Costco Employees Hate When Customers Do These Things

Many customers think of Costco as the land of amazing $1.50 hot dogs, endless samples, and bulk everything. Behind the scenes however, employees deal with far more than long lines and oversized carts. Talk to any Costco associate (or scroll through a single Reddit thread) and you'll quickly learn that certain customer behaviors make their jobs infinitely harder. Whether it's abandoned trash, melting perishables, DIY sampling, or rogue shopping carts let loose in the parking lot, these seemingly harmless habits add up to major headaches for the people who keep the stores running smoothly.

While most shoppers have good intentions, some seem to forget basic courtesy the moment they step inside the warehouse wonderland. So, we scoured Reddit and gathered information from previous and current Costco workers to find what members do that get under employee's' skin the most. A few small changes can make the Costco experience smoother for everyone. Win-win.

Leaving behind trash for someone else to pick up is more than careless — it's downright rude. Employees have more important tasks to tend to than discarding sample cups, plastic bottles, and food wrappers. This might seem like common sense, but one employee explained that cart pushers wear plastic bags attached to their uniform for the sole purpose of picking up trash.

Another employee on Reddit pleaded with customers, "As a cart pusher ... by far the most important thing, please please please pick up your trash." A different cart pusher responded: "The amount of diapers I have found left in carts is way too many." According to another worker on Reddit, there are more than 50 trash cans conveniently placed throughout the store. As such, there's no excuse for trash to be left in the cart ... or anywhere other than a trash can for that matter.

Costco attracts thousands of customers to its warehouses every day. In order for the store to run efficiently, everyone — including those pushing large shopping carts filled with bulk items — needs to do their part. Several employees on Reddit agree that one of their biggest pet peeves is customers who are completely unaware of their surroundings; seemingly losing spatial awareness the second they step inside the store. Stopping suddenly or leaving a cart in the middle of an aisle to grab samples makes both employees' and other shoppers' lives harder. You'd be surprised at just how many members aren't aware of mistakes in Costco sample etiquette.

An employee on Reddit explained: "Costco is crazy packed as is.. be mindful of those around you and push your cart and conversations to the side out of the main walkways." Employees also notice distracted customers pushing their carts through the store while looking in different directions. This causes collisions, traffic jams, and forces others to maneuver around them. If everyone practices a little more awareness, things will be smoother all around.

One of the best frozen food aisles can be found at Costco, but some customers don't seem to appreciate what happens to perishable items when left out. One of the most common Costco employee complaints is finding improperly returned perishables around the store. Customers will pick up a frozen or refrigerated food selection, decide they no longer want said item, and then drop it off in a random place. At some point, the product will be discovered by an employee who is forced to throw it away.

While shoppers are well within their rights to change their minds, employees on Reddit beg shoppers to either return the unwanted item to its rightful home or hand it off to an employee, who will be happy to put it back. One frustrated worker on Reddit explained, "That's like me coming over to your house, pulling the ice cream out, only for you to find it an hour later chilling in the bathroom. You would yell at me if I did this." Not only is leaving food in random locations rude, but it's also wasteful and avoidable. Another employee explained they've been forced to dispose thousands of dollars worth of product that was misplaced among the aisles and left to spoil.

Occasionally, grocery customers feel empowered to open packaged items in the store and try the food themselves; as if taking their own "samples." Employees consistently notice this with items like berries and other produce. One associate on Reddit even commented that other employees are lucky if they've never witnessed this phenomenon. There are several fruits you should be buying at Costco, but sampling them on your own is a big no no. 

One employee on Reddit recalls a time they asked a member to stop taking grapes out of the container to try: "She said it was the right of every housewife in America to be able to sample the product. I told her it was just stealing as far as the store was concerned." With Costco's generous return policy, there's no reason to open and try products. If the batch is bad, simply bring it back to the store to replace it. Unfortunately, opened items cannot be sold, so this rogue sampling just creates more waste.

It's become fairly common for shoppers to bring dogs into the grocery store with them; a phenomenon both unclean and inconvenient. Costco associates on Reddit are begging customers to "Leave Fido at home," as these untrained dogs leave messes on the warehouse floor. Not to mention that a big, busy store is no place for a dog to begin with. In a Reddit thread called "Costco isn't a pet store!" a Redditor shared an image of a Costco member who brought their dog into a San Diego location. One commenter replied, "Even the dog looks confused as to why it's at Costco."

Costco warehouses are full of food and people, and no place for an energetic animal. Large stores such as this can stress out an animal, as well as the associates who have to deal with potential problems. The exception to the rule is — of course — service animals; who are welcome into the store under Costco's customer service policy.

Among its other benefits, Costco offers an extremely generous return policy. Save for a few exceptions, Costco's satisfaction guarantee allows customers to bring back almost any merchandise for a full refund; no questions asked. However, Costco workers grow frustrated with members who abuse this generous policy. One Redditor was mind-blown to discover that some members return Christmas trees in January.

In a Reddit thread, one employee asked fellow Costco associates for their most egregious examples of members exploiting the return policy. He posted, "I'm super annoyed at seeing people returning merchandise that are either years old, soiled, spoiled, broken (through human error), or all of the above." One employee in the thread recounts a time that a member brought in an empty case of wine to return because it gave her a headache. Another recalls several instances of customers returning outdoor furniture that had been exposed to the elements for years.

The "Shopping Cart Theory" is essentially a morality test: Do you do the "right thing" and return a cart when finished, even though no one will punish you if you don't? Not all customers pass the test, as one of Costco employees' greatest pet peeves is when members don't return their carts to the parking lot corrals. One employee on Reddit explains there are cart corrals everywhere in the lot, so there's no excuse not to place a cart where it needs to be.

Another cart pusher stated, "If you can walk around for 1 hour in the warehouse, you can walk another 30 seconds to find the cart corral." This helps cart pushers as well as other customers out by not creating an obstruction in the parking lot and causing unnecessary traffic. Overall, it's easy to practice a little Costco etiquette and not leave your cart in the wrong spot.

For Costco associates, it can sometimes feel like customers lose their common courtesy when they walk through the door. While associates are usually happy to help members find the items they're looking for, employees also express frustration when members simply do not believe them. Several employees explained that customers have accused them of lying when they explain the store is out of a particular item.

One associate on Reddit outlined how some shoppers just want to argue ... especially when customers recall a recent item that's currently out of stock or no longer carried. The employee on Reddit stated, "People will argue with you when you tell them we're out of something. 'Well it was just here last week!' Yup, and now it's not. People will also be like 'No i know you have it' and that's when i just go 'Ok what do i know, i've only worked here everyday for the last 16 years.'"

Per Costco's policy, the process for proving membership is always the same. Customers are required to show a membership card both upon entering the store and at the checkout. Associates express their frustration at members who give employees a hard time for requesting proof of membership, or balk when asked to see receipts upon leaving the store.

One associate on Reddit stated that at their location, "It's gotten to the point where I'm surprised when people actually do have it ready. We can't scan anything until we've scanned your card so it's best to have it ready to go before you start unloading." There's already many moving parts at play when trying to advance customers through a store of Costco's scale, so it's better for both employees and shoppers to have cards out and ready for scanning. For those who need a little reminder, here's a first-time shopper's guide to Costco.

Many parents bring their kids on shopping trips to Costco, but employees vent that one of their biggest annoyances is unruly or poorly-behaved children. One Costco associate on Reddit explained their frustration over parents who allow kids to play with toys and seasonal items under little to no supervision. The employee elaborated, "Nothing stops work faster than unattended or missing children." Allowing kids to roam unsupervised is a liability to both parents and Costco itself.

Another associate shared how much they dislike when members allow children to flip through books while they shop, only to return the book damaged at the register. Another employee on Reddit witnessed "a 3-5 year old kid run across the tops of the water pallets while the parents stood there and watched," which is not only disruptive to those trying to work and shop, but incredibly unsafe as well.