Costco Wholesale — Local services in Louisville

Extremely Disturbing Experience – Costco Failed to Act During a Verbal Assault in Their Parking Lot If I could give zero stars, I would.

I experienced something deeply traumatizing at this Costco location, and the store's staff stood by and did nothing while I was verbally assaulted in their parking lot.

I witnessed a man aggressively berating his girlfriend in the parking lot—screaming at her, making her unload their truck after she had just loaded it in freezing rain, and humiliating her. He cussed her so bad and was making her unload the truck bc he said he was leaving her in the cold rain/snow with all the groceries. He proceeded to scream at her telling her she was embarrassing him by having to yell at her. I couldn’t just ignore it. I told her, “I hope you learned something about this man’s character and do what’s best for you and stay safe", as I was walking my cart back to the store entrance.

That’s when he turned his rage onto me.

This man verbally assaulted me—screaming profanities, degrading my weight, mocking my appearance, and trying to humiliate me in public. The situation escalated into a hostile confrontation right outside the entrance of Costco in the parking lot, in front of everyone. I walked inside and asked for help. They sent out 3 people. I know 1 was a manager, I believe the other 2 were just staff. 2 men and 1 female.

What did the Costco employees do? NOTHING. They stood there, watching. They did not intervene, de-escalate, or protect a customer in distress. They did not check on the woman who was clearly being abused and at this point was hiding inside the truck (miracously all the groceries were back inside the truck too). They did not call the police. When I pointed out the severity of what was happening, one of their own employees had the audacity to tell me to go get the man’s license plate numberm and reort him later on—as if I should put myself in even more danger instead of them handling it. I did not take my phone with me bc I was trying to relax and not be tied to tech. last time I make that mistake! Adding to the failure of public safety, a police officer drove by, I yelled out "officer!" but his window was up and he did not hear me. Costco staff did not even attempt to flag him down.

How is this acceptable? Costco has a legal and ethical responsibility to provide a safe shopping environment for its customers. Allowing someone to be verbally assaulted on their property while their employees stand by and do nothing is completely unacceptable. I think they were scared bc the man did nothing but keep screaming over my voice yelling insults and made a racist comment about me getting "white managers" to come outside.

I left the store feeling traumatized, unsafe, and abandoned by a business I had just spent over $750 at. I have since had ruminating thoughts, stress, and anxiety over what happened. The inaction of the employees and the gross negligence of Costco leadership at this location has caused me emotional distress.

Costco, I expect a formal response. I will be submitting formal complaints to corporate, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and other consumer advocacy organizations.

I am also considering legal action for the emotional distress and negligence that allowed this hostile situation to escalate unchecked on your premises.

At the very least, I demand: ✔️ A formal, written apology from Costco acknowledging this failure ✔️ A review of employee safety policies and de-escalation training ✔️ A settlement for the emotional distress I experienced due to Costco’s negligence

Costco, you need to do better. If you fail to respond appropriately, I will continue to escalate this to ensure no other customer experiences this kind of negligence at...

I’ve been going to this Costco since it opened using a family members card with no issues. Today I walked in showed the card and was let through. I went around the store and picked out my items. Then stood in the checkout line for a good 10-15 minutes. When I got to the front of the line there was an employee checking the names on cards which my name was not on. After that they moved me to a table set up next to the checkout lines to check my ID to see if I was on the account which I was not. Since I was not on the account they wanted me to sign up for a membership. I have no issue with having to sign up for a membership and pay the $60. But the way that they are going about this new checking of IDs after letting you into the store and picking out items then standing in like to check out is ridiculous. I was in this store for an hour and a half before I even got my membership card then had to stand in the line to leave the store. I was told there are signs everywhere stating you have to be on the card which is not true and the employee checking cards at the front didn’t say a thing. If you’re going to implement a new policy of checking cards and IDs it needs to be done at the entrance of the store not at checkout. The experience was terrible and I will never go back to this Costco. They’re basically holding people hostage after going through the whole store and filling your cart to buy your own membership. I did not have the time to do all this today and if it was stated on entrance I would have left and came back another day that I had the time available to do so. Worst customer service I’ve ever experienced at any...

On Sunday, my family and I made a trip to Costco. For the most part, the visit was uneventful until we reached the checkout line. Unfortunately, the cashier checking us out, Lindsay, was incredibly rude and unfriendly. I tried to make things easier by leaving all items in the cart with the barcodes facing up instead of putting them on the belt. Rather than appreciating the effort, Lindsay very rudely told me I should have just placed everything on the belt next time. It was the most unfriendly and unpleasant interaction I’ve ever had at Costco.

That being said, I want to be fair. Yesterday I intended to leave a one star review, but changed it to a three today because of my Encounter I had today with some amazing people. While at Costco on Sunday, my husband and I found a shed we loved. I came back the next day (Monday) to purchase it. The shed was very heavy, and I was struggling to get it onto a cart. A man from the bakery, Ethan, noticed me struggling. He immediately stopped what he was doing, grabbed another coworker (whose name I unfortunately did not catch), and together they helped me lift the shed onto the cart. Both of these men were clearly busy moving baked goods, but they didn’t hesitate to help me just because they saw me in need.

This is why I love shopping at Costco—it’s usually more than just a shopping trip. 99% of the time, the employees are incredibly helpful, kind, and always smiling. Sadly, the 1% of the time when I’ve had a negative experience has been with Lindsay. Every other employee I’ve ever encountered at Costco has been amazing, and Ethan and his coworker really reminded me why I keep...