Hey, Costco - Treat Your Members Like They Pay to Shop There!

I have a long-standing love of Costco - in fact, I've loved it since before it was Costco (it used to be called Price Club). My dad used to take me there when I was a kid - and there were always so many wonders available in bulk. The best part for me, being the budding elitist I was as a child, was that you had to be a member to get in. It may have been called Price Club - but it was a members-only club nonetheless.

As I've gotten older, I have noticed that someone has forgotten to tell Costco employees that they are, in fact, dealing with members. Now, the club may not be exclusive. It may not be expensive. But damnit, we pay a membership fee for more than moderately reasonable prices on ridiculous quantities of food (especially since my Costco in Arlington doesn't have gas).

They get ruder and ruder with each visit! On our frequent visits to Costco, my fiance and I like to grab something from, as my friend's grandfather used to call it, Cafe $1.50 (in reference to the super cheap kosher hot dog and soda meal - but I am partial to the slightly more expensive huge slice of pizza for $1.99). Well, the cafe is easiest to get to through the exit. If you go in through the entrance, you have to navigate through the densely packed long lines for check out. Recently though, we have been getting insane attitude from the trolls who check your receipt on the way out. One lovely young girl with one of those beauty mark piercings suggested we didn't realize we were walking through the exit. She tried to tell us the entrance was the other door. Um, you may not have a 6th grade education, but I do - and I can read. The worst part was that the exit was slow - there was no one there. What does she care if we want to get our lunch faster? What were we hurting?

But the attitude is all over the store - even if you aren't entering through the exit! When you check out, they treat you like scum. When you buy food, it's as though you are bothering them. When you're leaving, you get a dour expression as they make a big black or yellow mark down the middle of your receipt. I'm sorry, am I bothering you by coming to your place of employment and making you do your job?

Sadly, I have come to expect this level of service at a large number of establishments (Macy's, I am looking at you). But, I don't pay for the privilege to spend more money in a large number of places.

Costco is like the 2nd largest retailer in the world. They supposedly treat their employees really well. But, they got to be the 2nd largest retailer because of their customers - their members. Maybe it's time they clued in their well-treated employees that if they like their jobs, they should be nicer to the people that make it possible for them to remain employed.