Easy job, poor management - Utility Worker Goodwill Employee Review

2.0
Mar 21, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Goodwill will hire literally anyone. As a recent immigrant I had no GED or qualifications at the time and was still easily able to get hired...along with several people who could not speak English and a couple recently released from prison. Supervisors are easy to work with. Work is fairly easy, if repetitive.

Cons

Obvious problems/issues ignored by senior management Little communication between workers and management Unfair pay, new hires may be making more money than experienced workers. For example forklift operators were hired at $1.50 more per hour than existing and more capable ones. Raises are supposed to be given every year, although this is rarely adhered to. Management make no effort to keep good employees, and don't care how many people they retain/hire which means much of the workforce at any one time is inexperienced or simply not very good at their jobs. Favoritism shown by management, some workers will consistently be given worst jobs. Drivers rarely do much work other than driving. (They are meant to do other work when no runs are available) Pay is fairly poor. No distinction between skilled and non skilled workers. Eg Forklift/Machine operators paid the same as store staff. Upper management regularly impose seemingly worthless rules and initiatives while ignoring corporate policies.

Explore other reviews about Goodwill

5.0
Jan 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

3 or More People Throughout The Day Going Into The Evening For Close

Cons

Needed More Hours To Work

3.0
Apr 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I enjoyed my customer service work - helping people as a part of a larger mission to help the community. I found it rewarding to advance to supervisor and pick up new skills and responsibilities such as safety auditing and supply management. And of course it was always interesting to sort all the interesting and unique donated goods.

Cons

A change in management over the past year+ has been very difficult for me. I found my work more heavily scrutinized and criticized in ways that felt unclear and unfair. The new manager had a clear bias towards certain employees, gossiped openly and loudly and often with explicit HIPAA violations, and made it literally impossible for me to keep track of inventory supplies as a part of my responsibilities. Communication between management and associates - and even between management and supervisors is very poor. Workplace culture has seemed to shift from being very flexible and people-oriented to more stringent on policy and focused on revenue. Trust in upper management is strained. Day to day if you stick to your task and focus on production, you'll probably do well. But for me it isn't what it used to be.

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