Costco warehouse pricing is always the rave. Anyone you talk to will swear by it; the best value for your money (most items, if you're not looking to compare in-store brands). Now, if only their staff, especially those at the check out counters were to offer you the best service for your membership money, it'll be perfect.

Costco sell things in bulk, hence they are either heavy or bulky. Yet they forget that not everyone's pantry or freezer is a short walk from the garage or the driveway. Costco personnel have, time and time again, been unable to provide bags (or boxes) for your purchases. Check out personnel conveniently pile unbagged/unboxed merchandise in carts. Too lazy to find boxes? YES! Compared to regular supermarkets, I find these individuals lacking in courtesy and right out customer service manners one expects from this so called "members only" store.

I bought a 10 lb bag of carrots from Costco. When I got it home I weighed it on my kitchen scale because I divide it to share with someone else.

I kept getting that it was only 9 pounds. I weighed something else on the scale to insure that my scale was acurate. and it was.

I called Costco. They told me that they would replace the bag. To bring it back to them. I explsined that i could not have a 10 lb bag of carrots in my refrigerator until the next time I went to Costco.

The person assured me that this was the only way to handle the problem. There was no option to just give me the extra pound when I made another Costco shopping trip in two weeks.

The customer service person was insistant that this is the only way to resolve the problem. Bring in the unusued bag when I go back there.

This may seem like a small problem. And it is. But it also is a warning to weigh bags of produce before you leave the store. Otherwise you could be paying more per pound than you thought.

Chronical Bad Customer Service
by loyal customer of Costco
(10 consecutive years executive member )


2007 Summer:

Purchased a watch from the Jewelry department in costco. For my 80 years old gramma who went shopping with me. This item is regarded as a valuable one that they keep in those cabinet so you gotta go to the customer service counter after you check out. They got me the watch and said "This is the display watch from the counter since this is the only one you can either want it or get a raincheck." Obviously I wanted the watch BECAUSE I'M BUYING IT; for my gramma too. They took the watch and disappeared. 15 minutes later I asked the current employee attending the counter where is the lady with the watch I purchased. He sort of ran off and ignored me and ran off. 30 minutes later, I asked another manager looking employee with good manner explaining my situation. He told me she's getting a box for that watch and will be with me in 5 min. 30 minute passed I tried to ask other Costco employees they ignored me totally. My gramma stood there for a hour I also asked if they can get a chair for the elder. They coldly answer "No, we don't have chairs." It isn't until a full 1 and half hours later where that lady employee approached me while on her cellphone chatting with a broken dirty box for my watch. Couple points here, disrespectful toward elder, disrespectful to customer, shuns customer, bad working attitude, I feel I can summarize more but I'll stop here.

2008 May
During checkout the cashier errored so that one of the items we baught wasn't registered to the receipt. The gatekeeper caught it and made a huge fuss out of it by calling the security and pulling the alarm. She told the security that we are "stealing [stuff] from costco." Even the dummest store clerk on this planet wouldn't trying to embarrass to the point of pissing off a customer like this. I mean it would be very cool and simple by saying "oh one of your item is not on the receipt wanna wait here while I get someone to help you?" It took me about 10 minutes repeating the same sentence "We didn't STEAL! from costco! Everything here has cashier's finger print on it! AND STEAL MEAN YOU TAKE THE ITEM BYPASSING CASHIER'S HANDS!" Wasted about an extra 2 hours at Costco that day. I guess people are not so intelligent after all. The gatekeeper could simply set us aside and call another store employee to give us a quick check out on that fail scanned item at the customer help counter. Later I requested her to apologize to me for false accusation of theft. She refused with silence.


2009 Oct. Holloween
I am fed up with the same gatekeeper lady asking for my member card. She sort of knows me from the previous "she called me stealing from costco" accident. But I noticed she most of the time never even bother for people to show their member id when entering the warehouse. Am I special? Today I was in a hurry to get something and sort of ignored her by flicking her off instead of showing my member ID just cause the angst has built up too much. Later on someone approached me saying he's the manager and ask me if I flicked off the gatekeeper or not. I complied and he orders me to leave the store on behalf of caling the security. Does Executive Members of Costco deserve to get kicked out of the store just because he or she flicked off some random ignorant jerk asshole gatekeeper costco employee? Is Costco a US company that waived all bill of rights (including freedom of speech) for all of its customers? So that they can treat their customer like shit?


After thoughts
I find all other places have better customer support than costco so far. I haven't met any discomfort dealing with returns and miscellaneous interactions with employees of costco equivalent Wal-Mart, Target, Lucky's, R.I.P. K-Mart, you name it. Except maybe Fry's, but you know Indian people are pretty hard to deal with. But still not as horrid as Costco. My two cents after all these incident is: don't treat Costco employees as humans. They don't respect customers reflects that they don't repect their job. So why should us be throwing our respect toward them? Obviously this would make a logical connection with that they don't even have respect for themselves. Remember we learned in 5th grade that self esteem is the root of social ethics? I think Costco may seem to strive in business now but their ultimate fate leads to self destruction by a simple fact of lacking manners.

I was shocked and very upset with the behavior of this Cashier named Farzana K. at Costco, Sunnyvale, when she insulted me in front of other customers. She called the manager and blocked our membership because I was using my Husband's membership card for the first time for the groceries. I never knew that you are not allowed to do that. But this lady not only lied that this is the second time she told me this but also insulted me by calling and warning me not to come to costco without my husband. Instead of saying it rudely in front of other customers she should have told me the rules and I would never have broken the rules. I never would go to costco again. It is very insulting and humiliating.

I went yo costco to buy supplies for my parents business. At the time my grandpa was diagnosed with cancer and my dad had to leave out-of-state, so i was in charge of the business. I went to Costco in Redwood City, the same one I have been going to since I was 5. i proceeded to the checkout line and handed them my moms Costco card. They rejected it and took it away, at that instant i immediately grab the card back from the supervisor. Next they sent out security named JULIO and then he GRABBED me and I shook him off and was heading towards the exit. While I was WALKING OUT of the store he starts to shouts comments about me and told me "COME BACK WITH YOUR HOMIES AND WE'LL SETTLE THIS." I was amazed on how they would disrespect me and embarrassed me when our family has been shopping at costco for more than 18 years. After that incident, my dad paid for a Costco business membership for me. The first time I went to costco to buy supplies, I started to feel funny inside the store, it felt like someone was watching me, my every move. I didn't go to Costco to steal or cause trouble, I went to costco to buy supplies. I was being followed in the store for no reason. When i left the store i turned around and saw the same security guard JULIO following me and i proceeded to git into my car, i pulled out and JULIO was apparently trying to hit my car with his fist! YES! he tried to PUNCH MY CAR! He stood in the middle of the parking lot yelling out profanities and racist comments about me! A week later my friend that works at Costco told me that they were watching me everytime I went into the store, "theres about 3 or 4 people watching you" he said. A few days later a had a certified letter from Costco refunding my dads money from the Costco membership. The letter stated that i was not allowed at any Costco in the U.S.??????????????????????????? My parents had their family lawyer to intervene. He went to Costco In REDWOOD CITY CA and they didn't want to speak to him. I later found out JULIO was later fired a few months after my incident due to VIOLENCE to another customer wher he punched him in the face for no reason. My parents are giving me the business but I know that Costco has good prices but HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. I called the Headquarters in the Northern District Mr. John Booth and he said "you owe an apology." APLOLOGY FOR WHAT? I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING EXCEPT TRY TO BRING BUSINESS TO COSTCO! I didn't go there to start trouble or steal anything. I am 22 years old and I think it offends people that a person my age has their own business. I've been going there for years until they started to treat me disrespectfully! I'm never going back to Costco and i tell people not to shop there and I'm speculating about starting an non-profit organization against Costco Corp. PACC (PEOPLE AGAINST COSTCO CORPORATION) I'M NEVER LETTING COSTCO TOUCH MY MONEY AGAIN. THEY ARE NOT PROFESSIONAL BECAUSE THERE NOT RETURNING MY CALLS AND I HAVE WRITTEN A FEW LETTERS BUT NO ANSWER.