Costco
Reviews and Complaints

In my 10 years of being a Costco member, I have received the worst customer service today. It's definitely a busy time of year, with the hustle and bussle of the holidays. I have encountered a VERY infriendly cashier. I was shopping with my toddler who was in the cart. As I proceeded to place my items at the register, my cart was apparently in the wrong spot upon check in. The cart was suppose to be on the left side, as oppose to the right. There were extra carts on the left side of the cashier, so I didn't move them because I couldn't leave my toddler alone in the cart. She snarkly spoke to me and said "next time stay on the right!, I don't care anyways today". I couldn't believe it. I said politely, I couldn't move the carts that are obstructing the area. I was astonished that I actually had to explain myself. I would of said something to a higher superior at that time today, but I was just in shock. Let's just say, I won't be visiting Costco for a while. Her name was Jessica L

Yesterday 12-8-17, I purchased a rotisserie chicken, which I buy at least once a week. When I got home, the chicken was still pink. I put it on the plate to carve and the juices were pink. This has been happening more and more. Please temp your chickens. They come in different sizes and this one was super under done. The chickens vary in size and I think they cook it to the smallest chicken temp. I know you're trying to put out the most chickens possible but please temp to 165 degrees So you don't make people sick. It stinks to buy a cooked chicken, and have to go home and cook it.

I was checked out at Tuwila WA costco by Brittany K. She forgot to scan my reward. Never say sorry at first. She said that I have to return my stuffs to purchase again to use my reward. I asked her for a cash card for the reward. She said she can not do it. After she took care the purchase of the next customer. I do not know where she get the cash card to scan for me (earlier she said she can not do it). She is such a bad cashier ever in Costco. I am not happy about her service.

Hello,

I visited your location in Irvine on Technology Dr. this evening. In my 25 years of being a Costco customer, this is a first time that I have had a bad experience. I was returning an item, and the manager Mark was rude as soon as he walked up and very condescending. After I spent 20 minutes in line, and another 20 minutes being passed between other employees, I assumed Mark was going to come and make things right, but he only made them worse. After grilling me about my return for 10 minutes, and speaking down to me in front of my wife and other customers, he finally stepped aside and the polite young man, who's name I didn't catch, finished our return.

While we were wrapping things up, Mark and two other managers who we spoke with earlier (young man and young women) huddled together and were obviously making fun of my wife and I amongst each other while throwing rude glances our way.

We were treated with no respect by management and the whole thing took over 45 minutes which made it too late for us to shop and eat dinner, ruining our evening and forcing us to do our shopping tomorrow, which will take time away from our other plans.

In the future it would be good for Mark to learn that whatever store policy or excuse he has when dealing with customers he should always be polite and friendly and never act in such a rude and disrespectful manner. I hope this message gets to him before he upsets another valued customer, as most are not as forgiving as I am.

For the first time, I decided to purchase tires via the Costco Tire Center (online) for store #1115. I completed my transaction online 11/24/2017. Once the purchase is complete, immediately a email is received thanking me for my purchase. Within the email there is an order number and a note that says, you will receive an email once the tires have been delivered.

12/06/2017 I contact the Tire Center to find out if my tires have arrived, I give the person who answers the phone my order number. He says, clearly you received an email letting you know the tires arrived otherwise you wouldn't have an order number, to which I correct him and inform him that the order number arrived with my receipt via email. He then states that the tires had arrived 30 November and that I should have received many email notifications to which I clearly had not otherwise why would I call to find out if they have the tires. Yesterday Thursday 7 December 2017 I arrive at the Mt. Vernon Costco Tire Center to have the tires mounted. After shopping for a hour, i'm informed that I have ordered the wrong size tires, which according to my car profile via the costco website and the acura website, they are correct, however they have to order a different size. They have removed my tires from my car (which is odd for certified mechanics, to remove tires instead of checking first) they put my tires back on my car unbalanced. When I drove off last night, my car was shaking. Today Friday 8 December 2017 I wanted a full refund of the tires on order. If they can't put my tires back on correctly, why would I let them do service to my vehicle. I see no point is spending over $700 on tires to have to turn around and have someone mount them correctly. Even the customer service rep said they put her rims on and one tire was put on backwards from the same shop. How does that happen if it's your job, and your certified? Costco needs quality assurance team to manage and inspect the quality of work being produced by these young people. I will not let Costco Employees service my vehicle.

Not sure if this site will be a futile effort for resolution but will try it before going to the Bureau of Consumer Protection (FTC).
Costco claims (but I believe is a deceptive and fraudulent business practice) to deliver, hookup and install, along with other claims, a dishwasher I was going to purchase.
I read the short marketing claims AND the longer asterick detailed sections but the claims made appears to be false. Tried for almost a week to order with to no avail. Customer Service staff did not know how to resolve even though I was in compliance with required parameters but were sorry they were not able to find the solution.

Am an executive member for 4years now and recently started shopping online at Costco. Huge mistake! First off my furniture was delayed for over a month with very little explanation. Then on black Friday l purchased a $2000 plus TV. Costco system must have been off because the payment went through and then the next day l received an email that it was declined. I knew I had the funds in the account but I figured maybe there was some other error in the system. So l went ahead and reordered the TV. This time it went through no problem. Then later Costco send me an email that they will attempt to withdraw the previous amount that was declined within 24hrs. I panicked! I tried calling Costco 5times to tell them that I did not authorize them to debit my account without my approval. I called 5 times each time wait time on the phone ranged from 35 -51 mins. Their call back system was a joke. They would call me back and immediately hang up on me. This happened 3times.

Unfortunately that debited my account twice and desperately put me over drawn. I am done with Costco! I just signed up with Amazon prime and Sam's club. I am beyond pissed off with this company. In today's market consumers have the upper hand because retailers are very competitive in price and services in order to win business. Costco has dropped the ball completely here when it comes to customer care.

I went to costco tires center store in s. San francisco to get 1 tire and this latino guy look at me and say you just want 1 tire and I say yes then he trun around and laugh and say to his manager or supervisor who stand behind him say this guy can't afford to get 4 tires and his manager laugh also. At first I did not know the guy was a manager until I ask to speak to a manager. He say I am the manager and the my guy say you can not offord to buy a set if tire. I say is this the way you guy fo business. Why woud I want a set of tire when only need 1 to replace the the damage tire and he and his worker laugh so hard I was so mad I don't know to complaint. I went inside the costco and talk to 1 of the manager there and he say nothing he can do about it. I left and went to sear just to get 1 tire and no laughing from the sale cleak.
"costco worker likes to look down at people if you can't offord or paying with 2 credit cards at check out. I havs seen it before"
Costco, you charge people so much money for the membership and don't give good services from you people. I think you management people need to retrain the workers how to deal with people.

I have to tell you how amazingly disappointed in COSTCO service online. I placed the order referenced TWO WEEKS AGO and still haven't received it! I fully intend to return it now. TWO WEEKS! That a totally UNSATISFACTORY amount of time for an order. COSTCO should be embarrassed! To make it worse I called customer service on November 26th to tell them about an issue with the address, and the customer service representative said it had shipped and the address issue couldn't be corrected. The article didn't ship for four more days! The representative basically misrepresented the truth. That is 100% UNSATISFACTORY! On the 29th of November, I engaged in an online chat to find out why the article hadn't shipped and that representative said the article would be here in two days. That was ALMOST A WEEK AGO! I wish there were someone I could file a complaint with because I am not convinced that anyone at COSTCO will reply or care. THIS IS A TOTALLY UNSATISFACTORY SITUATION and as totally colored my opinion. I will NEVER order from COSTCO and I will further not recommend and will make sure everyone who I can make aware knows about COSTCO's poor service!

I was checking out at Costco with an employee named Don who commented on what I was buying and remarked that I "come in alot for this" with a look of disgust on his face. Firstly, he's done this before. A friend of mine went in and had the displeasure of being checked out by him and had the exact same experirnce. It's nobody's business what a customer is buying or how frequent or why they buy it, period. I hope that somebody there tells him not to express his opinion on what they're buying or they fire him.

Executive Member #[protected]. I am one of your executive member. I am very upset, disappointed and appalled that Costco would resort to a scam to not payout for warranties. I would like to get my money back for your incompetency!
I have a Cadillac SRX, I live 100 miles from Costco in Sioux Falls SD. In 2015 I purchased a set of 4 Firestone tires 80, 000-mile warranty. We religiously take my car in to have the tires rotated every 6000 to 7000 miles. We put on about 25, 000 miles to date. I noticed that the tires were bold on the outside. December 4, 2017, we brought the car back to Costco to have the tires reviewed. I was told that the wear was due to an alignment issues. My car has never had alignment issue. I was upset and the employee just kept saying "at the end of the day the alignment was off". Finally, I was able to at least get the new tires put on for free. So, we waited 2 hours to get the new tires put on.
Then the mechanic came out and told us that someone else rotated the tires. He told us that my car has 2 different size tires. He advised that the back tires were put on the front. He advised that it must have been at least the last 2 or more rotations. He explained that we should have brought my car to them to rotate. (please check my record my car was in for all rotations). I explained that they are the only ones that rotate my tires. The employee said that maybe my oil service did it for me without charge. My oil service is my brother and he has never rotated my tires. Why would I have it done, when Costco does it for free.
So, as your employee says "at the end of the day, your incompetency cost me $615.48, 2 hours of my time". Not to mention the gas money to Sioux Falls and back. If your service department isn't incompetent, is this Costco's way of eliminating the warranty? Do you tell all the customers that it is an alignment issue? It sounds like a scam to me.
Costco claims to be tire specialist. I am not. I would not have double checked to confirm that the tires were rotated correctly. I believe this is why we take our car to specialist. I would like Costco to take responsibility for their actions.
I would like a response within 72 hours. I am seriously disappointed in the tire service, and will be taking pictures of the tires before and after each rotation going forward.

Regards
Christine Carl
109 E Burlingame St
Ghent, Mn 56239

We, and others, have noticed over the past year, a significant decline in the quality of Costco's "fresh" produce. We live in rural Northeast Washington, and it is approximately 70 miles to the nearest Costco (Spokane).

It is extremely frustrating and costly to spend hard-earned money on food products that we ultimately cannot use, or use only a portion of. We don't have the luxury of a quick trip to Costco to return the unusable food; and, we can't necessarily save it to return on our next trip into Spokane.

The latest wasted purchase is a l lb.container of Organic pre-washed Baby Spinach, (date stamped: 12/12. We purchased it yesterday, 12/4). I estimate that 1/2 of the container is unusable because it is wet, slimy & spoiled. (Previously this same brand of spinach was dry in the container). I don't have time to pick out the "good" pieces, and I am tired of throwing away food.

Other produce that has been bad within the past year include -
-Bananas that appear to be almost ripe or ripe, but are not edible because they are very hard & never ripen
-Apples that are rotten inside
-Romaine lettuce that is browning on the inside & smells moldy
-Russet potatoes (bakers) & Yukon Golds that are green (can be toxic)
-Onions that are rotten inside or under-ripe & green
-Garlic that goes bad within a week - already turning brown & hard, or disintegrating
-Strawberries that appear "good" from the outside, but once you open up the container, you find the ones in the middle are fuzzy & molding
-Organic green beans that are slimy
- Avocados that are hard & never ripen
- Tomatoes in the containers that go from being just about ripe, to overly ripe & mealy within 2-3 days

Another issue we recently experienced -- my husband poured himself a bowl of cereal (WildRoots Triple Berry Crunch) with Original Silk Almond Organic milk. He found what looked like a slug in the middle of his cereal. (We took a picture). We don't know if it came from the cereal or the milk. The Silk milk was a 3-pack & this was the first carton used. Needless to say, we will not be using the remainder of the newly opened milk carton, or the other two unopened cartons; nor will we finish the bag of cereal, as we don't know where the slug/foreign substance came from.

The decline in quality of produce has been going on for at least a year or more, and has come up in conversation with other people -- everyone wondering, what's going on? We never used to have these problems with Costco's produce.

Belinda Russo - #[protected]
Guy Russo - #[protected]

You can run a report for both our numbers to verify the items we've purchased. I'm also uploading a picture of the "slug".

Hello,
My husband made a purchase today at Costco #781 which is located in Chula Vista, CA. The membership is under my name and I know there are not transferrable but I have a broken ankle, so I stayed in the car while he shopped. The cashier's name is Grace F and the payment was made today 12/5 at 16:23pm for a total amount of $84.41
She basically threatened with retaining the membership next time someone else besides me attempts to make a purchase. I've been a member since 2001 and I am paying for a membership and a service. I understand that this might be the company's policy, but there are ways of saying things nicely but instead she was very rude. This is the first time this happens to us but clearly I will not go back to this branch. I usually do my shopping at the Rancho del Rey location where everybody is always very nice and friendly.

To Whom It May Concern,

I recently had a disturbing experience at the Santa Cruz Costco, and hopefully it will be as troubling to you as it was to me.

A little over a month ago (10/24/17), I bought tires for my Mazda 2 from Costco, and after they were installed my vehicle developed a vibration through the steering column at highway speeds.

I assumed that the new tires were improperly balanced, and waited to bring the car back in as my busy work schedule allowed.

When I brought the vehicle back in on 11/29, I was shocked to discover that the cause of the vibration was three bent rims!

When I asked the technician why no one had told me about the bent rims when the new tires were put on, he promptly hung up on me.

When I came to pick up my vehicle, I was assisted by the supervisor, and when I pressed him on why no one noticed the bent rims when the tires were installed, he became defensive and rude, and said all three rims must have become damaged in the short period of time between when the tires were installed and when I brought the vehicle back in.

I persisted that it was highly unlikely all 3 rims could have become damaged in such a short period of time, and my concerns were dismissed because "the roads in California are pretty bad."

Honestly, if I had been treated with professionalism and courtesy, I would be more willing to let this go. However the level of rudeness and defensiveness that I encountered is actually quite suspicious, and I think that either:

1) the rims were already damaged when the new tires were installed, and the technician failed to notice or failed to inform me of this issue at the time I purchased the tires.

OR

2) the technician damaged my rims at the point in time that the new tires were installed.

I've already shared my story on social media, and the overwhelming reaction is that Costco is in the wrong here, and that Lloyd's is a much better alternative here in Santa Cruz.

A few people also chimed in that they believe Costco is a good company and will make this right.

I have been a longtime member, and I sincerely hope that this issue will be resolved in a manner that is mutually agreeable.

As a suggestion, I think refunding an amount equal to half the cost of a new set of rims ($120) and installing the new rims free of charge would be about fair.

Sincerely,

Fawn Roby

I have had two packages delivered by UPS that have been crushed and damaged, but still left for me to open and deal with sending back. The UPS delivery person has dropped off two completely damaged items on two someone rare occasions that I have had to deal with replacement and re-pick-up on. I am so frustrated and don't want this happening anymore! It is completely rude and very unprofessional.

Dear Customer Care,

I felt compelled to write the management of your store after my humiliating experience tonight at your Burlington, Washington store.

I entered your store tonight 12/04/2017 on my way home from work. I needed to pick up a few things and I was in quite a good mood because it was my Friday night and I would be off for the next three days. I made my rounds through the store and picked up what I needed. I then proceeded to the cashier station to purchase the things which I had selected along the way. I noted that the cashier was very pleasant with the customers in front of me. As my turn approached I advanced forward and greeted the young man who was servicing the line asking if we needed a box for our items as a convenience. I responded no thanks. I then greeted the cashier and he did not respond with any type of salutation. I thought this rather odd, but whatever? Please note that I am 53 years old man with gray hair and a gray beard. The cashier then ask me for my ID. I kind of laughed softly under my breath because he asked for my ID. I understand it is a requirement to legally ask for ID when purchasing alcohol due to the fact that I had a 48 pack of Kirkland light beer. At this Point I reached into my wallet to retrieve my drivers license. Please understand that my enhanced drivers license is in an enhanced drivers license sleeve which can be difficult to remove. The sleeve protects your personal information. I was attempting to remove the ID from the sleeve when the cashier attempted to take the drivers license from my hand while still in the sleeve. I told him hold on... I can get it. I explained It is difficult to remove because it was in a protection sleeve to protect my identity. He then responded oh ...okay. Once I removed the Driver's License from the sleeve I handed it to the cashier. He looked at it and I figured this would've sufficed for verification that I am 53 years old. He then proceeded to entering personal information from my drivers license into the cash register and I ask him why he had to enter personal information into the cash register. He responded oh ... just checking. At this point I am feeling quite frustrated and rather humiliated with the people behind me in line looking at me odd while I am interrogated by your cashier. Finally I hold out my hand to take my license back feeling as though I had done something wrong.

I have never experienced this kind of rude treatment by any cashier in your store and I never expected to be treated like this before tonight. As I was handed my drivers license the rude cashier still did not even extend a common courtesy of thank you or have a good night...etc...

Bottom line here...someone needs to teach this man some manners. I'll think twice about going to Costco after being treated like this. Please see the receipt that is attached to this email. I believe it contains the information needed to identify the cashier. He was a very big man about 6' 5" working the far north register of the few that were open at the time.

Sincerely,

Timothy A. Schoerner
Member# [protected]

This store is a disaster. First of all, parking is a huge issue here.

-Then the cashiers and management, DAVE, are extremely RUDE AND CONDESCENDING compared to staff at other Costcos.

Then the BIG ISSUE is where if you don't have a photo on your Costco ID, you cant buy even if you are a member. They use the wrong name (my nickname) on my costco card where it does not match my driver license name. I was told it would not be an issue (as my last name is on the card) when they issued the card but it is now an issue as I cant make my purchases. I look embarrassed when I have to leave the store empty. This store is the only store I know of which have this so-called "policy".

The manager Dave was extremely rude, unfriendly and should not be a manager at all.

Hi,

I had bought a queen mattress from Costco st the roadshow. It has lost its firmness. Yesterday I went to the Fremont Costco with the complaint and they said for this product I need to call Costco services
I did that and they redirected my call to the Costco wholesale, the person took my number and promised a call back. No body called. Looks like no one knows how they provide warranty on this product. Highly disappointed