Costco Employees Want Customers To Stop Doing This

Shoppers love Costco because it's so easy to shop there — just consider the generous return policy, for instance. But the very things that make Costco a haven for customers are also the things that can equal a difficult experience for employees. For instance, although the warehouse discount chain does have a 100 percent satisfaction guaranteed policy for their merchandise, as an employee told Business Insider, the team once witnessed "a 60-year old woman who threw an actual tantrum because we refused to return her stained, eight-year-old mattress."

Similarly, imagine being an employee trying to reason with a customer who insists on returning a Christmas tree in January (via The Kitchn). Another highly questionable return was, as a Costco employee relayed, a "Cat litter box. Still full of cat litter. It stank up receiving for weeks afterwards."

Dealing with returns aren't the only area where employees can struggle at Costco. In fact, dealing with customers in general is sometimes a nightmare.

It seems Costco customers aren't always satisfied with the overall awesome experience of shopping at the giant store. "Because people pay a membership fee to shop there, they feel entitled to treat us like s***t and expect us to bend over backwards for them," one worker said (via Business Insider). On the flipside, some customers attempt to shop at Costco without a membership. Some even insist they have been shopping at the store for years — but can't produce a membership card.

Of course, then there are the types of customer behaviors an employee might encounter working at any store, from Target to Whole Foods, like leaving perishable goods in an abandoned cart, and not returning carts to the proper place. And, in general, Costco employees report that some customers treat them with a lack of respect. 

All of this said, many employees have very positive things to say about working at Costco, despite the realities of dealing with rude customers. "Costco is an extremely fast-paced environment at times, however they pay very well. They have opportunities to help you progress, for when opportunities come up," one employee reported to Indeed. Added another, "We get paid incredibly well to deal with the members, so unless they're being crazy — admitting to stalking you, being racist — we'll deal with it."