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COSTCO fans on Reddit have ranted about one of the most annoying things about the warehouse club.
Shoppers dissed the sales associates who greet them at the retailer’s entrance, resorting to sly tactics to avoid them.
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Many consumers are avid Costco fans, praising the warehouse club for its high-quality merchandise and beloved Kirkland brand.
While shoppers readily commend the store, with dedicated fan pages across all social media platforms, the retailer came under fire in a Costco subreddit thread this week.
Costco shoppers heavily criticized the presence of the third-party sales associates at the phone kiosk, with one shopper saying they had “grown sick” of them.
“It’s the number one negative thing about Costco and I wish they would just get rid of all of them,” continued the Costco customer.
“They like to try and bait you in with a simple greeting if you walk by or even glance in their direction. If you reply to the greeting at all, you almost always get the ‘by the way…..’ spiel.”
The customer even began taking measures to avoid the sales associates.
“No more! I’ve started to just walk by and 100% ignore/refuse to acknowledge them or their greeting as if they don’t exist,” wrote the shopper. “They seem to be annoyed by this and I can sometimes hear them comment about it amongst themselves.”
COSTCO CRITIQUE
Costco fans in the comment section were quick to agree over their hatred of the phone kiosk sales employees.
“They are preying on other’s politeness and agreeability with social pressure. I have no qualms about completely ignoring them,” wrote one shopper.
“I just remember that their goal is to convince people to spend money they didn’t want to spend and they will manipulate people to that end.”
Others shared how they would avoid the pesky interaction by not shopping near the associates.
“I literally have no idea what’s even sold within a 20-foot radius of them because I plan my shopping route to avoid them,” wrote one customer.
“I end up not shopping the aisles near the pushy cell phone people. For me, it’s the towels/rugs area. If I need to shop for them I try to dart in and out unnoticed. On the other hand, I’m extra nice and polite to the sample people!” commented another.
Even Costco employees shared their grievances about the phone kiosk workers.
“Having worked 10 years at Costco, I can confidently say the Cell Phone Kiosk is the worst part of the member experience. No question,” blasted one worker.
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Another employee complained that the sales associates made no effort to distinguish Costco workers from customers.
“The phone kiosk people, I can sit next to them on break, and they still try to stop me when I walk past. I 100% ignore them,” they said.
Other Costco fans weren’t too bothered by the sales associates.
“It’s wild to me that this issue comes up so often,” wrote one Redditor. “It’s not hard to just walk on by, maybe with a smile and a head shake ‘no.’ I’d never let this bother me as much as it does others.”
Costco membership sharing guidelines
Costco has strict rules for membership use that shoppers must follow and they’ve been cracking down on offenders in recent years.
- Primary Member Use: Only the primary cardholder can use this Costco membership card. Sharing it for purchases is not allowed as the photo on the card must match the person using it.
- Household Card: Each primary member can add one free household cardholder who lives at the same address. This person will receive their own membership card and can shop at Costco independently.
- Guest Policy: Members can bring up to two guests per visit to Costco. However, only the member can make purchases. Guests must be accompanied by the member.
- Authorized Cardholder: For an additional fee, you can add an authorized cardholder, such as a family member or friend, who doesn’t reside at your address. They will receive their own card and can shop independently.
Credit: Costco
Another member complained that the lines were more of a bother than the phone kiosk sales associates.
“Line to get in the parking lot. Line to get to the door. Line to scan my membership. Line to check out. Line to actually leave the store. Line to leave the parking lot,” they critiqued.
Meanwhile, other Costco shoppers are up in arms as the warehouse club plans to remove three fan favorites from the shelves for good.
Plus, other members are disappointed “every time” they shop as the chain ditched a popular food court item fans dubbed “10/10.”
