)
On her return the staff member apologised explaining that the donations person had just closed the donations window so I would need to return another day to make my donation?!
So are the staff not able to put my donations by the donations window, which is in the shop, for the donations person to address when they get back?....Or any other combination of the same principle??
Anyway I had to bring my things home again.
So I probably won't drive over there again...carbon footprint, time, all that ?
What I mean is I actually won't !
We're all struggling to make ends meet, find nice things at a good price that some people can't/don't use but would be another person's treasure /happy find.
Come on Barnardos. Remember who you are there for, silly protocols surely ?

Shop a lot at Barnardo’s superstore scunthorpe(4 separate purchases this month) sadly my last purchase ended in me buying 2 differnt sized flipflops. It happens.

I returned today to be told I could not have a refund as I didn’t have my receipt, I would have had a replacement pair. do people realise that when you say it’ll be ok I dont want one( mine to save paper) that they won’t get any help.
The lady on the till was lovely and understanding and asked someone to look in the back where all the odd ones are kept, (so this is obviously an ongoing issue)she was immeadiatley shot down by today’s very important supervisor who said there weren’t any anymore , she refused to look at my card statement showing the date of purchase and before we could talk of alternatives I was told no refund and then they gave me a 50% refund to stop me arguing!!
Sadly that’s my last trip there after that sort of attitude from one member of staff
SO DO NOT REFUSE THE RECEIPT

PS I have volunteered in many places for over 30 years so don’t write this lightly

come rain come shine..but they should not mind....

I was manager at Barnardo’s Berwick. From the very first day it was upward bullying from the mother and daughter who are paid staff. It was absolutely horrendous, I lost so much weight I was so stressed and lost my confidence. Worst experience ever, Sales were up by 50% when I was there, they treat the place with such disrespect just turn up and don’t want to move the business forward. Just constantly going out the back smoking and taking breaks when they wanted.

Tom was incredible, excellent welcome very helpful.

I have bought from Barnardo's on Ebay. Its an auction site so if your the highest bidder you secure the item and generally it arrives promptly in the post and as described.
Today I had a look and they have introduced a "live" auction element where you are like competing against others in real time and are likely to bid more than you might necessarily want to. Why would they do that. Squeezing a few more £ out of an already generous public is the only thing I can think of. They have gone down in my estimation and appear no different than all the other big bucks charities out there. I wont use their "live" auction under any circumstances.

I visited the Barnardo store in Maghull in Merseyside today. I had a range of high quality men’s clothes including theee suits still labelled. I was met by quite an abrupt and judgmental woman who told me she’d take the new labelled stuff but was not interested in going through bag of high quality sports and smart clothing. The truth is that she couldn’t be arsed. It’s only when I said to her “give me it all back and I’ll go somewhere else “ that she decided to take an interest.

I will never donate to Bernardo’s again. A disgrace of a shop and staff have awful attitude

Barnardo's charity shop, Danestone, Aberdeen.
I popped in yesterday for a browse, as I do when in that area.
I purchased some lovely items at reasonable prices, the two ladies on duty were very friendly and helpful.
Won a lovely tombola prize too !
I admire the work that Barnardo's do.
Every child deserves to be heard, respected and supported. Children are the adults of tomorrow !

Awful customer service from the female members of staff at the Monks Cross Store. Overheard one of them (I think Warehouse Manager from the badge) insulting their own volunteers. Pretty sure she pulled out a vape on the shopfloor too. The only saving grace was the very helpful man at the till.

The other Barnardos Shop in York has much better customer service. friendly, helpful, and polite. Maybe management of the Monks Cross store should take note!

Horrible people extremely rude

Big shout to young man working hard giving up his time very polite keep up the good work 👏

Phoned earlier in week to ask if certain items accepted before wasting a trip only then to turn up at store to have items refused and told its down to person on door to make decision. Rude, unhelpful a few words to describe. They need training in customer service and also be a bit more tactful when bad mouthing about ppl donating when they are within hearing distance of what is being said!!!!

The purpose of this charity suits my philanthropic aims, and therefore I prefer to donate to Barnardo's.

I have donated a wide range of quality and expensive items, including a brand-new printer, brand-new clothing, kitchen items, and items collected from all around the world.

To date, I have always been responded to very rudely and even combatively. Even today, when I was dropping items at their back door, a female staff member literally told me off because I was donating before 9AM and using the back door.

The back door acceptance was not originally my idea. They had asked me to use that door if I drive.

So, let alone being given a nice and polite thank you, to date I have always faced a very rude attitude.

I donate to Cancer Research UK in Southport too, and they warmly thank me, which makes my heart warm and makes me feel more connected and useful to them.

Sadly, from this point forward, I will never donate to Barnardo’s.

They have taken all the good feelings, sense of community, and sense of being a good citizen away from me. I do not deserve that.

The staff in this particular shop Edgeley are rude nasty and negative. I was particularly disturbed by their apparent lack of compassion, empathy, and respect. I witnessed them making degrading remarks towards the homeless on our streets. And this was heard by all in the store pacing back and too like they owned the store and had the right to act in such. respect is free and should be a fundamental value no matter who you maybe.  i will never set one foot in any of these shops nor donate id sooner burn it. Barnardo's your a disgrace. O and as for caring like hell you do, all you do is take take..

Harpurhey shop is a great place to shop , the people who work there are a friendly lot. nice people . would recommend anyone to go. i always get a smile and friendly chat and sometimes purchase something just what i need.

leave:

“I visited this charity shop today with my young daughter, hoping to donate two medium-sized bags of kids’ clothing (mostly unworn) and a small bag of kids’ shoes. The staff member I spoke to was dismissive from the start, telling me he couldn’t accept them because ‘there was too much.’ When I asked why, he couldn’t give a proper reason and instead became increasingly rude. After calmly explaining that there was no stated policy on donation limits, he raised his voice and shouted at me in front of my daughter, telling me to leave. This was incredibly upsetting, especially as we were just trying to contribute to a good cause. I expected kindness and gratitude, but instead we were met with rudeness and humiliation. This behavior is unacceptable, especially from a charity shop. I will not be returning, and I hope the management takes this seriously.”

I always have a great experience at this shop. The manager, Sharon, and all the staff are so helpful and kind. It’s clear they care about the community. Highly recommend visiting! Thanks, Anne-Marie

Very poor products. I purchased a pair of winter boots for £6 from the Denton store at Stockport Rd, Denton, Manchester M34 6DB

A week later my feet was absolutely soaked due to the treacherous rain . Unfortunately, i had lost my receipt and was not able to return it and given the poor product, i did not wish to purchase another item from them.

I made the manager aware of it today and met with little sympathy other than advice where to contact the headoffice.

I would never purchase any boots /shoes from this store. It appears they pulled it out of a garbage bin and resold it. For the money i paid , i could get a fairly new one from nearby store