As I aimlessly tidy the men’s suit and jacket rack in the St Vincent de Paul shop on Dublin’s George’s Street, marvelling to myself at how cheap everything is, a woman appears by my side.
“There are no trousers with these suits,” she says, pointing to my left.
“No, they’re just jackets but we have the suits over here,” I say, helpfully, gesturing two feet to the right where more than a dozen suits are hanging.
She looks at them. “They’re too dear,” she sniffs crossly. “This is supposed to be a charity shop and it is supposed to be cheap,” she adds.
“That’s a perfectly good Massimo Dutti suit you have there and it’s selling for €15,” I say.
She’s not buying it, not for a second, and says again that this is a charity shop and it should be cheaper. She tells me she’s in the market for smart clothes for her father, her brother and her husband, so I do a bit of a rummage through the rack and find her a smart charcoal grey suit. It costs €9.
“No, that’s too dear. And it has three buttons. It is not even fashionable any more.” She is getting crosser now. So am I.
She is my first customer and I think we’d both agree it hasn’t gone well. Manet, the shop manager, sends me upstairs to tidy the books and CDs. In truth they’re already pretty tidy so I marvel instead at the range of ancient comics for sale and smile at some of the cataloguing. Why is the story of Abba in the Historical Fiction section? And how has a Cecilia Ahern novel made it into Literary Fiction while Marian Keyes is confined to the romances alongside some steamy looking bodice rippers?
There are five other volunteers and they are all busier than me, untangling jewellery, rummaging through clothes and happily serving customers. It is a hive of affable do-goodery.
While this store had volunteers in abundance, the charity's network of 150 shops always needs more people to help and anyone who can commit to just three hours a week will be welcomed with open arms. You don't need any retail experience and once you can hang stuff and talk to shoppers, you will always have something to do.
See svp.ie
