FOOD NEWS
Things That Make Shopping At Costco Mildly Annoying
BY Jaimie Mackey
Visa
When it comes to credit card payment, Costco only takes Visa, as the chain has had a deal with Visa to lower the interchange fee at stores to below 0.5%, which is a big saving.
This savings is passed on to shoppers through lower prices. If Costco accepted other credit cards, with 2-3% fees, that extra cost would be included in product prices.
Costco accepts payments through Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay but will reject them if you only use credit cards like Discover or American Express on those platforms.
Opening
Costco doesn’t open early. Unless you visit a Costco Business Center (which opens at 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday), you'll have to wait until 9:30 or 10 a.m. to get in.
In America, Costco hours are consistent: 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, excluding holidays.
Check-Out
Usually, Costco stores only have room for a few carts between the registers and the first row of items. The check-out lines can get vexingly chaotic during busy hours.
People often use their oversized carts to assert dominance and hold their spots in long lines. Opening more registers helps, but even making your way to the register can be tricky.
Membership
Every personal Costco membership includes two cards, so you can split a membership with any one person of your choice — as long as you two live in the same household.
You can only have two household members on one account, so if you've already accounted for both cards, you can't get a card for a third person without getting another membership.
Kiosk
The food court ordering kiosks don't save time. Instead of giving each order a number and calling it out when it's ready, food is prepared in the order in which it was bought.
This seemingly fair system forces people to move from the kiosks to a line to wait for their food. That's no better than lining up, ordering, and getting the food all in one place.