BRATTLEBORO — Experienced Goods, the thrift store for Brattleboro Area Hospice, reopened for business on July 7.
The staff of Experienced Goods say they have been working toward creating a safe, healthy environment for shoppers, donors, and employees.
“That safe environment is our top priority, and we need the help of everyone who enters the store to keep it that way,” they said in a news release.
They announced a few guidelines:
• They ask all people who enter the store to follow standard pandemic protocols. These include wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer (provided at the door) and maintaining a 6-foot distance between shoppers.
• The floorplan of the store has been changed to accommodate the distancing protocol. Racks are further apart and less tightly packed with clothing, and the cash register desk has been moved so shoppers can maintain distance between themselves while waiting to pay.
• There will no longer be dressing rooms for trying on clothing.
• No items will be returnable once purchased, including electronics.
• No items will be held or set aside for any length of time.
• There will no longer be a fill-a-bag for $1 option at the 25-cent area or in the children's toy area.
• The side door entrance will remain locked from the outside. Enter through the front (Flat Street) door. Customers may exit through the side door, however.
• Store hours will be Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Staff will be at the store an hour before opening and an hour after closing to clean surfaces and prepare for the next day.
Experienced Goods has also changed its method of receiving and processing donations. No donations will be taken at the retail location for the foreseeable future. Rather, they are taking donations at 80 Flat St., the C.F. Church building.
Donation hours are Tuesdays only, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Do not bring donations to the retail location, and do not leave donations at either location during non-donation hours.
When you pull your car into the parking lot at the donation location, stay with your car, wear a mask, and a staff member will come out to assist you. They are currently not taking furniture or children's toys or games. Donations will be warehoused for two weeks before being processed for sale.
Since staff is reduced and storage space is limited, the staff says it is important that donors bring items that are in sellable condition and require a minimum of processing.