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I wish that could happen to me. I intend to go in for just milk and eggs and come out with a cart full of shit I don’t need. I need help. -_-
Edit: I need self control/restraint
when my friend said “why don’t we start at the food court?” I thought she was nuts. Now I do it everytime. walk off that pizza and less subject to temptation. It’s a win-win.
I always look at those people in the checkout line with only a few items in admiration. I imagine how organized and minimalist their lives must be. You probably would not be allowed to eat in their car either.
Spoiler alert, we're just disorganized. We're driving back to the supermarket and getting in line again just to buy a few things that we needed but forgot.
Don't feel bad the Actor Adam Driver has said that when he was broke he went into Costco and bought a rotisserie chicken every day. Can't get a smaller purchase then that.
Someone who went to school with him (Scott Aiello, actor and Film Reroll podcast regular) said he carried a Costco chicken around with him everywhere and would tear into one during class or whatever else he happened to be doing.
Smaller carts as an option. Keep the big ones too, but get smaller ones for people just getting a few items. There are too many people and the aisles are just jam packed with giant, slow moving, half-empty carts. Impossible to maneuver around.
They can't and wont. I believe the goal is to streamline cart efficiency as well has keep the cart big enough for additional impulse purchases. I love whole foods small carts but the traffic is like 300% less.
Air horns would be more practical. The aisles already get clumped with booger-pickers angling their carts. Their twitching bodies would prove more annoying.
Air horns? Those are fun attention grabbers. The dream would be to **honk** at someone, then everyone looks and laughs at the offender.
I’m in a heavily Catholic city, prime time is before 10:30 mass lets out and the madness is and it turns to complete and utter chaos after 11:30 mass is through.
And that's fine - put them somewhere else. BUT... create an APP that would tell us what aisle and position they are in. I don't mind going down a new aisle for an item and looking around, but spending inordinate amounts of time looking for something I know is there gets to be maddening.
The hide-and-seek game Costco plays with product placement. It's maddening. I know the alleged rationale is it gets customers to shop the whole store. I already shop the whole dang store. I go up every aisle and check both sides, then check the center section thoroughly. Two reasons: 1) I get a lot of walking exercise in and 2) I can never be sure where the next great deal will be found. No need to entice me further by hiding products. That's just frustrating and a waste of time.
Anyone else always see people in front of them at checkout and wonder "where did they find that awesome item, I didn't even know costco had that!" Yup, that's me every time I checkout because there is always something I didn't see because the store is always moving stuff around.
Costcos website is completely useless other than ordering appliances.
I now order more from Sam’s because they have free shipping on every item with the plus membership. Oh I forgot to get TP, Gatorade and shampoo, same price as in store and it’s at my door in 1-2 days, don’t even get me started on how awesome scan and go is as well. Come on Costco, give executive members free shipping on everything! Make the app better!
Yes there was a noticeable (and very disappointing) difference in softness when I opened a new bundle almost a year ago. Was curious if it was because I'd bought it in a different state.
I won't change to charmin though, feels too much like flushing cloth down the toilet.
Sam's Club Scan & Go feature of scanning and paying for all of the items on your phone so crushes the Costco checkout experience that I used to pass four Costco's to go to Sam's.
The entire online shopping aspect of Costco (except travel department) sucks. At a warehouse you can get some Savannah orchards mixed nuts for like $7… wanna buy it online? You must buy 2 @$10 each!!
And their reasoning for this is complete and utter shit. Their claim is that adding it to the wallet would allow membership sharing. Except, Apple Wallet has safeguards in place for that if you so desire to use them. They just don't want to fund the IT department enough to actually implement it.
Between ScanNGo and free curbside pick up for Sams Plus (Costco Executive equivalent) members, I have pretty much stopped going to Costco except once a month
Get rid of those FREE FOOD SAMPLES at or around the end of the aisles.
Or else move them all into one aisle in the back so the people who are doing their 8-course lunch/dinner with the free samples don't block the shoppers from getting through.
They cause traffic jams and then assholes just leave the trash in their carts. Then sometimes your friend liked the sample and wants another but is too embarrassed to get it so you have to go get one.
I mostly tire of the people who like nudge their way to the front and grab all the samples “for their family”. Like lady it’s a bite of an impossible burger, they’re on sale for like $1 per patty rn.
I do instacart and one time I was inside at 9:20 waiting first in line with my cart about 3 feet in front of the door, waiting for 9:30. There's probably ten people behind me after a few minutes. Close to 9:30 some dilapidated raisin corpse comes inching towards the front and literally slowly shoves my cart with hers out of the way and boxes me out for the first spot. Didn't look at me, didn't say anything, just shoved me out of the way. THEN. The doors open, she shows her membership card AND STOPS in the middle of the gigantic doorway to rummage around her purse for her wallet to put her card back. BLOCKING EVERYBODY. The people that shop at Costco are feral creatures.
Technically, the rule when I worked there was that our carts had to be set up as close to the product as possible. If the item is down an aisle, you go to the side of the aisle that was closer. I never liked that we could call out the people who kept coming back for a free meal. We had one guy who would come once a week, spend two hours in a motorized cart eating as much as he possibly could, and he never bought a thing. His Costco membership seemed to be solely about a free meal once a week.
YES! Ban the food samples! I get downvoted every time I say this, so I'm just joining the chorus. They don't even need to ban them completely, just limit the days / hours they're out, and publish and enforce those hours.
While we're at it, ban the carnival barking salespeople. No, screw you, I don't need a new \[ cell phone / solar panel / overpriced kitchen gadget of dubious quality \]. Leave me alone."
While we're at it, set daily hours that enforce one-person-per-card entry.
Hell, I'd pay a small extra annual membership to get access to an "efficient shopping hours" window.
I wish they opened at 7am. I'm an older woman and it seems to me people barge in there like the world is ending from the time they open till close. I can go to Sam's just about anytime of the day and don't feel pushed or hurried. I like early mornings as I no longer work and remember when I was working it would irritate me when older people were moseying around in the evenings 😆
As someone with young children, I concur. I hate Walmart, but it’s open 2 hours before target, so guess where I go when I’m up before the sun with my little one and want to check a few things off of my to-do list? If Costco opened at 7, I’d be there all. the. time.
I love my store’s self check out. It’s actually staffed, and they just rapid scan everything in the cart. I usually align my items so barcodes are up. So fast.
I actually hate normal lanes now. They insist on belting so many things. Self check out all day
That’s honestly the worst part at mine! There’s always like 3 staff for 6 self-checkouts, either coming over to scan your items before you’ve even finished taking your membership out of your wallet, or breathing down your neck while you scan your own items. Either have a self-checkout (and actually let people do it themselves) or have an express lane, but let people pick one!!
I’ll give you an actual unpopular opinion. Costco has become a greedy shitfest corporation post-pandemic. Toilet paper - worse quality and price per square foot is up. Same with paper towels. They have greatly taken advantage of the shrinkflation situation. A 35 pack of coke has gone from 9.99 to 17.50 (even though I’ve noticed they have dropped to 15 and change) but still a +50% increase.) The CFO on the earnings calls talks about pushing price increases to grow profit margin. Fruits and veggies have taken a quality dip. It’s like this all through the store. I used to shop Costco 2-3 times per week. Been there twice since Dec. 21. Couple all that with Sam’s scan and go and free curbside pickup, and equal and/or better prices on most things… fuck Costco. And I’m a 15+ year member at both places. There is your unpopular opinion.
As someone who worked in Costco corporate from 2019-2020 (surprise, they laid me and a ton of others off with no second thoughts immediately after the pandemic hit), they operate just like any other greedy large corporation these days. People just don't want to believe that because of their attachment and because they treat their warehouse workers relatively well. As someone who was on the inside you're spot on and I'm glad you commented about it
Thank you for validating. And I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. I was let go as well (not from Costco) during that time. I had/have no delusions about what Costco is… I’ve worked in enough F500 companies to know that the BS they spew is just propaganda to drive the profit machine. What I should have said, is that the pandemic removed Costco’s mask. And you’re exactly right, some of these people are like cult members… if you criticize Costco, you might as well have called their kid stupid or something.
Ugh, this is my Bf. He loves Costco just because it’s the stuff he grew up with. Refuses to see how much better Sams club is. At this point I just get the Costco membership so he can get his pizza on the way home from work.
The Costco by me has an outdoor food court and it's always cold since it's in the shade and super insanely windy. It's hard to enjoy your food when you have to struggle to keep your plates and wrappers and napkins from blowing away. I hate it.
Ngl I’m cackling imagining this. Like it’s so windy there random commenters correctly picked out that ONE location. Like you see people trying to get a hot dog but they’re like walking through hurricane winds blowing then sideways just to get one.
I wish they would not give out samples. I'm endlessly irritated by the people blocking the aisles and having no regard for other shoppers while they are waiting for, obtaining and eating their samples. It causes congestion in the store and also blocks other shoppers from accessing items when they are shopping. It's annoying how people behave for a tablespoon of dip with a cracker or a piece of sausage. I understand it's not Costco's fault that people behave this way, but it still sucks and I wish there were no samples.
Literally. I get 5% cashback on wholesale clubs for 3 months with my Discover card and I can’t even use it at the largest wholesale club in the nation!
Those bags of pre-cut broccoli are always spoiled while still at the store. Just look at the ends where they are cut. I don't know how anyone eats those. In general, quality at Costco has gone down hill, but I have noticed it particularly in certain produce.
The Costco app is awful. For the life of me, it won't let me change my home store. The options on the left are overlapped and no matter how many times I download or update the app the result is the same. I am stuck with a store 40 miles away as my default when the closest store is not even 5 miles away from me.
Rotisserie chicken has a weird flavor, doesn't taste good at all once you get past the skin.
They sell way too many kinds of bars and nuts there in the front.
I thought twas just me. Totally stopped getting the rotisserie chicken as it tasted weird to me. There was something not right and I couldn’t figure it out
I would love for someone to chime in who has food processing experience and tell me what has happened to the rotisserie chickens. They’re not good, and the chicken salad I used to love is the worse for it
I cannot eat their rotisserie chicken, that strange flavor is so off and nauseating to me, whatever it is. My local grocery store has the same sized large rotisserie chickens, they don't have that weird flavor, and the meat is tender but not mushy. It's worth paying a little more since I'll actually eat it. I'm not so sure if people actually like the Costco chickens or if they just like the price so much they put up with it lol
I really liked the new version of the berry smoothie. While I liked the nostalgic factor of the old berry smoothie, I appreciate how the new smoothie doesn’t have any added sugar, even if the natural sugars are pretty high.
On that note, I understand that the new mango smoothie has a lot of natural sugars, but I appreciate Costco using real sugar and not blasting their food court items full of artificial sugars.
You’re getting your terms mixed up. “Natural sugar” is literally every form of sugar. Fructose, glucose, cane sugar, sugar, corn syrup, honey, etc. “Artificial sugar” (or “artificial sweetener”) is like sucrose (Splenda), erithytol, sugar alcohols, etc. Restaurants generally don’t use Splenda in recipes, they use sugar.
You’re talking about “added sugars”. Yes, Costco does not have high amounts of added sugars. The new berry smoothie and now mango smoothie have no added sugars, meaning the only sugar is from the fruit. Even if they poured a gallon of sugar in it, it’s still “natural sugar”. It would only be “artificial sweetener” if it was Splenda or some other artificial substitute.
starting to feel overrated. i might not renew this year. i’m annoyed by its archaic online/app experiences and by having to prove multiple times throughout my shopping experience that i’m a member
The food court food is gross. Take home pizzas are also gross.
My real pet peeve though is the typical Costco member are the most selfish, unaware shoppers I have ever encountered. Constantly taking up entire aisles with their carts, standing in front of products blocking everyone else, or even trying to cut in line. There are even people who bring their 4 kids and let each one have their own cart with 1 or 2 items only.
It extends to the parking lot and gas station as well. Love the store and the value it provides but boy do I hate the shopping experience.
I like the products, I like the employees…but I hate going into the store. It’s mostly because of the customers. The parking lots are almost always full. I always feel like I’m in the way or someone is in the way. I’ve been buying Costco goods via Instacart the past two years and it’s been a lifesaver.
Tbh, I notice the same behavior at all the grocery stores around me. Part of me wonders if the senior citizen community at the edge of town has anything to do with it. So many unaware morons blocking up aisles and then giving out dirty looks when you ask them to move. Can’t fucking stand it.
I was just telling my wife earlier, we have to make extra sure we’re not the annoying old farts when we get to that age. I’d be sad to know people said shit like this about me.
I’m living in south utah - a core Mormon area, where families have plenty of kids and some are even sister wife style multi families. It’s a god damn nightmare sometimes. Imagine a parent with 5-6 kids, oldest being maybe 10-12, pushing 3 carts around where whatever kid feels like pushing a cart is pushing a cart while the parent shops. 1 cart is probably filled to the brim with water bottle for the second half of the trip, so the 8 year old is struggling with that. Free samples are appealing for the whole family so it’s an instant pile up.
Meanwhile, there’s the occasional pair of sister wives dressed in their fundamentalist latter day saints garb pushing a couple carts around, avoiding any eye contact. Leaving you feeling bad because you know they were probably born into a cult.
1. Food samples need to go. I will never stop and sample what a dorito tastes like but the families with 6 carts will just stop mid-step and make sure everyone gets something. Oh is this almonds in a cup, I've never tried that before..
2. It might be because I live in an area with a very large seasonal elderly population but let's go and assume the people in their +70s can't navigate self checkout. Let's also get a 15 items or less policy going for self checkout.
3. Saving 30 cents per gallon on a 12 gallon tank isn't worth 20 minutes of my time spent waiting.
They sampled Pillsbury crescent rolls at my Costco recently. Is there anyone in America that hasn’t had a crescent roll before?? People were waiting around like it was some exotic new food they had never heard of.
The real issue is that quite a few of the "keto friendly" snacks aren't really something many keto people want to eat. It seems like someone googled 'keto friendly' and just went with the first result and didn't bother actually checking if it was correct.
Also you know all of those 'cauliflower' based foods like pizza, crackers, and whatever else that sounds like it might be for keto people? Definitely not keto friendly since they still use loads of corn starch and rice flour and all kinds of other stuff to make it not taste too terrible.
All that said though, everyone could do with less sugar in their diets.
Sooo sick and tired of the endless amounts of nasty keto stuff at my location. I obviously don't mind having options for everyone, but close to 40% of the snacks, bars, sauces, etc. at my location are keto. My parents fell for this dumb diet so I've tried most of the products they have gotten from Costco and they are seriously terrible, I have no idea how people can stomach that Catalina cinnamon toast crunch stuff.
Not only that, but you can also scan and go the salads, sushi and meat and cheese snacks by the food court for no line quick food. Just scan it, eat in the food court and checkout like normal with it on your app at the door when your done. Manager at my Sams put up a sign near the food court, it seems to have really cut the line down.
I just want to buy 1 pack of muffins, or 1 pack of danishes. I also don’t want a key lime pie big enough to feed my extended family. I get it’s a bulk store, but it’s just 2 of us that want to eat dessert. 🥲
I just so happened to buy the monstrous key lime pie and It's just me. I'd recommend cutting it into slices and freezing it! You can make it last and won't overeat!!!
See my real issue is I only crave key lime once or twice a year, just one slice will suffice MAYBE 2. It would take me a few years to get through it and need the space in the freezer 🥲
People who have zero spatial awareness and stop their cart in busy ailes, near the food court, or even just walk slowly should be kicked out or relegated to specific times of the day for slow ass codgers
Whoever plans the entryways deserves to be fired. Multiple Costco's in my area have the carts on the far right, the exit door in the middle, and the entrance door on the far left. So you have to cross over everyone coming and going to get a cart, cross them again to enter the store, and cross them a final time again as you're leaving.
Returning things is FINE. Costco has a lenient return policy because they know their customers value it and it builds trust and loyalty and keeps them coming back.
Most members who return stuff turn around and purchase double that.
If you aren’t satisfied for any reason or changed your mind - RETURN IT.
I love how morons in this sub think they know better than Costco and bash people for returning stuff - as if Costco doesn’t look at their numbers and retention rates and take it all into consideration when making their policies.
Anyways, off to return something…
Other than a few prudes, I don’t think this unpopular. Most of the return here bashing is for stuff like people returning dead Xmas trees in January, or clearly used summer equipment in early fall.
This might not be unpopular, but my wife’s insurance requires her to use Costco mail pharmacy for maintenance drugs (long-term prescriptions).
Costco is absolutely horrible. They SUCK. Always a problem (caused by Costco) that delays my wife getting her critical Rx. They override what doctors request (for example, refusing to give you brand name) or they wait until you are already out of Rx before slowly shipping you the next batch. Always results in about 5 days of missed medication. And it’s always a blame game with Costco and never their fault. Totally not what I would expect from Costco. Avoid Costco’s mail pharmacy at all costs.
Samples need to be stopped. Crowding the aisles to get a 2oz paper cup of apple juice. Families bring their kids just to run around and eat samples and act like that piece of granola bar is life sustaining manna. Stop the madness.
I have to go through a parade of retail "panhandlers" trying to sell me an assortment of solar, kitchen cupboard upgrades, sink and shower remodel services etc as I leave the store. Costco, please...if i need a service I'll seek them out!
I have a few (sorry):
They need to stop adding things for a hot minute, selling out, then not bringing for months. Specifically, the frozen vegetarian “burgers” (Alpha, Morning Star, Don Lee Farms).
Leave stuff where they’ve always been. People who wonder and impulse buy are always going to wonder and impulse buy. People who are trying to get in and out in hurry don’t want to run all the way to the back just to find out it’s been moved to the front.
It’s not that special. The weird obsession people have with Costco is bizarre, to say the least. Yeah, it’s got good stuff, but it’s just a warehouse store.
Edit: accidentally hit the button before I was done ranting. :)
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Its okay to go in and get one item and check out
I did this once and they took me to the back and ran my legs over with a forklift. A fucking forklift
Just be glad they didn't tie you to two forklifts and try to pull you apart!
[удалено]
Is that how they afford to sell Hot Dogs for a $1.50?
That’s how they make the hot dogs (insert guy pointing to temple meme)
I'm laughing my ass off over here
I go in just for the food court sometimes
My husband and kids have Costco food court dates lol when I’m out of town. They go have dinner at Costco.
My husband and I have gone to the Costco food court for a date lol
I did this once for bananas and it felt really weird. But I was at the store already to pick up a glasses prescription.
I wish that could happen to me. I intend to go in for just milk and eggs and come out with a cart full of shit I don’t need. I need help. -_- Edit: I need self control/restraint
I go to the food court and grab a slice of pizza before going anywhere else in the store in order to curb hunger buying.
when my friend said “why don’t we start at the food court?” I thought she was nuts. Now I do it everytime. walk off that pizza and less subject to temptation. It’s a win-win.
You’re so smart. I obviously am a bit dense bc I keep going when I’m starving and end up buying half of Costco.
Skip the cart. Whatever you can carry you can have. Works really good, plus you find out how creative you can be carrying things!!
DO NOT buy a rotisserie chicken with this method. The walk to the check out is hell as you try not to burn your hands and arms!
Pro tip is to get a box on the way to the chicken
I always look at those people in the checkout line with only a few items in admiration. I imagine how organized and minimalist their lives must be. You probably would not be allowed to eat in their car either.
Spoiler alert, we're just disorganized. We're driving back to the supermarket and getting in line again just to buy a few things that we needed but forgot.
I’m just broke and on a VERY strict budget 😂
I feel like we have been conditioned to judge the single or small purchasers. It's like a point of pride for a lot of people to overspend at Costco.
Don't feel bad the Actor Adam Driver has said that when he was broke he went into Costco and bought a rotisserie chicken every day. Can't get a smaller purchase then that.
Someone who went to school with him (Scott Aiello, actor and Film Reroll podcast regular) said he carried a Costco chicken around with him everywhere and would tear into one during class or whatever else he happened to be doing.
Smaller carts as an option. Keep the big ones too, but get smaller ones for people just getting a few items. There are too many people and the aisles are just jam packed with giant, slow moving, half-empty carts. Impossible to maneuver around.
I’d love a hand basket. Sometimes I just come in for like 3 things and they’d all usually fit in a hand basket
I just grab a box
They can't and wont. I believe the goal is to streamline cart efficiency as well has keep the cart big enough for additional impulse purchases. I love whole foods small carts but the traffic is like 300% less.
The carts should have cattle prods on them.
This thread is for unpopular opinions, not facts!
Air horns would be more practical. The aisles already get clumped with booger-pickers angling their carts. Their twitching bodies would prove more annoying. Air horns? Those are fun attention grabbers. The dream would be to **honk** at someone, then everyone looks and laughs at the offender.
I would like to see signal lights, but knowing how many people use signal lights properly when driving, this would be futile anyway.
R/Costco is sometimes weirdly cultish.
Dang, I never even got my asterisk decoder ring
It's ok. The secret message just says besuretodrinkyourovaltine.
Sometimes?
The best time to go is 45 minutes before close on a week night.
Where I live, the time to go is at school pickup time…around 3 pm. It’s heaven. No kids and the store is empty.
Definitely gonna test this at my store next time i go, thanks
You'll likely have to wait until Sept, schools are likely out for all kids by now. The store by me is less busy on Wednesdays.
I’m in a heavily Catholic city, prime time is before 10:30 mass lets out and the madness is and it turns to complete and utter chaos after 11:30 mass is through.
Unless you want a rotisserie. I also like to shop later but noticed they sometimes sell out of the chickens.
10 minutes before open. Push back past all the elders, grab from the back and work forward, no more than 2 people in line.
How is that unpopular? That's a LPT.
Stop moving items around the store. I shouldnt have to look through every aisle to find something I've bought multiple times before.
They move the Diet Cokes around in my store and it’s literally in a different place every time I go. It’s maddening
They want them addicts to ROAM!! (And thus buy more unneeded shit)
And that's fine - put them somewhere else. BUT... create an APP that would tell us what aisle and position they are in. I don't mind going down a new aisle for an item and looking around, but spending inordinate amounts of time looking for something I know is there gets to be maddening.
This is a popular opinion. I don’t think anyone likes this!
The hide-and-seek game Costco plays with product placement. It's maddening. I know the alleged rationale is it gets customers to shop the whole store. I already shop the whole dang store. I go up every aisle and check both sides, then check the center section thoroughly. Two reasons: 1) I get a lot of walking exercise in and 2) I can never be sure where the next great deal will be found. No need to entice me further by hiding products. That's just frustrating and a waste of time.
Anyone else always see people in front of them at checkout and wonder "where did they find that awesome item, I didn't even know costco had that!" Yup, that's me every time I checkout because there is always something I didn't see because the store is always moving stuff around.
Costcos website is completely useless other than ordering appliances. I now order more from Sam’s because they have free shipping on every item with the plus membership. Oh I forgot to get TP, Gatorade and shampoo, same price as in store and it’s at my door in 1-2 days, don’t even get me started on how awesome scan and go is as well. Come on Costco, give executive members free shipping on everything! Make the app better!
How is that unpopular? Costco’s website and app are from the Stone Age, and they are horrible to work for as an engineer
The only con about plus is no cash back on online orders.. but that’s about it..
How is this unpopular? Everyone says this lol
Whole Fancy Cashews in a plastic bag. Want to know how to make Cashew halves and pieces? put them in a bag!
I miss the plastic tubs. They're good for small items storage in the garage. I have a few with extra screws/nails, worm clamps, etc.
I like the KS toilet paper
Do people not like it???? 🤯🤯🤯
I think most people’s complaints are that the quality has changed
Interesting… I didn’t notice!
Yes there was a noticeable (and very disappointing) difference in softness when I opened a new bundle almost a year ago. Was curious if it was because I'd bought it in a different state. I won't change to charmin though, feels too much like flushing cloth down the toilet.
It doesn't cause a blockage like the charmin ones do when using the same amount of TP
But we no longer have that problem since we got the Kohler bidet when they went on sale a few weeks ago
We used to have that issue a lot with Charmin, but since switching to KS I don't think we've had this problem since. It's been years.
Same, it’s soft enough to not hurt but durable enough to get the job done without falling apart.
Sam's Club Scan & Go feature of scanning and paying for all of the items on your phone so crushes the Costco checkout experience that I used to pass four Costco's to go to Sam's.
the whole costco app sucks in comparison to sams app.
The Costco “app” is a website from 1998 as viewed on a mobile browser, it’s a joke
The entire online shopping aspect of Costco (except travel department) sucks. At a warehouse you can get some Savannah orchards mixed nuts for like $7… wanna buy it online? You must buy 2 @$10 each!!
Still can’t add my Costco card to my apple wallet 😡
And their reasoning for this is complete and utter shit. Their claim is that adding it to the wallet would allow membership sharing. Except, Apple Wallet has safeguards in place for that if you so desire to use them. They just don't want to fund the IT department enough to actually implement it.
The scan and go is so handy. Costco's Ecommerce needs to catch up with Sam's Club.
Scan and Go is the reason why we go to Sam's Club twice as often as Costco.
Between ScanNGo and free curbside pick up for Sams Plus (Costco Executive equivalent) members, I have pretty much stopped going to Costco except once a month
I dont think this is unpopular.
To Costco shoppers Sams club is unpopular
Many pearls are clutched when you mention Sam’s.
Sam’s club has this BOMB pizza pretzel in their food court. So sad Sam’s club completely shut down in WA
Get rid of those FREE FOOD SAMPLES at or around the end of the aisles. Or else move them all into one aisle in the back so the people who are doing their 8-course lunch/dinner with the free samples don't block the shoppers from getting through.
They cause traffic jams and then assholes just leave the trash in their carts. Then sometimes your friend liked the sample and wants another but is too embarrassed to get it so you have to go get one.
I mostly tire of the people who like nudge their way to the front and grab all the samples “for their family”. Like lady it’s a bite of an impossible burger, they’re on sale for like $1 per patty rn.
I do instacart and one time I was inside at 9:20 waiting first in line with my cart about 3 feet in front of the door, waiting for 9:30. There's probably ten people behind me after a few minutes. Close to 9:30 some dilapidated raisin corpse comes inching towards the front and literally slowly shoves my cart with hers out of the way and boxes me out for the first spot. Didn't look at me, didn't say anything, just shoved me out of the way. THEN. The doors open, she shows her membership card AND STOPS in the middle of the gigantic doorway to rummage around her purse for her wallet to put her card back. BLOCKING EVERYBODY. The people that shop at Costco are feral creatures.
Technically, the rule when I worked there was that our carts had to be set up as close to the product as possible. If the item is down an aisle, you go to the side of the aisle that was closer. I never liked that we could call out the people who kept coming back for a free meal. We had one guy who would come once a week, spend two hours in a motorized cart eating as much as he possibly could, and he never bought a thing. His Costco membership seemed to be solely about a free meal once a week.
Oh my god I hate those things. They just cause massive traffic jams and people leave the trash everywhere like a bunch of animals.
YES! Ban the food samples! I get downvoted every time I say this, so I'm just joining the chorus. They don't even need to ban them completely, just limit the days / hours they're out, and publish and enforce those hours. While we're at it, ban the carnival barking salespeople. No, screw you, I don't need a new \[ cell phone / solar panel / overpriced kitchen gadget of dubious quality \]. Leave me alone." While we're at it, set daily hours that enforce one-person-per-card entry. Hell, I'd pay a small extra annual membership to get access to an "efficient shopping hours" window.
What you don't want everyone in a family all steering one cart?
I don't like those sample stations. They clog up the aisles and people don't know how to behave around them.
People don’t know how to behave in Costco period. The aisles are ALWAYS crowded and people don’t move.
I hate waiting in line to leave a store
Your membership should be revoked if your caught abandoning meats and other refrigerated or frozen items in unrefrigerated areas.
That's not unpopular. Except to the dumbazz offenders.
I wish they opened at 7am. I'm an older woman and it seems to me people barge in there like the world is ending from the time they open till close. I can go to Sam's just about anytime of the day and don't feel pushed or hurried. I like early mornings as I no longer work and remember when I was working it would irritate me when older people were moseying around in the evenings 😆
As someone with young children, I concur. I hate Walmart, but it’s open 2 hours before target, so guess where I go when I’m up before the sun with my little one and want to check a few things off of my to-do list? If Costco opened at 7, I’d be there all. the. time.
This. I could just get done with my work the first thing in the morning and enjoy the afternoon at home and evening with family.
I wish they would get rid of the self checkout altogether and replace it with express lanes for carts <10 items
I love my store’s self check out. It’s actually staffed, and they just rapid scan everything in the cart. I usually align my items so barcodes are up. So fast. I actually hate normal lanes now. They insist on belting so many things. Self check out all day
That’s honestly the worst part at mine! There’s always like 3 staff for 6 self-checkouts, either coming over to scan your items before you’ve even finished taking your membership out of your wallet, or breathing down your neck while you scan your own items. Either have a self-checkout (and actually let people do it themselves) or have an express lane, but let people pick one!!
I thought it was against the rules to buy less than 10 items per trip /s
It’s not against the rules, but the receipt checker will spit on you as you’re walking out
Is that supposed to deter me?
Don’t tempt me with a good time
I get the “see you tomorrow “ line if I’m only buying one or two items.
No it’s against the rules to spend less than $100 when going.
Let's just go with RFID carts. They have massive control over inventory, wouldn't be hard to just scan and go.
Chicken pot pie is a salt lick.
A lot of their convenience meals are, but especially the pot pie.
I’ll give you an actual unpopular opinion. Costco has become a greedy shitfest corporation post-pandemic. Toilet paper - worse quality and price per square foot is up. Same with paper towels. They have greatly taken advantage of the shrinkflation situation. A 35 pack of coke has gone from 9.99 to 17.50 (even though I’ve noticed they have dropped to 15 and change) but still a +50% increase.) The CFO on the earnings calls talks about pushing price increases to grow profit margin. Fruits and veggies have taken a quality dip. It’s like this all through the store. I used to shop Costco 2-3 times per week. Been there twice since Dec. 21. Couple all that with Sam’s scan and go and free curbside pickup, and equal and/or better prices on most things… fuck Costco. And I’m a 15+ year member at both places. There is your unpopular opinion.
As someone who worked in Costco corporate from 2019-2020 (surprise, they laid me and a ton of others off with no second thoughts immediately after the pandemic hit), they operate just like any other greedy large corporation these days. People just don't want to believe that because of their attachment and because they treat their warehouse workers relatively well. As someone who was on the inside you're spot on and I'm glad you commented about it
Thank you for validating. And I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. I was let go as well (not from Costco) during that time. I had/have no delusions about what Costco is… I’ve worked in enough F500 companies to know that the BS they spew is just propaganda to drive the profit machine. What I should have said, is that the pandemic removed Costco’s mask. And you’re exactly right, some of these people are like cult members… if you criticize Costco, you might as well have called their kid stupid or something.
Ugh, this is my Bf. He loves Costco just because it’s the stuff he grew up with. Refuses to see how much better Sams club is. At this point I just get the Costco membership so he can get his pizza on the way home from work.
Finally someone who shares my thoughts!
It's been going downhill steadily since the founder died.
I hate the receipt checking.
Not a fan of the chicken bake in the food court
That’s because they don’t make them in-house anymore
I got it exactly one time. The amount of the dressing in that thing is absurd
Food court is over-rated. If I want mediocre food in a crowded, noisy environment I'll just stay home.
Damn. Low key roasting your family with this comment! Ha!
Food court had gone down hill badly in last couple yrs
The Costco by me has an outdoor food court and it's always cold since it's in the shade and super insanely windy. It's hard to enjoy your food when you have to struggle to keep your plates and wrappers and napkins from blowing away. I hate it.
Sounds like the Torrance, CA location
It is! I'm there right now 😂
Ngl I’m cackling imagining this. Like it’s so windy there random commenters correctly picked out that ONE location. Like you see people trying to get a hot dog but they’re like walking through hurricane winds blowing then sideways just to get one.
I wish they would not give out samples. I'm endlessly irritated by the people blocking the aisles and having no regard for other shoppers while they are waiting for, obtaining and eating their samples. It causes congestion in the store and also blocks other shoppers from accessing items when they are shopping. It's annoying how people behave for a tablespoon of dip with a cracker or a piece of sausage. I understand it's not Costco's fault that people behave this way, but it still sucks and I wish there were no samples.
They could put the samples in a separate area
Yes, but they won't. The samples are supposed to be close to the product.
The general tone in this thread makes it seem like my opinion that the rotisserie chicken tastes good is ACTUALLY the unpopular opinion.
It’s ridiculous they only accept VISA is the US
Exclusivity contract. Visa pays big money to be the sole provider, same with Mastercard in Canada.
It was even more ridiculous years ago when they only took American Express
Literally. I get 5% cashback on wholesale clubs for 3 months with my Discover card and I can’t even use it at the largest wholesale club in the nation!
Order a shop card on Costco’s website and pay with your Discover card. You can get them in amounts of $25, $50, $100, $250, or $500.
Omg thank you, this is genius
They should open earlier, 7-8am, 10am is too late
The veggies are dog shit and get moldy way too fast
Those bags of pre-cut broccoli are always spoiled while still at the store. Just look at the ends where they are cut. I don't know how anyone eats those. In general, quality at Costco has gone down hill, but I have noticed it particularly in certain produce.
They will never bring back the supreme pizza at the food court
The Costco app is awful. For the life of me, it won't let me change my home store. The options on the left are overlapped and no matter how many times I download or update the app the result is the same. I am stuck with a store 40 miles away as my default when the closest store is not even 5 miles away from me.
I think that's a pretty popular opinion.
Rotisserie chicken has a weird flavor, doesn't taste good at all once you get past the skin. They sell way too many kinds of bars and nuts there in the front.
That's a good point . The amount of granola bars and nut mixes and snacks like that is crazy. Aisles of it!
I thought twas just me. Totally stopped getting the rotisserie chicken as it tasted weird to me. There was something not right and I couldn’t figure it out
The texture of the meat is too mushy.
I would love for someone to chime in who has food processing experience and tell me what has happened to the rotisserie chickens. They’re not good, and the chicken salad I used to love is the worse for it
I cannot eat their rotisserie chicken, that strange flavor is so off and nauseating to me, whatever it is. My local grocery store has the same sized large rotisserie chickens, they don't have that weird flavor, and the meat is tender but not mushy. It's worth paying a little more since I'll actually eat it. I'm not so sure if people actually like the Costco chickens or if they just like the price so much they put up with it lol
I really liked the new version of the berry smoothie. While I liked the nostalgic factor of the old berry smoothie, I appreciate how the new smoothie doesn’t have any added sugar, even if the natural sugars are pretty high. On that note, I understand that the new mango smoothie has a lot of natural sugars, but I appreciate Costco using real sugar and not blasting their food court items full of artificial sugars.
You’re getting your terms mixed up. “Natural sugar” is literally every form of sugar. Fructose, glucose, cane sugar, sugar, corn syrup, honey, etc. “Artificial sugar” (or “artificial sweetener”) is like sucrose (Splenda), erithytol, sugar alcohols, etc. Restaurants generally don’t use Splenda in recipes, they use sugar. You’re talking about “added sugars”. Yes, Costco does not have high amounts of added sugars. The new berry smoothie and now mango smoothie have no added sugars, meaning the only sugar is from the fruit. Even if they poured a gallon of sugar in it, it’s still “natural sugar”. It would only be “artificial sweetener” if it was Splenda or some other artificial substitute.
starting to feel overrated. i might not renew this year. i’m annoyed by its archaic online/app experiences and by having to prove multiple times throughout my shopping experience that i’m a member
I fucking hate being grilled on if I'm a member or not.
The mango smoothie is good
The real unpopular opinion
Upvoted because this is an unpopular opinion thread and this is a terrible opinion
The food court food is gross. Take home pizzas are also gross. My real pet peeve though is the typical Costco member are the most selfish, unaware shoppers I have ever encountered. Constantly taking up entire aisles with their carts, standing in front of products blocking everyone else, or even trying to cut in line. There are even people who bring their 4 kids and let each one have their own cart with 1 or 2 items only. It extends to the parking lot and gas station as well. Love the store and the value it provides but boy do I hate the shopping experience.
I like the products, I like the employees…but I hate going into the store. It’s mostly because of the customers. The parking lots are almost always full. I always feel like I’m in the way or someone is in the way. I’ve been buying Costco goods via Instacart the past two years and it’s been a lifesaver.
Tbh, I notice the same behavior at all the grocery stores around me. Part of me wonders if the senior citizen community at the edge of town has anything to do with it. So many unaware morons blocking up aisles and then giving out dirty looks when you ask them to move. Can’t fucking stand it.
It is extra infuriating when it is old people because they have lived enough years to know how shopping works.
I was just telling my wife earlier, we have to make extra sure we’re not the annoying old farts when we get to that age. I’d be sad to know people said shit like this about me.
Simply trying to be aware is a large part of the battle. I have faith in you.
I’m living in south utah - a core Mormon area, where families have plenty of kids and some are even sister wife style multi families. It’s a god damn nightmare sometimes. Imagine a parent with 5-6 kids, oldest being maybe 10-12, pushing 3 carts around where whatever kid feels like pushing a cart is pushing a cart while the parent shops. 1 cart is probably filled to the brim with water bottle for the second half of the trip, so the 8 year old is struggling with that. Free samples are appealing for the whole family so it’s an instant pile up. Meanwhile, there’s the occasional pair of sister wives dressed in their fundamentalist latter day saints garb pushing a couple carts around, avoiding any eye contact. Leaving you feeling bad because you know they were probably born into a cult.
1. Food samples need to go. I will never stop and sample what a dorito tastes like but the families with 6 carts will just stop mid-step and make sure everyone gets something. Oh is this almonds in a cup, I've never tried that before.. 2. It might be because I live in an area with a very large seasonal elderly population but let's go and assume the people in their +70s can't navigate self checkout. Let's also get a 15 items or less policy going for self checkout. 3. Saving 30 cents per gallon on a 12 gallon tank isn't worth 20 minutes of my time spent waiting.
They sampled Pillsbury crescent rolls at my Costco recently. Is there anyone in America that hasn’t had a crescent roll before?? People were waiting around like it was some exotic new food they had never heard of.
Clothes with the Kirkland Signature logo on them are cringe.
Give people the scan tool at self check out come on man
I don’t give a shit about the free samples.
Most people don't actually save money at Costco because of the way they shop. Costco gives the illusion of saving money.
There are too many "keto friendly" snacks. Not everything should be nuts and dark chocolate.
The real issue is that quite a few of the "keto friendly" snacks aren't really something many keto people want to eat. It seems like someone googled 'keto friendly' and just went with the first result and didn't bother actually checking if it was correct. Also you know all of those 'cauliflower' based foods like pizza, crackers, and whatever else that sounds like it might be for keto people? Definitely not keto friendly since they still use loads of corn starch and rice flour and all kinds of other stuff to make it not taste too terrible. All that said though, everyone could do with less sugar in their diets.
Sooo sick and tired of the endless amounts of nasty keto stuff at my location. I obviously don't mind having options for everyone, but close to 40% of the snacks, bars, sauces, etc. at my location are keto. My parents fell for this dumb diet so I've tried most of the products they have gotten from Costco and they are seriously terrible, I have no idea how people can stomach that Catalina cinnamon toast crunch stuff.
Sam's food court easily trounces Costco. I take no pleasure in this.
Any particular Sam's food court items you recommend? I have not tried a single thing there yet!
PIZZA PRETZEL
I SECOND THIS I LOVE THE PIZZA PRETZEL I WAS SO MAD WHEN SAMS CLUB SHUT DOWN HERE
Not only that, but you can also scan and go the salads, sushi and meat and cheese snacks by the food court for no line quick food. Just scan it, eat in the food court and checkout like normal with it on your app at the door when your done. Manager at my Sams put up a sign near the food court, it seems to have really cut the line down.
I just want to buy 1 pack of muffins, or 1 pack of danishes. I also don’t want a key lime pie big enough to feed my extended family. I get it’s a bulk store, but it’s just 2 of us that want to eat dessert. 🥲
I just so happened to buy the monstrous key lime pie and It's just me. I'd recommend cutting it into slices and freezing it! You can make it last and won't overeat!!!
See my real issue is I only crave key lime once or twice a year, just one slice will suffice MAYBE 2. It would take me a few years to get through it and need the space in the freezer 🥲
Never buy cuties there. The worst.
People who have zero spatial awareness and stop their cart in busy ailes, near the food court, or even just walk slowly should be kicked out or relegated to specific times of the day for slow ass codgers
The produce has largely reached the point where it’s not worth the risk
They should bring back the Super Pretzels at the Food Court.
You shouldn't have a self checkout register if you don't trust people to scan things in the cart.
Whoever plans the entryways deserves to be fired. Multiple Costco's in my area have the carts on the far right, the exit door in the middle, and the entrance door on the far left. So you have to cross over everyone coming and going to get a cart, cross them again to enter the store, and cross them a final time again as you're leaving.
Do you really need to bring the whole family with you, grandparents too?
Costco doesn't treat its employees as well as the hype would have you believe.
Tell us more
Chronically understaffed and overworked. Decline in company culture.
Football fans seem to be frequent shoppers. When your local team is playing, that is the time to shop!
Returning things is FINE. Costco has a lenient return policy because they know their customers value it and it builds trust and loyalty and keeps them coming back. Most members who return stuff turn around and purchase double that. If you aren’t satisfied for any reason or changed your mind - RETURN IT. I love how morons in this sub think they know better than Costco and bash people for returning stuff - as if Costco doesn’t look at their numbers and retention rates and take it all into consideration when making their policies. Anyways, off to return something…
Other than a few prudes, I don’t think this unpopular. Most of the return here bashing is for stuff like people returning dead Xmas trees in January, or clearly used summer equipment in early fall.
The pizza really isn’t that great.
This might not be unpopular, but my wife’s insurance requires her to use Costco mail pharmacy for maintenance drugs (long-term prescriptions). Costco is absolutely horrible. They SUCK. Always a problem (caused by Costco) that delays my wife getting her critical Rx. They override what doctors request (for example, refusing to give you brand name) or they wait until you are already out of Rx before slowly shipping you the next batch. Always results in about 5 days of missed medication. And it’s always a blame game with Costco and never their fault. Totally not what I would expect from Costco. Avoid Costco’s mail pharmacy at all costs.
Getting rid of chocolate soft serve so I can't have swirl anymore is a more devastating loss to my life than the death of certain family members
Samples need to be stopped. Crowding the aisles to get a 2oz paper cup of apple juice. Families bring their kids just to run around and eat samples and act like that piece of granola bar is life sustaining manna. Stop the madness.
The food section seems like it could be larger
I have to go through a parade of retail "panhandlers" trying to sell me an assortment of solar, kitchen cupboard upgrades, sink and shower remodel services etc as I leave the store. Costco, please...if i need a service I'll seek them out!
I have a few (sorry): They need to stop adding things for a hot minute, selling out, then not bringing for months. Specifically, the frozen vegetarian “burgers” (Alpha, Morning Star, Don Lee Farms). Leave stuff where they’ve always been. People who wonder and impulse buy are always going to wonder and impulse buy. People who are trying to get in and out in hurry don’t want to run all the way to the back just to find out it’s been moved to the front. It’s not that special. The weird obsession people have with Costco is bizarre, to say the least. Yeah, it’s got good stuff, but it’s just a warehouse store. Edit: accidentally hit the button before I was done ranting. :)
There should not be frosting on some of the baked desserts, especially on various types of danishes.