finding subjects for interviews at the salvation army thrift store is more than easy

8/7/2019 Finding Subjects for Interviews at the Salvation Army Thrift Store is More Than Easy

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Ryan Donnelly

Nicole Williams

English102

Interviews

Finding subjects for interviews at the Salvation Army thrift store is more than easy. Almost

everyone in the store is so friendly, willing to talk and share information with a smile. Ive

interviewed a variety of people; some being customers, some being employees, and have even

conversed with a group of young teenagers hanging around outside. While some of these provided

more information leading to the inner workings of the store, they all helped create a broad picture

of the culture that is present there. Any interaction with people is helpful to further understand the

people there; a person that is eager to share their stories and history with the store is just as helpful

as another person who hastily turns you down with an angry look on his face. If correctly analyzed,

the latters body language, tone, and facial expression can build and entire story by itself, giving

much needed information.

I arrived at the Salvation Army with two of my friends, The first customer I interviewed was

a man who looked to be in his early 40s. He had a very messy appearance and had a scruffy face

that was hardened yet had a dazed look. He was not willing to give out his name or age so I started

the interview. I started by questioning him about his shopping habits. I learned that he had been

here only 3 times before although he used to go to one in a different town. I questioned his reasons

for coming to the store and he seemed a bit confused by the question so I prodded a little, asking

what kind of stuff he looked for while here. Still slightly confused he said cause they have cheep

stuff, and good stuff. I moved on to asking about his previous experiences at this branch of the

Salvation Army. He was quick to answer and kept his response short sort of repeating the answer

to the first question, I then specified my question in regards to the employees. Still making haste he

said that they were all nice people and that they kept everything very neat. I sensed that he wasnt


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exactly thrilled to be getting interviewed by his body language. He wasnt looking me in the eye or

even at me; his gaze shifted around the store and made it obvious that he was not interested.

Realizing this concluded my interview with a question asking if he had taken advantage of any

sales or promotions that they held there. He just responded with shoes: they have good shoes.

Accepting that as a reasonable answer I moved on to continue shopping through old VHS tapes

with my friends.As I was reviewing my answers and thinking about who to interview next a man who

worked there came over while stocking the shelves, said hi and asked how we were doing. He was

slightly larger than me but about the same height; there were scars all over his face and hands and

he talked in a slightly low voice but was very enthusiastic about what he had to say. I saw this as

the perfect opportunity for an interview, his friendly gestures and kind voice practically signed

himself up. Realizing I hadnt prepared any questions to ask employees yet I sort of winged it. I

found out that his name is Norris from his name badge and asked how long he has been working

there. He thought for a minute and said that he had probably been working there for four years. I

continued to question about the nature of his job. He explained that he uses the big carts in the back

to bring clothes out and put them on the shelf, sorted by color, size, etc. As well as clothes he also

keeps the bric-a-brac section neat along with the toys and appliances. He then showed me how he

also takes the clothes that are partially off the hangers and fixes them to make the overall

appearance of the store nicer. As he went through the job description I noticed that Norris does

exactly what the other man I interviewed was complimenting the store on; they are all nice people

and that they kept everything very neat. I moved to my next question and asked why he chose to

work here. He simply responded with Ive got nowhere else to go, although he is still looking for

a higher paying job to support his family. He has a wife and two kids; he mentioned that one of

them was 18, just a year younger than me and is expecting another quite soon. Being polite I


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decided to lean away from his personal life or anything that didnt directly relate to the store but he

brought up the topic. He asked me if I was wondering where he got his scars. I was honest and said

that I was a bit curious. He told me a story about how when he was little he was in a house fire and

he barely made it out, his grandmother got stuck in there and died in the fire. He had surgery on his

face for 3rd

degree burns and has scars on his face, hands, and parts of his back. Slightly in shock I

said that I was sorry for the loss but its amazing that he made it out alive. He went on to tell me

another story about his past. He came from New York, in one of the lower class cities. He said a lot

of his friends got mixed up with drugs or gangs and that almost all of them are currently either in

jail or had been killed in drug related crimes. He went on to say that he saw a path to get out of that

and he took it and now he works here. Not exactly knowing how to respond I said that it was quite

a story and that it is good that he found his way out. Trying to get back on topic I asked how the

relationship amongst employees was. He said that it was almost like a family; they treat each other

very well and are understanding. As I was vigorously typing all this information into my phones

notepad, for lack of paper, I noticed the time and realized that I had to wrap up the interview with

Norris. I asked him when I could find him here again and he gave me his hours. As I was about to

turn away he quickly asked if I believed in a higher power. I am not very religious so I hesitated

and said some of the time. He said that he believes in a god that is present all the time, but he is not

dedicated to church. With that I bid him farewell and my friends and I made out purchases of some

old VHSs from our childhood.

On our way out of the store there were some younger looking teenagers on bmx bicycles

hanging around the parking lot. As I unchained my bike we made eye contact and one of them

asked if anyone had a lighter, clearly for the cigarette that was in his mouth. I searched my pockets

but I did not have one. But then I remembered that for no apparent reason I had brought my large


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magnifying glass with me that day. When I pulled it out the kids were a little skeptical that I was

actually going to use the sun to light his cigarette. When it actually worked they were clearly

surprised yet happy at the same time. One of them said to his friend dude, we just lit this with the

sun in front of Sal Val. Thats awesome. As well as being a small little fun event and

conversation, it also helped me gather information about their culture. With a good day of

interviewing behind me we returned to Bridgewater State University.


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Annotated Bibliography

D, Elizabeth. "Salvation Army Review by Elizabeth D."Judy's Book | Social Search Your

Neighborhood for Restaurants, Retail Stores, Dentists, Doctors and More... 18 Mar. 2006.

Web. 6 Apr. 2011. .

This is a well written review based on the authors visit to another location of the Salvation

Army. In this article she talks about the amazing deals that the salvation army offers and

gives some ups and downs of the store. It is accurate and helpful when looking for peoples

opinions about the store. As well as explaining about the store it also helps to examine the

personality of the people who shop there.

Johnson, Kristy. "What a bargain; Thrift, consignment shops recycle while pleasing buyers,

helping charity." The Washington Times 12 Nov. 2006. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.

This article, while not directly related to my site, is helpful to continue examining the

people who frequent thrift stores. Johnson mentions that along with the thrill of good deals,

another thing that attracts customers is that the thrift shops provide a good glimpse of what

items our society uses, gives up and reuses. She goes on to define the difference between

thrift and consignment shops. This can contribute to my analysis of the Salvation Army by

showing me some of the people who go there, as well as showing all the different types of

stores.


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http://web.ebscohost.com.libserv-prd.bridgew.edu/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=19&sid=abf422ca-0bdf-4790-9900-4cc45a93ff8d%40sessionmgr14&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=11238156

Bardhi, Fleura. "Thrill of the Hunt: Thrift Shopping for Pleasure." Advances in Consumer

Research 30.1 (2003): 375-76. Business Source Premier. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

This source focuses more on the people that go there and the reason that they do. It

also goes into describing the common outlook on thrift stores. Although it is more in depth

than my other sources I dont think it will be as useful. Although it hasnt changes how I

think about my location it does provide a new aspect to investigate. I can look into peoples

stereotypes of thrift stores as well as their actual discriptions.

http://proquest.umi.com.libserv-prd.bridgew.edu/pqdweb?index=2&did=2265216871&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1302736359&clientId=20170#indexing

Caraganis, Katrina. "Local consignment stores have something for everyone." Sentinel &

Enterprise 30.1 Feb. (2011). ProQuest. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

This source deals with rising trends in thrift and consignment shops due to tighter

spending budgets. The author interviews a few owners of shops and get details such as the

charitable organizations that they donate to. I think that I can count on this source for further

information on how the owners feel about their shops. I can tell it is a reliable source

because there are a lot of quotations with the people interviewed.

http://proquest.umi.com.libserv-prd.bridgew.edu/pqdweb?index=5&did=2244615551&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1302736359&clientId=20170

Burrell, Chris. "A HAVEN FOR BARGAIN HUNTERS; You're lucky to find parking spot

on Wednesdays at the Salvation Army's thrift store in Hanover." The Patriot Ledger 21 Jan.

2011, run of paper ed.: 7. ProQuest. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

This article deals strictly with interviews. The author interviews people such as a

truck driver stopping by on his route, a baker at the local supermarket, and other shoppers.

Being only interviews, this gives me a good place to get extra info on people who shop here.


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Many of them like to brag about the deals they found on designer clothes. Overall this will

be a helpful source for extra info.

http://proquest.umi.com.libserv-prd.bridgew.edu/pqdweb?index=10&did=2187051041&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1302739774&clientId=20170

"Thrift store clerk learns from the poor." The Patriot Ledger 6 Nov. 2010, run of paper ed.:

34. ProQuest. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.

This source talks about the religion that is behind thrift stores. It then goes into the

life of a woman who started working there and tried to reform the place, but instead

reformed her own beliefs. This will be very helpful in the final paper because I have not

found that much on religion yet. This article is packed with quotes and references to religion

and also has a good analysis too.

finding subjects for interviews at the salvation army thrift store is more than easy

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