Costco Wholesale — Local services in Kansas City

Word. It may be cheaper, but you buy way more than you plan. Not that it's bad, it's just more and better than you thought going in. Now, what's better? Brand names, variety, local products, seasonal products, customer service, endless samples are just some of the great features. I get Chiefs, KU or MU branded clothing as gifts near the entrance, green and colorful landscaping and indoor plants along the aisles and outside, and an endless display of electronic goods that taunt you with sights, sounds, and stats. If you make it past those you still have to conquer the home goods, candy, chips, endless clothing tables, tools, and kitchen items. I try to avoid those because just walking through them adds another 15 minutes to my shopping trip. As soon as you get to the main food areas, beer, liquor, and wine are conveniently placed to let you select from a number of high quality brands. Regular and organic fruit and vegetables are a mainstay of my shopping trip and I can never leave without 10lbs of organic bananas. The bakery turns out great breads and cakes that aren't on my list but seriously, who can avoid the oversized $6 pumpkin pie? If I remember right, the oversized pizza lives here too and of course, it's Papa Murphy's competition. Meats and deli items are always high quality featuring enough organic meats to suit my family with plenty of ready-mades in case nobody wants to cook. A favorite is the street tacos for like $8 that feeds 8 people or so. They installed a new dairy refrigerated walk-in to free up space in the frozen and refrigerated packaged good so now there's even more variety of drinks like three varieties of kombucha, juices, and the standards of heat-em-up chicken and beef entrees. I've stocked up on those fruit sherberts in the fruit shells just in case they disappear from the shelves. They haven't but some odd items won't stay there more than a few weeks like the passion fruit juice I've been enjoying. You never know what you might like to try. When you're reaching for the orange juice, you think about what dragonfruit tastes like and grab a bottle of that. Great name, poor taste, no wonder it didn't stick around. Then heading into the home stretch you pick up the heavies in the dry goods section. Paper goods, cleaning supplies for startup janitorial services, pet food for a kennel. And the food can overload your cart at this point so you may want to get a second cart if someone is with you. I love the fresh flowers that beat anyone's prices. And then you're back in the candy, chocolate, cookies, and nuts section again. They've added a quick self-checkout service which helps when I can limit my trip items. But I hardly wait in line and enjoy the teamwork that gets my items into another card quickly. Remember, it's Visa or cash only. You may want a mocha smoothie or slice of pizza on the way out so you can order at the kiosks and rest before you pack the car and unload the piles at home. One feature that was welcome and hidden was the coffee grinder before you get to the car batteries and tires. They only have whole bean coffee which was perplexing until I realized that you dump it all it the grinder, set the grind, and fill it back up again. Bring a Zip-loc bag or open the ones you just bought to take it home because you will spill it amongst the rest of the gigantic sized jars and boxes. Just before you leave, you can notice the high number of customer service people that take care of returns and other card issues. They really have little constraints on returns and make it as easy as possible. One last receipt check for a few seconds as you pass by the exit door and you're ready to pack it in. Bringing a few trunk organizers will help free you from extra boxes in the trash. I think I've been going there 15 years now and I'll be a Costco customer for another 15 years easily. It's that good. It's just that my shelves and freezer are full and I shouldn't be allowed in the store again. Maybe just one tub of salad. Oh, look, the organic limes...

I had a very troubling and disturbing experience on a recent trip to Costco (Friday, 8/5/22). I was on a lunch break from work and was in a hurry to get back. My partner and I were checking out. The cashier had scanned my card, and all was going well. Suddenly, an employee came hustling up to me with a scanner in hand and said abruptly, "Let me see your card." This employee was very imposing, and this request took us by surprise. I complied and, once again, removed my card from my wallet and handed it to him. Then the sales pitch to upgrade to "Executive Level" started. I told him "no" several times and that I was not interested. He condescendingly replied to me twice, "So, you don't want to make money?" The whole time that this was transpiring, I was also trying to pay, as the cashier had finished scanning my order. I replied that I would think about it and that I might upgrade next time. He literally laughed at me, rolled his eyes, turned away, and said to another employee behind him, "He'll do it next time, yea!" After he stepped away, I looked at him (he was still laughing and shaking his head) and asked, "Did you just laugh at me?" He responded in a snarky tone, "Yea, I can laugh at anyone that I want!" Then it really went downhill. I said that if I was going to treated like that, then they could just take the whole cart back and cancel my order (over $200, by the way). He replied, "That's fine! We will!" I this point, I could not believe what was happening. I told him that he was a smart a$$, and demanded to see a manager immediately. Another employee went into an office to locate a manager. The whole time I was waiting, this employee kept laughing and sneering at me. A manager came out, and I told him what had happened. The employee was still giggling and sneering at me as I was talking to the manager! I told the manager that they could take my order back and that I would cancel my membership. This manager was not too accommodating, but he did apologize and said that they would be "glad to refund my membership." At this point, I felt sorry for the cashier who had to stop his line due to this encounter. The manager assured me that he would "address the situation," so I decided to go ahead and pay and leave. I walked back to the cash register. The employee who had started this situation then walked up to the end of the register, threw his scanner down, and said to another employee, "I don't give a sh##!" As I was walking away, this employee was scowling at me the entire time. As we exited the store, my partner looked at me and said, "I think that guy wanted to fight you!" I replied that I had the same feeling, as the employee was borderline violent with me. On the way home, I called and spoke to a different manager. She was very apologetic and said that the situation was being dealt with. She asked if we would come back and that she would give us a free deli pizza. While that was a very nice gesture, I was not wanting something free. -- I simply cannot believe that a customer would be treated like this just because they choose not to upgrade their membership. Costco...Your employees are a reflection of YOUR COMPANY! I have decided that I will be cancelling my membership to Costco and returning to Sam's Club. This employee's attitude and poor (pushy, aggressive, and condescending) sales tactic resulted in losing two members rather than a membership upgrade.

8/20/22 Update -- Costco management contacted me and apologized for the situation above and did what they could to address this situation and make it right. Thank you Jeremy and Sara at Costco. I have since renewed...

Great place to get shelf stable goods, some electronics and household goods, bedding, towels. The produce is largely in big portions but usually looks great if you can eat it fast enough.

Membership usually covers a good chunk of itself if not the entire thing over the course of a year, assuming that you sign up for the plan that pays a percentage back in credit.

You can pickup tires here with a guarantee and free checks or pressure adjustments. Some of the policies are a little nit picky or funky. They don't generally cover tires you had to repair somewhere else in order to physically get your vehicle back to their shop or punch in repairs - good to be aware of and try to have them do all of your tire stuff if you buy from them, replacements are prorated. Still, relatively good prices and warranty.

Some favorites are: their everything bagels, Early June Jalapeno corn chips, Hippeas, Taiwanese Noodles, frozen premade Udon noodles, Unreal chocolate coconut bars, sometimes the kombucha depending on the flavors and brand, Jack's fresh salsa (does go bad within a week), Chao cheese, Cajun black bean burger, veggie breakfast sausage patties, salt & pepper pistachios, plus lots of other things.

Some staples are: Dave's Killer Bread, Jasmine and sushi rice, oatmeal, EVOO, avocado oil, vinegar, cashews, crackers, some basic spices, chia seeds, large bags of organic frozen fruit (smoothies), frozen corn, frozen stir fry veggies, canned goods (beans), artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, parchment paper and aluminum foil.

Prices are relatively low, although you typically pay more up front because you have to buy a larger volume.

The quality is good. Unfortunately their inventory rotates pretty frequently, so your favorite item might get the star * of death and disappear. But then it may come back at a later date if you are lucky. Their more popular items usually...