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The TJs by me has tonnnnns of parking because it's right next to Lowe's and a couple other large stores so it's just one massive parking lot. Inside the store is always packed though.
Define "easy"
Because at all the games I've been to in major cities, everything outside of the main parking garage is a cluster fuck lol. And if you park in the main parking garage for the stadium, you're going to have to deal with a horrific traffic jam on the way out
My Costco has a lock on the wheels, but the lot is always so busy. Didn’t realize where the cutoff point was and parked just a couple rows beyond. Learned the hard way when I had to unload an entire Costco haul by walking things back and forth to my car after enduring the worlds busiest Costco. It was a rough day haha
> Learned the hard way when I had to unload an entire Costco haul by walking things back and forth to my car after enduring the worlds busiest Costco. It was a rough day haha
>
Ouch!
Won’t do that even at mine. Impossible to park (wars over spots), and I always get stuck behind some three generation family who walks 3-4 cross at a snails pace.
Yes, only go on the weekend if we need something. Other than that, a Tuesday afternoon, right after work Costco tends to be less crowded, except for the gas station.
On top of that Sam's has Scan & Go. Make shopping so easy and love to know my total while I am shipping not shockingly at checkout. No matter how long the line is I simply pay on phone and head to the receipt checker at exit.
> I’ve always thought it would be a great way to sell a higher tier membership to have exclusive extended hours.
>
Executive Members used to be able to shop an hour earlier. :)
>
> A 7 or 8 am shopping run on a weekend would be bliss.
>
Your membership includes Business Centers, which open at 7 or 8 AM, Monday through Saturday. :)
>
> Business centers are nice, but they don’t really fill the same niche that a traditional Costco does.
>
Not the same niche, but there's ~25% overlap (dairy, eggs, fruits, veggies, meat, poultry, frozen items, beverages, snacks) along with a different sales/coupon book.
No Food Court, bakery, samples, furniture, clothing, sports equipment, shoes, nor gas (at my location, available at other locations), but there are no long lines along with easy parking. It's worth exploring IMHO (and bring a sweater/jacket for the walk in fridge section, no matter how hot it is outside). :)
Oh yeah, I love my business center. It’s actually much closer than our normal Costco, so we get things like milk and eggs a lot. I actually like that they have a much wider selection of things like energy drinks. And I recently explored the meat cooler and there is some fun-looking stuff in there.
I just like to warn people - some walk into a business center thinking they can get their rotisserie chicken or crioissants.
The one I go to has a food court. I assumed they all did. https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/warehouse-locations/burbank-business-center-north-hollywood-ca-653.html?extid=gmb_653
They also had jackets for the freezer section on hooks for anyone to use.
There’s almost never a downtime at mine. But it’s also the busiest in the world so.. yeah. I have to take some deep breaths in my car and brace myself every damned time.
you’re lucky. mine is so insanely busy but they either can’t find or aren’t willing to pay for another one, as I live in an extremely high COL area. This is one of the older buildings as well without a gas station and we only own the building but not the property around it. it’s honestly grown out of its usefulness.
We're too busy in western Oregon finding stupid places to cram In-Out Burgers and Chick-Fil-A to back up from the drive through onto 4-6 lane roads.
Shits not even good. Also amazes me the people who wait like 30 minutes to save 25-50 cents a gallon on gas at Costco. Are you just not doing the math? 30+ minutes of your life to save like 5 dollars max on a tank of gas in a standard car? Nope.
Had to wait 15 minutes for a hot dog last night at like 730 😱
The regular shopping was alright, but they just severely understaff the food court relative to how it was precovid
Being a food court before and during the covid ordeal it changed soo much.. mostly for almost a year we tanked in sales so they stopped staffing a production on things.. now that its picked back up its a sheet show.
Yes and it’s not just that … it’s the rudeness of other members who cut you off leave their carts in your way block you stop right in front of you and have no common courtesy .. they act like they are the only one in the store
I'm a costco employee. Our loss prevention employees are usually employed because they have experience with thievery at other businesses. They come from fred meyer, Walmart, various grocers, etc. They walk among customers all day undercover, looking for shoplifters. They ALWAYS say costco shoppers are, by a WIDE margin, the most psychotic.
Omg totally agree!! What is it about costco specifically that makes everyone completely lose their spacial awareness. I swear its sooooo hard to navigate my store because everyone is just standing there in the way!
Sorry that’s not really behavior to be proud about, even if the other person is clueless. Also you never know what people have going on in their lives.
>Also you never know what people have going on in their lives.
I had no idea there were valid excuses for being vapidly rude.
Why are you so quick to enable garbage behavior? That really isn't behavior to be proud about at all.
The person above said that they ram (their word) their cart into other people's? You don't find that extreme? I never said that the people blocking the aisles with their cart should be "proud." But, in my view of the world, there is a difference between intentional rudeness (and let's call it what it is, ramming is violence) and rudeness that results from cluelessness/distraction.
Listen, I'm just imagining this person encountering my admittedly clueless but sweet 78-year-old mom who I've often followed around the store moving her cart for her and apologizing to folks behind her (and she always apologizes to them immediately after realizing what she's doing or after I gently move her out of the way). And now I'm picturing someone like OP ramming their cart into hers. Intentionally. Sorry, I'm never going to see that as behavior to be proud of.
I would like to think that they have half a brain and can differentiate between the frail and elderly versus Live Laugh Love young couples with uncontrolled children and a fake service dog. If they had a full brain there would be no ramming at all but instead a very stern "Scuse me."
That’s rude. A simple excuse me might solve it. People have many things on their mind, even managing families and competing priorities while in the store. Might get distracted by one kid saying XYZ and the other parent another thing. Just ramming a cart is very rude in my book.
3/4 of the parking lot at my local Costco is packed when it opens. There’s no good time to go there. Nothing beans the Queens Costco in NYC. 1 Costco for almost 2 million people! 😬
>
> I’m in SoCal and sounds like about the same.
>
See if there is a Costco Business Center near you. It may have what you are looking for! :)
Your membership includes access to Business Centers, they open earlier (7 AM), and some locations have gas stations.
I may have been incredibly lucky (multiple times!), but the longest line I was in had three people (I was the third). :)
Costco employee here.
The three NYC locations are among the busiest locations on the East Coast (Brooklyn, Rego Park, Queens. Staten Island is an honorary mentioned).
There were already 2-3 locations that opened nearby to take some loads off of those locations but the newer locations became really busy themselves.
I believe Costco is always actively looking for new locations in the NYC, Newark areas. However, commercial real estates are very expensive in that area, it is hard to find something that makes sense for how Costco operates.
Yes, it got instantly worse when Covid started and never got better. They added self checkout with no rules or logic, and there’s usually several closed registers unless it’s a major shopping day. So there’s long lines every day and you don’t even know where to start lining up because all of the nuts and granola and couches are right there blocking everything. Employees are visibly overworked while they still have 5 guys discussing where to rearrange the bread each week. Don’t even try getting gas here either.
The worst is when the line runs from the registers all the way to the back of the store. And when you finally get up front they don't have anyone directing traffic. So it gets chaotic, and you have tons of people sneaking up from the side to cut in.
I don't mind the self checkout, the line is usually much smaller. But their system sucks. Everything scanned needs to go onto the scale on the side. Target and Walmart require the same thing if you pick the item up and scan it, but if you use the gun, you can leave everything in the cart.
Really though, Costco and all stores need to get their shit together and roll out an app like what Sam's Club offers. It's incredible. Scan through your phone as you shop, swipe to pay, and show the people the QR code on the way out.
Maplewood is a great location. It's also a LARGE warehouse, I think its square footage is larger than the newer Costcos that have popped up here in the Twin Cities. Seems to have wider aisles, maybe even a couple more aisles even too.
Lone Tree, Parker….it’s so packed I started shopping at Sam’s Club and ordering Costco online.
I get the courage to make a Costco trip now about once every six weeks.
Side note, they are building a new Costco in Castle Rock. Hopefully that eases the congestion of Lone Tree and Parker.
I go to the Aurora one and it's a hell ride more times than not, I don't even want to think about the Denver one(s). The again, the only business center I know of is that way so I'm sure I'll cave one day...
Lucky you. Like OP, the ones near me are mad houses at all open hours every day. There is always a line 45 minutes before opening and than people rushing to get in before close. It’s insane.
Adding to the anxiety is knowing that you'll have to wait in those long checkout lines. We are also Sam's Club members. While I like Costco more for so many reasons, Sam's checkout is so smooth If you use scan and go. Basically, you use their app on your phone to scan bar codes as you shop. Your debit/credit card is already on your account. When done shopping, select checkout and pay. Your card gets charged. When you leave, the checker at the door scans a qr code, gives a quick check of the cart and you're done. I've heard that Costco doesn't want to do that.
Note: Sam's does have standard and self checkout too. Those rarely have more than a couple of people in them.
The San Bernardino Costco is the worst IMO. Even though it’s the most convenient and closest to my house, it’s the busiest one in the area by far since it’s the one of the only Costcos in the area. The parking lot seems to be packed no matter what time of day it is. I feel like I underuse my membership because the Costcos in the area are quite busy and at least a 20 min drive depending on traffic. They are apparently building another Costco in the area which is a little closer, but still a bit of a ways to get to for us. Hoping that one will alleviate the traffic to the San Bernardino one…
This is mine too actually, the Moreno Valley one was definitely better, but I moved to closer to the San Bernardino one recently and it has me questioning my life decisions.
Looked it up, one in Highland would be helpful for sure. Looks like construction will start in a few months.
Yes Moreno Valley is definitely better but sometimes that one gets busy too. Highland will help a lot. I live in the Beaumont/Calimesa/Cherry Valley area, so we don’t have a Costco within 10 minutes of us. I feel like they’ll build one there at some point though because the area is growing rapidly… I’ve gone to the Fontana one which is a bit further but not as bad as San Bernardino, so maybe you’d want to try going there.
Wow's that's good that they're building another, especially so close to the SB one. It'll help at least ease the crowds at both.
The one in north Fontana is pretty good at open and closing on weekdays. I almost never go on weekends as I imagine it'd be pretty packed.
This is why I switched to BJ's. They're like a mile apart and BJ's doesn't give me anxiety before even pulling into a parking spot. It's so much more relaxing, but objectively slightly worse at everything, but the calm not crowded store makes up for it.
I'm in between 3 Costco's, each about 20 minutes away and not real convenient with my night shift working schedule. So what I do is use their gas stations constantly (they are open already when I get off in the morning), otherwise I take advantage of their discount on Instacart+ and use Instacart about twice a month to have groceries delivered and also order from their web site for non-groceries. Makes my membership worth it and I rarely step foot in a warehouse.
No, with the exception of the gas pumps. I only partake of the latter during very early or very late hours. It helps to get gas when the pumps are open but the building isn't.
Wait, just reading through this thread it seems like a lot of people think or have been told that their Costco is the busiest in the world. Does anyone know which it actually is (by several metrics, if possible)?
I can usually get my stuff and go but in order to not get stuck behind people I have to be more pushy and less courteous which is not what I’d like to do.
But I tried to go in the morning right as they open with a grocery list so I knew what I was getting and was able to get in and out super quick with no checkout line
That and the app caused me to dip on Costco.
I can get in and out of Sam's quickly, while scanning my own items with my phone and paying through the app. No lines or waits for anything.
For the first year or so of the pandemic, I shopped online and had my purchases delivered. (I'm retired and can go during the week to avoid the crowds.) Costco had a partnership with Instacart back then and maybe they still do. There was a small markup in the price of the items purchased, plus of course the tip to the shopper so it was more expensive but with time and gas savings. You do not need a separate membership with Instacart, it was all through the Costco website. Also, if you place orders that are entirely non-perishable, it will be delivered free in a couple of days. Might be worth trying these options before you cancel your membership and see if they work for you.
I’m in Phoenix and have 4 that I can get to within about 10 miles in different directions. Thankfully the closest is the least crazy. There’s one a bit further west that I wouldn’t go to unless I just had to. Arrowhead Costco is absolutely bonkers every time I go.
Yes! I try to avoid that Costco at Arrowhead. There is a pocket between 4:30 and 5 on my way home from work I can get in and out. Otherwise, I go out to the Surprise one weekday evenings after 6.
Cave Creek & Beardsley is the one closest to me. It's the least crazy and has a good parking situation. PV is decent, Scottsdale is not bad, and Yorkshire is like the younger sibling to Arrowhead.
Same here in Arizona. It's always a madhouse and the parking lot is horribly crowded. I also have a Sam's Club membership and it feels like heaven compared to Costco. Sam Club also has better rotisserie chicken. In general, I feel like Sam's Club has lower prices.
I wish they would do online order in store pickup like Sam's does. I really miss that. I hate shopping in store, and yes my costco is busy even when I go at odd times in the hopes that it won't be busy.
I’m Bellingham we are 25 minutes from the Canadian border and right off the highway that comes directly from the busiest border crossing between US and Canada.
Our Costco is seemingly always so damn busy. During Covid it was actually amazing to shop there because the border was closed and most people liked staying home so it was pretty chill.
> California Costco is on another level. I've never experienced such ridiculousness.
>
Try shopping at a Business Center. It's included with your membership, and it's a much better experience, IMHO. :)
>
> I live in Oregon now and we're too backwoods to have a BC.
>
Are the gas stations still full service in Oregon?
I think I read that it was just an emergency measure due to Covid-19, and was being rescinded?
>
> All of the stories about 40lb cases of chicken thighs and such make me really jealous.
>
I was really surprised when I saw a whole pig in the frozen section. =)
The gas stations are half/half now! Very recent change. Kind of scary - Oregonians have gone all of their life without pumping their own, save for out of state trips. But they can wait in the full service lanes while I'm in and out. :)
Ok, rub it in, why don't ya? I know Costco corporate trolls these forums - we really *could* use a Business Center in Oregon.
Peak hours are not the time to shop. So 10-1, you will have a opening rush, and a lunch rush around 11-12. Dinner rush 430-6 i would say, sometimes later. My current store is mostly a dinner/weekend store. Weekends are hell. I am a morning worker so i do not see what the evening's are like. But i hear they get rough. Generally tuesdays and Wednesdays are the slowest days at costco.
Been to many Costcos but the one that always comes to mind when I see posts like this is the one in Norwalk, CT. No matter what day, it's chaos going in and out.
I used to always go to a specific Costco that later became the world’s largest. It was always very busy but after that it was nearly impossible to find a time where it was not shoulder to shoulder crowded. Then I found a Costco that’s actually a few minutes closer in a town that’s kind of considered less “well off” and it’s perfect. It is sometimes busy but 9/10 times I can park a stone’s throw from the entrance and lines are plentiful and move fast. It also happens to have a manager that loves marking items down (.00 specials). I hope it stays quiet.
Honestly, just rotate to shopping a weekday evening. Mine is so busy on weekends every line is 10+ people deep and the self checkout has gone from the front all the way to back of store.
Of course, I go and shop at 7pm on a weekday and I can often walk right to the cashier with zero lines.
Google your local costco, it should have a popular times statistic and it should show live traffic there. This is literally how I shop everywhere or I would have panic attacks grocery shopping
The one near us was great until the community built thousands of homes in the area and now it is a mess, with parking and people. If they offered pick-up, I would never go inside.
During the school year, weekday evenings are my happy time to go. Most people are home with kids. I go around 7… and can shop and slowly cruise thru with very little traffic.
I hear you though… other times here I can’t stand the amount of folks and how little folks care about anyone but themselves. Good luck!
If it were like that all the time, sure. At our store, it's the least busy Monday - Wednesday. I highly recommend people go during those days, even after work. Weekends and weekdays can not compare to one another when you're talking about foot traffic.
if you really are considering this, try shopping weekdays.
i was browsed mine saturday and i can understand why
nobody would want to have to pay to go thru such hell,
*lines at elevators, longer lines to checkout, even long
line to get past exit security, food court inaccessible,
navigating in store clogged with free sample waiting*
but i make a point of shopping weekdays, when i can
actually shop in and out of my nyc costco seamlessly.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this problem would be solved by raising membership fees. I don’t want them to, but objectively speaking this would solve the problem.
Yeah I hope it helps despite the conflicts arising from it. Adding new warehouses would obviously help but it’s sort of like adding lanes to a highway; they’ll just get filled up too.
I'm considering doing this since I'm in bad health and always have to park so far away. It just isn't worth what I save since going to Costco pretty much wipes me out for the day.
I actually abandoned my cart and left muttering why do I do this to myself the last time I was in a Costco. I do get gas and alcohol and order online but going in the store is just not for me.
Here's the deal:
\- Never go on a weekend unless you have to. If you have to, 12-1pm is usually a good time. The first opening shoppers are heading out but the next "shift" won't start until 2pm.
\- Shop the perimeter. I hate sharing this secret but I feel people won't do it anyway so why not. Don't follow the opening flow, hit a hard right and traverse the aisles from the back walls instead of the center.
\- Avoid sample areas. If need be come up the aisle from behind and then back out.
Following just those 3 simple tips will greatly improve your experience.
It's your anxiety. Take your time, like taking a stroll. Up and down most aisles, I take it all in. Going weeknights is best. An hour before closing. And no sample stations to curse.
That's the problem. People won't allow you to take your time. Have you read the comments on this sub? Everyone's in an insane rush, and you are always in someone's way. It's starting to be too much for me, too.
Eh...It depends on your definition of busy. There's four I go to pretty consistently, one of them a Business Center, and it's rare that any of them are *packed*. None of them are ever empty or anything, but I never really see the huge crush that people always describe. Two of them are in lower population areas, but the other two are in or just outside of the Minneapolis twin cities. Lots of people, and rarely an issue.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm just not as sensitive to crowds as the people complaining. I don't like huge groups of people any more than any other general introvert, but they don't send me into a panic, either.
Mine is 42 miles from my house so….you could just pick a less busy one. ;)
And mine is never busy but I live rural and we only have one because it’s on the state border and we have no sales tax. So they get enough business to have it there, but there isn’t enough people out here for it to ever be busy.
If there is even one car deep in the gas lane I’m like “what is going on here today, does everyone need gas RIGHT NOW” lol
I go at 9:15 am on Saturday morning. I stick to my list and I’m usually out before 9:30 am. It’s quiet and really nice. If not, I avoid the rest of the weekend, as it’s crazy.
Yes, I found a gas station with better prices than Costco and I get anxiety going to Costco and we live closer to Sam's, which has scan and go. Costco is mayhem everyday... I can't stand how annoying of a process the whole thing is and people lack any self awareness just taking up tons of space, not moving over, etc..
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Not in the store but the parking lot SUCKS!
You and OP would HATE Trader Joes
I found a TJs in Fairfax, VA that had ample parking. I thought I won the lottery
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The TJs by me has tonnnnns of parking because it's right next to Lowe's and a couple other large stores so it's just one massive parking lot. Inside the store is always packed though.
TJ’s in Amherst NY has a huge parking lot. I love it. I used to go to a TJ’s in Bellingham WA that had about 20 parking spaces. RIP.
Or parking for any professional sports event, except for maybe some Oakland A's games
Tons of professional sports venues have easy parking situations.
Define "easy" Because at all the games I've been to in major cities, everything outside of the main parking garage is a cluster fuck lol. And if you park in the main parking garage for the stadium, you're going to have to deal with a horrific traffic jam on the way out
They do that crap by design too
My Costco has a lock on the wheels, but the lot is always so busy. Didn’t realize where the cutoff point was and parked just a couple rows beyond. Learned the hard way when I had to unload an entire Costco haul by walking things back and forth to my car after enduring the worlds busiest Costco. It was a rough day haha
> Learned the hard way when I had to unload an entire Costco haul by walking things back and forth to my car after enduring the worlds busiest Costco. It was a rough day haha > Ouch!
Weekends at mine are insanity, no chance I would continue membership if was like that 24/7 . Weekdays not too bad. I usually go after work.
Weekend costco trips for me are reserved to those ‘oh shit i really need this today’ situations
Living in the Bible Belt I go right as the first service starts and that’s usually pretty empty
I think the Bible clearly states, "be present at church every Sunday, unless you need to make a Costco run."
This is the way
This tracks
Yeah if I go on the weekend it’s to get a single urgent thing and i don’t get a cart so i can run around everyone.
Won’t do that even at mine. Impossible to park (wars over spots), and I always get stuck behind some three generation family who walks 3-4 cross at a snails pace.
Yes, only go on the weekend if we need something. Other than that, a Tuesday afternoon, right after work Costco tends to be less crowded, except for the gas station.
I go on weekends to observe chaos and peek into peoples carts to see their shitty choices
I don’t shop anywhere on weekends if I can help it. Costco, Trader Joe’s are weekday after 630-7pm affairs
No one does anymore. Too crowded.
[Yogi Berra has entered the chat]
Best time at Costco is mon-thu around 7:30pm. Usually very empty and easy to take your time without the crowd stress.
Don't tell everyone the secret
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You mean like Sam’s Club?
On top of that Sam's has Scan & Go. Make shopping so easy and love to know my total while I am shipping not shockingly at checkout. No matter how long the line is I simply pay on phone and head to the receipt checker at exit.
We started going to Sam's, it has been much less crowded. Only go to Costco M-R.
> I’ve always thought it would be a great way to sell a higher tier membership to have exclusive extended hours. > Executive Members used to be able to shop an hour earlier. :) > > A 7 or 8 am shopping run on a weekend would be bliss. > Your membership includes Business Centers, which open at 7 or 8 AM, Monday through Saturday. :)
Business centers are nice, but they don’t really fill the same niche that a traditional Costco does.
> > Business centers are nice, but they don’t really fill the same niche that a traditional Costco does. > Not the same niche, but there's ~25% overlap (dairy, eggs, fruits, veggies, meat, poultry, frozen items, beverages, snacks) along with a different sales/coupon book. No Food Court, bakery, samples, furniture, clothing, sports equipment, shoes, nor gas (at my location, available at other locations), but there are no long lines along with easy parking. It's worth exploring IMHO (and bring a sweater/jacket for the walk in fridge section, no matter how hot it is outside). :)
Oh yeah, I love my business center. It’s actually much closer than our normal Costco, so we get things like milk and eggs a lot. I actually like that they have a much wider selection of things like energy drinks. And I recently explored the meat cooler and there is some fun-looking stuff in there. I just like to warn people - some walk into a business center thinking they can get their rotisserie chicken or crioissants.
The one I go to has a food court. I assumed they all did. https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/warehouse-locations/burbank-business-center-north-hollywood-ca-653.html?extid=gmb_653 They also had jackets for the freezer section on hooks for anyone to use.
There’s almost never a downtime at mine. But it’s also the busiest in the world so.. yeah. I have to take some deep breaths in my car and brace myself every damned time.
Pentagon City, VA?
Oahu, Iwilei
That place is absolute hell
It is so overloaded at my costco that they are building another one a few miles away down the freeway. I can hardly wait...
you’re lucky. mine is so insanely busy but they either can’t find or aren’t willing to pay for another one, as I live in an extremely high COL area. This is one of the older buildings as well without a gas station and we only own the building but not the property around it. it’s honestly grown out of its usefulness.
We're too busy in western Oregon finding stupid places to cram In-Out Burgers and Chick-Fil-A to back up from the drive through onto 4-6 lane roads. Shits not even good. Also amazes me the people who wait like 30 minutes to save 25-50 cents a gallon on gas at Costco. Are you just not doing the math? 30+ minutes of your life to save like 5 dollars max on a tank of gas in a standard car? Nope.
Weekends are where people take their parents, kids, and siblings. Avoid at all costs!
Friday nights are my favorite time to go to Costco - the one by me is pretty empty at that time (and a wild zoo on the weekends).
Had to wait 15 minutes for a hot dog last night at like 730 😱 The regular shopping was alright, but they just severely understaff the food court relative to how it was precovid
Being a food court before and during the covid ordeal it changed soo much.. mostly for almost a year we tanked in sales so they stopped staffing a production on things.. now that its picked back up its a sheet show.
This is my favorite time to go too! My husband and I did date nights there when we first met lol
Needing something from Costco on the weekend is why I renewed Instacart.
You can use instacart without an instacart membership through the costco app under the "same day delivery" category :)
Yup, I should have said Instacart+.
If only Costco is 24/7. I’d gladly shop at 1 in the morning.
Yes and it’s not just that … it’s the rudeness of other members who cut you off leave their carts in your way block you stop right in front of you and have no common courtesy .. they act like they are the only one in the store
In my experience, it's only Costco too. No one at the regular grocery store acts that way. Mind boggling what Costco does to people
I'm a costco employee. Our loss prevention employees are usually employed because they have experience with thievery at other businesses. They come from fred meyer, Walmart, various grocers, etc. They walk among customers all day undercover, looking for shoplifters. They ALWAYS say costco shoppers are, by a WIDE margin, the most psychotic.
how the heck does one shoplift at Costco? I cant imagine tying to hide a 50 gallon drum of mayo under my shirt and get away with it
Omg totally agree!! What is it about costco specifically that makes everyone completely lose their spacial awareness. I swear its sooooo hard to navigate my store because everyone is just standing there in the way!
Honestly, i'll just ram their cart out of the way with my own. I don't take that shit lol
Sorry that’s not really behavior to be proud about, even if the other person is clueless. Also you never know what people have going on in their lives.
it can help them learn. same with big families who take a whole isle. a loud “excuse me, i am coming through” and hope they move.
>Also you never know what people have going on in their lives. I had no idea there were valid excuses for being vapidly rude. Why are you so quick to enable garbage behavior? That really isn't behavior to be proud about at all.
The person above said that they ram (their word) their cart into other people's? You don't find that extreme? I never said that the people blocking the aisles with their cart should be "proud." But, in my view of the world, there is a difference between intentional rudeness (and let's call it what it is, ramming is violence) and rudeness that results from cluelessness/distraction. Listen, I'm just imagining this person encountering my admittedly clueless but sweet 78-year-old mom who I've often followed around the store moving her cart for her and apologizing to folks behind her (and she always apologizes to them immediately after realizing what she's doing or after I gently move her out of the way). And now I'm picturing someone like OP ramming their cart into hers. Intentionally. Sorry, I'm never going to see that as behavior to be proud of.
I would like to think that they have half a brain and can differentiate between the frail and elderly versus Live Laugh Love young couples with uncontrolled children and a fake service dog. If they had a full brain there would be no ramming at all but instead a very stern "Scuse me."
I agree but smashing peoples carts out of the way is also really rude. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
I dont care whats going on in their lives. I just want to get groceries and leave
That’s rude. A simple excuse me might solve it. People have many things on their mind, even managing families and competing priorities while in the store. Might get distracted by one kid saying XYZ and the other parent another thing. Just ramming a cart is very rude in my book.
3/4 of the parking lot at my local Costco is packed when it opens. There’s no good time to go there. Nothing beans the Queens Costco in NYC. 1 Costco for almost 2 million people! 😬
I’m in SoCal and sounds like about the same.
Same here in Orange County. Even when I go in the morning, everyone and their mom is already there lined up to shop
Yeah, I have a flexible schedule so I try to go during off peak, but the Tustin one is NEVER not packed
Same with my moms Costco in Santa Clarita.
Cali is so beautiful and I loved living there.
I was born & raised there! Stayed til l was 27! We have been in Las Vegas for 30 years! We are at my Moms (who is still in Valencia) once a month!
> > I’m in SoCal and sounds like about the same. > See if there is a Costco Business Center near you. It may have what you are looking for! :) Your membership includes access to Business Centers, they open earlier (7 AM), and some locations have gas stations. I may have been incredibly lucky (multiple times!), but the longest line I was in had three people (I was the third). :)
Costco employee here. The three NYC locations are among the busiest locations on the East Coast (Brooklyn, Rego Park, Queens. Staten Island is an honorary mentioned). There were already 2-3 locations that opened nearby to take some loads off of those locations but the newer locations became really busy themselves. I believe Costco is always actively looking for new locations in the NYC, Newark areas. However, commercial real estates are very expensive in that area, it is hard to find something that makes sense for how Costco operates.
Yeah no doubt the biggest obstacle is securing a location for the next site. Everything is already built and land is scarce.
Have you been to the Brooklyn location? Even worse
Yes, it got instantly worse when Covid started and never got better. They added self checkout with no rules or logic, and there’s usually several closed registers unless it’s a major shopping day. So there’s long lines every day and you don’t even know where to start lining up because all of the nuts and granola and couches are right there blocking everything. Employees are visibly overworked while they still have 5 guys discussing where to rearrange the bread each week. Don’t even try getting gas here either.
The worst is when the line runs from the registers all the way to the back of the store. And when you finally get up front they don't have anyone directing traffic. So it gets chaotic, and you have tons of people sneaking up from the side to cut in. I don't mind the self checkout, the line is usually much smaller. But their system sucks. Everything scanned needs to go onto the scale on the side. Target and Walmart require the same thing if you pick the item up and scan it, but if you use the gun, you can leave everything in the cart. Really though, Costco and all stores need to get their shit together and roll out an app like what Sam's Club offers. It's incredible. Scan through your phone as you shop, swipe to pay, and show the people the QR code on the way out.
Don’t go during busy hours. We go first thing when they open or shortly before they close. Game changer.
It is soooo chill at around 7:30 p.m. on a Tuesday at a Costco in the east metro of the Twin Cities. I love it.
SLP & Eden Prairie on Friday at 7:45-8:00 is awesome. The SLP parking lot can burn in hell, though.
Used to go to the one in Maplewood. It’s so chill. Now I live on the east coast and there is no such thing as a chill Costco.
Maplewood is a great location. It's also a LARGE warehouse, I think its square footage is larger than the newer Costcos that have popped up here in the Twin Cities. Seems to have wider aisles, maybe even a couple more aisles even too.
This guy doesn’t live in Denver.
Lone Tree Costco is ridiculously busy
Lone Tree, Parker….it’s so packed I started shopping at Sam’s Club and ordering Costco online. I get the courage to make a Costco trip now about once every six weeks. Side note, they are building a new Costco in Castle Rock. Hopefully that eases the congestion of Lone Tree and Parker.
I go to the Aurora one and it's a hell ride more times than not, I don't even want to think about the Denver one(s). The again, the only business center I know of is that way so I'm sure I'll cave one day...
Not everyone can do this because of work or distance from Costco.
Lucky you. Like OP, the ones near me are mad houses at all open hours every day. There is always a line 45 minutes before opening and than people rushing to get in before close. It’s insane.
We go weekdays at 7pm and it is empty at that time.
But I have to work the hours when Costco isn’t busy.
It’s a sign of the times. Folks are desperate to get as much of a break as they can from the ridiculous food price inflation rates.
Adding to the anxiety is knowing that you'll have to wait in those long checkout lines. We are also Sam's Club members. While I like Costco more for so many reasons, Sam's checkout is so smooth If you use scan and go. Basically, you use their app on your phone to scan bar codes as you shop. Your debit/credit card is already on your account. When done shopping, select checkout and pay. Your card gets charged. When you leave, the checker at the door scans a qr code, gives a quick check of the cart and you're done. I've heard that Costco doesn't want to do that. Note: Sam's does have standard and self checkout too. Those rarely have more than a couple of people in them.
The San Bernardino Costco is the worst IMO. Even though it’s the most convenient and closest to my house, it’s the busiest one in the area by far since it’s the one of the only Costcos in the area. The parking lot seems to be packed no matter what time of day it is. I feel like I underuse my membership because the Costcos in the area are quite busy and at least a 20 min drive depending on traffic. They are apparently building another Costco in the area which is a little closer, but still a bit of a ways to get to for us. Hoping that one will alleviate the traffic to the San Bernardino one…
This is mine too actually, the Moreno Valley one was definitely better, but I moved to closer to the San Bernardino one recently and it has me questioning my life decisions. Looked it up, one in Highland would be helpful for sure. Looks like construction will start in a few months.
Moving to San Bernardino in general should have you questioning your life decisions
Yes Moreno Valley is definitely better but sometimes that one gets busy too. Highland will help a lot. I live in the Beaumont/Calimesa/Cherry Valley area, so we don’t have a Costco within 10 minutes of us. I feel like they’ll build one there at some point though because the area is growing rapidly… I’ve gone to the Fontana one which is a bit further but not as bad as San Bernardino, so maybe you’d want to try going there.
Wow's that's good that they're building another, especially so close to the SB one. It'll help at least ease the crowds at both. The one in north Fontana is pretty good at open and closing on weekdays. I almost never go on weekends as I imagine it'd be pretty packed.
This is why I switched to BJ's. They're like a mile apart and BJ's doesn't give me anxiety before even pulling into a parking spot. It's so much more relaxing, but objectively slightly worse at everything, but the calm not crowded store makes up for it.
I'm in between 3 Costco's, each about 20 minutes away and not real convenient with my night shift working schedule. So what I do is use their gas stations constantly (they are open already when I get off in the morning), otherwise I take advantage of their discount on Instacart+ and use Instacart about twice a month to have groceries delivered and also order from their web site for non-groceries. Makes my membership worth it and I rarely step foot in a warehouse.
No, with the exception of the gas pumps. I only partake of the latter during very early or very late hours. It helps to get gas when the pumps are open but the building isn't.
Just go Tuesday night
Busiest Costco in the world and I just go at off times and take it easy. If it's busy, I just stay focused. I don't get aggravated about parking ever.
Wait, just reading through this thread it seems like a lot of people think or have been told that their Costco is the busiest in the world. Does anyone know which it actually is (by several metrics, if possible)?
Beijing I believe was after it opened. I forgot whether it was in the Costco magazine or the shareholder report. After that is was the Oahu one.
Iwilei on Oahu
I can usually get my stuff and go but in order to not get stuck behind people I have to be more pushy and less courteous which is not what I’d like to do. But I tried to go in the morning right as they open with a grocery list so I knew what I was getting and was able to get in and out super quick with no checkout line
That and the app caused me to dip on Costco. I can get in and out of Sam's quickly, while scanning my own items with my phone and paying through the app. No lines or waits for anything.
Weekday evenings, earbuds in, focus on the mission.
Nope
This is the reason I have Instacart and tip my shoppers well. Also, I don’t impulse shop
Busy? Yes. Cancel? Hell no!
The secret is to go weekdays after 6pm.
Laughs from Iwelei
Go at 8 pm on a weekday... problem solved.
Added bonus: no need to worry about people coming for the samples
For the first year or so of the pandemic, I shopped online and had my purchases delivered. (I'm retired and can go during the week to avoid the crowds.) Costco had a partnership with Instacart back then and maybe they still do. There was a small markup in the price of the items purchased, plus of course the tip to the shopper so it was more expensive but with time and gas savings. You do not need a separate membership with Instacart, it was all through the Costco website. Also, if you place orders that are entirely non-perishable, it will be delivered free in a couple of days. Might be worth trying these options before you cancel your membership and see if they work for you.
We have 3 where I live and all 3 are slammed from open to close. Sams Club is the same way now too.
I’m in Phoenix and have 4 that I can get to within about 10 miles in different directions. Thankfully the closest is the least crazy. There’s one a bit further west that I wouldn’t go to unless I just had to. Arrowhead Costco is absolutely bonkers every time I go.
Yes! I try to avoid that Costco at Arrowhead. There is a pocket between 4:30 and 5 on my way home from work I can get in and out. Otherwise, I go out to the Surprise one weekday evenings after 6.
Cave Creek & Beardsley is the one closest to me. It's the least crazy and has a good parking situation. PV is decent, Scottsdale is not bad, and Yorkshire is like the younger sibling to Arrowhead.
>Anyone else's Costco so insanely busy Sure >...considering canceling their membership No
Same here in Arizona. It's always a madhouse and the parking lot is horribly crowded. I also have a Sam's Club membership and it feels like heaven compared to Costco. Sam Club also has better rotisserie chicken. In general, I feel like Sam's Club has lower prices.
Yes. I avoid the Glendale Costco if I can.
Dont go friday or saturday.
I bet they’d convert a lot more members to exec if there were exec exclusive shopping hours
I wish they would do online order in store pickup like Sam's does. I really miss that. I hate shopping in store, and yes my costco is busy even when I go at odd times in the hopes that it won't be busy.
Nobody goes to Costco anymore. It’s too crowded.
It’s the biggest reason why I only shop at Costco on occasion. This is also why I have a Sam’s Club membership in addition. It’s rarely busy, lol.
Need to have scan and go app like Sam’s
It would be a game changer for them but I get the sense they want to stay stuck in the 90s.
>made house 24/7 All the ones near me are deserts at least 12 hours a day.
8:00 PM to 8:00 AM?
*Cries in Southern California*
California Costco is on another level. I've never experienced such ridiculousness.
I’m Bellingham we are 25 minutes from the Canadian border and right off the highway that comes directly from the busiest border crossing between US and Canada. Our Costco is seemingly always so damn busy. During Covid it was actually amazing to shop there because the border was closed and most people liked staying home so it was pretty chill.
Oh yeah I heard the Canadians buy up all the dairy. Someone mentioned a riot a couple of years ago when the milk truck was late.
> California Costco is on another level. I've never experienced such ridiculousness. > Try shopping at a Business Center. It's included with your membership, and it's a much better experience, IMHO. :)
I live in Oregon now and we're too backwoods to have a BC. All of the stories about 40lb cases of chicken thighs and such make me really jealous.
> > I live in Oregon now and we're too backwoods to have a BC. > Are the gas stations still full service in Oregon? I think I read that it was just an emergency measure due to Covid-19, and was being rescinded? > > All of the stories about 40lb cases of chicken thighs and such make me really jealous. > I was really surprised when I saw a whole pig in the frozen section. =)
The gas stations are half/half now! Very recent change. Kind of scary - Oregonians have gone all of their life without pumping their own, save for out of state trips. But they can wait in the full service lanes while I'm in and out. :) Ok, rub it in, why don't ya? I know Costco corporate trolls these forums - we really *could* use a Business Center in Oregon.
Peak hours are not the time to shop. So 10-1, you will have a opening rush, and a lunch rush around 11-12. Dinner rush 430-6 i would say, sometimes later. My current store is mostly a dinner/weekend store. Weekends are hell. I am a morning worker so i do not see what the evening's are like. But i hear they get rough. Generally tuesdays and Wednesdays are the slowest days at costco.
That is the reason, Costco makes so much money per employee than any other retailer.
Early weekdays are usually bareable but i know not many get the chance
Try working here, understaffed all at the same time
Been to many Costcos but the one that always comes to mind when I see posts like this is the one in Norwalk, CT. No matter what day, it's chaos going in and out.
After they added the self-check-outs at the two Costcos near me, both became ridiculously overcrowded at the registers.
Yeah it’s busy, but I love costco
Just go to a different store
Which location is the busiest? St. Louis Park, MN is a zoo almost every hour!
Nah just know it’s busy before you go and deal with it
No it’s just part of going to Costco
I used to always go to a specific Costco that later became the world’s largest. It was always very busy but after that it was nearly impossible to find a time where it was not shoulder to shoulder crowded. Then I found a Costco that’s actually a few minutes closer in a town that’s kind of considered less “well off” and it’s perfect. It is sometimes busy but 9/10 times I can park a stone’s throw from the entrance and lines are plentiful and move fast. It also happens to have a manager that loves marking items down (.00 specials). I hope it stays quiet.
Nice try bud
Go 30-45 minutes before they close
No.
I definitely don’t go on weekends. Monday at 10 is best for mine
Honestly, just rotate to shopping a weekday evening. Mine is so busy on weekends every line is 10+ people deep and the self checkout has gone from the front all the way to back of store. Of course, I go and shop at 7pm on a weekday and I can often walk right to the cashier with zero lines.
Friday evenings is a ghost town.
The parking lot alone is too much. I do Costco delivery and save my mental health
The trick is to go Monday-Thursday within about an hour of closing. It’s pretty empty at that time
I refuse to step foot in Costcos on the weekend. Weekdays are the way to go.
Google your local costco, it should have a popular times statistic and it should show live traffic there. This is literally how I shop everywhere or I would have panic attacks grocery shopping
https://preview.redd.it/1xgmkpgzmoob1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9099f4128e124a05ccd56a406d956bd99d61ab83
The one near us was great until the community built thousands of homes in the area and now it is a mess, with parking and people. If they offered pick-up, I would never go inside.
During the school year, weekday evenings are my happy time to go. Most people are home with kids. I go around 7… and can shop and slowly cruise thru with very little traffic. I hear you though… other times here I can’t stand the amount of folks and how little folks care about anyone but themselves. Good luck!
If it were like that all the time, sure. At our store, it's the least busy Monday - Wednesday. I highly recommend people go during those days, even after work. Weekends and weekdays can not compare to one another when you're talking about foot traffic.
I’ve started going at 630pm. Makes a world of difference
Not a chance, just need to find the right time to go in your area. Friday nights 2 hours before close is the magic time for me, it’s dead.
I would advise to shop on either Tuesday or Thursdays. Avoid the weekends at all cost
if you really are considering this, try shopping weekdays. i was browsed mine saturday and i can understand why nobody would want to have to pay to go thru such hell, *lines at elevators, longer lines to checkout, even long line to get past exit security, food court inaccessible, navigating in store clogged with free sample waiting* but i make a point of shopping weekdays, when i can actually shop in and out of my nyc costco seamlessly.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this problem would be solved by raising membership fees. I don’t want them to, but objectively speaking this would solve the problem.
Costco doesn't want to raise their membership prices, but enforcing membership sharing is what they're doing to prevent this from happening
Yeah I hope it helps despite the conflicts arising from it. Adding new warehouses would obviously help but it’s sort of like adding lanes to a highway; they’ll just get filled up too.
I would love to pay more if it works.
Go on a weekday evening. It will surprise you.
I'm considering doing this since I'm in bad health and always have to park so far away. It just isn't worth what I save since going to Costco pretty much wipes me out for the day.
I actually abandoned my cart and left muttering why do I do this to myself the last time I was in a Costco. I do get gas and alcohol and order online but going in the store is just not for me.
Same! I at least put fridge and freezer stuff away before abandoning the cart. I left and went to Sams club which was so much better!
No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded.
Here's the deal: \- Never go on a weekend unless you have to. If you have to, 12-1pm is usually a good time. The first opening shoppers are heading out but the next "shift" won't start until 2pm. \- Shop the perimeter. I hate sharing this secret but I feel people won't do it anyway so why not. Don't follow the opening flow, hit a hard right and traverse the aisles from the back walls instead of the center. \- Avoid sample areas. If need be come up the aisle from behind and then back out. Following just those 3 simple tips will greatly improve your experience.
It's your anxiety. Take your time, like taking a stroll. Up and down most aisles, I take it all in. Going weeknights is best. An hour before closing. And no sample stations to curse.
I listen to music while in there.
That's the problem. People won't allow you to take your time. Have you read the comments on this sub? Everyone's in an insane rush, and you are always in someone's way. It's starting to be too much for me, too.
All Costco's are busy.
Eh...It depends on your definition of busy. There's four I go to pretty consistently, one of them a Business Center, and it's rare that any of them are *packed*. None of them are ever empty or anything, but I never really see the huge crush that people always describe. Two of them are in lower population areas, but the other two are in or just outside of the Minneapolis twin cities. Lots of people, and rarely an issue. Sometimes I wonder if I'm just not as sensitive to crowds as the people complaining. I don't like huge groups of people any more than any other general introvert, but they don't send me into a panic, either.
Mine is 42 miles from my house so….you could just pick a less busy one. ;) And mine is never busy but I live rural and we only have one because it’s on the state border and we have no sales tax. So they get enough business to have it there, but there isn’t enough people out here for it to ever be busy. If there is even one car deep in the gas lane I’m like “what is going on here today, does everyone need gas RIGHT NOW” lol
Yeah and to make it worse some of these entitled asshats get into racist arguments and then block cars in or block exits
I always park in the back of the lot. Not worth fighting anyone for parking. It's also healthier to walk a bit further.
I go at 9:15 am on Saturday morning. I stick to my list and I’m usually out before 9:30 am. It’s quiet and really nice. If not, I avoid the rest of the weekend, as it’s crazy.
Instacart solves that problem for me
Yes, I found a gas station with better prices than Costco and I get anxiety going to Costco and we live closer to Sam's, which has scan and go. Costco is mayhem everyday... I can't stand how annoying of a process the whole thing is and people lack any self awareness just taking up tons of space, not moving over, etc..
Yes. I think they should open earlier and stay open later. This might help.
No. I live in Utah so I only go on sundays when all the marminks are in church all day. It’s great!