Costco Sucks
29It’s been eight months since I originally wrote the below blog post about my first experience at Costco. My first experience did suck, but after shopping there a number of times since then I have the place figured out pretty well. We usually end up going to the grocery store or Target afterward to get the items Costco did not have (or that we could not find). We shop at Costco about once per month and I feel we do save a little bit of money each year after paying the $50 membership, so I put up with it. Original post is below -
My wife and I walked through Costco a month ago and decided to purchase a membership today (Sunday) after church so we could purchase some items and try to save some money. After 1.5 hours at the place, I was ready to go and couldn’t wait to get out of there. Mainly because the place was extremely busy and everybody was lost and standing around in the middle of the isles. Yes, I am an impatient person. I’m the “get what you need and go” type. Anyway, below is a hint at my experience and why I’ve decided Costco sucks.
- Costco does not accept Visa or Mastercard credit cards. Only American Express. This is bullshit. I’ve never heard of a company doing this. I wonder if they realize that Visa and Mastercard are more popular than American Express and that most of the population does not have an American Express card? They will, however, accept a Visa or Mastercard debit card. When you go to Costco you don’t just spend twenty dollars, you spent hundreds. Most Americans these days will need to put that on credit. Many other Americans, like me, do not use credit cards anymore because they always screw you on the fees and cost you more than they’re worth. Costco has dramatically limited the number of customers that will, or can, shop at their store by requiring cash or American Express.
- No isle signs. As a new customer and most of the return customers shopping at Costco today, we were all totally lost. They have huge crowded isles and the customers are pushing a loaded two hundred pound tank of a shopping cart all over the store looking for items. Let me give you a hint Costco executives… have you every been to a grocery store? Ever noticed the handy little signs hanging above the isles stating the kinds of products located in that isle?
- Little to no organization. I might actually be able to answer the question above on my own as I realized there isn’t any organization of the pallet loads of product in each isle. One isle had a pallet of ginormous containers of Pine Sol right next to a pallet of grape juice, the bed mattresses are stocked just above the Velveeta cheese, and the bread is in the opposite corner of the store from the bakery.
- Odd sized packaging. How is the consumer supposed to easily figure out if they’re saving money at your store if all your products are odd sizes and off brand? The house branded Kirkland I can understand, but when it comes to standard brand name products like cereal, soda, and paper products, it’s difficult to compare. The coke products are not standard 12 or 24 packs, they’re 32 packs or something like that. I could easily calculate the saving if it were a 30 pack, but they made it 32 just to be difficult.
- No plastic bags at the checkout. Again, ever been to a standard retail store?
- No “mobile” employees. The only employees you find at the store is the door guards, returns people, cashiers, and a guy in the deli. That’s it! You know why nobody is working the floor at Costco? Because they’d be bombarded by customers who are lost all day!
- Their selection sucks. Costco has a little bit of everything, but not enough of anything. They have six kinds of cereal to choose from, three kinds of shampoo, one kind of any paper product, one choice for frozen pizza, two kinds of dog food, etc. This also limits the customers’ ability to compare costs as Costco doesn’t have what you want. The main reason we paid for a Costco membership is for cheap diapers. They have one brand of diapers, which is fine, but they start at size 2, which is for 15 to 22lb babies. My son was born at 7lbs and is now 9lbs. Huggies makes a newborn and size 1 Costco! Stock the product line or don’t stock it at all!
- They don’t accept manufacturer coupons.
After we loaded our cart I’d had it. I was ready to ask for a refund and had walked half way back up to the returns desk where I just paid $50 for a membership (I did not get the American Express card with the membership). I decided that we’ll just have to come on weekdays when it’s not so busy and we’re limited to a few products there. Cheap diapers is the main reason we paid for the membership and they didn’t even have the right size. It’s difficult to tell if I save any money at Costco, which is the only reason anybody shops there.
Hi I'm Nick Bartlett and thanks for visiting my blog. I'm not much of a writer; many of my posts are short and to the point while others are meant to be a reference for myself and other web developers.
I’ve been a Costco member for several months since our BJ’s closed. I’m going to cancel my membership for all of the reasons you stated. The deal-breaker for me was that they close at 6 p.m. on a Saturday. WTF?
I agree, I do not live right around the corner. Saturdays are one of the few times in the week where a working family can get out. This in itself makes Costco useless to me.
1) They accept cash, debit or amex credit cards due presumably to some sort of deal with American Express. If you don’t have the cash available on hand or in the bank, what’re you doing spending that much money? Costco is not as much a grocery store as a bulk warehouse. Up until a few years ago you couldn’t even have a membership unless you were associated with a business.
2) I can only speak for the warehouse I frequent, but aisle signs aren’t necessary. One side is hardlines, one is food, center area is seasonal. Things are coherent within each aisle (aisle for baking supplies, aisle for canned goods, aisle for detergent…). Yes, you may need to walk through your first time to figure out where stuff is, but it’s not that hard.
3) That’s either a mistake of that warehouse’s manager or you’re being intentionally obtuse. The only time I’ve seen something like that mashup is on the fence at the front of the store – which is a special case.
4) Every sign has the per unit cost on it. (Price per 100ml, Price per package, etc). And it’s ‘odd’ because Costco chooses not to deal with smal amounts – their attitude is quantity rather than markup. This is why you’ll find, say, lemon juice being sold in a pack of two bottles. Quantity. As for the 32 flat of coke, that’s how the Coca-Cola company delivers their cans to businesses (I worked at a coffee shop for a while, that’s what they shipped us.). Costco is just stocking the highest quantity available.
5) Ever try a plastic bag big enough to hold the bulk items they sell? It’ll fall right apart under any sort of load and instead your complaint will be “Cheap plastic bags at the checkout”. When available, they offer you boxes that product has come in as it’s actually resiliant enough to hold the product. As well, they sell re-usable bags made from recyclable material. My location has a four pack for $4 or so. Reuse… Recycle… Blast them for being environmentally responsible!
6) Depends on the location. They’re should be a security employee on the floor as well as the merchandising department. The number depends on the size of the warehouse. Perhaps you didn’t see them because, out of respect for the employees, Costco allows their employees to just wear a name tag – not a brightly coloured schmok. Regardless, if you had put any effort in to finding anyone (front end is full of people, sales) they would’ve answered your question or found someone who could. If you insist on having all the work done for you, you could’ve just asked the cashier and they would’ve sent an employee out on the floor to get it for you.
7) You seem to have gone in with the wrong expectations. Costco is not a grocery store, it’s a warehouse. They don’t stock the 100’000 items that Wal-Mart does, instead they stock somewhere more like 4’000. They don’t sell individual items, they sell bulk packs. They don’t have a variety of schmok-laden folks running around the floor pandering to your needs.
And rest assured, Costco _has_ considered all these “grocery store” things, but in the long run, it’s not what the core customer base wants and it’s not the market they’re in. They run warehouses that sell bulk items cheaply. They are not a grocery store. They do not compete with grocery stores.
I started working at Costco about 6 months ago. Before that, I had never had any dealings with them (I had never shopped there). During orientation, the one thing they continually drilled into our heads was their ‘game plan’:
1) Treat the members well.
2) Treat the employees well.
3) Treat the suppliers well,
Do all of the above and you should:
4) Return a profit to the shareholders.
All in all, they continually drill in being responsible. They have committed to not only meeting any legal requirements, but exceeding them by 10%. They require all employees (big and small) to sign a “Gratuity” agreement which basically states that any gift accepted from a member, supplier, potential supplier, etc, is grounds for immediate dismissal. They set out an employee agreement where they outline pay, benefits, bonuses, non-acceptable behaviour and associated punishment.
Starting pay is several dollars above minimum here with regular raises. They pay a premium for any skilled position (forklift driver, cashier, meat cutter). They give you benefits even if you’re only part-time. They give you a yearly bonus of several hundred dollars after a short time there reaching up into the few thousand dollar range for employees who have been there several years.
Since I’ve started working there, I’ve started shopping there as well for the prices, and for the return policy. “Anytime, any reason – just bring your receipt.” I’ve seen us accept a return on a pack of eight steaks – the customer brought back half a cooked steak and said they didn’t like them. They got all of their money back. We’ve accepted a return on a Plasma TV – the only reason I saw on the tag was “Window glare” – all their money back.
All in all, I shop there and continue to work there because I like to support a responsible corporation – it’s a nice change.
Wow, your comment was longer than my rambling. I was not being “intentionally obtuse”.. that’s where the product is stocked. I was waiting for the part where you said you were employed by Costco… It’s not that difficult for you to figure out where everything is when you work there.
i wouldn’t sweat that last post Nick. i work at a costco, and i garan-dam-tee you that last bit was posted by a costco manager. he can say what he wants…
I agree that comment had to come from a Costco Head Office person. Costco is so busy alot of the time that even if we as employees try and do the right thing for the member, we get complaints all the time for limited staff working. The only way things get done for a member is if you complain to a manager, then see how much they kiss your ass!
Fuck off! You’re just another typical suck ass who probably printed this out and took it to the General Mgr. and told him “look…..look what I did! Costco sucks all the employees are all stuck-up and think cause they make more than minimum wage they are high and mighty. Let’s see when they close down Costco what they are gonna do. Cause the cat is out of the hat………Costco has plans to sell and guess who is buying? …………yup my favorite store SAMs/Walmart! Yup! Welcome back bitches!
Ugh Walmart? Really? That is such a disgusting place full of smelly, fat, trailer trash customers and employees. If I wanted to go to the zoo I would. Regardless of whether or not Costco sucks Walmart will always suck more.
I’m confident you’re not the only one sharing that opinion of Wal-mart.
I think Galley offered a lot of helpful insight into the in’s and outs of shopping at Costco. I agree with all the things you were irritated about, and yet, I realized that they wouldn’t be able to offer the discounts and the deals that they do. Take it or leave it, if you’re willing to put in the effort and time, you’ll be the better off financially for it.
i agree that costco sucks,their selection is very limited and really their prices arent that good! they only sem cheaper because you are buying larger quantities! when i price compare where i live in edmonton alberta canada ,i can always get better food ,better selection and better prices at superstore or wal mart! after you pay $50 for a membership you should be able to use a visa if you want! i really think it is greed for them to get money from amex for exclusivity!(dont be niave ,thats the real reason for it)! in a time of recession ,they should make it easier to shop there ,not harder! they lost me forever!
I totally agree-Costco sucks! I worked for them, and they actually time the cashiers. If you do not move fast enough, you will hear about it. And they do not believe in training their employees either (time is money). They are totally in bed with Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and American Express. I will never ever buy anything from Costco-they suck!!!
HMM.. THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCK ASS. PLUS THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE F**KING RUDE.
great experience, dude! thanks for this great post wow… it’s very wonderful report.
Oh, Come on! Like Adam said on 4-2009 in response to your post that Costco sucks is all true even though he works there or is a manager.. He lays out the core of the warehouse practice and it is clear for all what Costco is about whether you like it or not. He states FACTS plain and simple. I am reading this over a year and half later and I have been a happy costco customer for ten years now. In the beginning I did got lost but just went with the flow and learned where everything was, after all having bought a membership I knew I was in a warehouse club where things were bulked and packed in boxes. My husband and I went with two carts and we filled both to the top. The comparison prices are very simple and if you have the regular price of the items you want to compare in mind or on a notebook you could easily do the math and see how mush you save. Yes Walmart does things differently but if you compare prices and quantities you will see Costco gives you more benefits!!
In all and for the next time that you are in a new place, here is some advice, do some research of the place before you shop so that you don’t waste time getting lost and frustrated
Costco really sucks
They don’t want to put signs on the aisle, there is no consistency in how products are grouped in aisles and they have the arrogance to say it is their policy not to post signs on aisles
Obviously there is nobody to answer any question and when by miracle you come accross an employee (or most likely a vendor promoting his goods) his answer is wrong as they don’t know any better the “logic” of aisle arrangements
Their only purpose is to force you to walk miles in aisles hoping that you would buy more than you planned or need.
This insult to consumers’ intelligence should not be rewarded !
After waisting time walking miles in the shop, you have to waste more time at the register as they have only 3 or 4 cashiers even on busy week ends
What a travesty of retail experience? In addition to milking membership fees…
I miss BJ’s and I might return to Sam’s Club despite my dislike of Walmart social policies…
Costoc is just taking its customers for granted and being arrogant!
Hmmm. I am not sure what Costco you frequent, but every Costco I have gone to has much, much more than “3 or 4 cashiers even on busy weekends.” How can they not? The place is a zoo with all the customers! And the cashiers always go really quickly; it’s the customers who slow things down.
We were on our monthly Costco trip yesterday and we could not find the baby car seats they had on an end cap previously. We could not find anybody to help, so we went to the front and waited in line for a cashier. The cashier didn’t know where they were, so she called another lady to help. This lady told me they were in the opposite corner of the store than where I remember them being. Apparently they’ve been there all along as it sounded. Well, they weren’t there. The employee didn’t know what she was talking about as I’d never seen car seats over there. In the end, we found them tucked under a huge rack and there were only a couple left.
if soviet union opened a big box store i would be costco.
In soviet russia store buys you!
I painted the Federal way Costco in Washington state. After alot of work and ALOT of bullshit on their part they refused to pay. While the job was going they said excellent work. Thesse people want us o think their rigididy is to save us money haveng been behind they scenec there a bunch of controll freak motherf#$@ers who can’t stand for anyone to have a shred of dignity or self controll. Someday they will fall and plenty will cheer. I’ll be one of them. you cannot escape your karma. ASSHOLWS!
Costco is selling and Walmart is buying!
Costco is a horrible shopping experience for all the reasons listed above. I’ve let my membership expire and will not renew it.
$50 per year for the “privlege” of shopping there?
There’s no help in the isles. The checkout lines are long and then after you’ve paid for your merchandise they hold you up again at the the exit door to check your receipt. Once I’ve paid for that merchandise it’s mine and they can go to hell. They only do that to try to keep their cashiers honest. I used to walk right past those exit gatekeepers and was threatened with having my membership revoked. Yeah, right. Chase me into the parking and find out that property was legally mine. Next you’ll hear from my lawyer.
I used to think one of the benefits of being a memberr were the cheap gas prices. They aren’t anymore. They won’t even tell you over the phone what their prices are. An independent agency in my county reports prices at local gas stations and there is usually one closer to me for a penny more.
Like I said, $50/yr for the privilege of all that? Never again.
I am speaking specifically of the Costco in Oxnard near the border with Camariio, CA in Ventura County.
Be advised in California you don’t need to be a member to go inside to the pharmacy. It’s a state law for them to operate a pharmacy without charging a membership fee.
I agree, checking your receipt on the way out is pretty ridiculous. A few times the line to wait and have someone scan over the items in your cart has been 20 – 30 people long and takes 6-7 minutes to get through, which is longer than it takes to checkout! They could just install an electronic scanner at the door like most other stores and let us be on our way.
Costco pharmacy has limited choices, their supplements are 2-3x what I can get online, and their attitude sucks, and the supplements’ formulas are poor.
Costco overcharges cash customers. We not only pay for others to use AMEX but are charged more for the products as well becsaue we receive no rebates as the AMEX card holders do. This situation is deplorable and needs to be rectified. Shame on Cosstco and other retailers for allowing this to happen…it is an unfair business practice.
COSTCO SUX. I was a loyal buyer, HUGE buyer of stuff. over 10 k a year for multiple years. in that time there will be a few screwups on their part liek in getting a fridge outta the place or putting on tires. when that happens they turn into prison guards in their attitude. wildly anti-custoimer even for someone liek me who probably has bought what 35k+ in stuff??? Screw them I quit them and their bizzare attitude. as for the stores, like DUH they cant figure out how to put a few digital directories in the store so we knwo where stuff is? Nah, that woudl cut into their bottom line who cares abotu the customer experieince just get em in and get em out. I refuse to participate!