Red Cross Shop Wairau Valley

The lady, presumably the assistant manager, seemed more interested in chatting with volunteers than acknowledging customers. Around 15 minutes before closing time, the music had already been turned off, creating the impression that customers were being hurried out. Prices have also become increasingly unreasonable lately, particularly since the previous manager resigned. In addition, the shop layout has noticeably deteriorated, making the overall experience less enjoyable. At this stage, it feels as though the shop is in need of proper leadership and effective management, rather than relying solely on an assistant manager.

Children’s books at $8 and even $10 each some tattered and quite old. What happened to making it affordable for parents to buy books to read to their children. I used to volunteer at a Red Cross shop and I never priced them over $2 each, so families can afford to read to their precious ones at such a young age. I genuinely felt that this shop was over priced. We did end up spending $35 however on books but I left me feeling like not returning. As when my husband got to th counter, one of the cheap warehouse books had multiple sticker prices on it, and the cashier said it would be $3, but clearly there was another sticker for a lesser price a worker had put on it, it just seemed so trivial to try squeeze more dollars out of us when we were already spending so money on all the other stuff at their store.

I called to ask the price of an item (usually worth about $180 brand new) and when I spoke to a manager she very rudely told me, 'it's not for sale unless you want to pay $500 for it'. I have supported this store a lot in the past but I will happily take my business somewhere I'm not spoken to so horribly.

I bought a huge white table from the Red Cross, the lady I spoke with was fantastic, we stupidly thought that the table top was acrylic and had no knowledge of it being broken anywhere. I purchased the table and paid for delivery, when it arrived it was broken and the table top was glass. When I arrived home I saw that the table was broken and I straight away called and pleaded with them to help to organize for the disposal of the table which I offered to pay for. I did not ask for a refund or anything. They were delighted to get rid of it but not ready to help out to clear the mess. I am so worried about my grandchildren getting hurt. I am a regular visitor there but NEVER AGAIN. Lady on the phone was not pleasant either. Now I need to find a truck to dispose of the table. Very stressful

The set out is spacious & clean. One of the volunteers was lovely. Price range is average on clothing, other item prices varied depending on what they were.