Atlanta Step Up Society Thrift Store

I think the IRS need to look into their non profit because they only look for profit in their pocket. They might give 5% to a foundation I know this for a fact. The wife and husband team are for pure profit in their pocket. I hope that someone contact IRS besides me. Someone please tell them to stop talk to grown men like children, even children shouldn’t be talked to like they do their helpers. By the way to pay 20 $ a day is a sin to for all day work.

Unfortunately I have to agree with the other posters who did not have a good experience with this organization. Recently, my mother passed away and left us with an apartment full of furniture, clothes and household items. Since my sister had also just recently passed away leaving a house full of things, no one in the family really needed much of what was there except the family heirlooms, etc. Since everything wasw in good condition I hated to just get rid of it blindly, and Step Up was recommended to us by the seniors’ community where she lived. I was very happy to donate to a worthy cause.
After exchanging emails, pictures and multiple phone calls agreeing on what they would take and when they would come, they arrived very late on the afternoon they had agreed to come. I had told the person I was communicating with that due to the seniors schedule, they had to be done by 4pm so needed to come as early in the afternoon as possible. When it got later and later I called and spoke to a very rude man who informed me that he had no idea if they were on the way or not and that I needed to understand they were a small operation. They finally showed up after 3pm, but the 2 guys were very pleasant and tried to get as much out before they were asked to stop. They said they would come back the next day, and they called the office to tell them that. Unfortunately they were told that I would have to call, so I did, and received a call back saying they could not come the next day but would come the day after that. They even called the next day and confirmed that they would be there. Well, I waited and waited and waited… and finally called them. After much hemming and hawing and putting me on hold, someone finally got on the phone and informed me that they were sorry, they had decided they didn’t want anything else and were not coming. I was now stuck with 2 sofas, several coffee tables and a bunch of nice clothes and household goods with no one to take them — on a Friday afternoon. And, since the end of the month is Monday, I am now faced with either paying someone to haul this off as «junk» OR try to find someone else to donate it to, and pay additional rent since that will probably take at least a couple of days to arrange.

Wow! I thought this was an organization whose mission was to help the suffering veterans, the homeless and those suffering from addiction to rebuild their lives. Apparently they are just lazy. We pulled up with a nice couch, computer desk, and tv stand and they waved us off explaining they didn’t want our furniture and wouldn’t make any money off of it. I thought this was about helping people and not making money. Really they just wanted to leave in 10 minutes when the store closed. We could have easily hauled 3 pieces of furniture in. We even called 30 minutes before we were coming and they told us they would accept our furniture only to be turned away when we got there. On the bright side. it worked that we were able to take our donation to goodwill instead.

This is probably the WORST non profit organization ever and I WOULD NOT recommend that anyone patronize nor donate to this entity.
Here’s why:
After posting a for sale ad on Craigslist, I was contact by a Mr. Ken Brown who informed me about this organization and their mission. He then asked if I’d be willing to donate any items that were not sold as a result of me posting my ad on CL. Of course I agreed because I figured my items would go to a worthy cause. So, fast forward a week later and I get a call from Paul to see if I had anything remaining from my sale (he was filling in for Ken). Paul was very pleasant and spoke highly of the organization. I told him I had a table w/​four chairs. I explained to him that the table and chairs were in good condition, but the chairs needed tightening; as the leg extensions were loosen. We made arrangements for his crew to pick-​up the table and chairs, but not before I sent him pictures of the items. To ensure that he was fully aware of the item I was donating, I sent him pics of both the table and chairs. My pickup was scheduled for Thursday, May 28^th.
Today, June 1^st, I learned that the crew did not take the table as agreed. When I called to inquire about what happened, I got a gentlemen (I’m almost certain it was Paul) who was VERY… UNBELIVABLY rude who insisted that the table was not something they could use and the driver/​crew made a decision not to get it. When I asked the gentlemen why I wasn’t notified, he explained that the crew should have left a note stating such. WAIT — ummm… soooo…you can call me about picking up the donated furniture, but you can’t call to tell me you decided not to take it?! If that wasn’t bad enough, the gentlemen hung up in my face after I questioned the movers rationale.
What so unfortunate about this is that the crew (which was one man) didn’t take the table & chairs because the store couldn’t use them, he didn’t take the items because they were too heavy and he didn’t feel like lifting them. Sadly, the table and chairs are now sitting in my OLD apartment (I moved out May 22^nd) and are will be discarded because I’m simply not going to pay for someone to move them and, after this experience, don’t feel comfortable donating to a non-​profit.
I definitely ditto everyone’s sentiments about this organization. STAY AWAY!
@Lisa D. — I’m happy you had a great experience with AtlantaStepUp Society. I wish I would have had the same.

Soooo… after hearing an employee loudly describe how men sit around in a circle and jerk off, I expressed my concern to the owner. I simply asked him to remind his employees that they might want to be mindful about their conversations.
What does the owner do? He walks me over to the offending employee to tell him myself! I was floored, but I stand by my word and have no problem doing so. My thing is, why would you subject a customer to that? What if I was a delicate, wilting flower that hated confrontation?
I’m sure there was more to it than simply wanting the employee to know that he’d been heard; I have strong suspicion that the owner was covering his own ass so as to avoid any wrongful termination accusations, but still.
Aside from this incident, yes, they are fairly unfriendly and unaccommodating. You have to take your items with you the same day you purchase, so if you unexpectedly find a little gem that’s too big for the vehicle you brought you just might be SOL.
I really need to find another store that has the type of items I’m looking for…

Rude, rude, rude! Do NOT donate your items to this «charity»!!!
The driver arrived, and I heard him tell his helper, «I don’t feel like moving the stuff», he then proceeded to tell me that he had to call it in. I had already told them what items I was donating, one was an oven, he told me they didn’t take ovens. He was unprofessional, and raised his voice at me several times for no reason. I then called and asked to speak with the manager, Robert Barber. I was told that the manager does not speak to anyone calling public phone number.
I have never and all of my years of interacting with nonprofits had such a terrible experience. Most nonprofits are happy to have people to support them, and do their best to provide customer service when they interact with the public. I will be taking my items elsewhere, and will never spend another dollar in their store.

Chapter One:
After about five «second chances»,
I swore I would never go to the thrift store after being treated rudely every time I interacted with an employee in any way.
After I met the owner, it all made sense.
He is by far the rudest business owner I have ever met!
You might find the occasional bargain gem after digging through the dirty rooms. But in my opinion, it’s not worth it. I will pay the extra $ 2 at Value Village or Goodwill.
Chapter two:
Donating to this store is even more unpleasant than shopping there.
I was helping a friend when the truck came to pick up the leftovers of her estate sale.
They would not take certain items, which was fine. Their disrespect and rudeness was not okay. They did not even say goodbye or thank you when they left.
There are plenty of charities that will do pickups, use any one of them.

I’ve donated to them for years but not sure what to think about them now.

Did not pick up a pair of Sofa’s because there were some very minor stains. Never mentioned on the phone that they only take «like new» furniture. Also they called me at least 4 times to schedule a pick up and were very rude and unprofessional on the phone. Don’t waste youre time!

{ @Atlstepupsoc }The manager (or gentleman) that runs this non profit thrift store is absolutely rude & disrespectful. Often he just makes you wait at the counter & when you offer him payment by debit card he just walks off. On a most recent visit the sign outside stated they were closing early at 6:00PM. When greeted inside he verbally addressed me very rudely stating they were closed. It was only 5:18 PM. When I told him the sign outside said 6PM, he shouted BYE!!! My reply was «You don’t have to be an asshole!». While prices seem to be very steep here, you can get some good merchandise if you are consistent with your visits. It’s most likely I will not be supporting this business in the future & don’t even think about donations. They will call & call your cell phone requesting additional donations.

I went there today in search of new furniture for my room. They had a LOT of decent furniture, including a nearly-​new bedroom set for $ 500. I would recommend them for furniture, but steer clear of the clothes. They only have 5 measly clothing racks and almost everything on them is junk. The accessories though, are a different story: I walked out with a Kate Spade (yes, you read that right) and a Very Bradley purse for $ 3.50 each. I also got two crystal lamps to match my champagne taste, on a tap water budget, of course.

Step Up is a great thrift store. Amazing turn over, super cheap prices and an odd selection of items.
It is not the neatest store, and they do not sell high end furniture for low end prices.
But if you’re in need of some good/​mediocre quality wood furniture for cheap, lamps, kitchen and house odds and ends, then Step Up is the place for you.

Please. Do NOT donate your stuff to this charity. After waiting on two seperate days for them to unsuccessfully to pick up my furniture, I was yelled at by the «manager», and told that now they didn’t want my «little stuff». When I asked to speak with the owner, I was hung up on multiple times. They seem ungrateful, and you’d do much better to give your items to another charity. Here’s a list of charities that take furniture and other items:
The Family Violence Council: (Women & Childrenís support group) is my pick — 770.603.2233

I actually really like this thrift store. It is junkie and I don’t recommend wasting your time looking at any of the small appliances which are probably all broken but if you go through the clothing, you will likely find a few gems. What I like about this place is that it’s relatively small so it isn’t overwhelming. I can get through the women’s clothing in about 20 minutes and usually walk out with a few pieces I am excited about and pay true thrift store prices.
Now, there are nicer thrift stores out there for sure and there are so many now that pick through the junk for you only to charge an arm and a leg for used jeans or sweater. I like going through the crap myself so I can pay $ 1 for a shirt rather than $ 10. That’s just me. I enjoy the challenge. I look junk in the face and laugh especially when I find a new with tags dress from Jones New York in my size and only $ 3. Yeah, it’s totally worth the trouble.

i think this place is cool for what it is. yes, it is a thrift store that is a bit «junkie» and you gotta get a little dirty maybe, but for a cool cause and for super cheap. like all thrift /​consignment shops — it can be a hit or a miss, but isn’t that the fun of these kinda shops anyways? i think so :) when the hubby and I first moved to the city years ago, we pretty much got all of our furniture buying used and redoing it. This place was good to us during that time — finding some furniture for like $ 3 — $ 10! I think we got a whole truck bed full for less than $ 100! Yes, we had to clean it up and most we painted — but with a little extra hard work and seeking out hidden treasures, we furnished some of our house for so super cheap and had fun while doing it ;) also, we’ve had them pick up donations too –easy and it helps the community.

If this is a step up, we should all be concerned.
I am a thrift store junkie. I love walking in to a place and scouring for treasures. But I’m also a realist and can tell when all of the junk is, well, junk. And that’s what you get at Step Up. Most everything is broken or stained completely beyond repair.
Yeah, it’s not a good one, but due to its proximity to my house I’ll probably continue to stop in on occasion, just in case.