Costco tends to generate a lot of positive buzz for its grocery deals, fan-favorite baked goods, membership perks, and low-priced food court. But if there's one thing that members can't stand about the warehouse club, it's poor shopping conduct that's becoming all too common among their fellow customers.
A Costco shopper took to Reddit this week to sound off about "disgusting" behavior from members at their local Costco in Brooklyn, New York. The shopper shared a photo of a bag of ube-flavored coconut rolls that had been ripped open—presumably by a customer who wanted to try one—and then abandoned on the shelf.
The shopper also revealed that they had purchased strawberries from Costco only to find a partially eaten berry inside the container once they arrived home. The shopper speculated that another member had tasted the berry and placed the remnants back inside the box, thereby contaminating all of the fruit.
These types of annoyances have become a frequent occurrence at Costco, customers say. The post received more than 120 comments from fellow members, many of whom reported similar unruly behavior at the warehouses near them.
"I once saw someone remove several cookies of a flavor he didn't like and swap them with the flavor he wanted with his bare hands. And he just shut the plastic container back and put it on the shelf," one shopper commented.
"We grabbed a block of cheese a while ago, and when I picked it back up to place it on the belt, I noticed it had a chunk [bitten] out of it through the plastic," another said.
These critics believe that shoppers who behave this way should lose the privilege of being able to shop at Costco. After all, customers who aren't paying very close attention to the items they're putting in their carts could unknowingly purchase a food product that another member has touched or handled.
"I want Costco to start revoking memberships. I've noticed an uptick in the amount of people doing whatever they want at the warehouse. Cutting people in line, leaving frozen items on random shelves, opening packaged items that shouldn't be opened, etc…," a shopper commented.
"I'd ban them on the spot if I could," another said.
Members can hope that Costco will hear their calls to crack down on customers who behave poorly at the store. In the meantime, Costco shoppers may want to thoroughly check their food items to make sure they haven't been tampered with in light of these complaints.