Fed up with Costco

[joestein]

I try to go to Costco on Friday's to avoid the crazy mob scene on weekends. But the last couple of Friday's have been just as crazy as the weekends.

The technology at Costco is very outdated. Sam's club has an app that allows you to scan your items and then pay by CC and walk right out. Costco has nothing.

They have a self checkout line that had over 20 people waiting. That is their improvement.

I used to live right near Costco, now I live between Sams's Club and Costco. Most of the stuff is sold at both stores. I will also say that I am unable to find some of the items that I used to buy all the time. Costco Turkey Breast - cold cut (First the honey went away last year and now the regular) and Hebrew National Salami (replaced by crappy A&H brand). I find it harder to find some of the items I want to buy. Maybe it is supply chain issues, but I dont seem to find that problem at Sam's Club.

So, I decided I was going to send an email to Corporate to let them know that I am not going to renew my membership because unless they come up with a checkout app. However, you can only contact them by phone or mail. Ugh.....

Joe

 

[travelhacker]

I try to go to Costco on Friday's to avoid the crazy mob scene on weekends. But the last couple of Friday's have been just as crazy as the weekends.

The technology at Costco is very outdated. Sam's club has an app that allows you to scan your items and then pay by CC and walk right out. Costco has nothing.

They have a self checkout line that had over 20 people waiting. That is their improvement.

I used to live right near Costco, now I live between Sams's Club and Costco. Most of the stuff is sold at both stores. I will also say that I am unable to find some of the items that I used to buy all the time. Costco Turkey Breast - cold cut (First the honey went away last year and now the regular) and Hebrew National Salami (replaced by crappy A&H brand). I find it harder to find some of the items I want to buy. Maybe it is supply chain issues, but I dont seem to find that problem at Sam's Club.

So, I decided I was going to send an email to Corporate to let them know that I am not going to renew my membership because unless they come up with a checkout app. However, you can only contact them by phone or mail. Ugh.....

Joe

I've been a big Costco fan most of my adult life.

Probably 6 months ago, I got a promo that would give me a Sams Club Gift Card that was the same amount as the cost of membership. I have really enjoyed it and am planning on renewing.

You called out a lot of the big reasons why (technology, less crowds, etc).

To add to that:

Costco has really emphasized organic and "health" food at the expense of a lot of standard bulk items.

I have no problem with organic food, but the primary reason why I shop at Costco is to save money, and if it costs more, I'm not going to buy it. For example, we go through pancake mix like crazy...our Costco only carries "Kodiak Cakes" which is far more expensive than other pancake brands. Sam's Club carries a giant bag of pancake mix for about $5.00. I get about 4x more pancake mix at about half the cost of the Costco offering.

 

[amycurl]

Tweet at them might be the best way to get it resolved sooner. Personally, I love Costco for how they treat their employees and their ethical sourcing guidelines--neither of which are present at Sam's Club. I am happy that Costco is taking their funds and investing it in these items, rather than an app. But, of course, you may value that app more than those other items. The parent company of Sam's Club has the largest employee base on SNAP, as well as being the largest recipient of SNAP $. Basically, taxpayers are supplementing Sam's low prices through the SNAP program. This was a great series that Marketplace ran years about the phenomena:

The Secret Life of a Food Stamp

www.marketplace.org

As for waiting: ask anyone in retail--Fridays are part of the weekend rush. Don't want to wait in line? Shop about an hour before they close on a weekday, or right before they close on Sunday. I rarely wait behind two people these days, but, then again--I don't shop in the afternoons on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

One thing that I found fascinating about Costco: their typical customer is a middle-aged Asian woman with a household income of over $100K. Who would have guessed? (But it does explain all of the great Asian food items that Costco has started carrying over the past year or two.)

 

[Big Matt]

The reason that most stores don't have self checkout apps is theft. I like how they do it at Home Depot. You get a little scanner "gun" and in seconds everything is scanned and you are paying and leaving. My Costco had a test run where the same type of device was picked up on the way in and then you had to scan the items as you put them in the cart. The problem was that then the folks at check out still looked at all you items. That pilot didn't work

The best time to go to Costco is at around 2pm Monday-Thursday if you don't want crowds from my experience. I shop at Costco about 3 or 4 times a week and am usually in and out without any headaches.

 

[Passepartout]

I saw this thread and thought 'Fed up AT Costco?' OK. A rotisserie chicken sounds good to me. Peruse the meat dept. Grab a case of IPAs. Yup. let's go.

 

[troy12n]

I'm neither a fan of Sams or Costco, but I am a member of Costco because it's 5 minutes from my house, whereas Sams is 20 minutes away. The Costco membership pays for itself, despite the huge lines all the time. I have no idea what they can do, it's not staffing, because every time I am there all lines are open. It's just that busy. The gas prices are consistently 10 cents cheaper than anywhere else too.

 

[dioxide45]

The problem was that then the folks at check out still looked at all you items. That pilot didn't work

Costco has people at the exit for that. Why have the check out clerk look at it?

 

[RunCat]

The closest Costco is about a 30 min drive. I used to work near one so I would go more often. But I let the membership lapse when I changed employment.

 

[DaveNV]

Joe,

Your complaints are not unusual. but you do have recourse:

On the right side of the Costco.com website screen, click the FEEDBACK tab. It looks like this:

Tell them what you think. People do read that sort of stuff. I hope you can find answers to why certain things that were available at one location are not available at another in the same general area.

I'm told Costco tried to use the "scan and go" thing at one time, but theft was a huge problem. Enough of a problem that they stopped offering it. If you address the issue in your Feedback comment, they may provide you with a better answer.

As to Friday's being not a busy time? I have to say, I have never found Friday to be a quiet day at any Costco. It's the ramp-up to the weekend, and will likely be as crowded as any other day. People may not be doing the huge shopping excursions they might do on another day of the week, but there are the same number of shopping carts in the warehouse, and just as many people in front of you in line.

Insider tip: The best time to shop at Costco to find the fewest other shoppers tends to be after dinner, during the mid-week. So try it at Tuesday to Thursday evening, around 7:00PM. You'll find it much less crowded than any daylight hours, and especially on weekends.

If push comes to shove, go to Member Services at the warehouse, and tell them you want to cancel your membership. They'll refund the full amount of your annual fee, even if it's on the last day of your membership year. If you later find you're unhappy with things at Sam's Club, you can always join Costco again.

Dave

 

[geist1223]

We are retired and so we try to shop on Tuesday or Wednesday. I have stopped buying my Fruit (except Blueberries) at Costco. It is all very expensive "Organic" crud. They give me a choice on Organic or regular Blueberries. Meat products have also gotten very expensive. I buy my Fruit at Winco. The apples are less than $1.00 per pound and the oranges are substantially cheaper than Costco. I usually wear my "ALL FOOD IS ORGANIC" Shirt. Or "ALL FOOD HAS BEEN GENTICALLY MODIFIED" Shirt. Beef, chicken, and Pork are also cheaper at Wilco than Costco.

 

[emeryjre]

Costco has had good growth in same store sales and gross margins on a consistent basis.

I have been a member since it was Price Club on Morena Blvd in San Diego. One of Sol Price's early trainees broke off and started Costco with Sol's blessing.

The company has changed over the years to reflect the changing demands of it's shoppers. I am not a fan of "organic" but apparently many of the younger customers want these items.

The one thing that Costco has not done is invest big money in Technology. They do not allow you to order online and pick up like many of their competitors. They have not needed this process to grow their sales. What they see they need to grow is more space. They need more parking space, they need larger buildings, they need more gas pumps. They do not see the need for more technology to grow the business.

I do not like some of the changes, I do not like the big crowds, but I am spoiled by how it was in the past

 

[dioxide45]

I'm told Costco tried to use the "scan and go" thing at one time, but theft was a huge problem. Enough of a problem that they stopped offering it.

It seems that the checkers at the exit aren't doing a very good job?

 

[stmartinfan]

Interesting how people's opinions can vary. I personally find the fruit at Costco much fresher and less expensive than at my local markets and there is almost always a choice of both organic and nonorganic. I live close so shop weekly and can go when the crowds are low ( never on Friday-Sunday), so the check out the lanes where the employees use a hand scanner to quickly tally the items in my cart go very quickly. The Sam's Club is even closer to my house, but I choose to support Costco because of their better pay for employees.

 

["Roger"]

Some of the comments here remind me of the Yogism, "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

 

[bogey21]

However, you can only contact them by phone or mail. Ugh.....

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a big fan of Ebay. But I had an issue the other day and couldn't find a phone number. But what I did find was a "Click here and we will call you". I clicked and within a minute I had a call from nice, competent (I think she was Japanese) Representative who solved my problem within minutes. Pretty cool...

George

 

[MrockStar]

I don't like crowds especially at stores, or the gas pumps. But Still a fan of Costco. No sams club close by. It closed and is now a big Harley Davidson dealer.

 

[amycurl]

I will say that I tend not to buy fresh produce at Costco (only the occasional bag of limes or lemons,) because I get fresh produce delivered to my porch every week from April-Nov through an urban garden CSA (the farm is less than a mile from my house, on what was formerly a grass lawn of a local church,) and anything I need to supplement I get from my weekly farmer's market.
I am such a locavore and someone who thinks *a lot* about where and how I spend my money so it reflects my values. Here's my priority list for groceries:
-CSA
-Farmer's market
-Costco
-Aldi/Lidl
-Lowe's Food (regional, locally owned grocery chain)
-large grocery store chain owned by large corporate/overseas conglomerate
(I haven't shopped at Sam's Club/Wal-Mart in over 15 years; Amazon is my retailer of last resort.)

Srsly, I probably overthink it, but that's okay.

 

[kanerf]

Example: Gas at Costco was $3.14 and the place was mobbed. A few miles away gas at Sam's was $3.09 and hardly anyone was there. I was able to pull right up to a pump and fuel up. I belong to both, but may not renew Costco next time.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

Always a part of my big stock-up when I go to Bay Club.

Great affordable wine selection.

I love their canned salmon.

Part of the crowd in the quantity purchased. Nobody goes in there for just a few items.

 

[DaveNV]

It seems that the checkers at the exit aren't doing a very good job?

The receipt checkers are only human. They are expected to make sure the same number of items are in the cart that are on the receipt, and especially to ensure any big ticket items are present. If you go through one of the self-check registers you'll get a different-colored receipt. That's a tip off to the door checker that you didn't go through the regular checkout line, so they're supposed to look closer. Thieves will take great steps to conceal their crimes. The person at the door can only do so much.

I'd wager Sam's Club has a huge theft problem with their "scan and go" for the same reason, but they cover that up with their warehouse overhead operating costs.

Dave

 

[nightnurse613]

We are about five minutes away from both a Sam's Club and a Costco (and belong to both). It seems that it doesn't matter when we go to Costco, the parking lot is always full. The Costco has a self-checkout but, it's facilitated by clerks with hand scanners. (We buy the memberships from Groupon,too). My husband tries to fulfill his role as a "hunter" by shopping in the store while I like my role as "gatherer" by just rollong up to the door and popping the truck!

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

One of the reasons I like the Produce @ Costco is because it turns over very frequently, and far better than when shopping at my local various Supermarkets.

I never pass up the famous $4.99 chicken, and the $1.50 Hot Dog with Soda.

Also, I am a stockholder and I must tell you that their stock has been doing fabulously for years........



.

 

[Luanne]

Loyal Costco shopper here. We have to drive an hour to get to Costco vs 20 minutes to Sams. Won't shop Sams.

 

[pittle]

I have been a Scan & Go Sam's shopper since it came out. We are also half-way between Sam's & Costo, but keep the Costco membership for a few things we like better at Costco. I go to Sam's at least every other week and to Costco about once every 6 weeks. As a Plus Member, I get free delivery from Sam's too! Sam's also has early pick-up for online orders and for Plus Members, we can go in at 8:30 AM and beat the crowd.

 

[joestein]

Joe,

Your complaints are not unusual. but you do have recourse:

On the right side of the Costco.com website screen, click the FEEDBACK tab. It looks like this:

View attachment 42085

Tell them what you think. People do read that sort of stuff. I hope you can find answers to why certain things that were available at one location are not available at another in the same general area.

I'm told Costco tried to use the "scan and go" thing at one time, but theft was a huge problem. Enough of a problem that they stopped offering it. If you address the issue in your Feedback comment, they may provide you with a better answer.

As to Friday's being not a busy time? I have to say, I have never found Friday to be a quiet day at any Costco. It's the ramp-up to the weekend, and will likely be as crowded as any other day. People may not be doing the huge shopping excursions they might do on another day of the week, but there are the same number of shopping carts in the warehouse, and just as many people in front of you in line.

Insider tip: The best time to shop at Costco to find the fewest other shoppers tends to be after dinner, during the mid-week. So try it at Tuesday to Thursday evening, around 7:00PM. You'll find it much less crowded than any daylight hours, and especially on weekends.

If push comes to shove, go to Member Services at the warehouse, and tell them you want to cancel your membership. They'll refund the full amount of your annual fee, even if it's on the last day of your membership year. If you later find you're unhappy with things at Sam's Club, you can always join Costco again.

Dave

Thanks, I did not see that. I just left feedback.