Costco Wholesale — Local services in Spartanburg

Firstly, this was originally a 5-star review I left over a year ago. Overall, my experiences at this location have been normal or even enjoyable. As someone with what I describe as a soup of mental disorders and differences, there are few public places I feel comfortable visiting, and even fewer I enjoy. I am leaving this review because I’m very uncomfortable with a recent experience I had at this location, and even more concerned with the response from the General Manager.

I would have to check the dates to give them. So maybe just over two weeks ago I was out for a run in the area around the store. I decided to stop in and use the restroom at Costco because it’s convenient and I often don’t have long between the notice I have to go, and urgently needing to go. I’m autistic and struggle with interoception issues. This is the only reason I didn’t run back to my car to get my membership card. I tried to enter through the exit as I have before so I (presumably) wouldn’t need to speak with anyone. A store employee stopped me for my membership card. I explained I just needed to use the restroom. He insisted I absolutely must have my membership to even do that. (I later discovered this employee I’d never noticed before had actually seen me so much he noticed I always wear the same shoes... yet didn’t recognize me enough to let me use the restroom when I obviously very much needed to.) I called the store when I left to ask about the exit door policy. I have seen several people enter through it before and have myself when going to the tire shop or food court. The person I spoke to assured me the employee was following store policy. I have no problem with this, except that I’ve never seen anyone besides myself stopped in this way. The person I spoke to agreed it has been a loosely enforced rule, and seemingly understood what was a very mild concern. I was more concerned the employee was very nonchalant and even rude when demanding my membership card. There are so many friendly and polite Costco employees actually concerned with the customer experience, so this sort of behavior sticks out like a sore thumb. I figured that was that and moved on with my day. Maybe a week later I returned to the store. As I approached the exit I noticed the employee who was rude to me standing at one side of the exit, where he was when I encountered him the first time. Without any fuss or interaction, I started walking left to a very kind and professional greeter/checker I often see. The formerly rude employee must have been coached on kindness because he’s now going out of his way to get my attention and start an interaction, a huge contrast from him literally waving off my restroom needs just a few days before. I had to actually turn my body to interact, as I’d positioned my body in a way that clearly suggested I did not want to talk. I know who people are the first time they speak to me, so after our first interaction there was no need for us to speak again. He says “are you a runner?” I say “Yeah, you’ve seen me?” I know he’s seen me because just a few days prior I came to the door all sweaty in running attire looking for the restroom. I was trying to be nice while I figured out why he’s initiating this interaction. I didn’t have to wonder long. He says “No, I just always see you in running shoes and you’re so skinny.” I am running out of space so to make a long story short, the GM has totally minimized this situation and seemingly excused this behavior by repeatedly suggesting this employee meant well. She even started our conversation by mentioning how much this employee loves shoes. Complete gaslighting and erasure of my experience. This employee did not mean well and even if they did, intention doesn’t erase impact. Of the many ways I feel this could have been handled better, I would have at least expected to be assured I wouldn’t have to deal with this employee at the exit door again. I have received no such assurance. This is...

I have been a member of Costco Wholesale for several years. They have an excellent product line for large families who demand a premium product selection. Costco sells a line of natural and organic foods that you may not easily find elsewhere. As a member of Sam's Club, I am aware of the distinct differences in the product offerings of each business. Sam's and Costco both offer a private line of goods and services. Sam's private label is Members-Mark, while Costco markets their own Kirkland Brand. Both wholesale clubs offer similar discounts on gas. Where Costco primarily differs from Sam's is in the variety of product offerings. Sam’s primarily sells the same products sold in Walmart Stores. Costco will offer unique products that are ever-changing. Memberships at Sam's are cheaper than Costco Wholesale. Costco memberships are at a minimum of 20.00 more on an annual basis. Sam’s Club may also offer membership discounts and other incentives. Both Sam's and Costco customers receive significant value over competing retail businesses. Although I belong to both clubs simultaneously, I will not renew my Costco Membership. I live in the City of Asheville, which is an hour's drive by car to Costco's nearest store in Spartanburg, South Carolina. A woman at the courtesy desk in Costco mentioned that many members who drive from Asheville to Spartanburg registered similar complaints about the driving distance to their warehouse. Many customers have made written and verbal pleas to open a store in the Asheville vicinity. The city of Asheville has become a significant destination for upscale families moving here from other parts of the country. Costco, however, has so far refrained from building a local store. I heard rumors that Costco has been unable to find sufficient space or highway access to build a large store, or that Sam's is too well entrenched in the local area. Regardless of Costco's reasons, I hope they do reconsider. Costco would be a welcome sight in the city of Asheville. Until such time, I will unfortunately not renew my...

I was treated terribly by my cashier. Throughout my entire checkout the cashiers were giving remarks about my purchase under their breaths and refused to give me a box until an assistant came to help me. This assistant was later ushered away by the cashier and ended up leaving after being there for only about two minutes. After I received the boxes my cashiers ignored me after requesting that they not load things onto the boxes on top of my other groceries (They had already placed groceries at the bottom of my cart, many of which were fruits and fragile then played the boxes on top of them and loaded them up). My total was around 1,200$ and when it came time to pay the cashier apparently did not think i was able to pay. Therefore the waiter chuckled as if to mock me and said well there's your total. The tone was unmistakably to make fun of me. After I paid i then checked my receipt because of how many items had been scanned twice. There were 6 items that had been scanned twice. One of them was a gallon of juice. I only had one gallon and the cashier scanned it then placed it back on the belt then scanned it again. Nothing was scanned after or before the juice and then after placing it back she scanned it immediately after. She placed it on the cart and when she noticed i had seen what she did she removed the juice gallon, and looked at me. She knew very well what she was doing. At the moment I'm unable to verify the names of the two cashiers but I'd like to thank the supervisor that listened to what had happened (Reyna). I'm unsure if action was taken against the two cashiers but i hope she did. I should not be offended or treated worse just because my total is higher or if I have two...