4 Rude Things People Can’t Stop Doing While Shopping at Costco

Whether you’re looking for jumbo-sized paper towel rolls, vintage-inspired soaps, groceries that make up your holiday centerpiece, or brilliant storage furniture, Costco is a one-stop-shop for all your home needs. But while a trip to Costco can often feel like a mad dash to stockpile all your essentials — and then some — it’s important to follow proper shopping etiquette, especially as the store gets a swell of holiday shoppers. After all, committing a few shopping faux pas might seem like no big deal, but actually, they really frustrate Costco employees.

To get a better understanding of the biggest Costco dos and don’ts, we talked with Meghan*, who worked at the retailer in 2017. While she admits that some policies might’ve changed since her stint at the store, one thing’s for sure: Everyone should think twice about committing one of these mistakes during their next shopping spree. 

From nibbling on all the store’s samples (and making another lap for seconds) to checking out all the best deals, a trip to Costco is seldom brief. So who are you kidding by trying to squeeze an hour’s worth of shopping into 10 minutes? 

“I saw a lot of people trying to shop after the store’s closing time during the holiday season, especially weekends leading up to Thanksgiving,” Meghan says. “It was to the point that supervisors were standing at high-traffic points to stop customers from shopping after the store closed.”

Instead, she recommends carving out plenty of time to shop. You can beat the crowds by shopping on a weekday afternoon, but if you can only swing by on nights or weekends? Arrive long before the store closes. 

Sure, no trip to Costco is complete without enjoying the samples, but remember to clean up after yourself. “Please throw your sample cups in the trash cans instead of leaving them on a shelf or in your cart,” Meghan says. While abandoning a half-eaten cup of granola is annoying for staff and fellow shoppers, empty cups in the cart really grinded her gears. 

“As a cashier assistant, who loads and unloads customers’ carts at the register, I was told to take them out of the carts and throw them away,” she shares. “It’s rude to leave a slimy little sample cup in your cart when there are trash cans all over the store!” 

She has a point: You wouldn’t leave your food wrappers laying around a high-end store, so why should Costco be treated differently? 

Another thing you’ll want to keep out of your cart? Your kids. “Please have your child sit in the designated seat, at least during checkout,” Meghan says. “One thing that caused frustration on both the customer and employee side was when young children were sitting in the main area of the shopping cart, not the seat at the top of the cart where you push it.”

As random as this rule might seem, Meghan insists it’s necessary for your children’s safety — and everyone else’s sanity. “I was told not to unload or reload anything in the cart if a child was sitting in there because they could be injured — and the company could be liable,” she explains. “This frustrated shoppers because there was a delay in the checkout process and because they had to move their child.”

I get it: Costco is a big place, so placing your kids in the cart’s lower compartment will keep them from roaming. However, once you reach the checkout, put your child in the cart’s designated seat or right next to you.

While you’re at it, Meghan begs you to get your payment ready well before you reach the cashier. “When I worked there, the cashier couldn’t start the transaction until the customer had their card out,” she explains. “Fumbling through your wallet at that point slows down the line.” That’s crucially important as so many shoppers will be at Costco before Thanksgiving and the winter holidays, getting all their groceries, home goods, and other essentials they need to host. The lines will be wild, so make sure you do your part to make them move fast.

You may be eager to cross the next thing off your shopping to-do list at Costco, but you’ll want to make sure you have everything you need before checking out and keep the line moving for your fellow shoppers and Costco employees.

*Last name has been removed for anonymity.