One of the first things I did when I moved to the suburbs about 18 years ago was join Costco. Although I didn’t have kids at the time, it made sense for my husband and I to share a membership so we could save more money on groceries and household essentials.
These days, I shop at Costco weekly in an effort to keep up with my perpetually ravenous kids. And while it’s mostly a great experience, there are a few pain points I wish the company would address. Here are three changes that would make shopping at Costco so much better.
I pay for Costco’s Executive membership because even though it costs twice as much as a basic Gold Star membership ($130 a year vs. $65 a year), it gives me 2% cash back on my purchases. When I do the math, it takes $3,250 in annual Costco spending to make back the $65 extra the Executive membership costs. But since I shop at the store weekly, I commonly spend well more than $3,250 a year, so it’s the right membership for me.
I actually upgraded to an Executive membership years ago, and when I first did, it came with the benefit of getting into Costco 30 minutes or so ahead of shoppers with just a Gold Star membership. That often made it possible for me to complete my shopping when the store was less crowded.
Costco did away with that perk for Executive members a long time ago. But I wish it would come back.
I actually think I’d pay the extra $65 a year for that perk alone, even if Costco decided to stop offering cash back on Executive memberships. I figure if I use the right credit cards at Costco, I can create my own cash back rewards program. Click here for a list of the best credit cards for Costco shoppers, so you can do the same thing if paying for an Executive membership doesn’t make sense for you.
See, the crowds at Costco bug me so much that I’d be willing to pay a higher fee to avoid them to some degree. But one trick I’ve learned is that if you get to Costco a few minutes before it opens, you may be let in early. That at least gives you a little bit of time to start filling your cart before the crowds roll in.
2. A better system for ordering cakes
Did you know that if you buy a premade cake from Costco’s bakery, you can have it personalized on the spot? It’s a great solution if you dropped the ball and need something customized in a pinch.
But that only applies to Costco’s round cakes. The large sheet cakes are a different story.
In fact, you can’t buy one at all — personalized or not — if you don’t order one at least 48 hours in advance. Not only that, but you have to order your cake in person by submitting a sheet of paper. It’s pretty low-tech for a company like Costco.
I would love to see a better system for ordering sheet cakes. There’s no reason Costco can’t come up with a system that lets you place an order online. Also, that would probably work to the store’s benefit.
Currently, you place your order in person ahead of time but only pay once you get your cake. An online system that requires people to pay upfront reduces the risk of people placing customized orders and not picking them up.
And yes, I know I can always fall back on the round cakes at Costco if I find the process of ordering sheet cakes too cumbersome. But the sheet cakes are much larger, so when I need to feed a crowd, they’re generally my most cost-effective option with a price point of $24.99. At my local Costco, the smaller cakes cost $15.99 but only serve about 16 people, whereas the sheet cakes are said to serve 48.
3. Scanners that let you check out as you go, to avoid the long lines
Waiting in long lines to check out is one of the worst parts of shopping at Costco. One change I’d love to see is having Costco introduce a “scan and go” process where you get a hand scanner at the door, you use it to add items to your cart, and then you do your own form of self checkout by tapping a credit card.
Of course, the risk with this type of system is theft. But Costco already has people who check receipts against your shopping cart contents on the way out. So this isn’t such a stretch.
That said, at my Costco store, there is a self-checkout aisle which I’ll use when I don’t have items that are so heavy. However, for a loaded cart, it’s more efficient to just wait in line and go through the regular checkout.
With self-checkout, you have to wait for a Costco employee with a hand scanner to help with those heavy items. So you don’t save any time compared to the regular checkout.
These Costco changes could make the shopping experience there more pleasant. I’m not expecting to see them happen anytime soon, but you never know. Until then, I’ll continue to try to work around them by shopping at strategic times, using the self-checkout lanes when it’s easy to do so, and being on top of my party-planning needs so I can take advantage of Costco’s ridiculously affordable sheet cakes.
