Costco Wholesale — Local services in Matthews

I have shopped at this Costco twice in my life. Both times, my fiancée and I were accused of stealing from the store without any basis or foundation to suggest so. We were trying to pay just like normal customers both times, yet both times we were absolutely belittled to the point of no longer wanting to even buy from this Costco. The first time, the lady at the self check out lane proceeded to interrupt our self-scanning to re-scan an item that we had already scanned, then proceeding to tell us that we have to scan each item, as if we were ignorant to the fact that we needed to scan each of our groceries. We then had to wait and call her back and ask her to take the extra scanned item off of the receipt, for which she now happily obliged. Very strange indeed.

Our mistake was attempting to make up for this altercation by shopping there again. Our second trip to this Costco was completely derailed by the man scanning the customer cards at self check out, his name was OG. He pulled my fiancée out of line and made her stand up at the front of the store because we were shopping for her mother who has a BROKEN ANKLE and cannot physically walk at the moment. Once one of the managers came around, we described the situation and he resolved that he would of course let us shop for these items today, but next time we need to add our name to the account. A fair response, and something we definitely would have done. However, OG abandoned his position at the card check line—letting people self check-out without having their ID’s checked—solely to come and contradict what the manager had said, explaining that we could not do that. The manager was then in an obvious bind, and had to now follow what OG was saying. We then had to wait around for OVER AN HOUR for her brother to come to the store, meanwhile OG randomly walked over to us—abandoning his position yet again—in order to ask us what he could do to help us. I understand “customer service”, but this was not that. The way in which he had treated us, then to turn around and ask us if he could help us with anything felt very sarcastic, rude, and frankly targeted given that he let many people through without checking their identification. OG’s sabotage of our experience did not end there. A new manager came over and quickly found a solution, since we have the Costco card in our possession, to add my fiancée to the card here. This took her 5 seconds to do. However, this was also blocked by OG—abandoning his post for the THIRD TIME TODAY—leaning over her shoulder and telling her that they cannot do that. Finally, when her brother did arrive, OG refused to leave the situation, trying to explain to us which membership option is the best one for us to choose. That’s when it hit us. OG thought that we were not members of Costco, he thought that we were trying to steal these products under somebody else’s name. My fiancée AND THE FEMALE MANAGER WHO CAME TO HELP US quickly told OG to leave, and that the situation would be handled without him. Before he could walk away though, he whispered to the manager to make sure that our payment was confirmed before we exited the store. We went into Costco with a very neutral mindset, and left feeling targeted, belittled, frustrated, disappointed, and overall worse off than if we had simply not bought groceries and instead ate nothing. We have never experience such an antithesis to hospitality in our lives. We understand the account holder must be present in order for the transaction to be completed, but when the cardholder is immobilized by a broken leg, surely there can be better support than what we received at this Costco. We know this to be true, because if OG had not abandoned his post and instead just sent us to the manager to speak to alone in the first place, this issue would’ve been resolved. If Costco’s goal with employment is to make their customers never want to shop there again, then please give him a raise immediately. We will not be shopping here again, and we have already applied for a Sam’s Club...

Not once, but twice have I’ve been been discriminated against at this Costco and I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. Never in my life have I experienced such racial profiling and disgusting behavior.

Two weeks ago I went in, and I was in the self checkout line when I was accused of not scanning a body soap. Already, I was taken aback as I had scanned, said body soap. The accusation was coming out of nowhere and very aggressively from a female associate at self check out. She then proceeded to scan some thing on her end that rang up as $30 instead of the $15 body soap that I was buying. Not only was she wrong in accusing me that I had not scanned an item and insinuated that I was stealing, but then went ahead and overcharge me. I then went to the screen because my total was incorrect and she was very aggressive and rude when I went in for a double take and when I pointed out her mistake, she quickly became very friendly, and insisted on it just being a harmless mistake on her end. It just all seemed very targeted and malicious, because when we got to self check out in the first place, her eyes were glued onto my mom and I who were speaking Spanish. The negative attention and incorrect accusations left a horrible taste in my mouth, but I chalked it up to one bad apple in the bunch.

Now, on my recent 9/3/23 visit we had the most horrible experience with the Costco employee OG. His disrespect and vendetta against my fiancée and I was unlike anything I have EVER experienced! I was singled out and targeted from the moment that I was in the self checkout line, I want to keep this on the record that my household has not one not two but three Costco memberships. We oblige by all the rules that Costco has certainly understand. This is a household that pays $200 a month for its memberships alone. I was there representing my mom who has had ankle surgery, and therefore is immobilized and cannot shop. We were going there to buy a rumba vacuum again, because my mother is immobilized and cannot shop for groceries. And the employed by the name of OG stopped at no expense to stop me from completing this purchase. Yeah perfect it was truly something personal with him and me being able to check out, not one, but two different employees offered solutions to my predicament. Of course, he had something to say about every solution, and only provided his own, which was me opening up an account for myself, which made no sense. I don’t know what it was with him, trying to push me and aggressively force me to open a membership. I counted maybe 20 minutes and you can check the security cameras of him abandoning his post of checking identities of the Costco membership holder’s. He made me incredibly uncomfortable, I asked him multiple times if he would please stop inserting himself in the situation, but he wouldn’t. Already facing discrimination like I did two weeks prior and now I feel targeted and accused yet again I was in complete despair and frustration.

I waited there over an hour to finally get the solution solved by my brother, having to physically come in the store and show them his Costco card in order for him to make the purchase. And yet again, this plague of OG did not leave our side while this was happening. It was just very interesting to see how many people were able to check out without getting accosted by this man because he was so preoccupied on what was happening with my transaction, he also spared no discretion in telling the associate that was helping us multiple times to make sure that the membership was “valid” whatever that meant. The icing on top of the cake with this whole interaction was when we were going to pay for our $700 plus purchase from this establishment and he then went to say to the associate that was checking us out to “make sure that our payment was valid”. I’m sorry, but when did employees get the authorization to make accusations like this? I am disgusted and by the looks of the reviews this is racial discrimination and there is no reprimanding of these...

Good evening. My wife recently made another visit to our local Costco. Like many satisfied customers, we frequently visit the Matthews location.

During this trip, my wife took part in Costco's testing of a new feature that several retail grocery competitors are rapidly adopting: self-checkout systems. This marks another instance of businesses, both large and small, adapting to the evolving landscape of customer service by enabling customers to handle transactions themselves.

This transition makes sense from a financial perspective. Labor costs are a variable that significantly impacts a business's bottom line, affecting net profit either positively or negatively with each dollar spent or saved. The Matthews Costco, known for its high inventory turnover, likely invests a substantial amount in overnight restocking to keep the store running smoothly.

The situation brings to mind a song by Bob Dylan that encapsulates this concept:

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk Might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread May be sleeping on the floor, sleepin' in a king-size bed

But you're gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) Yes indeed, you're gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) Well, it may be the Devil or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody

Considering the pace at which the Matthews Costco operates, especially during busy holiday seasons, it's conceivable that self-service checkout might eventually lose its appeal due to the challenges it presents.

During this shopping trip, my wife meticulously scanned each item, a process that must be completed before she could pack, organize, and box the roughly 50 items for transport to the car. An interesting question arises: how patient will those waiting for self-checkout watch as the current patron navigates this process? Additionally, there appears to be a lack of available table or counter space to place items after scanning, which could slow down the subsequent customer's checkout process.

As the retail landscape continues to evolve, finding the right balance between efficient customer service and preserving a positive shopping experience will undoubtedly remain a challenge. The self-service trend might continue to grow, but addressing issues like space limitations and customer flow will be critical to its...