Costco
reviews and complaints

I love costco! Do most of my shopping there for years. All my family shops at Costco. I needed a desk for my office at home so this time I decided to shop online. Ordered it and the nightmare started.

UPS has such poor reputation and it's a shame that Costco online uses UPS for their delivery services.

Terrible Service! They don't provide a window for the customer to know when they should stay home for the package to arrive. They say it could be any time during the day until 7 pm and if you are not happy come all the way to Delta to pick up the package! Their depot in Delta is three cities away from where I live.

Today stayed home all day, didn't go to work just for them to deliver my package. When the delivery guy finally arrived, he asked me to go downstairs to help him and was offended when I said I have a bad back and if I wanted to pick up a 70 lb package, I wouldn't have ordered it to be delivered to me. He said, well we are not supposed to do this...
Really? Isn't that the job of a delivery man?

So rude! So lazy! Such a terrible service!
I will never ever order anything that's delivered by UPS!

These batteries come as 6 8-battery blister packs on a large card. It is very difficult to get batteries 2 thru 8 out of the newly introduced packaging. It appears that the "wheel" containing the batteries on each card should turn, but it does not. The packaging just falls apart. If you put the loose batteries in a container after this has happened, they go dead. This is a very poor packaging design. The batteries themselves are fine. The old packaging was much easier to deal with.

After shopping with my 69 year old mother this evening, prior to leaving the store, she read her receipt and relized that she has been double charged for a product. We were advised by an employee to see the front end supervisor-dennis s. (Store # 1147 3900 dublin st. New orleans, la). We we approached by dennis, he looked at my mother and asked, "what do you want? " my mother proceeded to tell him that she was instructed to see him about the over charge. He said, " oh yeah?" he then called over another associate and she asked how could she be of assistance? Dennis responded, "yeah, whatever it is they want". I asked, excuse me? He stated once again, "whatever they want". And he looked at us and walked off. I'm so upset right now that i'm literally shaking as I type this. Myself, my mom, and sister frequently shop at costco. I have never felt so disrespected in my life. I work hard and spend my hard earned money in your store, I expect to be treated as a human being. We have been members since this location opened in 2013. I cannot speak for my mother, but I will definitely not be renewing my membership. I will take my money where it's appreciated.

I am regularly buying a whole pizza from costco for my kids lunch. I put the order an hour before at Costco(15205) while picking pizza they keep me intentionally waiting for 5 to 10 minutes more near pickup point. I can see my pizza is ready. I told them once but they ignore it purposefully. I feel embarrassed and hesitation now to order a whole pizza.

I had bought and ordered new tires for my car. I went to get them installed and was told they were running a bit behind and that the service would take about an hour and half with other backed up repairs. As hour 3 rolled around I finally went up to the service desk to find out my car had been ready for over an hour. I was never called as they said they would. It turns out the person checking me in punched it in incorrectly, a "5" instead of a "9". A simple clerical error that wasted an hour and a half. That is absurd.

I have been a Costco member for +13 years. Even after moving from Seattle where I was intimate with the Company's headquarters and management, to New York City, we stayed loyal and also are often telling our city friends with small apartments to give Costco a chance. I'm an executive member and spend quite a lot annual. Our most recent rewards check was $211.

We recently began shopping at the Brookfield, CT store after getting a weekend house in the area. After shopping on our way back to the city, we discovered when we got home that 5 different produce items we bought were covered with mold and inedible. Before throwing them away, I called the warehouse and the woman who answered talked over the situation with me. I explained that because we live in NYC and not near the warehouse, I didn't want to hold on to the moldy produce for 2 weeks until we could get back there. She said it was fine for us to throw it all away and just explain the situation to the returns desk when we returned. She was very friendly and helpful. I took photos to have evidence of the bad produce (dated the same date as the sale) to be sure.

Two weeks later (on Jan 22nd, 2017), I showed up to shop again and started at the returns desk, showing my receipt and explaining the situation with the moldy produce and that I'd agreed with the employee who'd taken my call we could throw it away. The woman at the returns desk (Annette) was immediately suspicious and condescending to me. She said it was against the policy and I needed to come back with at least half the bad product. She put me right on the defensive, even though I felt I'd done only what I'd agreed to on the phone with the employee. She called over her supervisor, who reiterated the same policy and asked to know who I'd spoken to. I didn't get that person's name, and admitted this to them. I was so surprised to be given such a hard time. The supervisor (whose name I did not get, but who was a big guy w facial hair and wearing a Patriots jersey) said he would be willing to make a heavily emphasized "ONE TIME EXCEPTION" for me even though it was contrary to policy but that I really needed to save the bad product in the future. This entire time, they never once apologized for the situation or expressed any disappointment I'd bought bad product and had to spend time returnign it. And, this whole time, my three young children are looking at me with a questioning look wondering why I'm being talked to so rudely.

So, at that point, I said to Annette, I think it would be better if you apologized for selling me bad product rather than giving me such a hard time for having to return it. Annette then smiled with a smirk on her face to give me the impression I was now being unreasonable and so I could not help but to ask her why she was smiling. She responded only by saying "I'm not doing anything but going about to give you the refund YOU requested" - again to imply I was asking for something unreasonable.

I have never once abused the generous Costco returns policy. I know the Company's policies well...including its emphasis on customer service and accepting returns without asking questions. I understand I may have not done the return how you're normal protocol works, but I had cleared it with an employee of that same warehouse before I acted. I could not believe how rudely I was treated. And the supervisor stood there behind Annette the whole time and said not one more word once she began to process the return. Neither of them once apologized for selling me fruit that when opened was covered with mold. Neither of them reviewed my member profile to see how much I spend and how I never request returns. Both gave me the worst impression of customer service than I've had in a very long time.

On the way home, my husband I talked about what to do about this. I did complain in person to another supervisor while on site, and he apologized nicely and said he would speak to Annette. But I still left feeling frustrated and quite honestly SAD. My husband was ready to give up on our regular shopping trips to Costco just because of the bad produce. But, I insisted we give them a chance to smooth it over. And then I was faced with this terrible service.

For the first time, I am contemplating whether it makes sense to continue as a regular shopper. I love the Company, I love its management, its board and what it stands for. But, if the product is not good, and the service is terrible - what is the point of being loyal? At least to the warehouses in this area. I know I would never have faced this service in Issaquah or Seattle where I shopped for 10 years.

Today, there are SO many alternatives to shopping. Amazon is the obvious competitor, but there are others - Boxed Wholesale, Jet, Fresh Direct, Pea Pod, just to name a few! I am tempted to increase my share of wallet to these companies. I've already started to use Fresh Direct because of the convenience of groceries delivered to my door. And, when they've delivered produce that is other than what I'd select myself - they refund me immediately - no questions asked - with a sincere apology.

To continue to hold on to your loyal member base broadly and my own membership, which is up for renewal in February, I hope you will reflect on this feedback and take it seriously. I was so disappointed, rather than write a public review, I am sharing this with you directly.

On Saturday, January 22nd, 2017 (approx 2 PM), I visited the Kirkland, WA Costco Store. I went to the Jewelry Department to inquire on who I should see on submitting one of my wife's ring to have repair work performed on a missing diamond on the band. The service gentleman (Rick) firmly stated that I needed to go to returns to submit my ring for repair. From there I wanted to first see some rings first before leaving as I was very interested to purchasing a ring for an upcoming anniversary. I was able to view a couple of rings valued between $2000 t $4000. Next I wanted to see a Baguette Diamond Ring priced at $4999.99. I was immediately asked to provide a driver's licence. Also he stated that he could not open the case without having a manager present. As a long valued Costco Customer, I was so appalled and have never felt so humiliated by this. I was so upset that I went straight to the store's manager that day (Nick) and complained about this kind of policy that I've not seen practiced at any of the Costco Stores in Northern California. My suggestion to you; do not sell fine jewelry in any of your Washington Stores if you are going to treat customers in this fashion. My wife and I have purchased very nice Diamond Jewelry from ShanCo; we are always treated very well with excellent service; they never ever ask for any IDs just for the purpose of handling jewelry priced on the high side. FYI, I'm never buying Jewelry from Costco because of how I was treated that day ... EVER!

This morning I decided to fill my tank at the Hawthorne Business Center. There are three one way lanes to choose from. There were three trucks getting gas at the last station and one truck was parked at an angle that blocked the flow of traffic. All three trucks blocked the flow of traffic but the truck at the far end had a wide lane and could have allowed the flow of traffic if he was parked correctly. So I drove around to the front and parked at a gas dispenser I n front of one of the trucks. A lady attendant came over and told me I needed to turn around and face the opposite direction. I told her I couldn't get through because of the trucks and that Is why I had parked that way. She told me again I needed to move. I understood because I was facing the opposite direction and I was proceeding to turn around when I noticed she was standing there watching me move. She did not go over the truck driver and tell him to move because HE was blocking the flow of traffic. SHE only told me to move. She continued to stand there watching me and said NOTHING to the truck driver who was blocking traffic. She called over to another man- a supervisor I assume who was standing by the truck driver blocking traffic and having a friendly conversation ( not about moving) and explained why I had parked there. He just threw up his hands in an "Oh well" gesture. I'm upset that I was told to move and NOTHING was said to the truck driver blocking the lanes. They allowed him to fill his tank and block traffic. After I saw that discrimination, I canceled my credit for the gas and I'll never buy gas from Costco again.

We were happy with 900 count cotton baby wipes for almost about over an year now, recently we see at least 10 to 15 wipes in each 100 pack pouch which feels like nylon and their fiber strands stick to the baby during cleaning. Not only do those nylon wipes are useless but frustrating due to double cleanup effort.
Absolutely disgusting to see Costco cutting corners on a baby product! Can you please live up to the product advertising Costco?

I purchased 24, better quality, solar yard lights. These were not the cheap ones that cost a few dollars each, but a much nicer product. I installed the lights in a fully sun lighted area in my yard and they worked well... but only for about 6 months. The lights grew dimmer and dimmer over the next month or 2 and eventually only stayed lit for a couple hours in the evening.

I checked the warranty and its was good for 12 months, so I called the manufacturer and they told me there was nothing they could do and would not honor their written warranty. At this point I was very upset and there was no way to get the product working.

The manufacturer suggested replacing the batteries because this is usually what fails. I asked them to send me new batteries, but they said they could not send them through the mail... so I again... nothing could be done to fix the problem.

I went out on a limb and purchased the "not so cheap" replacement, rechargeable batteries, hoping this would solve the problem. It did not, the solar charging cells must have been worn out and not able to completely charge the batteries.

I then took the lights back to Costco for a refund and they would not honor the warranty either. I was missing some of the stakes, but that is not the point. The stakes are not the problem. I liked the lights and the way they worked when I bought them, there should be no need to return anything if a product is defective.

In the end, I got screwed out of about $120 from the manufacturer... and sorry to say... also from Costco. This is not my typical experience from a Costco buying experience. I purchase, numerous, thousand of dollars a year at Costco... and this is how they treat me NOW?

I did talk to the manager on duty and he simply would not do anything to help my situation. As a long term (30 years) customer, I believe this was a error on part of the manager and at least a problem with the return policy which CLEARLY STATES I HAVE A 1 YEAR WARRANTY.

I expect more from Costco and don't think this is the right way to treat a loyal customer. Hopefully Costco will read this and respond with a positive resolution.

Our local Costco store is in Largo, Florida at Gulf to Bay and Highway 19

Jeff & Arlene Kistner
Cost Business Member No. [protected]

Major problem with the toilet paper. We have lived in our home a few years and never had a problem with our plumbing system. We switched to this brand in December of 2016 and almost immediately had problems with clogging. This led to two major backups in our system (We are on municipal sewer.) We were able to snake the outfall pipe ourselves the first time, but the most recent clog (1/19/2017) completely flooded our downstairs with sewage. Carpet and office soaked with backed up sewage. Looked like a horror movie. This took many hours of cleaning, caused me to be unable to work for the day, and also cost over $700 in carpet damage and plumber fees. We still are not done with these fees. The plumber checked our outfall line and stated there was no problems with it. My wife asked if it could be the toilet paper and he said " Not unless it's the Costco brand" He said he has seen many homes having problems once they switch to this TP as it doesn't break down properly. We have called to complain to Costco (reference # ML 4737935) and expect a full refund of all our damages. I can provide photos and receipts if needed. customer # [protected]

Yesterday I went to the Estero location Costco with a friend of mine as her guest. I was looking for a particular bottle of wine that I guess they don't carry anymore, which was fine. I found another one I wanted to try and made my way up to the register. Little did I know, guests can only purchase items with cash and when I told the person ringing my item up that I did not have cash, he then proceeded to say that he wasn't really allowed to let me purchase alcohol anyway since I am a guest (he made it seem like he was being so nice and doing me a favor by letting this one chance slide... which I thought was rude and kind of condescending). I then told him to cancel the purchase and as my friend and I were getting ready to walk away he didn't even apologize, but turned to me and said "good choice of wine, it's really good"... Seriously? Well, guess I'll never know how good it was.

I guess Costco doesn't want to make new members. I will never go back.

For a # of yrs I've bought the most delicate, delicious flaky butterhorn type pastry filled with various fruit & or cream cheese!
Suddenly awhile back they were replaced with a hard, crusty pastry filled with fruit. I'm so disappointed! They are terrible! I never buy them anymore! Why in the world would you replace the most wonderful, scrumptios pastry for an inferior product?

Joy Chastek

A friend of mine was recently in Costco with about four hundred dollars worth of items and was disrespected and humiliated in front of the entire store when she attempted to pay with a personal check. She has been a mwmbwr for about four years now. The day this occurred she had renewed her membership with Costco, and the rude manager said "you cannot pay with a check of this amount on a new account". The manager quickly grabbed the membership card and check and held them from the cashier and yelled this at my friend. This embarrassed her so much I don't think she will ever return to Costco. This is a Shame since she had been shopping there for over four years now.

we bought our 48 inch sony tv on 2015 August. has a little problem on the plug in system after 14 month. called the repair technician was told still under 2 years warranty they will send someone to fix. tv brought back after 2 days repair. it was ok. but same night we find out there is a broken pieces on the right of the TV and ours doesn't have any. that make as to check the TV carefully. luckily we kept the original box.
when we compare the TV and original box there is some information not matching.
manufacture date. IQ scan code all not matching. ours is energy star but this tv is not. called to tv customer service right away, been almost 2 month now, hundred of phone calls we did, no one can solve the problem. every one says will wait superviser. on hold for half an hour cannot find superviser. luckily a month ago catch the superviser and was told will give us a call within 2 business day. but no one called.
it is really frustrating .such a big company cannot give a right answer, what kind of customer service. the third part customer service really ruined costco reputation.
we just want our tv back.

code on side [protected] 3 bottle box.
i will never buy them again.
this new improved is a joke.
they feel of the bottle itself is like touching a snake...slimy.
the enclosed contact lens case is unfriendly to the touch, and cheap looking

i guess you cut costs it and really shows. But I will never buy them again.
In fact I made the mistake to buy two boxes not knowing of the new improvements . I will be returning the one i didn't open. And if I were not frugal i would throw away the rest.

By presenting my valid Costco membership card obtained from the States, I got denied entering to Costco in Docklands Melbourne on Jan 14 2017. The store staff (michelle2009) and store manager yelled at me “the US Costco card is not valid in Australia, I remembered you, you will never be allowed to enter any Costco stores in Australia”.

Is it true? When I looked at “Member Privileges & Conditions” on Costco.com, one of the privileges being “Your membership card is valid at any Costco warehouse worldwide.“

I wish it would not be a sort of “discrimination” because I am an Asian looking girl? I hate to go there but the bad attitude of store staff made me think twice.

Member # [protected] Order # 4104639 Date 05/16/2016
In May, 2016 I expressed interest in purchasing air conditioning for my home. I was contacted by Sunset Heating and Cooling, the contractor with Costco.
After agreeing to the estimate, the sales person came to sign the final papers. He indicated that full payment be made at that time, in cash or check. I had not been informed of this.
At the end of the installation day, the workers said the AC was not working, there was a problem and they would return the next day. The next day they discovered that the electrical wiring to the thermostat had some how been shorted out. I was offered a new "simple thermostat" (on/off, heat/cool), or the option to purchase a comparable thermostat to the original for approximately $700. I opted for the simple model. The new thermostat was installed. After they left, I found many sharp screws and small fragments of metal in the garage and near the new AC unit in the yard. The AC worked well.
When the weather became colder in late November, I noticed that the furnace had a 15 minute delay to turn on and took approximately 1 hr to heat to set temperature. In December I called the AC Company to access the furnace function. At the visit it was explained that although my furnace was a high efficiency, multiple speed model, with the simple thermostat it could only operate at one speed, thus the slow start and function. Not at all efficient. This had not been explained when I selected the "free" thermostat.
I requested that a programmable thermostat matching the furnace be installed at no cost to me. The Company agreed and came do the install.
The new thermostat did not work. Installer stated there was likely a "decayed" wire to the thermostat. On further evaluation he determined that the 'circuit board" in the furnace was not working, which explained the furnace and thermostat failing to communicate. This would need to be replaced at my expense-$680. Sunset would not back down on this offer- they buy the thermostat, I pay for the circuit board.
The furnace and thermostat worked perfectly prior to the AC install and damage to the original thermostat. I do not believe that I have responsibility for the circuit board damage or should I incur the cost of replacement. In order to have a functioning system I was forced to pay for the circuit board and install. I would like the $680 be paid by Sunset Heating and Cooling.

Christine the audiologist is very arrogannt i almost did not buy my hearing aids from costco because of her and have had problems with her every time i have had to return to the store for adjustments she thinks she has a very high opion of herself and customer service is secondary. i have tried to become friends to no avail. she makes an appointment i arrive 15 minutes early she is not busy tells me to come back at 12 oclock the scheduled app time i do so she is not there i go behind counter because i cant see in the booths thinking she has another app she shows up and gets upset with me for being behind counter said she was on a break i suggested she put a sign on counter to that effect she continues to badger me . then tells me she cant do anything about the ringing in my hearing aids when she told me the week before to make an appointment and she could adjust them. she is very belligerant and not courteous at all unlike all of other experiences with costcos

6 days ago I purchased avocados from Costco. Below are pictures of them. Not one was any good. I used to be able to depend on Costco for good avocados but lately they have not been as good and these were horrible. Nothing to salvage.
Saddest thing is I cannot take them back directly to store. We have not been able to get out of our driveway since Jan. 11. It is now Jan. 15. Snow and Ice in Portland Or. area. We probably have at least one more day of this. By then they would certainly be rotten.