Basic Intake Documentation

When a customer wants to donate a computer or related item to Free Geek, they do so in the Basic Intake (a.k.a. Receiving) area. This area is run by volunteers and overseen by members of the Free Geek staff (the Reuse Coordinators). There is a Receiving calendar now available for pre-notification of Receiving staff and volunteers.

What you can learn here

• Hardware identification
• Mouse, speaker, and keyboard testing

First, meet the donor

1. Ask if they're here to make a donation. (Direct them to the store or front desk if they are not.)
2. Remind them that we have a $10 fee for monitors.
3. Help them unload.
4. As they unload, fill out a tally sheet, indicating quantity of each type of gizmo they are donating. This tally sheet will be used for their tax receipt and to record data into our database.
5. Give them the tally sheet and direct them to the Front Desk.
6. Thank them for the donation.

Items we do not accept

There are certain items that people might try to donate that we do not accept. You can suggest that people contact Metro Recycling Information Center at (503) 234-3000 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday for instructions on how to properly dispose of these items.

Item	Picture
Photocopiers
Major Appliances
Microwaves
Smoke Detectors
Styrofoam
Televisions
Batteries (we do take laptop batteries and UPS)

Items that we do accept

• Check the documentation to see where that type of gizmo belongs and take it there.
• Check the map if you're unsure where the places are.
• Anything that is not documented goes into the Offbeat Receiving room.
• If there are a lot of donation coming in, concentrate on the biggest items (like monitors, printers, and scanners) first.

Telephones

Systems	Evaluation 1
CRT Monitors	Keepers go in monitor testing in the warehouse. Recyclers monitors go in the gaylord outside.
Printers	See printer triage. Keepers go in printerland in the warehouse. Recyclers go in the gaylord outside. Remove plastic and printer cartridges before recycling.
Scanners	Scanners with all of their cords go to printerland. Scanners without cords get recycled in the gaylord outside.		Speakers	Testing
Keyboards	Testing
Mice	Testing
Laptops	Give to a staff member
Apple Hardware	Mac shelf
Cards and Motherboards	Card and motherboard sorting
Floppy Drives	Recycle
CD-ROM Drives	Recycle
CD-RW and DVD Drives	Evaluation 2
Floppy Disks	"Data disks" box.
CD-ROMs	Destroy and put in "CD" box.
VCRs and DVD Players	A/V Box.
Stereo Systems	A/V Box.
Recycle
Cell Phones	Give to staff member.

Anything else

There are thousands of devices that can be incorporated into a computer that are not listed here. We take all of them. Additionally, there are many types of non-computer equipment that we do take. All of these should be dealt with by support staff if you don't know what they do; ask the staff member working Receiving.

Put the gizmos where they belong

• Check the documentation to see where that type of gizmo belongs and take it there.
• Check the map if you're unsure where the places are.
• Anything that is not documented goes into the Offbeat Receiving room.
• If there are a lot of donation coming in, concentrate on the biggest items (like monitors, printers, and scanners) first.

What to do when times are slow

• Study the documentation on the wall if it's unfamiliar to you. Keep in mind that it does change over time, so review it from time to time.
• Check with the Reuse Coordinator on duty for odd jobs that need doing.
• Clean up. Often there are abandoned cardboard boxes to break down and put away, sweeping up to be done, etc.

What about the big donations?

See Handling Corporate Donations at Receiving