The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center - Lake Forest, California

Address: 23820 Mercury Rd, Lake Forest, CA 92630.
Phone: 9495811605.
Website: anaheimarc.salvationarmy.org.
Specialties: Thrift store, Non-profit organization, Second hand store, Used clothing store, Vintage clothing store.
Other points of interest: In-store pickup, In-store shopping, Delivery, Same-day delivery, Wheelchair accessible entrance, Wheelchair accessible parking lot, Quick visit, Clothing, Credit cards, NFC mobile payments.
Opinions: This company has 262 reviews on Google My Business.
Average opinion: 4/5.

Location of The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center

The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center, located at Address: 23820 Mercury Rd, Lake Forest, CA 92630, is a well-known non-profit organization that offers a unique shopping experience. This thrift store is a second hand store and used clothing store that also specializes in vintage clothing, making it a great destination for those looking for unique and affordable fashion options.

One of the key features of this store is the in-store pickup and delivery options, which make it easy for customers to shop and receive their purchases. The store also offers same-day delivery, allowing customers to receive their items quickly and conveniently. Additionally, the store is wheelchair accessible, with a wheelchair accessible entrance and parking lot, making it accessible to everyone.

The store is conveniently located and offers a quick visit experience for those who are short on time. The store accepts credit cards and NFC mobile payments, making it easy for customers to make purchases. The store offers a wide variety of clothing options for men, women, and children, making it a great destination for families.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center has received 262 reviews on Google My Business with an average opinion of 4/5. This is a testament to the store's commitment to providing high-quality goods and excellent customer service.

Reviews of The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center

The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center - Lake Forest, California
j j
1/5

If you leave your cart for a short period of time, it will be taken away...horrible employees.

The prices are cheaper than regular stores because they are recycled, but not cheap for a thrift store. I think it's expensive.

I had a horrible experience at this store, today(I was editing this and it ended up being yesterday though) around 12:00-15:30, 12/22/2024. I didn't want to put a large cart in a narrow aisle, so I placed it in a wide area, looked at the products, and when I took my eyes off the cart for short time, it was gone. Inside the cart were a sandal and two clothes that I had spent a long time choosing, so I frantically searched for them.

When I asked the two female Hispanic store clerks if they saw my cart, they told me it was my fault, and treated me with a cold, unrelenting, and extremely rude attitude.The way they treated customers was really bad. That younger one clerk(she was a really unfriendly and extremely rude clerk. The older Hispanic clerk had the attitude of making a fool of me though) completely ignored me at first, and was so rude that it made me sick. She continued to ignore me even if I told her about my plight , she treated me like as if I were a nuisance with her rude manner.

Truly, these two staffs were cruel, rude, and incredibly mean to me, even though I was in trouble. Especially younger one.

The white female clerk, who seemed kinder than these two, wasn't as rude as these two, and told me that there might be something by the cash register, but the items weren't there.

I asked the male black cleaner twice if he saw my cart. I was stunned when he told me leave from the store in a very chilling and rude manner. I just asked him "Did you see my cart" only. It was very unreasonable he said to me get out from the store just I asked him "Did you see my cart" only. He is totally insane and crazy. It's not how you treat customers. After searching for more than an hour, I asked another male customer, who very kindly told me that he had seen my cart over there. The customer here was kinder than the staffs.

When I looked at the black cleaner's cart again, I saw the two clothes I had chosen. There were no gray sandal.

This black cleaner had taken my cart. In addition to the previous rude behavior of this black man who told me to leave from the store, he also ignored my comment about the characteristics of the items in the cart, took my shopping cart without my permission, and didn't apologize it. When I took my eyes off the cart for short time, he took my cart, I got really angry and protested to him, but he didn't even try to apologize. The female cashier wasn't rude, but she said something like he didn't steal my cart and that he had his due. I felt terribly uncomfortable with the cashier's remarks about siding with this terrible black cleaner.
In Japan, I have never had my cart taken away after leaving it there for a short time, nor have I ever been treated with such horrifying disrespect by the staffs when I asked where my cart was, so I consider this a horrifying experience. It will be bad and traumatic memorable. Disgusting store staffs behavior, extremely unpleasant interactions.............America is truly a horrifying place. The attitude of the black cleaner told me to leave this shop when I asked him "Did you see my cart" only.. It was truly terrifying, terribly rude. Even though YOU took my cart!!!! If I had left it unattended for a long time, an staff could have taken it, but in the short time I left my cart, moreover there were three items inside. I was really angry at this black cleaner who took the shopping cart of customer, pretended not to know my cart when I asked him, and told me to leave from this store rudely. He is incredibly rude and extremely terrible staff!!!! From now on, I NEVER use the cart at this store.

My advice to everyone is not to use carts in this store, as they will quickly take your items in your cart away when you take your eyes off the cart for short time.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center - Lake Forest, California
Kyle Downey
1/5

I was going to donate bags of clothes here to help folks impacted by the LA Fires since the Salvation Army was listed as a preferred partner. However, after reading so many bad reviews about their donation bay, I’m going to Goodwill instead. I hope SA improves and I hope my goods reach people in need.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center - Lake Forest, California
Catherine Cruz
5/5

Wow! This has to be one of the cleanest thrift stores I’ve ever visited!
The employees all wore masks and were very nice. All were busy restocking mostly clothes.

The clothes racks are PACKED. So much inventory that it was a little hard to go through the racks.

Not so many summer dresses or halter tops that I usually get. Lots of winter jackets and sweaters but it was so hot today there’s no way I could justify buying anything winter.

Not too much furniture or home decor. None of my favorites like Pyrex or Corning Ware.

Came with my mom and she said a few months ago this place was really unorganized. Reviews said the same.

Nope. Today the place looked GREAT! If you haven’t been in a while, maybe consider stopping by again soon?

The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center - Lake Forest, California
Egor Titko
1/5

when i went into the fitting room, a woman in a red sweater ran up and started yelling at me to get out, and then came in and threw my things away. she had no right to touch my thing with her hands. not only is that how she treats a customer, but she also raises her voice

The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center - Lake Forest, California
Reagan B
1/5

We had a horrible experience at this store.
I had called the store to confirm what donations they take with the manager and after they told us we brought a couch, bookcase, and dresser.
We were already off to a bad start because the couch needed to be disassembled to fit in the trailer and the manager told us to reassemble it so she could approve it, you could see the cushions and base and tell it was in good condition without wasting everyone's time assembling it in the parking lot.
After we assembled it she looked at the couch and the other two items and told us she won't take the bookcase and then she went inside the store.
While we were waiting for 15 minutes to see if she was coming back out, people started coming around the trailer asking for items which wasn't a problem because the stuff was going to the dump after this visit so we gave away some items. Then a lady comes by and really likes the couch and wants to take it, it had been over 20 minutes since we saw any employee so I said she can have the couch and I went in to inform the manager. The manager was counting money at the register and when I told her, she didn't even look at me and asked me "is she going to pay us for it?" Which was super rude because the couch was still in my trailer and the store hadn't helped us assemble it or move it, so it was still mine and I was giving it this lady instead of the store. I go back outside and the manager then comes out with an employee to tell the lady she needs to pay for the couch. I ask her if she's going to have an employee take the dresser and she said no, and then told the employee not to let us donate to this store ever again and to take pictures of my license plates which the manager had done. The manager then left and her goons were there to tell us to move our car and trailer because we're on store property, (the parking lot is not store property.) One of the employees, an older white male, had gotten on his phone and pretended to call the police after telling us the couch and dresser are salvation armies property because the manager had looked at them. Well the manager also looked at my truck, is that their property too now? I told him it's not because I didn't sign anything, never received a donation receipt, and it's still in my trailer. We talked to the liquor store next door and they said we can leave furniture in front of their store since the lady who was taking the couch needed to wait for her husband to get his truck, she also took the dresser because the manager at salvation army changed her mind on taking it.

This was around 3pm Oct 26 and the manager was a short Hispanic lady with grey/blonde hair. I learned that a liquor store has better customer relations than a salvation army store.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center - Lake Forest, California
Irina Bogomolova
1/5

I have been a loyal customer for quite some time now, and I have always appreciated the variety of items and the generally excellent customer service. However, my recent experience on Wednesday, 07/24/2024, at 7:50 am left me feeling disappointed and emotionally hurt.

During my visit, I found a coat with a yellow sticker, which indicated it was 50% off that day. When I brought it to the register, the lady at the counter questioned the legitimacy of the sticker, implying that I might have attached it myself. This accusation was not only unfounded but also deeply hurtful. I have always respected the store's policies and would never engage in such dishonest behavior.

Despite the initial confrontation, the cashier eventually gave me the 50% discount, but the damage was already done. The way she treated me made me feel like a thief, which was both confusing and emotionally distressing.

I hope that the management addresses this issue to ensure that no other customer has to go through a similar experience. Customer service has always been a strong point for this store, and I believe with proper training and communication, such incidents can be avoided in the future.

Overall, I still appreciate the store and its offerings, but this experience has certainly left a mark. I hope to see improvements in how customers are treated, especially when it comes to handling misunderstandings with more empathy and respect.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center - Lake Forest, California
Anne Fryar Kuver
1/5

I usually only donate to the store as I did this day on September 3rd plus I did some shopping as well inside. I found myself a couple items and as I go up to the counter I find myself with a very unhappy younger gentleman. He seemed as if I was bothering him, I've never encountered this at this store. Because I donated I get 25% off one item and I didn't have my phone to get the coupon via email so I asked him if he could just do it on the register. As they've done before for me. He acted as if it was inconvenience and informed me I must bring my phone next time. I've never been treated so poorly at this store nor do I think I'm going to go back let alone donate. I can find a thrift store that is happy to have me there.

The Salvation Army Thrift Store & Donation Center - Lake Forest, California
Carol
3/5

I have to go in that direction so I was going to do a mess of donating since San Clemente Goodwill had closed but after all the way people get treated when donating I think I will pass.

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