Wow, that seems like a multitude of odd Costco bad luck @bamamom2021 ! While people can be distracted at our Costcos (due in large to the samples) I don’t ever remember rude people. And definitely not rude staff! It is truly almost always a really positive experience!
Did you get your membership online through some deal - like a Groupon? I wonder if that was the issue.
Many of the items you mention I have definitely seen at Costco and most on a regular basis. I mean, yes to Goldfish either in small bulk packs or a large carton. Protein bars galore. Perdue chicken. Frozen meatballs. Shredded cheese. I always buy my marinara there - unless I’m making it homemade!
I think you should give it another try. Our lines at both of our stores move fast, people are patient and I feel like we fly through. Sundays are busy but I never feel like it’s “packed”. Clearly during the week it’s much less busy.
@abank
I bought several grab and go lunch items for my mom, she likes them all. Lol. Beef chili, baked chicken, Italian sandwich, hot dog (normal size? I think), and pizza. Disclaimer: Mom is not very picky and I am low-carb so don’t eat any of them.
Very good price tho. Lunch under $5.
@bamamom2021
I am sorry for your experience. I love my Costco. Very cheerful workers and I know the ins and outs of where everything is (but they do change things around to increase traffic I guess) and there are more and more organic produce/chicken available now, I have been able to have fresh organic blueberries this whole year thanks to Costco. Give it a little more time (at least get your membership money back! Lol).
We have brought the grab and go lunches. I have given up the hot dogs for my diet, but the chili is delicious and filling. My H likes the sausage and pepper. We both like the berry smoothie. The pizza is decent and very cheap.
As for the pre-made foods, we usually grab a shrimp platter. They used to have a sushi platter that H and the kids loved - I don’t eat sushi. My boys like the wings but we all prefer the rotisserie chicken at our local supermarket. I have also bought the premade Caesar salad and my sons really enjoy that. I have bought the wrap sandwiches for a party and people liked them. It was much cheaper than anywhere else and easier than making them myself.
Bj’s deli is better for sliced meats and cheese, but most of the salads and chicken pie and things are better at Costco.
If you went on a Sunday afternoon, then God Bless you! Ours is a zoo on Sundays after noon, as there are a few mega churches near it and people poor in from them. If you can go on a Tuesday morning or Thursday afternoon, you’ll have fewer traffic jams.
@greenwitch I actually did send an email out tonight to corporate customer service. I did it mainly to get it all in writing in the event there is a problem with our membership or the item we purchased online initially (a big ticket item) with the initial membership that they ended up revoking today since we now have a new customer number. I did not make it into a huge deal or share my price observations and comparisons but I did mention the overcrowded aisles that had people ramming each other with carts since there was no room. I also mentioned the lack of open check out lanes with 20+ minute lines and the horrible behavior I witnessed as a result.
Upon reflection with my husband we figure they under built this store for our area. They had too much crammed into spaces that they should have had more open. This is likely why we couldn’t find staple bake goods that we were expecting (croissants, fresh sandwich rolls). Seemed to us there was too much real estate devoted to the cafe and not enough for lines to form for checkout (it looked like black Friday at WalMart or ToysRUs of the past with lines snaking in every direction). My mom is a Costco junkie and she has been trying to get me to join for a while. I have been in her store and it is much larger, well stocked, and better organized.
I did praise the manager who worked diligently at trying to resolve our issue and get us signed up.
I’m such a Costco afficionado that for the next charitable benefit auction, she is going to offer me taking a Costco Newbie on their own personal shopping trip. [I do all of our shopping and she is an excellent cook] Somehow she thinks there will be takers.
But, tonight, she made a superb meal with an appetizer of Humboldt Fog cheese and gluten free crackers, wild monkfish (that was fabulous), asparagus, a salad with a sharp mustard vinaigrette, and a dessert of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries with some kind of liqeur on it. Everything came from Costco except for some of the salad greens. I made the vinaigrette with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, maple syrup, salt, pepper and some herb. All came from Costco except for the herb. And, we had a Kirkland white wine with it. It beat the $55 per person restaurant meal we had the night before by quite a bit. Maybe there would be takers if they tried her cooking first?
@bajamm, life is good and Costco makes it better. We have gotten insanely good stuff at Costco for sophisticated cooking (of which I am a beneficiary but not much of a participant) including truffle oil, and veal for osso bucco but lots of great stuff for everyday eating (bosc pears, honeycrisp apples, almond butter, etc.). Over the years, Costco and Amazon have gotten a much bigger fraction of our wallet. Whole Foods way down. Local farmers get most of the rest.
I concur that Costcos vary. We have two near us and the one I don’t go to seems dingier and maybe a little less upscale in product selection. We also have been to Costcos in Mexico, Hawaii, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Northern California (where wine and cheese selections were amazing), Florida, NJ, CT, and probably other places as well. I’ve seen them in the UK but have never gone in. If I didn’t have at least two other jobs, maybe I could be employed as a Costco evangelist.
I love the Costco by our house. The employees and other customers are super friendly, happy and helpful. They have crazy markdowns on clothing and other merchandise (white Gloria Vanderbilt jeans @$5, 4 chocolate lava cakes in individual ramekins @$4 & so much more).
Some of the other Costco’s just feel more crowded with pushy customers and more frazzled, abrupt employees. Sadly, the character of each store does vary significantly. Also, I prefer to shop during slower times—weekdays during the day. Weekends and from dinner until closing generally is much busier and more hectic.
Another Costco question: Has anyone tried Costco travel “packages”? We’re looking at an EU package. What appealed to me about the Costco packages is that they appear to be flexible. Costco establishes the framework (for example (3) major EU cities, but you set the time of year, the total number of days, and even the number of days in each city. Included in the package were all transportation (flights, shuttle between airport & hotel, trains between cities), accommodations, breakfasts, and a few other minor perks. What you did in each city was up to you. No guided tours for example. I’ll need to check further, but I’m doubting we could do all the above on our own for the price they were quoting. Any experience pro or con?
Not sure if it’s true in every store, but around here, the Whole Foods has taken a big turn for the worse since Amazon purchased it. Doesn’t impact me much - I only had a few things I’d semi-regularly get there - but… ick.
Our Whole Foods stores became quite uninviting. Gone are some produce items we used to buy. The local WF store is not very crowded, while the TJ’s next door is always packed!
@BunsenBurner if by “uninviting” you mean “filthy” - I agree. Not sure if there was an actual corporate directive to immediately suspend all cleaning tasks, but there’s a visible difference here.
