I’m going to go against the grain here and say I absolutely dread going to Costco but tolerate it because of the prices and bulk availability of certain produce.
A quick ranty list of complaints:
The store is too small for the amount of people and the enormous carts. It is a game of bumper cars every time.
Similarly, more than once I had to give up since the parking lot was completely full and I could only take so circling the lot. The gas lines are reminiscent of the pictures from the ‘73 oil embargo.
The location of items and item selection changes constantly.
There is few staff available to help you find anything.
The free samples attract hangers on like moths to a flame, blocking traffic. People treat the samples as a free lunch for their kids, and let kids ride unsafely ride inside the cart and not in the cart seats — no one stops this.
I have more, but writing this is already getting to me.
I'm curious why it bothers you where in the cart the parents allow their kids to sit? I can see how all of the other things you list affect you, but not that one.
I believe that most of your complaints about the experience could be mitigated by timing. My local Costco"Opens" at 9am but the doors are usually open by 8:30. My trick is to make a very fast run on a weekday morning before work (luckily there's one on the way) - have a list, grab what I need, pay and go - and I've found this works wonders for maximizing my time.
Sounds like the Costco in Sunnyvale, I absolutely loathed going there. I'm not sure what the other Costcos in Silicon Valley look like, but Sunnyvale is a terrible experience.
Every where else I have been, Costco is great. The store is never packed, even if busy at times. Checkout lines never exceed 5-10 minutes. Gas lines rarely exceed 10 minutes at the busiest of times.
All of this just sounds like you're going at peak times. My parents tend to go on weekdays in the last half an hour before closing - Thursday is good to have fresh stuff for the weekend. I tend to go Saturday morning at opening - sample stations aren't set up, food court isn't a mess, everything is fast.
Yeah I am in the same boat, I dread going to Costco on weekends or before any major holiday. And yes I hate free samples, people horde around free sample stations blocking traffic.
A quick ranty list of complaints:
The store is too small for the amount of people and the enormous carts. It is a game of bumper cars every time.
Similarly, more than once I had to give up since the parking lot was completely full and I could only take so circling the lot. The gas lines are reminiscent of the pictures from the ‘73 oil embargo.
The location of items and item selection changes constantly.
There is few staff available to help you find anything.
The free samples attract hangers on like moths to a flame, blocking traffic. People treat the samples as a free lunch for their kids, and let kids ride unsafely ride inside the cart and not in the cart seats — no one stops this.
I have more, but writing this is already getting to me.