Costco Wholesale — Local services in Wheaton

Unfortunate Experience at Costco Tire Wheaton: Negligence and Denial of Responsibility I am writing to express my profound disappointment and frustration with the service I received at the Costco Tire Center in Wheaton, Maryland. On October 23rd, I brought my car to the center for a routine tire rotation, and the outcome was nothing short of a troubling ordeal. While performing the tire rotation, the technicians at the center found and informed me that a lugnut and a stud on the rear left wheel of my vehicle were damaged. Over the phone, I told them that I only had the tire serviced at their center before so if there were any damages to the wheel, they must have been the fault of the center. They told me to complete a claim form and seek repairs at a different auto shop. After filling in the form, I asked two staff members and got confirmation from them that I could go ahead with the repair and could return to Costco Tire Center with a receipt for reimbursement. I complied with their instructions, and on October 24th, I had the damaged components fixed by a Firestone shop at a cost of $350. Eager to have this issue resolved, I revisited the Costco Tire Center in Wheaton on October 27th, expecting to have the tires properly rotated and to receive the promised refund for the repair costs. To my dismay, the staff and the manager at Costco Tire Center attempted to avoid their responsibility and dragged their feet in addressing my concerns. They cited the need to review security camera footage to confirm the agreement made regarding repair and refund, as well as claimed that my case required higher management intervention. Furthermore, I was informed that another lugnut and stud on the same wheel were found to be in poor condition, and they refused to perform the tire rotation. It's important to note that I had purchased my tires from this same center in September 2022, and they had been exclusively serviced by Costco Tire Center for rotation. The implication is clear: any damage to the lugnuts and studs must have occurred during their previous service visits. This situation is not only exasperating but also erodes the trust I once had in Costco Tire Center in Wheaton. It's worth mentioning that this is not an isolated incident. In March, the same center caused a similar problem, but at that time, they promptly acknowledged their mistake and refunded me for the repair. While it inconvenienced me, I appreciated their commitment to rectify their error. However, this time, their conduct has been nothing short of evasive, casting doubt on their willingness to uphold the service commitment associated with the tire package I purchased from them. I strongly urge other customers to carefully reconsider conducting business with this center. My experiences have left me deeply dissatisfied, and it is apparent that they need to address their negligence and stand by their service...

On the night of 5/20/17 I had gone with my father shopping at Costco. Afterword, at the request of my mother I was to pick up a pizza for dinner, not just any pizza, a Costco pizza. And while I expected the lines to be long. I did not expect the amount of disrespect and passive-aggressive hate from the employees. After Ordering my pizza, a half cheese, and half combo, I waited the 10 minuets before a male operator ran out and yelled "CLOSING, CLOSING" as he pulled the metal barricade down. He then directed everyone to wait at the other door. I had moved to wait by the other door, as did everyone else with orders pending After 15 minuets of no communication at all, I decided I just wanted a refund, I wanted to go home and put away my groceries. I proceeded to knock at the door, not getting a single glance, any kind of communication that the order was being delivered. So I knocked several more times. After about 10 minuets a woman peaked her head through the door and asked "who ordered the combo?". After I glanced at my receipt I noticed it had the word combo/ch on it, stupid me assumed, because my receipt said "combo" it must have been a combo. I handed her the receipt several seconds later she emerged scolding me for thinking it was a combo, and I was less then kindly told "Half and half is not a combo". I can only assume this was in part because the customers , who had already paid mind you, wanted the orders they had bought, and the pressure to deliver on those orders was creating this passive-aggressiveness.

TLDR: Ordered half and half pizza, store closes, staff ignores customers for 25 minuets, and berates them for wanting the products they paid for.

I do not blame the minimum wadge workers for this. I blame the policy's of Costco. The policy of taking the money, and the pressure for sales, and not filling the order, or keeping the customers happy. They had my money, and no longer cared, because at the end of the day, their sale will still read 1 more pizza sold, even if they never delivered it.

I will not be returning to your concessions. Its a shame, my mother loves your pizzas, its one of the things she always requests, but I will no longer stand in line to be treated this way.

Costco managers or corporate:I do not want an apology, I want you to fix your broken system. Treat your customers with a modicum of respect. Fill the orders your customers already paid for. And stop letting your concessions operators treat customers...

Costco is a unique shopping experience with some caveats; firstly you must be a member, which cost between 50 and $100. The parking is free, but don't expect it to be easy. The popularity of Costco makes the parking lot insanely difficult to navigate because of the sheer number of people and their unique approach to finding parking spots and dealing with the congestion by the entrance. I strongly recommend getting the extra steps in and parking your car is far from the entrance is possible so that you're away from the madness. Once inside carefully weigh your decisions about buying, newbies are tempted to buy a lifetime supply of mustard because it's only 9 bucks - I urge you with all my heart, unless you are a mustard fancier, you may look at 10 year old mustard one day and wonder why you bought so much. Well, there are Bargains to be found - as examples:

Windshield wiper blades The amazing $4.99 Costco chicken Some of the deals on clothing are exceptional and priced extremely well The dollar fifty hot dog and soft drink is awesome as is most of the food - the food is an excellent value and most is available for purchase in the warehouse itself.

Costco is the largest new car dealer in the world because of their car buying program (Costco trivia).

Make sure you plan on plenty of time to visit a Costco warehouse, because the checkout experience is a maddening multi-line crowded melee. You will truly believe that any line you enter will immediately become the slowest line for checkout. Also keep your receipt handy there are people at the door checking the receipts and if you don't have one you will hold up the line as you try to fish it out of whatever pocket or handbag space you put it in. Just saying.

Disclaimer: I am a Costco member and I own shares of Costco stock. Their lack of desire to improve the parking lot or the checkout experience is disheartening to me, and is why I won't give Costco a...