I work at Costco and here's the scoop.

I see a lot of people complaining about something things, so I'm gonna clear them up here, as an employee turned supervisor in my first 6 months of working.

  1. We checkscan memberships at the entrance because NOW because a lot of people would use someone else's membership to buy things and that makes us lose out on money. Kinda like how some streaming services won't allow more than one tv to use the same account.

  2. You can NOT enter from the exit door, even if you have to return something. You go through the entrance, and THEN, the employee at the door has to let you go to the membership desk to return and get a refund. This is to help with the door count and make sure nobody is able to leave the store without being checked.

  3. At MY Costco, you can get a full refund, even on food, if there's still HALF the product left and you have the receipt, on hand or on the phone.

  4. If you have a cart full of product, more than 10 items, it's best to go to a cashier lane. Most self-checkout personnel have to help multiple people, but if you have a basket worth 200+ of product, you're slowing them down.

  5. You can NOT use CASH for Self-Checkout, only VISA and/or Costco Credit Card by ctrl.

  6. At the FOOD Court, there is CASH only at the register. Cards ONLH will be at the Kiosk.

  7. We get compared to Sam's Club a lot because of this: Checking the basket and making sure it matches with the product on the receipt. If the exit door people DON'T do this, the cashier who checked you out could get in major trouble if they FORGET to scan something and you walk out with something free. Also, this saves us money, because last year, at my costco, we lost $1.2 million because of product that wasn't scanned and walked out the exit door. This can also save the guest money as the exit door personnel can check and see if you got scanned twice for an item you have only ONE of.

  8. At Food Court, the HotDog is. A. COMBO. It automatically comes with a DRINK. So many people don't read the signs that says "Drink+/Combo" and we have to give out many refunds because members don't want to read the signs.

  9. Do NOT block the aisle. People have been trampled because they're busy catching up with a friend, and impatient people are pushing past them, running their feet over with their carts.

  10. Last. But not least. Upgrades. It may be annoying. But every cashier has to meet a quota on the number of upgrades they get each WEEK and MONTH. So be ready for them to ask you about upgrades.