Costco Business Center — Attraction in Minneapolis

Urgent Need for Improved Customer Service Training at Costco

I have been a loyal Costco shopper for years and have always had positive experiences—until today. My recent visit was exceptionally disappointing due to the unprofessional and discourteous behavior of cashier Marissa N.

I wasn’t feeling well, so I handed my son my payment card after scanning my membership card and walked ahead with my youngest. Moments later, he informed me that he was not allowed to complete the transaction and that I had to do it myself. Confused, I returned to the register, where I was met with an unnecessary level of hostility from Marissa.

Despite my compliance, she abruptly canceled my transaction without explanation. When I asked why, she insisted I couldn’t pay with my son’s card. I clarified that the card was mine, I am the account holder, and my son is an authorized user. Instead of allowing me the opportunity to show her the card with my name on it, she repeatedly dismissed me in an unprofessional manner, escalating the situation rather than resolving it.

At that point, I requested a manager, who promptly reviewed the situation and allowed me to proceed with my purchase. Frustrated, I stopped at customer service to further clarify the policy. The representative assisting me confirmed that I was indeed allowed to use my card and even suggested adding my son’s card to the account to prevent future confusion.

Costco’s leadership needs to ensure that all employees, particularly cashiers, receive proper training on effective communication and professional customer service. A cashier can make or break a shopper’s experience, and in this case, Marissa’s approach nearly led me to cancel my membership. I strongly urge management to address this issue and provide the necessary training to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Costco has built a reputation for excellent customer service, and I hope to see improvements that uphold...

We had a good shopping experience today until we reached the registers. Marisa N, our cashier, did not greet us at all. My husband gave his card to her and I helped put items on the belt. When I was done, I pulled my wallet out and Marisa asked me if I had a membership, in which I responded that I do not. She advised us that my husband would have to pay since he is the membership holder. She immediately sounded annoyed. I asked her if this was a new policy and with the same tone in her voice, she replied with “It’s always been a policy, we’re just now enforcing it.” After more words were exchanged between Marisa and my husband, my husband paid for our items with his card and we left the store. Costco needs to offer training for their employees on how to communicate with their customers. My husband and I are not ones to fight or argue about something we clearly are no expert on. Had Marisa kindly advised us that my husband would have to pay since he is the cardholder, we would’ve happily done so. But she set the tone of the conversation and the words that were exchanged and also left us walking out of the store uncertain if we wanted to keep the membership or return at all in the future. This 5 minute interaction that we had with Marisa completely ruined our mood. Do better Costco! I’ve read many reviews on how your employees have treated your customers and it sounds like this is an ongoing issue with your store. We reached out to Costco Corporate and they forwarded a message and the complaint to the MPLS Business Center. Within 30 minutes the store manager called us and we provided details on the interaction we had with her employee. She seemed genuine, and expressed how sorry she was that our shopping experience did not end well. The call definitely left me feeling much better. I hope that if we decide to return to your store in the future, we are greeted with smiles...

The Business Center is always a bit of a weird place. My wife and I usually only go there for a few items every once in a while. Compared to other Costco's the staff is quite rude.

Just recently we went. I scanned my membership card, we did our shopping, then went to check out. I scanned my card and the cashier, Jin C., began scanning the items. I could see he already had an attitude, but I ignored it. After scanning our items, he made a fairly rude comment to the woman behind us for putting her items on the belt. Costco seriously needs to figure out belt situation, I'm really tired of having the conversation about what goes on the belt and what goes in the cart. But I digress...

My wife scanned her gift card that she had bought, then went to pay the rest of the balance with her credit card. In a rude tone he simply said, 'the member has to pay'. We were confused, because she is on my account, and we live in the same house. I told him that we are on the same account and all he said again was 'the member has to pay'. I said fine and pulled out my credit card. He then called a manager over.

He explained the situation to the manager and the manager said 'it's fine for today, we will let it go'. I told him again ' I don't understand, we have the same account. What she buys goes to my account and vice-versa'. He again said it's fine for today 'and left'. The whole thing was weirdly confrontational and condescending.  She paid and we left. I don't want to say that because we are an interracial that made him treat us differently, but the thought...