If you ever want to witness the collapse of human decency in real time, head to Costco on a Saturday afternoon. At least that’s what Redditors say. It’s a chaotic mess that proves, once and for all, that “the customer is always right” is a myth.
From abandoned carts to aisle blockers, some behaviors may seem harmless to you but are driving Costco employees up the wall. And they’re not shy about sharing it on Reddit.
Here are 10 things Costco employees are practically begging you to stop doing.
1. Blocking the Aisle
This is the most common pet peeve employees reported with customers. Yes, Costco’s aisles are wide, but they aren’t park-your-cart-and-ponder-life-decisions wide. Standing right in the middle creates a bottleneck, making it difficult for store employees, who often need to push heavy loads through, to pass by.
2. Leaving Cold Items in Random Aisles
Look, we get it. Life happens. You grab something from the frozen aisle, and by the time you’re over in the hardware section, you’ve decided you don’t actually need it. But now you’re so far from the frozen aisle, and you think, “Oh, to hell with it.”
The problem is that employees keep finding abandoned frozen items that have spoiled — items that could’ve been saved if returned properly.
“I work at a Costco, and while doing inventory last year, I found two packs of ribeye steaks in a display box of pillows,” an employee complained in a Reddit thread.
It costs time, money, and a bit of their sanity every time they have to throw away something that could have easily been sold if put back where it belongs.
3. Expecting Cashiers To Unload Your Cart
Expecting the cashier to unload every item from your cart is slowing down the line for everyone. Employees certainly will help you carry heavy stuff on the conveyor belt, but don’t expect them to unload the other million things you have in the cart. “As a cashier, when there would be not much of a line and someone would just wheel up their full cart and expect me to unload your cart, I immediately throw shade,” a former employee shares. “About 50% of the time they’ll say something like “can’t you just scan it in the basket?” And I have to explain that I can’t effectively scan your 50 items in the basket, and also, all the non-heavy/large things are required to go on the belt.”
4. Digging for the Freshest Item
Rummaging through the produce to pick the best bang-for-your-buck banana might not seem like a big deal, but it’s creating a mess for the employees. As one Reddit user who works in produce at Costco writes: “The product is less than 5 or 10 bucks. If you get one that’s 98% perfect instead of 100% perfect, it’s not gonna be the end of the world. It’s about to be the end of my back, though.”
5. Forgetting Your Membership Card
This seemingly minor slip-up turns into a major headache for everyone involved. Without your membership card, the cashier can’t just look up your info on the spot. They have to call over a supervisor, which takes time — especially when the store is busy. Meanwhile, the line behind you grows, and the stress levels rise. Just like you’d bring your keys when heading out, bring your membership card when you go to Costco.
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6. Taking Things Off Employee Stock Carts
Seeing an employee restocking shelves doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all, and it certainly doesn’t guarantee you the freshest produce. A former employee shared on Reddit that just because they’re restocking an item, it doesn’t mean it’s fresher than what’s already on display.
“When I had to stock muffins, people would literally hover over me and wait until I turned my back to grab more from my cart and would try to snatch them. I know y’all thought they were fresher than the ones already out, but these were literally made at the same time. I just didn’t have room to stock them earlier. They have the same date.”
7. Shopping Past Closing Time
Walking into Costco a few minutes before closing is a surefire way to ruin the staff’s evening. Latecomers ducking under the gate as it’s closing just to grab something are oblivious to the fact that because of them, the staff and the store managers can’t even start their closing routine. The posted closing time is there for a reason — so employees can finally call it a day.
8. Opening Packages You Aren’t Buying
Imagine walking up to a shelf and seeing a half-opened box — would you buy it? Of course not. That’s why Costco employees wonder why anyone thinks it’s okay to rip into a sealed package when there’s already a display item available. It’s frustrating for staff and the next customer who finds a damaged box on the shelf.
As one Reddit user puts it, “We’d have a display for the item already set up. Then along comes someone who wants to open the box themselves for whatever reason, but it’s not even a gentle opening — they go to town on the box like it owes them money, and then the real kicker is they proceed to buy one, but do they buy the box they butchered? Of course not.”
So before you decide to “inspect” an item, consider if you’d be thrilled to buy that same battered package yourself.
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9. Multiple Orders in One Cart
It’s not uncommon for people to have personal items and work purchases or even be shopping for a friend, but if the items aren’t clearly separated and the cashier isn’t informed, it can lead to chaos at checkout. Cashiers aren’t mind readers — they need to know what’s going on from the start to avoid mix-ups.
As a Reddit user points out, it’s a common frustration: “[Members] don’t help unload and get upset because some things ended up on the wrong order.”
10. Not Returning Your Cart to the Corral
This is just lazy. The corral isn’t that far, and let’s be honest — you’re not that tired. Leaving carts scattered around the parking lot isn’t just an inconvenience for Costco employees but for other shoppers, too. Stray carts block spaces, roll into cars, and generally make everything more chaotic.
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