Blog

Though our mission to provide free job training and education remains the same, our stores and how you shop them will look a little different.

You can take a video tour of some of the changes with our very own DIY Guy Gary Foy and find much greater detail below about the new safety features and procedures to be aware of to make your next visit to Goodwill safe and enjoyable.

For the latest info, please visit our Shopper’s FAQ page

New safety measures in place
We have adopted many new practices and taken measures to ensure maximum safety of employees and customers. Here is more information on what we’ve done and what you can expect when shopping at Goodwill:

• Face coverings or masks are required to enter all Goodwill locations.It is our priority to provide the maximum level of safety to our community and we require that everyone who enters our buildings wear a suitable face covering to protect others from the spread of illness. Any covering that will cover your nose and mouth is acceptable and may include cloth coverings and masks and disposable paper masks. A Goodwill team member will be at the front door greeting shoppers and checking that all customers have a face covering prior to entering. Signage is posted at the front of the store reminding people to wear face coverings when they shop in our stores.
  • Mask Up with:
    • Cloth masks or face coverings that cover your nose and mouth
    • Scarves or other loose face coverings that cover your nose and mouth
  • Not allowed:
    • Plastic face shields alone. Face shields in combination with a cloth face covering provide good protection for others and are allowed.
    • Uncovered or bare faces
    • Cloth masks or face coverings that do not cover your nose and mouth
• Reopened stores will allow a limited number of customers in the store at any one time to allow for physical distancing. We will limit the number of customers in our stores to  30% or less of allowable occupancy, not including employees. We will also monitor and follow all capacity guidelines in the Washington State Stay Healthy order as things develop.
• Goodwill staff will be working the door to count customers in and out, as well as managing any lines that form. We have placed markers every six feet on the ground outside the door to remind customers waiting in line to keep a safe distance between people.
• During our shutdown, all reopened stores were sanitized and disinfectant-fogged with an environmentally friendly, CDC and EPA approved anti-viral cleaning agent.
• Hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray will be available for customers at the front of the store near checkout counters.
• All high-touch areas like doors, checkout counters, shopping cart handles, and pin pads will be frequently sanitized.
• Racks and other fixtures have been rearranged to allow for wider aisles so that physical distance can be maintained.
• Plexiglas guards have been installed at all checkout counters.
• Floor stickers are installed at checkout lines to instruct people to keep six feet apart while waiting.
• Social distancing signs have been posted on the walls throughout stores to remind everyone to keep safe space between themselves and others.
• Carts will be sanitized by employees prior to use and cleaned carts will be separated from used carts. Large shopping carts and small rolling baskets will be available, however our blue mesh tote bags will not be available during your shopping visit for the time being.
• Fitting rooms will not be available.
• Customers will not be able to try on clothing, jewelry or shoes until further notice.
• Returns will not be accepted in the short-term.
• Items that customers take to the register but decide against buying will be sprayed with disinfectant before being restocked.
• Customer bathrooms will be cleaned throughout the day and only one person will be allowed in the public restrooms at a time. Signs will be posted with these instructions and customers are asked to cooperate with these new safety precautions.
• Shoppers may not use their own reusable bags for store purchases at this time. Bag fees have been waived.

 

Safety and our Goodwill team members

• All Goodwill employees complete a health screening prior to their shift and any employee who reports symptoms will be advised to seek medical advice.
• All team members have access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and are trained on how to properly use it.
• All team members must wear masks at work. This includes the time they spend on breaks and lunches while in Goodwill buildings. Team members are encouraged to wear masks that suit their personal preferences and comfort, and they can bring their own clean masks to work. If someone forgets their mask, we provide them one.
• Team members who use shared equipment or handle items customers have handled are required to wear gloves while doing so. We will provide gloves for all team members and employees are trained on proper hand hygiene, including while using gloves.
• All team members are to practice social distancing by allowing at least six feet between themselves and others, including customers. Plexiglas guards have been installed at cash registers to create a barrier when maintaining six feet is not possible.
• We encourage our teams and everyone in our stores to practice personal responsibility and remind people that they should be at least six feet away.

 

Store and donation center hours

• We will operate limited hours to start at our reopened stores. The stores will be open from 10 am to 5 pm.
• We are still making plans for opening donation centers at reopened stores and will keep our website updated. We may need to delay opening donations for up to one week after stores open so we can make space in our backrooms for disinfecting and quarantining items as well as create room on our shelves and racks on the sales floor.
• You can visit this web page for a list of stores that are open and learn of any other important updates

 

Product safety

• We started accepting donations again on May 3, 2020 and at the time we began spraying items with disinfectant as donations came in. After disinfecting, items donated after May 3 are staged for a 3-day quarantine before they are sorted, priced and readied for the sales floor.
• Items that were donated prior to our closure on March 19, 2020 have been stored in boxes, or on shelves and racks for over two months during our closure and have been adequately quarantined well beyond the recommended guideline.
• As an extra safety precaution, items that were stocked on shelves and hung on racks during our closure and adequately quarantined were also disinfected with mist foggers using environmentally friendly, CDC and EPA approved anti-viral cleaning agent.

 

Sales and promotions

• Weekly color tags sales are back. We will continue to offer discounts on items based on tag color. The Thursday and Friday discount will be 30% off that week’s color tag, Saturday and Sunday will be discounted 50% off, and on Monday discounted color tagged items will be offered at $1.99.
• Senior and Military Discount Day is moving from weekly to monthly. We are moving Senior and Military Discount Day to the first Wednesday of the month.
• Look for Manager’s Specials on Tuesdays. When we can, we like to offer an extra discount on certain items to make shopping more fun. Sign up for text alerts here to learn about the special in your favorite store.