Costco’s employees are the beating heart of the business, and the ones who keep the place where you buy your bulk goods in good order for your visit. The appreciation for its employees goes right to the top, with Costco staff being rewarded for their efforts with competitive pay and incentives and Costco CEO stating on CNBC (via X, formerly known as Twitter) that “people deserve to have good wages and good benefits.” However, just because it’s an attractive place to work, doesn’t mean that Costco employees don’t have gripes of their own — and there are a lot of things that they wish customers knew before they set foot in the store.
A lot of the things that Costco employees wish you knew come down to basic logic. No, they haven’t intentionally hidden your favorite item, nor are they withholding extra toppings in the food court out of spite. Plus, certain things you may be doing, like bringing your pet into the store or ripping open product crates, may be making their lives and the lives of other shoppers more difficult. Taking time to get to know these things will help you have a smoother shopping experience, and make the employees’ lives easier — and they may even share how to get the best deals in return.
Read more: The Reason Why Costco’s Kirkland Signature Products Are So Cheap
The Employees On The Floor Aren’t Moving Products To Hide Them
Costco store interior, with multiple products displayed in creates – Mareks Perkons/Shutterstock
It’s pretty much a universal experience to walk into a store and find that everything’s been rearranged. Hey, we get it: It is kinda annoying. Products in stores can be moved around to better reflect the flow of people and their shopping habits, or to make items that need to be sold more quickly more prominent. However, when you’re time-pressed, the last thing you want to do is run around a massive Costco to find what you need.
Here’s the thing, though: That Costco employee you’re getting mad at about it didn’t move the items to make your life harder. In fact, they might not have moved them at all. Costco floor plans are organized by a different team known as Night Merch, who operate after closing hours and focus on the logistics of the store itself. This team may be receiving its own instructions from merchandisers or buyers who are focused on improving shopper experience. Night Merch usually operates on Sunday nights, and on Monday morning the regular Costco staff have to come in and figure out where everything is again. As such, it’s likely that the employee you’re talking to is as frustrated as you are about everything moving.
Employees Don’t Decisions About What’s In Stock
Stocked Costco shelves, displaying various open and unopened items – bluestork/Shutterstock
It’s always a sad day when your favorite item is out of stock. However, if you’re tempted to ask an employee “why did Costco discontinue this?” or even “why did you take this off the shelves?,” we’d just recommend you save it. The person working on the shop floor is not going to be the one making decisions about what Costco keeps in stock and what it removes, and this is a common gripe amongst employees.
It isn’t even the manager’s responsibility to decide what’s in stock or not. Instead, it’s decided by Costco’s buying team, who assess each individual market (as well as the market at large) and weigh up how appealing items are at any given point. These teams work with Costco stores and their inventory control specialists, who decide whether stores can take on new items or whether old ones have to be discontinued. All of these decisions are above the paygrade of the floor employee, folks. However, what these employees can do is pass on requests to bring an item back to management, who can escalate it to the buying team.
You Need Your Card To Enter The Store — And It Needs To Be Up To Date
Person holding Costco Gold Star Member card up, in front of their shopping cart, with a Costco store in the background – Elliott Cowand Jr/Shutterstock
Costco employees aren’t psychic. You may know that you’re a member, but unless you have your card in hand, they likely won’t be able to tell — especially if you’re going to a busier Costco that has hundreds of different customers walking through the door each day. As such, you need to have your membership card with you and be ready to present it when entering a store. Doing this is a condition of entry, and you’ll need to scan it at one of the membership scanning devices to walk in without any hassle. It’s no good trying to bargain with the employee at the door to let you in: They’re just following company policy, after all.
Plus, if you have an expired membership card, don’t assume that you’ll be able to slip in unnoticed. The membership scanning device will be able to tell whether your card is in date, even if an employee’s checking them at the door, the first thing they’ll do is look at whether it’s still valid. Luckily, you can still go to a Costco with an expired card, as long as you’re ready to renew then and there.
Speaking Of You Membership Card, They Want You To Keep It Out Of Your Mouth
Person holding Costco Executive Member card in front of scanning machine – ZikG/Shutterstock
Costco employees often have to check your membership card, and you should keep it on your person at all times. You know where you shouldn’t keep it, though? In your mouth. Or your bra. Or in any other place other than your pocket. “I hate when they have their membership card in their mouth and then hand it to me,” said a Costco employee who spoke to Business Insider, with almost 10 other employees mentioning that unhygienic actions like this are hugely annoying.
The reason why is simple: It’s gross. The employee you’re handing your card to likely doesn’t want to come into contact with your saliva, or any part of your body other than your hand. Plus, doing this increases the likelihood of spreading any germs you might be harboring to the employee themselves and making them sick. Just keep it in the pocket of your jeans.
Leaving That Product You Don’t Want In A Random Spot Is Really Annoying
Person pushing cart through a Costco store – ARTYOORAN/Shutterstock
It may sound silly to say, but for some people it’s easy to forget that supermarkets don’t just magically reset themselves at the end of the day. Yep, that’s right, people: The employees at the store are the ones doing the legwork, finding the items you leave everywhere and putting them back. It’s therefore highly annoying for Costco staff when customers take their items out of their cart and leave them on random shelves. It’s even more irritating for Costco employees when these items are from the freezer aisle. By the time they find them, they could already have thawed, rendering the item unsellable and potentially melting all over other stock.
In an ideal world, you’ll put the items you don’t want back where you found them. However, if you’re nearing the end of your shopping trip and can’t remember where you got the item from, it’s totally fine to give it to an employee, who will then be able to put it back in the right place. You can also hand your items to the cashier when you pay.
You May Love Your Pet, But Not Everyone In Costco Will
Border collie in a supermarket, with its paws up on the handles of the shopping cart – smrm1977/Shutterstock
Most of us love meeting people’s dogs when we’re out and about, and it can be fun to encounter a four-legged friend in a supermarket. However, there are plenty of people out there who don’t feel the same way, either because of previous experiences with animals, allergies, or just not being fans of dogs or other animals.
As such, it’s not great form to bring them into a Costco, and the employees there wish more people would take heed of that. “Allergies are real, and those of us who have them are adult enough to understand the need for service dogs,” says a Costco employee via Business Insider, but they also state that it’s unfair of pet owners to demand that people are happy to share the same space as them.
Service animals, however, are of course an exception, and if you need to bring one into a Costco store with you then that’s totally fine. However, don’t be surprised if Costco employees ask whether your dog is indeed a service dog, and what they’re trained to do. Costco adheres to the Americans with Disabilities Act, and under this act the store is within its rights to confirm that service animals are performing an appropriate function.
No, Costco Can’t Offer A Discount On Your Membership
Person holding Costco Gold Star & Costco Executive cards – Sadi-Santos/Shutterstock
“Don’t ask, don’t get” is a phrase that a lot of people live their lives by — but it’s also a phrase that can lead to people being a little bit presumptuous or rude. This especially rears its head in retail settings, where people assume that if they ask for a discount on something, they’ll get it. In Costco, though, asking an employee for a discount on your membership will probably get you nowhere. Costco explicitly states on its website that it doesn’t discount its memberships, nor does it hand them out for free. Its membership fee is non-flexible because it gives you access to the store’s reasonably-priced goods, which Costco sees as the trade-off for the yearly payment. No matter how much you sweet talk the employees, they’re not gonna knock any dollars off.
However, while Costco itself doesn’t discount its memberships, there can still be ways to claw a little cash back. Switching phone carriers can give you access to cashback via Costco shop cards, which you can then spend in-store. Sites like Groupon may also periodically run deals where you can get shop cards upon joining, which effectively reduces the price of membership a little. You can’t barter your way into a saving, though.
There’s Nothing Unhygienic About The Free Samples Offered At Costco
View of a sample cart at Costco, with Club Demonstration Services representative – The Image Party/Shutterstock
You wanna know a secret? One thing Costco employees want you to know is that the folks who offer free samples in its stores aren’t actually employed by the store itself. The free sample stations are manned by representatives from Club Demonstration Services, a company that sends its staff to Costco stores to give out the samples and tell customers about the product.
These representatives are trained in how to follow proper hygiene procedures, and both they and the regular Costco employees on-shift would prefer that you stop questioning their cleanliness. It’s easy to assume that these stations are somehow unhygienic, but representatives are constantly trying to mitigate any food safety risks by changing their gloves regularly and repeatedly sanitizing surfaces and utensils. They’re also instructed to keep an eye on shoppers’ hygiene standards and throw away or clean any items that they’ve touched. Club Demonstration Services representatives are also constantly trying to reduce food waste wherever possible, and spend much of their time prepping new samples and swapping out old ones. So don’t worry about grabbing one (or two) of those little paper cups, folks. Just don’t hold up the line.
They Really Don’t Want Your Kids Standing In The Shopping Cart
Happy child kneeling on shopping card, with smiling mother and father pushing him down an aisle – adriaticfoto/Shutterstock
Supermarkets like Costco are a little bit like amusement parks for kids: a huge warehouse full of exciting goodies in super-sized proportions. We’ve gotta admit, it’s pretty exciting. So your kids are likely going to want to emulate that amusement park feel even more by standing in your cart and having you wheel them around.
Well, when you do that, the Costco employees in your store are watching, and they’re not happy. “Quit letting your kids jump around in the basket … It’s dangerous,” said one Costco employee to Business Insider, with other employees concurring with them. They’re right: Carts aren’t designed to be stood in, and they’re far from the sturdiest things in the world. One false move, and your kid could go tumbling down with the cart following them, leading to a nasty injury.
It’s also generally good etiquette to keep an eye on your kids while you’re in the store, and prevent them from being too disruptive. When kids are allowed to run riot, pulling items off shelves and leaving them wherever they want, it’s just a nightmare for the employees. Plus, you won’t make yourself very popular by letting them.
It’s Bad Form To Open Product Crates Yourself
Aisle in Costco with shrink-wrapped product crates on shelves – Eric Broder Van Dyke/Shutterstock
What do you do if you can’t find the item you want on the shop floor at Costco, but you do find it in an unopened crate? Do you grab an employee and ask them to open it for you, or do you just rip into it yourself? Well, here’s an etiquette tip you should know: Do the former. You might feel like you’re saving the employees time by tearing the product crates open and doing what they’d be doing soon anyway, but doing this is a surefire way to annoy the staff. Ripping into the crates like this can not only create a big mess, but can cause issues with stock rotation, prematurely flagging to other customers that certain batches are ready for sale when they may not be.
It’s also fairly likely that the item you’re opening the crate for is still somewhere on the shop floor, and may have just been moved. It’s far easier for everyone involved to just ask the employees if they can help you find it. If they can’t, ask whether they’d be willing to open that crate up and give you one of the items themselves.
Marked-Down Items Don’t Necessarily Have Anything Wrong With Them
Price label for Costco Kirkland Signature Free & Clear Liquid HE – Tada Images/Shutterstock
Marked-down items can be a steal, but we get that they can also seem a little suspicious. After all, when a massive company like Costco seems so hasty to get rid of its items by knocking the price down, the customer can feel like there’s something wrong with them. However, that’s rarely the case. Costco might mark down items to clear them out more quickly to make space for new stock, or it may have too many of one specific item and just wants to shift a few. Items can also drop in price for totally innocent reasons like changes in shipping or packaging costs, with the savings then passed down to the customer.
So, instead of asking whether an item’s faulty, the best question to ask is what the original price was. Enquiring about its original price will help you figure out whether the marked-down item will give you a real saving, or whether it was slightly overpriced in the first place. Don’t be fooled by that enticing price tag.
They Hate When You Waste Food Samples
Female sample representative wearing a hairnet, holding up a sample of Libby’s Vienna Sausage on a cocktail stick and smiling – Tim Boyle/Getty Images
Look. We all love free stuff. So, it’s pretty hard to ignore those free sample stations at Costco, which entice you in with promises of delicious morsels of food and drink. However, it’s weirdly common to pick up these samples without actually wanting to eat them — and then you’re left holding them in your hand as you wander around the store.
Well, Costco employees would really appreciate it if you only picked them up if you’re actually going to consume them. Failing to do so is a serious etiquette mistake as a lot of customers then decide to simply leave their free samples on shelves. Then, guess who has to find these old scraps of unsanitary food at the end of the day and throw them out? That’s right: the employees. What’s even worse is trying to sneak the food back onto the sample station when no one’s looking, which increases the risk of cross-contamination. Instead, just ask an employee if there’s a trash can anywhere to throw your food into.
Cashiers Would Prefer That You Leave Larger Items In Your Cart
Costco cashier scanning customer’s items, with various customers in the background – Elliott Cowand Jr/Shutterstock
It’s human nature to want to help your cashier out (well, we hope it is, anyway). Therefore, a lot of people think it’s a good idea to pull everything out of their cart and put it on the checkout conveyor at Costco, including the massive, bulky items right at the bottom. Well, you might be surprised to hear that Costco employees would likely prefer that you didn’t put all your items on the belt. According to store policy, it’s perfectly fine to leave them in your cart, and they will scan them for you there.
It’s worth saying that this may not be universal for all Costco cashiers, and some folks might like you to fully unload your cart. However, we can understand why it seems to be Costco policy to leave larger items in place. Not only does this prevent you from having to pull them out rather clunkily (which can eat up valuable time during busy periods), but it also prevents the item from taking up the entire conveyor belt. It’s always worth asking the cashier what they’d prefer you do, though.
The Food Court Employees Can’t Always Customize Your Order For You
Signs above Costco food court displaying its menu items, with its All Beef Hot Dog in the center – Iv-olga/Shutterstock
We’ve grown accustomed to food customizations wherever we want them: in fast food joints, in chain restaurants, and in the fanciest of establishments. Well, one place that it might be more difficult to get customizations is in the Costco food court. Customers asking for tweaks to their order is a huge pet peeve of employees who work there, who in some places quite simply aren’t allowed to make any changes to the food you’re getting. Instead, you’re just gonna have to put up with how it comes — and considering how cheap the food court is, it’s not exactly good form to complain.
However, as with all things in life, you might encounter some flexibility here and there. Sometimes employees might give customers some extra toppings on their ice cream or frozen yogurt if they’re persistent, or you might be able to order a pizza ahead of time with slight customizations. It’s best not to push things too much though, and just accept that some things in life can’t be customized.
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