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First of all, I love Costco. I've been a member for almost 20 years. But...a couple of pet peeves:
Price Matching Their Online Items: I've had this happen a couple of times. I buy something on their site, then it goes on sale afterward. So I take the item to the store, and they will refund my purchase and then I can order it again at the lower price. That's all well and good. But they won't simply give you the difference and let you return home with the original item. That is SO inefficient on their part.
The original item is now used and can't go back into the inventory, and another item has to be shipped out. I realize that Costco would have a corporate account with the shipper, so a second shipping doesn't really cost them what it would you or I, but it's still a waste.
Self-Service Checkout: Loved it, but they discontinued them. For single people like me that never really fill up our cart, they were great to get through quickly.
We've never had self check out in our stores. Sam's Club has an app where you can scan & pay for your items on the app with your credit card and never go through the checkout. I'm waiting for Costco to offer that. Even better than self checkout.
Supply smaller carts alongside their jumbo ones.
Offer two smaller pies/cakes instead of one that feeds 12+ people!
Have fries at all their snack bars. Farther store has them, hometown store doesn't.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDGeek
My problems with Costco:
There aren't enough of them around here so they're always mobbed
The people who shop at Costco around here tend to be from other countries, and apparently those countries' cultures are rude and pushy when shopping
Costco is pricier than Sam's both for membership and for merchandise
Costco does not have as many fresh fruit/vegetable offerings as Sam's does, and those they do have are unreliable
Costco frequently stops selling an item out of the blue with no warning; it's unusual to see this at Sam's
Costco employees here have ranged from mediocre to rude and surly
The checkout lines are excruciating and there's no scan & go app like Sam's has
In a nutshell...Costco kind of sucks. I let my membership expire two years ago and haven't been back since.
We have had a very different experience here, though we are only 6 miles from Costco corporate headquarters which could affect it. We have 3 within 20 minutes, in Issaquah, Kirkland, and the newest in Redmond. Since that new one opened Issaquah is not nearly as crowded, but Redmond never has more than 2-3 people in line at each checkout, and we have never had to wait for gas, since there are 4 sets of 4 pumps, 2-side so 32 cars can fill at once. We gave up our Sam's membership when they quit carrying several of our favorite items, and because the nearest is 45 minutes away. All of our Costco employees have been friendly, knowledgeable and efficient. The Redmond store customers are probably 50% from India, so they carry a lot of Indian foods we have never heard of, and reminds me of the one in Vancouver, B.C. They still have all the usual stuff, it's just a bigger store, well planned based on area demographics.
We've never had self check out in our stores. Sam's Club has an app where you can scan & pay for your items on the app with your credit card and never go through the checkout. I'm waiting for Costco to offer that. Even better than self checkout.
Supply smaller carts alongside their jumbo ones.
Offer two smaller pies/cakes instead of one that feeds 12+ people!
Have fries at all their snack bars. Farther store has them, hometown store doesn't.
Yes!!! I wish they would do that as well. Some of our local Walmarts have done that. I'm surprised I can't find them at Sam's Clubs though. Sam's used to have movie DVDs but since some people thought they could do a five fingered take away, us honest folks take the brunt of that. I thought they would have those theft devices attached or they could leave the cardboard pic of the movie and you take the paper to cashier, they scan, you pay and then pick up the item from their locked storage room.
Also wish they would provide salt and pepper packets. Mr C and I ofteN get their turkey provolone and like pepper on it. I just save a couple of pepper packets from a previous meal and when we stop at Costco and feel like splitting a sandwich, we'll have some pepper.
One more thing: when we're shopping, sometimes have the urge to use the rest room but it's difficult on a busy day to get between the shopping side to the bathroom side.
The parking lot is always full. We need a bigger store and more parking spaces but with land at a premium here, that's not going to happen.
The snack bar workers will never give me a berry sundae that is only half-full, even though I state specifically that's what I want. "Full" is way too much for me to eat and it's started melting and dripping down the sides of the cup before I even get to the car. Then I have a sloppy mess to clean up. It would be different if one could actually get a seat in the store. But no. Seems like everybody in this town has a Costco membership.
About half the time the optical department gets my prescription wrong. They blame the ophthalmologist.
The sweet spot for going to Costco is between 3 and 3:30 pm. Earlier or later than that and you're going to be caught in the Night of the Living Dead People Looking to Score Lots of Free Food Samples. They clog aisles to get a tiny bite of a tortilla.
It's just not worth the effort any more. I find myself shopping at Whole Foods more these days.
Pet Peeve. Literally. When they stopped selling Clay Cat Litter. I don't like Scoop Litter. No choice? Other than that, I loved Costco. We moved to a different state where the closest Costco is about 40 miles away. Too far away. Now have BJ's. Costco was better but BJ's does sell Clay Cat Litter.
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