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Costco deilvers on customer satisfaction. Although you have to buy it in bulk and may require a forklift and Escalade to take it home.
When it comes to pleasing customers, Costco does a better job than any other major retailer in the country.
At least that is the conclusion from an extensive survey conducted by Consumer Reports.
"People like a lot of things about Costco,” says senior editor Mandy Walker. "They were extremely happy with the quality of the things they bought there and the price they paid.”
The Consumer Reports National Research Center surveyed more than 26,000 subscribers about their shopping experiences at 10 of America’s major chains: Costco, JCPenney, Kmart, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Meijer, Sam’s Club, Sears, Target and Wal-Mart. They rated the stores and their websites on quality, selection, value, customer service and checkout.
The just-released report shows the biggest complaints about walk-in stores were slow checkout, poor service and items that were out-of-stock. It turns out that in many cases, customers were as happy or happier shopping at the retailer’s website. After all, online you don’t have to wait in line for checkout.
Costco was the only one of the 10 chains to get an outstanding grade for the quality of the merchandise at both its brick-and-mortar stores and website. It earned above-average scores for all 10 product categories rated, including jewelry, sporting goods and entertainment. The Costco website received high marks for both value and ease of navigation.
But Costco wasn’t perfect. The brick-and-mortar stores rated below average for selection and service. Customers were also unhappy with the long lines at checkout.
Other highlights from the Consumer Reports’ survey:
- Macy’s rated better than average for product quality. It got high marks for its kitchenware and personal-care products.
- Kohl’s and JCPenney had above-average scores for the quality of their merchandise in all categories where there were sufficient responses.
- Sears, Costco and Sam’s Club were picked as the best places to buy hardware.
- Target’s in-store shopping experience was rated average and its website was judged not especially easy to use.
- Wal-Mart and Kmart scored much lower than other retailers. Kmart was the only chain to score below average for value. It also received low marks for selection, service and checkout.
- Wal-Mart may boast low prices, but respondents told Consumer Reports they got better value at Costco and Kohl’s.
- Nearly a quarter of Wal-Mart shoppers (23 percent) who returned an item to a store the previous year said they had a problem. That is significantly more than any of the other retailers. Consumer Reports says the common complaint was that they were only offered a store credit.
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I guess I now know why I shop at Costco...
Still.....I wish they would accept more credit cards. Discover and American Express. That's it. No Visa. No Master Card.
I cannot accept this finding. Shopping at Costco is like Russian Roulette and treasure hunt.
If I find a good product, I can be assured that it will not be there the next time I look for it. To be exact, I like the roast beef, the pastrami, vitamins, potato salad and certain canned goods. I have complained to the store manager and to Costco headquarters and zip, 0, nada.
Then we have the famous find it where it was game. Waste time looking for where the item was last time. They have moved it. Now I race up and down the aisles looking for where they hid it now.
Whatever I save, I lose in time wasted and searching for what is not there.
Absolute stupidity in not keeping the basic items they make in the store. They make great spare ribs. When I went back for more, nothing. So I asked the clerk why no hot spare ribs? I was told that the management ordered him to only make them for Friday and Saturday!
In the store I go they have people at the exits and you have to show your receipt even though the exit is 50 feet from the cash registers. There is a huge insulting sign that says that the person examining your cart is verifying that everything you pay for is in your cart! What absolute Bull Shi*! I talked to the manager and Costco and told them that they are insulting the customers with that sign. The sign is still there.
And you have to pay for a costco card? Fuc* that. I use my friend's card and then only once every two or three months.
Walmart has a great selection of fruits and vegetables, cold cuts, cheeses and you don't have to buy prepacked. And Walmart is cheaper and has specials. They are very willing to make custom cuts and the meat prices are much cheaper.
That guy at the door is preventing shrink, not just from theft but from misscans, usually overscanning is the biggest problem. More shrink equals higher prices, and lower shrink equals lower prices.
The product movement is because of the basic principles of merchandising. When you move things, and people have to look for them, they tend to pick up other products.
Finally, the limit on product availability is due to purchasing and limited availability.
Maybe if you shopped more than once every two or three months, you'd find stuff easier. I hope you get caught shopping under your friend's card.
LMAO! I'm guessing you work for Walmart? But even with all the complaining, you still go back to Costco.
Newman - your complaints sound somewhat like the rantings of a crazy bedridden nursing home patient who is still mad that we left Vietnam. The fact that you have complained to the store manager and store headquarters regarding the issues you have finding your favorite cold cuts strongly reinforces this opinion.
Also, anyone who prefers Wal-Mart to Costco has some serious mental and/or emotional issues.
Do me a favor, buy any piece of furniture whatsoever from Wal-Mart and Costco. Using a test group, have them assemble the furniture, and then attempt to use the furniture in the way it was designed.
If the piece of furniture crumples into dusty, plywoody chunks at the first sign of actual usage, Congratulations! You have now identified the Wal-Mart Product!
We know that, at this point, the wisest decision may seem to make a bonfire with said product, but we must advise against this.
The makeup of Wal-Mart Furniture products is 5% wood, 75% Recycled Plastic Grocery Bags, and 20% pure unadulterated hate. This combination has been known to cause serious injury when burned or attempted to be used.
Poor Newman seems to be lost in the "glass half empty" zone. Yes, Costco changes things around and if you see something you really want, buy it. The good news is they are the ONLY ones that really back up their return policy. Walmart sells cheap junk alot of the time. Best Buy wants to charge you more for the big electronics and then sell you an extra $200 + warranty. Costco gives you the extra year free and if you have American Express, you get a third year. If the banks weren't charging the extra fees I have no doubt that Costco would lighhten up on the other charge cards, but they do accept all kinds of debit cards and that saves you money also. The quality and return policy in a warehouse setting (that also saves you money) should be all you need to stay with Costco. Besides, your walk through the store lets you sample all the food goodies they have out all over the store, before your hot dog and pizza on the way out. Sorry Newman, your argument must be your answer for everything out there, with or without your need to use expletives. No, if you're inclined to ask, I don't work for Costco, nor does anyone I am related to. Just like a great shopping experience that seldom has a problem. What Costco doesn't have, I seldom need. Like Penneys and Target but for a different variety. :-)
Duh12121212 I ran a retail chain for many years as my own business. I know that 10% of the profit goes out the front door and 10% of profit goes out the back door. If you read competently, I did not object to the person checking, I objected to the sign. Perhaps that is why your name is duh. The checker only counts the items doesn't compare prices or cans.
I know why they move the items to make you look at other merchandise. I don't like it. My time is worth more than running up and down the aisles and asking the help, who most times don't know where the items are and have to get someone from management to find what I am looking for.
Ever hear of customer dissatisfaction for making a long trip and being dissatisfied? I was on the floor of my shops for 10-12 hours a day for 6 days a week and I paid careful attention to complaints. That is how a company grows. Listening to complaints and getting customers back again. 10% of our sales were for special orders. If we didn't have it, we special ordered it for you and ate the small shipping charges fees. The basic idea is to make the customer feel like the most important person in your world and treat him as such. GET HIM BACK, GET HIS MONEY, GET HIM TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE EXCELLENT SERVICES AND PRICES.
I do not want to spend 20 minutes looking for an item that they decide to change its location every time I go there. I do not want to buy a box of vegetables when I only need one item. I do not want to go back and find that 1/2 of my list is incomplete.
Teaser items don't work. If you come into one of my stores and I can't satisfy you and make you a repeat customer, I failed!
And if you do comparison shopping and taste tests, their Kirkland brand is terrible.
You have an overblown opinion of Costco. It took them months to establish themselves in my area. I am the one who complained about the greeting person demanding to see cards when entering and that stopped.
I had a card and found it a waste. After continual disappointments, I let it lapse. Now when I really need something I go and look. Most times I leave with very little. Stupid company wastes so much space on tons of the same item, when they can increase variety and sales.
I strongly suggest that you do not continue to underestimate the quality, experience and intelligence of people who make comments. I also advise you not to insult the people who comment. Great you like Cosco. They are missing the boat big time. They miss add ons to the merchandise they sell. For example, they sell microwaves but do not sell the plates that are used in microwaves.
Cosco is similar to a yard sale, you never know what you are going to find.
I usually give my shopping list to my daughter who has a costco card and she usually comes back with nothing I requested. The store manager just shrugs his shoulders and told us, he can only sell what they send. What a cop out!
I can go to Wal Mart, have my list and walk through the aisles and find exactly what I need in the same places. Zip I am in and zip I am out. I find their prices cheaper and better help. Much greater variety. VLASIC PICKLES! Ragu spaghetti sauce, sauerkraut, great variety of salad dressing, TARTAR SAUCE! Not the garbage Kirkland. Costco hides the expensive vitamins behind the pharmacy counter. Great! Can't see it, can't buy it.
Walmart has over 10 people in the deli area and 5 people in the meat department. They will give me samples to taste and cut the item the way I want it. Everything in Costco is sealed and not available to taste.
All the housewares items are in the same area and the variety is much greater than Costco. Small tools and small household items also in the same area. No running around and spending huge amount of time looking for something. Why drive 30 minutes to get disappointed? Just drop down to Walmart and 15 minutes later out of the store.
Travis-1944 The absolute first rule in debating is to address the issues. When you have to insult, libel and defame, you lost all credibility. In all my time building, running and expanding my business, I had to throw two people out of my stores. I would gladly make you the third one.
What a complete waste of living space you are. You have no idea how to run a business or to make it successful. Keep on going to stores that don't have what you want and keep on keeping your mouth shut.
There is a maxim in the retail business. For everyone who complains there are one hundred that just walk out. And those who complain are the ones who build your business. A businessman needs to know what his customer wants and needs to know how to treat them to get them to come back and spread favorable word of mouth advertising.
Here Walmart has at least 10 checkout counters open with lines and Costco is lucky to have three. The Walmart parking lots over flow to the third tier back from the store and is open 24 hours a day. Costco has one tier filled with cars and closes at 9 pm.
Costco prices are crazy. I am not going to pay 15 dollars a pound for meat no matter what it is. I certainly can find better prices and coupons for my neighborhood grocery store and I can choose the items I want. Costco prices on basic items are way out of line.
The next time you go to Costco and look at their overpriced furniture, check the stickers where they are made. CHINA, INDONESIA, MEXICO and the clothes? Forget it.
Vitamins are ridiculously priced. I went in and looked at Glucosamine. They wanted $33 dollars for a container. I went back to my on line supplier it was $12.00. Kirkland Zinc tablets were $10.00 Puritan Pride was $3.00.
If you want to buy furniture in the U.S. you don't go to Walmart or Costco, you wait for the sales with massive markdowns at the quality furniture shops. If you want pastrami, roast beef, hungarian salami, and potato salad, you go to Shop Rite. Its on the way to WalMart and you know they have a great deli with real honest to goodness crispy kosher pickles!
Dennis-1071752 Another air head. Sears is fantastic for guaranteeing their products and service. I buy all my tools at Sears. I recently broke a screwdriver and brought it back and without a word, they gave me a new one. Sears is wonderful for spare parts. I needed a part for my table saw and brought in the manual and the piece and in a week, I had it. I bought some bad milk at Walmart and brought it back and was informed that I was entitled to two items for each item that was bad. No receipt no problems no arguments.
Stupidly I picked up a box from the display of cd players paid for it and left. When I got home, I found the box EMPTY. I brought it back to Walmart and they immediately gave me a new one. Radio shack is the same way.
My business has a no nonsense 100% money back no time limit guarantee. Sure I lose a few bucks to cheats and thieves but people will buy more knowing that if they want to bring something back, no arguments, here is the cash in hand. Once we took back an item after one year.
You really need a lesson in economics. Costco sells their off brand merchandise and makes huge profits. Their volume is large and negotiate with the distributors for a long payment policy. They sell the item, put their money into high yield investment instruments and get interest on the money that they haven't paid the supplier. Check their balance sheets and you see that.
They are playing with your money and the supplier's money. I do the same thing. I work with my suppliers and as the season runs down, we are first to get the bulletins on excess merchandise at discount with favorable terms. Our margin goes up and we can then sell the excess stock at discount and still make money. If you don't know how the game is played, don't comment.
If you fall for paying for the extra year guarantee, you are not using the right credit card at Best Buy, but you have to find out for yourself which one you have to get to get the free extra year of guarantee.
You want to eat the junk at Costco, enjoy the dog food.
The best hotdogs are Sabretts or Kosher all beef hotdogs. And you wouldn't find them at Costco.
The hotdogs at Costco are made from the same material as chicken nuggets. Whatever falls on the shop floor get shoved into the casing. Fillers, flavoring and scraps. Happy heart attack and souped up cholesterol levels!
Love Costco! Best return policy, love the sample "stations", employees are friendly and helpful, GREAT value & pricing, GREAT food court ($1.50 for a hot dog & drink - FREE REFILLS!), good selection of products and coupons!
If its worth doing, its worth overdoing. Its the American way. :)
I wish Costco could carry all American products and it would then be perfect... Love Costco.... I just wish we Americans could buy all American products somewhere....
I've felt the same way. If any retailer had the resources and clientele to pull it off, Costco could do that.
Here's to hoping... thumbs up. :D)
Fed up, if they carried only American made products, they would have next to nothing to sell. There seems to be some myth about that would have us believe that there are American products available to fill a store front with, but, the dammed retailers are not carrying them.
It matters very little where one buys most of the consumer items. Most are NOT made in the USA. You can thank the greedy moguls of retail for all the cheap junk. It maximizes profits to make it where labor is really cheap.
And, we can pat ourselves on the back for being such "wise" consumers that we shop at which ever offers us the lowest prices, i.e.---the product that is made overseas with cheap labor and little environmental concern. This river of cheap crap is only there because we support it, with our dollars.
I read some months ago about a mill up north that has gone back to producing wool blankets made in America. This blanket will cost you around two hundred dollars. I, myself, can actually see myself buying one of these blankets. However, it will not be on the shelf at WalMart for twenty nine ninety nine. Most people do not buy blankets that cost two hundred dollars. They will buy the cheap one at WM, then cast it off into the landfill in a few years and buy another cheap blanket. That is the way the streaming river of trash goes on in America. Honestly, we have ourselves to thank for the dearth of quality that we see at any of the retailers. They build it, and we flock to it.
Think once, twice, three times about anything that you buy. You may find that you have a better life without working to pay for it, going out to buy it, using it for limited time and purpose, storing it, cleaning it, disposing of it and paying for all the infrastructure that enabled you to just put it out on the curb for your tax supported garbage vehicle to come around and drag it off to a landfill that is also supported by your tax dollars, where it may lay in that heap long after you and all of your great grandchildren are dead and gone. The real cost goes WAY further than just the cheap nine ninety nine price tag at WM. The real cost of cheap and plentiful crap is immense, and not just in terms of dollars.
Though Costco doesn't sell many American made products, they at least pay a decent salary. My husband has worked there for 9 years. our insurance is awesome, we get dental, and when we get glasses there, we get up to $150 off each pair, once a year. Any generic prescription drugs we get prescribed, and get through Costco pharmacy, we pay $3, any OTCs that used to be prescription, we get for free. He also gets 2 bonuses a year, has a good amount of vacation time, and makes a decent amount per hour. How Costco pays for their employees? Strictly through membership fees. Walmart has a selection of American made, the trade off is that Costco's employees make a decent enough amount of money to put back into the economy, and not just scrape by.
Let's be honest. There is a diferent class of people that shop at Costco!
That class would be?
Wow, define "different class." Can't wait to hear what "class" you stem from. Give Newman a hug. He's feeling bad now, since he does keep going back to Costco even though he really doesn't like the place at all. ???????????????
Dennis-1071752 How much is costco paying you? Is it by the word or hour?
Glad you have so much time to waste running to several stores to get your shopping done. But then you are that "CLASS OF PEOPLE" who believes time is not money.
They do take Visa & Master Card Debit Cards. I use mine there all the time as I don't have any credit cards.
I became a Costco fan when the very first Store Opened in south Seattle many years back. At that time, many manufacturers refused to sell to Costco, so Costco resorted to gray market for popular items like Sony, or Seiko Watches, and when a item was gone, that was it. Its still true to some extent. If, for example, they get a good price on a major brand product because of over production, or whatever, that product may sell out and never be seen again. Customers need to understand those one time items. Items that cannot be restocked or are discontinued have a asterisk on the price card, so its easy to know, and stock up because thats all.
Part of the reason ANY company is rated highly is that the person at the TOP knows what they are doing. Since COSTCO is not the victim of leveraged buyouts and all the other ridiculous shenanigans that people with more money than brains pull, it can be faithful to the philosophy of its founder and CEO, which is that customer service equals profit. Maybe not the MOST profit you can squeeze from every speck of dust, but enough to live on and to provide a decent lifestyle for your employees. Demanding that 100% of every penny end up in your personal pocket so you can "make back your investment" in less than 3 minutes before you go ruin another company is today's mantra. I understand that it is not about the money, per se, but the bragging rights among the various billionaires as to which one bought the most elections and therefore their favorite favorable tax laws, etc.
Whatever floats your ridiculous boat, I guess. What the hell does someone do with billion dollars, anyway? Give it away, I guess. Anyway, COSTCO maintains its position in the marketplace by being true to its original philosophy, providing a decent deal for customers, and trying to keep quality high as much as is possible in today's competitive environment. For the poster who has trouble shopping there, the more I read your post, the more I felt you were the person at fault, not for wanting good customer service, of course, but for having the same expectations from a warehouse club that you expect from Nordstrom's or Bloomies. Warehouse clubs operate in their own space in the market, do what they do, and offer you an opportuity to save money. I guarantee you won't find the same dress at Bloomies next summer that you found last, nor the same undies, probably. Why would you expect that from a warehouse club? Maybe it is time to lower your selection expectations and take it for what it is. Just sayin'...
Welcome to Costco. I love you.
LIghten up people!!!
Costco manages to pay union wages, keep employees for many years, and have a loyal customer base of satisfied members.
It can be done, job creators, and Republicans.
I loathe shopping at Costco but I still do it. I would go there more and spend more money if it weren't for the long lines at the checkouts then the long line at the door waiting to checked out. The reason I still shop there is because I buy certain Kirkland brand products that are of great quality. That is the only reason.
I have been to two in Denver. There are lines, but no more than five minutes or so. Checkout at the door is at walking speed.
We buy our weekly staples at Costco, like meat, bread, milk, eggs, cheese, fruits, veggies, and juice. My wife likes their selection of clothes. I bought my plasma TV there with the extended warranty. Granted, due to there supply theory I might get a different 3-lb bag of coffee beans each time, it is still a great value.
Costco also has numerous locations here in Canada as well. I shopped there for a couple years but haven't been there for about 5 years and haven't missed it a bit. I found Costco prices to be usually higher than other big box stores and in many cases higher than local supermarkets. The selection at Costco was always poor - they had one or two varieties of a product and that was it. At Costco I always had to purchase the "super duper humongous" size of everything and usually ended up wasting some portion of it. And, as others have pointed out, you could never find the same product twice at Costco - just when you located a product you liked it was discontinued or out of stock (usually permanently) - and I am not talking about unusual products - I mean everyday common consumer staples. I used to buy diapers and pull-ups at Costco at that time because my two sons were at the infant / toddler stage. I couldn't find any one time and asked about it - I was told that pull-ups were "SEASONAL ITEMS" and not stocked in the winter. No problem - I'll just tell my son to "hold it" till spring! Service at Costco was always pathetic. The line-ups at cash were always huge and the cashiers seemed to not have a clue how to use the equipment - and of course usually only about a third of the cash lanes were ever open. Returns - forget it. The line-ups for returns usually stretched to the horizon and you always got the third degree about why you wanted to return the article. And try finding a staff member to ask a question of about some product - it would have been easier and quicker to mail a letter and wait for a response. The produce was only just acceptable most of the time - one would expect that with great quantity and turnover the produce should be fresh - at Costco though, only if you were lucky. For some reason I had many, many problems with bagged milk at Costco. For some unknown reason the internal bags were always torn or split leading to spills everytime you wanted to take out a bag of milk. I complained verbally, phoned the head office, wrote letters but the problem never seem to get fixed. BUT, the worst problem was the time I pulled a bag of milk out of the milk crate in the cooler and found it covered with animal excrement!!! It took about 10 minutes to even find anybody working in the cooler area and when I did he said he was too busy to do anything about it - until I stood in the middle of a crowd of customers and VERY LOUDLY proclaimed that the milk was covered in DOG SH**. I never went near the milk coolers again after that. Then there was everybody's favourite - the storm troopers at the exit door. One storm trooper - twenty people in line - after waiting at the checkouts forever now you had to wait at the exit forever. The storm trooper snever really did anything - just scrawled a mark on your receipt - they never actually looked at your cartful and the receipt.
Costco was definitely not a pleasant nor a lower price shopping experience - I have never even been tempted once to go back.
Costco, Amazon and Google...life would really suck without them in my life! Most things I can't get online at Amazon are available at a reasonable price and high quality at Costco, plus they both have great return policies. Google just knows everything, I couldn't do my job (programmer/analyst) without Google...well, I could do it poorly like in the old days!
I have a Costco membership. I consider it to be a luxury to have one. There are only a few things that I buy there. I have a membership in order to buy those few things. Those few things are grocery items. Rarely, do I ever buy anything other than those few items. That is why it is a luxury for me.
I see so many people buying a lot of junk at Costco, in bulk. The aisles and freezer cases are full of junk food. Fortunately, they also carry a nice array of cheeses, some good olive oil, vegetables, and I like the Kirkland coffee. Meats are passable, but, I prefer the Amish market for meats and all local produce during the summer.
One thing that i like about shopping Costco is that there is no sappy overhead music. I like the big warehouse atmosphere. Target is also pleasant to shop with none of that overhead distraction. WM is so awful that I can hardly stand to walk into the store, and I don't, very often.
Newman is right about them not having a consistent base of merchandise. I don't see that merchandise is moved around all that much, though.
My complaint is the way the customers line up at the registers. The stores seem to be flawed in the concept of just where are these long lines to form. It makes for difficult maneuvering around the front of the store, really difficult. They need to corral the line of carts into one line that feeds into the bank of registers.
Then, entering and exiting the store can be problematic, as well. One has to thread their way through a stream of traffic to go in or out. The only traffic in front of the store should be for large item pickup. And, even that should be limited to a certain area. Costco is not the only store to be like that. I can hardly imagine how someone has not gotten killed in that traffic. Why do planners and designers not pay more attention to how crowds move and line up? it seems that it could be so much more orderly and organized than it is. I travel some miles to go to a Costco that is not as crowded as the one nearest to my house.
It seems that some people in the comments section really have some kind a agenda going to repeatedly post long comments disparaging Costco. If you don't like it, don't go and get on with your life. No one is forcing anyone to shop there.
If anyone took the time to read through Costco's investor relations materials you would quickly see that setting up the store to feel like a treasure hunt is by design. Additionally, if Costco can't get an item at what they feel is a fair price, then they will drop the item. (Coca-Cola wanted too much for their products at one point and so Costco stopped selling their products for a while.) Mark ups on items are minimal, 80% of all Costco's profits come from the membership fees, and 90% of members decide to renew their memberships each year. The latter gives Costco an advantage compared to the big box stores during an economic downturn. I have been most impressed with the ethics of the company. They do their best to be fair to their members, employees, suppliers and stockholders.
Personally, I love Costco. In most Japanese stores prices are really expensive and so I go to Costco about once a week. It is one of the best places to get cheap fresh vegetables, baked goods, meats, cheeses, and deli foods. Many of the products they sell, like imported American products, are completely unavailable elsewhere in Japan or would cost an arm and a leg somewhere else.
Japanese people seem to agree with Costco being the place to shop. On a Sunday or national holiday, cars are lined up at least 5 kilometers just to get into the parking lot. Luckily, I have never had to wait more than a few minutes to go through check out and returning items has been a breeze.
Is Costco perfect? No, of course not. The company's management would be the first to agree. Overall, I'm very satisfied with my Costco membership and I get a very good value on the items I buy there.
For newmann: After reading all the comments, I have worked at a Staples store for 11 years. Staples sells office products, electronics, furniture & services which also is available at Costco, Walmart, Target & other retailers. Staples knows we can't compete on price with Costco, Sam's Club & Walmart, BUT we can offer excellent customer service & sales help to assist customers. Your argument regarding Costco & Sam's Club, both of which require membership fees to sell products at warehouse prices has no merit. You cannot compare regular retail chains to warehouse clubs. Both have different business models & the customer experience is expected to be different. Customers shopping at Costco don't expect sales help, personalized service or variety of selection. Customers know it's a warehouse & selection is limited. Costco customers are mainly shopping there to save money. Even though I work for Staples, I buy printer ink at Costco & while I'm at Costco, I buy vitamins, food & other supplies. By the way, if you look at the quantity of the proeducts you buy at Costco i.e. #of pills in those vitamins, I can guarantee it's a lot cheaper than Walmart. Again, you have no leg to stand on to complain to Costco. You're expecting Costco to act like a regular retail store when their business model dictates that it can't. As for the sign at the door, I have no problem with it. I would rather have someone check my cart than Costco raising its prices.
Once you get up to certain level, TIME MATTERS MORE THAN MONEY (if I have to waste an hour of my time, that is equal to a week's worth of lunches). So the comments that it is confusing to shop Costco applies.
If you enjoy shopping, Costco will work for you. Their products are SOMETIMES better and you can buy in bulk which can save shopping trips.
But, if you have an item that spoils and needs to be consumed/replaced weekly, Costco is not the solution.
I'm not a shopper and, for the most part I hate shopping. That being said, I absolutely LOVE Costco! Their website ROCKS! For just about anything I want to buy, I will check to see if Costco sells it before I purchase from anyone else. They have the very best quality of all the warehouse clubs, they treat their customers well, they stand behind everything they sell and all the merchandise is fairly priced. Even their employees are paid relatively well! Their corporate philosophy is something to be admired and emulated. I rarely shop anywhere else. For the people who choose Walmart over Costco, you must live on another planet or never learned to appreciate quality because your welfare checks never allowed it.
As a small urban family, we love Costco. It offers high quality products at a fair market price or lower. Generally, our experiences that are negative have more to do with the other customers (the painfully unaware of their and your personal space) rather then the stock, lines, or employees. We love it so much, we blog about it regularly at costcodiaries.com.