"Costco is great for some things, but terrible for others. I tried to order tires. After completIng an order online and charging $800 to my Costco, Amex, then the web site told me the tires would be delivered to my warehouse in 10 to 15 business days, then I would have to schedule an appointment to have them put on. It took me an hour on the phone to cancel the order. I got the exact same tires installed at Firestone the next day for $65 less than the Costco price! DON'T BUY TIRES AT COSTCO!"
"My wife and I went to the Costco in Huntsville, AL with the intent of checking out prices and product selections to see if we wanted to purchase a membership. When we entered the store the lady directed us to the membership desk to get a guest pass. The lady at the desk (Linette) was very nice until she handed me the pass and said in a rude tone "YOU CAN'T BUY ANYTHING WITH THIS". I was so suprised by her sudden rudeness I didn't know what to say. I would have expected her to say something like this, "If you find something you like come back to the desk and we will be glad to have you as a member." We wentt thru the store anyway and did find some items we would probably purchase but we are rethinking our decision to join. If there's one thing I hate it's rude emplyees!!!!"
"Costco is great if you can find what you're looking for in the store. If you order online, it's another story. They take extrememly long just to process your order before it's shipped, 7-10 days. This amount of time is terrible considering other companies that ship out within a few days."
"I had a bad experience with costco and ceva logistics (the delivery service). I ordered a pingpong table and after waiting for about 7-9 days, on the day of delivery, ceva called and informed me that the box has been damaged and the one of the leg was scratch. I refused to accept the good and immediately reordered another one from costco.com. After waiting for another 10 days, the table was delivered. My wife did not inspect it properly and when I checked it, there you go, the torn box with a scratch leg. I was confused since I thought I would be getting a new one. It is highly unlikely for 2 products to have the same damaged descriptions.
My wife did not expect this as well. I called ceva and they ping pong (how ironic) me to different departments. They simply won't deal with me. I am not sure who's fault is this, but I feel so betrayed by their manipulative and dirty way of business.
I am planning on returning the good and never order from costco.com ever!"
"I bought their Kirkland brand Vitamin D. What I received had different ingredients compared to what they had listed on their website. Their website also stated "No Artificial Colors" but what they sent me contained "Caramel coloring" which is an allergen to some people, and suspected of causing cancer. I have shopped at other online retailers who would simply refund my money or at least send me a shipping label, but to get a refund I will have to drive to a local Costco which is inconvenient."
"I recently ordered a couple of gift cards from Costco.com. My overall experience was great! The checkout process was easy and my items shipped very quickly. "
"Sorry for those who have had problems, but I am not one of them. Purchased an Acer computer Dec of 2010. The usb ports failed on 6/1/2012. I called concierge service and since the manufacturer warranty was doubled computer covered till Dec 2012. They contacted Acer for me, while I waited on Phone, Acer rep entered phone call with me, and I was off the phone with a printable label to ship to Acer in about 20 minutes total. Shipped on 6/1/2012, computer returned 6/7/2012, completely repaired. Stellar performance from Costco!!"
" I went to the photo center in COSTCO chino hills. When I took ID photo,the guy only took one picture with a digital camera and tell me, good! when my baby took ID picture, he let my baby alone sit the front of the seat. My baby didn't want to do It, because she is only 14 month, she likes moving and walking.I remember last time, in another COSTCO. A lady took a good photo ID for my baby, because, she let my baby sit in the cart, she put white color towel in the back side of the cart, and then she can work easy with my baby. I told this guy,we could try it, but he did not listen to me, and he told me, he could not do it.
When I got the ID photos, the COSTCO will close, the guy was gone. I saw the pictures, it had some problems, because my baby's head was more close right side of the picture and my photo looks unclearly. A lady ,who works there, told me, they can help me tomorrow.
Next day, I went to COSTCO, I saw the guy, I told him, if he could help me make better. I was worry about, the U.S. Passport center can not accept the pictures. He told me, I should go to return center. Later when he took picture for me, he did the same likes yesterday, only one time with digital camera, and then asked me, if ok! I saw the picture looks not good, When I let him to take one more time for me, he was not glad to do it. I know other people, who usually take two or three times in a short time, and then let the customer to choice, which one is better. This time, when my baby saw the same guy, she was crying, because he looked unfriendly to us. My baby was very nervious to see his face, she looked unhappy. I knew that was unpossible to take picture for her in that time. I told him, when my baby was ready to take picture, I'll call him, later although I called him several times, he didn't take care of us. I asked him if I could take my picture back, he told me," I don't know, you can wait. "I told him, I waited for more than one hours, why I couldn't take my picture. I find their manager, after a few minutes when manager followed me to go to the photo center, at once the guy found out my picture ASAP,let me so surprise!!!!
"
"Visiting Costco is almost as bad as visiting a used car lot. The first time I set foot a store was to buy a stereo system I had seen advertised online. I wasn't a member yet and I wasn't about to buy a membership until I was sure I was going to buy an item. (FYI, you can shop there with just a gift card.) But that didn't stop the employees at the front door from demanding to see my membership card every time I walked in. I had to go to three stores before I found one that had the stereo in stock and each time I walked into a store I was blocked by an employee.
On the occasions when I did buy items the cashier asked for my card anyway, so I don't see why it's necessary to subject customers to that kind of invasion every time they walk in the door whether they buy something or not. After that year I didn't renew my membership, and the cost of it negated the savings I received on all my purchases anyhow."
"Extended Warranty to COSTCO is 90 Days on TV. At 120 days mine needed something. They willnot take at Whse after 90 days. I have 2 yr extened Warrty by buying it and 1 more for using AMEX Card. If you don;t keep your TV Box 3 years and need warranty trouble. Dissamble it, take to UPS, PAY VFOR BOX & PACKING $31 (Free wArrty hahaha) & they shiimp to NJ for who knows what and fro how long. If you consider buying electronics I HIGHLY Reccomenned you buy at Fryes Best Buy or whoever has theri own repair shhop or uses a local. For over 60 years I knew that was true of SEARS one of the best on Warranty. COSTCO SUCKS to save $30 on Purchase Nevermore!!
The Conciegere Service in not more than a telephone call to be a buffer for their suppliers to keep them from dealing with the nuts. They did notinh for me but cost me time and trouble now help at all. She is going to diagnose my TV fro a telephone so hook it bak up NO WAY CAN THIS HAPPEN in ral life!!"
"Costco Concierge really sucks. I bought my son a $700.00 Dell Laptop and it has been nothing but problems. I bought it at Costco because they had a 2 yr warranty and 24 hr Concierge Help. What a Joke that is. My dog know more about Dell Computers? I had to call Dell myself and they said too bad Costco sold it to you so deal with them. Costco has changed from a great company run by knowledgeable professional to a company of nasty twits that are not helpful or knowledgeable. After over 10 years of membership I am no longer a Costco member because of this problem and their not wanting to get involved and help me. I just joined BJ's and they seem to be what Costco was a few years ago. "
"I've been executive member for 5 years. As a frequent traveler and resident of 3 different states in the last 6 years, I compare several Costco stores around the country and realize that there is a huge difference in customer service. Yes, they generally have great deals and return policy excellent.. and I don't agree with those people who complaint out of nothing--like they wanted to return something out of policy but got denied, etc.
My problem is the big difference among stores in terms of customer service and quality control on stored-controlled venues such as bakery and food court. Yes, some stores have excellent customer service, but maybe because of that some customers are almost abusing it. The problem is, that there is some "resentment" sentiment among employees (managers too) against such customer friendly policy in some other stores. So even though all stores have the same policy, the way they execute is quite different. Speaking simply, for a legitimate return you might have some unpleasant experience at one store (eventually they refund it as long as it is within the policy, but how can still give me a hard time while doing it). On the other hand, other stores make it maybe just too easy to return things....
Of course, over the years I have had good experience and also bad experience, but it seems that there are a few stores that I have bad experience repeatedly that makes me wonder if the upper management is interested in improving their store quality. My observations are that if there's only one Costco store in one geographic or metropolitan location, the chances are the store might have bad customer service. Unfortunately I currently live in such area (where there's only one Costco within 100-mile radius. I miss those days when I lived in a big city with multiple Costco stores.
Overall, I pay $100/yr for membership (myself and my wife), and frankly I don't know if the money is worth it. It's not terrible but great either."
"It's easy to sign up for Costco, but it's not easy to cancel membership. You can sign up online easily, but if you want to cancel it, you cannot do it online or phone or fax on primary membership; you must go to store counter in order to cancel; they made it difficult for you to cancel.
Besides, you don't get full prorated amount of refund.
It's another age old trick or twisted business policy that stinks."
"I do not understand how anyone on here can have any bad comments regarding COSTCO? Maybe I am just lucky, I do not know but I have never had a problem with Costco, whether it was in their actual store or online........I have been a very long time member (over 15 plus years) and not once have I ever had any difficulty with them. In fact, a few years ago, I had purchased a Roots suitcase in store and almost 9 months later, the threads were tearing and I took it into the store and they refunded ALL my money back!! I was very impressed (I mean, 9 months later? I thought maybe I would get a replacement, if anything but a full refund, I was very impressed). I shop regularily at the store and online (at least 2-4 times a month) and I have ordered countless items through their website and not once had any problems, the products are fantastic!! I love COSTCO and I will always remain a loyal customer, out of all the stores I shop, I can always rely on COSTCO for the best deals and products!!! Thank you COSTCO for being so awesome to me!!"
"Beware of purchasing tires that are not in stock and have to be ordered, AND you have to pay for them up front. We had to order tires and pay for them up front and then were to be called when they came in, but NEVER received a call, so we had to call to find out, "oh yes they are in", and then were told, "expect a long wait" when we wanted to bring our vehicle in to get them installed. "Expect a long wait", we've already waited over a week and had already paid them alomost $800 for the tires. I have been a long time Costco member, and have spent thousands of dollars at their store and get treated like crap. I guess it is time to check out Sam's. "