Park Avenue Thrift Outlet

I shop here regularly because I make costumes for a not-​for-​profit. I usually donate the costumes I create. This store gives me the best bang for my buck, and I tend to find interesting pieces. However, the staff makes me not want to come back.
I feel like they see customers as a hinderance to doing their job. They are busy forcing as many items onto the rack as possible and if you are flipping through a rack, they will just push by you and close the little opening you have made to look… sometimes catching your fingers. They might say excuse me, but it is after they have pushed your cart into your stomach. They are rude and downright mean.
The final straw was this past Sunday. I had been shopping for an hour and had grown tired. I’d heard them announce many times to not put hangers on the floor, and to take the items off of hangers before coming to the cashier… I know the drill, I have been there many times. I found a quiet corner where I could do this job of separating the clothes from the hanger and I was berated in a hostile way. They didn’t want me doing it in that corner, because they had to put up a cloth tie barrier so they could start loading the back of the store… but no one was loading the back of the store, and that never happened in the time I was there. I asked for 5 minutes, nicely, then more forcefully as I had already taken everything out of my cart to remove hangers… Another cashier, one who is always hostile came over, clapping her hands at me telling me to separate my clothes at a particular rack. If you shop there, you know the drill, but you also know that that place is at the beginning of the most busy aisle, and people push by you and get annoyed, so I went by the line to check out to once again start separating my items. The cashier comes back screaming at me… I am sorry, but I screamed back… a person can only take so much.
Her words «I tooolllldddd you to do so-​and-​so» really set me off… after she saw how angry she made me she left me alone. At the register, I tried to tell her that the behavior of the workers makes people feel like they are not valued as customers. she nodded and spoke to someone else in spanish… rude. I tried to have a conversation with her, and she kept walking away.
Unless something changes, I am done!
A lot of people shop here for various reasons. Many to donate like myself. Many to buy items for their own second hand stores. Many for sport. There are some who are poor and can’t afford to go anywhere else. The people who work in the store see all the customers as poor schlubs who can’t afford to go anywhere else and treat us like trash. (not that ANYONE deserves this treatment… this is just how it feels.)
So here are my questions to management… What are your goals for this store?
Is it a numbers game to get as many items on the floor as possible and making it hard for anyone to actually buy anything?
Or. Is it to actually sell items and have repeat customers come back week after week?
If the cashiers saved stocking the store for the quieter hours and did not make a big deal over some one using a quiet corner to sort their stuff.
If the cashiers didn’t push big Z-​racks down crowded aisles blocking people in. (2 blocked me in from both directions last time, with no regard to the fact that it bothered me greatly.)
If the cashiers used common everyday courtesy, I would be there EVERY WEEK. Instead, I dread going there and instead go to Goodwill and get ¹⁄₁₀^th amount of stuff because I can’t handle the aggravation. The not-​for-​profit suffers.
And by the way, I have been known to spend $ 2 – 300 in a month when I ambling items to make costumes… does that matter at all?
I may try again in the future to shop… but one last time. If the attitudes don’t change, I can’t shop there again. I suspect the people who run this store won’t care though.
Signed… a prolific shopper.

OK. If you’re a thrifter anywhere near Atlanta, you needs get on down… or up, to Park Avenue thrift. There are several locations across the metro area. However, my preference is this locations, one of the several Outlets. You can haul something major here. Every Thursday they get new inventory. On that day everything is $ 2. Daily it decreases in price by $.25. (Except on monday, it goes down a whole $.50 from Sunday —- $.75) Until on Wednesday everything is $.25!!! I literally bought a trunkful of stuff for $ 6.50! Like any thrift store, you wade through the junk. There are many gems though I’ve found brand new pieces, elaborate dresses and even a gray wool Empire-​style peacoat for $.50! If you decide to come on Wednesday, hours are from 8 – 1. But you better be in line bright and early, wear something light with pockets, no or small purse and be ready t run. It’s packed and manners fly out the window. As you can imagine, it’s the cheapest day, so everything will go fast. It’s rare that anything good will even last until 1pm when they close. So get there EARLY! I did Wed. once. But I prefer Tuesday. Only and extra quarter and the crowd is way less dense and vicious. Still an awesome deal!

I have been to this new location a couple times now. Further away for me from the old location of the outlet, so that kinda sucks. The outlet is focused on clothing and not the home goods. Prices change by day. See here for hours and pricing:
Thursday 9am-​9pm $ 2.00/each item
Friday 9am-​9pm $ 1.75/each item
Saturday 9am-​9pm $ 1.50/each item
Sunday 10am-​8pm $ 1.25/each item
Monday 9am-​9pm $.75/​each item
Tuesday 9am-​9pm $.50/​each item
Wednesday 8am-​1pm $.25/​each item
If I am working on a given week, I will check them out on a Sunday. If my mom is visiting and I am on vacation, I will go during the beginning of the week, if possible. I was off one Wednesday and decided to check them out on a Wednesday. A friend had previously gone to the 25 cent sale (though at their old location) and said it was crazy. I wanted to avoid rush hour so I left a bit later in the day. I was worried that there would be nothing to be had. However, I found quite a bit. I mean, 25 cents!!! There were still lots of folks shopping, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Not sure what it would be like at 8am. But that’s time doesn’t work for me.
No dressing rooms here. But there is a mirror and you will find ladies camped out there trying on stuff. Best advice– wear something you can easily slip items over. I typically opt for leggings and a tank. Or you could go for a skirt and slip bottoms underneath.

I have tried so hard to like this place, I promise! With prices better than Goodwill, its tempting to come here. I’ve tried different days of the week (they close early on Wednesday’s, so new stuff is out every Thursday) and different times of the day. I always leave empty handed and sweaty. Yes, sweaty! They need to fix their AC. The final nail in the coffin? Yelled at by the cashiers to leave at 8:45pm because they were closed. Door says they close at 9pm. Guess they were tired, but still! And ladies, you have an intercom system… USE IT. Don’t scream across the room to «get out, we’re closed» to your customers. Its rude and makes you look bad. Not coming back.