COSTCO staffers have revealed the top annoyances they experience on a day-to-day basis.
While member interactions are typically a positive experience, some have cited difficulties at the warehouse retail giant over the years.
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Some intense stories and top pet peeves were divulged by several Costco workers in a recent and lengthy Reddit thread.
On top of the list, as one of the most annoying, pertained to members leaving merchandise where it shouldn’t be in and around the store.
“People leaving perishables in random places, throwing their trash in random places,” a fuming staffer emphasized.
They added that it was a kind of “rudeness I think we agree [doesn’t] belong in Costco.”
Another trash-related issue for Costco staffers involved the signature samples always handed out to customers.
The samples come in small paper cups, and a different peeved employee said they’ve found some members toss them behind the wooden pallets that products sit on.
Not only is it a difficult clean-up process, but the cups should be placed in the trash anyway.
“I don’t get it when the sample stations have garbage right next to it and we have garbage cans at the end of the aisles,” they snapped.
A third Costco employee also claimed that they’d found customers were mixing produce.
“Opening produce containers of apples, grapes, berries, mangos to make a new package,” they added in the Reddit thread.
Several other complaints included too many pets being brought in, “entering the gas station in the wrong direction,” and “standing in the middle of the aisle, oblivious to everyone around you.”
One of the most interesting answers from a Costco employee involved a customer “setting up a portable potty and having her child use it in a food aisle.”
SATISFACTION SHIFT
Costco even recently had a drop in customer satisfaction rates, per a survey from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).
The survey had customers rate their experiences at 19 different retailers.
Costco membership sharing guidelines
Costco has strict rules for membership use that shoppers must follow and they’ve been cracking down on offenders in recent years.
- Primary Member Use: Only the primary cardholder can use this Costco membership card. Sharing it for purchases is not allowed as the photo on the card must match the person using it.
- Household Card: Each primary member can add one free household cardholder who lives at the same address. This person will receive their own membership card and can shop at Costco independently.
- Guest Policy: Members can bring up to two guests per visit to Costco. However, only the member can make purchases. Guests must be accompanied by the member.
- Authorized Cardholder: For an additional fee, you can add an authorized cardholder, such as a family member or friend, who doesn’t reside at your address. They will receive their own card and can shop independently.
Credit: Costco
For this year, Costco has an 81% satisfaction rate, down from 85%.
It placed the warehouse retailer in seventh place from first on the list.
Southern grocery chain H-E-B was voted America’s favorite.
EXPERT’S THOUGHTS
Retail analyst Neil Saunders said that several factors likely contributed to the dip that don’t involve the staff’s pet peeves, per DailyMail.com.
That includes long checkout wait times, congested parking lots, and Costco’s limited e-commerce presence.
Still, Saunders argued that the slight dip was relatively inconsequential overall.
“Costco is extremely successful and its above-average growth rates don’t reflect the lower satisfaction rating,” he explained.
Costco’s also making some significant changes in 2025.
This includes the replacement of Pepsi with another popular soda brand in the in-store food courts.
Costco also recently confirmed price drops in April, with a popular garden gadget listed for just under $10.
