Costco Shoppers Beware: Employees Speak Out on Customer Annoyances

Costco workers are sharing insider stories about their customers.

A popular post on Reddit brought together insights from retail employees who detailed various customer behaviors they find frustrating and irritating.

“The original poster mentioned that people placing perishable items randomly, littering with trash indiscriminately, and being rude should not be part of the Costco experience,” they stated about what annoys them.

“Placing a portable potty for her child to use in the food aisle wasn’t as inconspicuous as I imagined,” they commented.

The post rapidly attracted attention, prompting other staff members to share their own grievances.

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“There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to fully address this query,” someone quipped in reply.

An enthusiastic worker crossed out items from their “annoyances” list, which included instances where individuals position themselves right at the center of pathways, seemingly unaware of the surrounding foot traffic. Obstructing passageways unnecessarily—be it due to chatting with someone or moving elsewhere like fetching samples—compounds congestion in what’s already a crowded retail space.

Placing frozen/cold food randomly. This confuses me the most. WHY CONTINUE TO DO THIS?!” they shouted, mentioning that they “have to discard it each time.

“That’s similar to me coming to your place, taking out the ice cream, only for you to discover it an hour later freezing in the bathroom,” they complained.

Several staff members pointed out that despite having waste bins positioned beside demo areas and at the end sections of each aisle, customers often discard their rubbish in shopping carts instead.

We have over 50 garbage bins spread across the store, yet your litter is ending up all the way in the parking lot,” one person expressed frustration. “Please refrain from doing so; after all, you’re mature adults, set a better example.

“The most recent issue I’ve noticed frequently occurring at my warehouse is employees tossing sample cups behind or in between the pallets,” added another individual.

Others shared some

creative ideas shoppers had

while in the warehouse.

“One mentioned opening containers of apples, grapes, berries, and mangoes to create a new packaging.”

“Using toys and seasonal games as entertainment for kids while shopping. Unsupervised or lost children can quickly disrupt productivity,” remarked an individual.

“The number of times I’ve found myself in the produce section only to witness people opening multiple containers of grapes, sampling just one from each to seemingly search for a bunch blessed by Jesus himself, is ridiculously high,” someone quipped.

The grievances from staff members emerged soon after Costco’s customer satisfaction rating dropped in this year’s survey.

American Customer Satisfaction Index

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Starting from 2024, Costco customers noted a decline of 5% in their level of satisfaction.