Costco Food Court

I walked into the future yesterday, I guess.... Went to Costco's food court in Santa Clarita which is outside and was met with having to scan my membership card to order food? I've read about this in the news, but never thought it would happen. Every store is different, for example in Santa Clara in NorCal I could order food at the checkout register instead of the food court, when I moved south and I tried to order, they always gave me a sideways look, like we've never done that, they don't do it in the AV either. The AV's food court is inside, cuz it's hot out here. Nothing like dinning in hell experience in the summer out here. I doubt those scanners will be coming out here, but how long do you guys think this will go on before they stop this?

 

no Costco card needed in the Webster TX location.

and it's indoors.

and I get to people watch, as it is located where folks check out.

 

Its a recent policy change since they are now requiring you to be a Costco member to use the food court. Probably up to each store with how quickly they implement but its seeming like it will hit all of them.

 

Yeah, it is in the same location here as well.... I dislike the fact that the battery shop was brought inside instead of remaining in their own side entrance, it was just moved 3 months ago... I have to walk alot longer with this damn battery and I hate going in with a cart and having to fight the outbound traffic to the battery center. For context my Costco is the only for 60 miles or so, they've been hinting at a new one in Palmdale possibly since supplies here go really fast. In Santa Clara, we had like 5 in a 15 mile radius so we could pick and choose where we really needed to go, but the Milpitas one was boss in comparison until the new one was built in San Jose which was huge and mostly empty.

 

Yeah, it's a new policy, don't think it will last long, I think they probably make the most money out of the food court, line is ridiculously long sometimes though. For food court inside you didn't need a membership either, just telling them going to the food court and they'd let you in on that side cut out.

 

Costco actually makes nearly all of their money from memberships. Almost no margin on products and if I remember correctly they lose their ass on the food court. That would explain them deciding to only make it available to members.
I listen to a podcast called Business Wars. They had an episode about Costco and it was really interesting.

 

Will have to listen to that. I mean it will shorten that lunch time line by a whole lot, lol..

 

Business Wars is a great podcast. Their episodes about Toyota vs Honda are pretty fascinating.

 

I saw a Costco documentary a few years ago that was pretty interesting.

Some Hot Dog History https://www.delish.com/food-news/a60277599/everything-you-need-to-know-about-costco-hot-dogs/

Can anybody name something beside Costco hot dogs that has gone up in price since 1984? IIRC, they sell something like 700 million a year.

 

I’ve read in several places that the founder told the company if they ever changed the price on the hotdog he’d haunt them.

 

The article I linked quotes him as saying something even more sinister. (Yes, I know that's a dancing Bacon emoji, but it looks like a hot dog.)

When W. Craig Jelinek joined the leadership team in 2010, he complained to Costco co-founder and CEO, Jim Sinegal, that the combo was losing the company money. Sinegal's response was one for the history books: "If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out."

 

That’s right. I knew he was pretty adamant about it.

If I remember correctly from the podcast, it originally started with an employee bringing a hotdog cart to the parking lot and selling them on his off time. The owner saw him and was cool with it. When he saw how many people were coming to the store just for a hotdog he opened up the food court.
It’s all about membership there. They’ll take anything back, regardless of how long it’s been or what condition it’s in. I’ve seen pictures of people returning Christmas tress, nasty mattresses, etc. They’ll do damned near anything to keep the members happy. They have a 90% retention rate which is insane.

 

Absolutely FUCK Costco. See the google reviews on Costco Tire Center Sugar Land, 2.7? I had my wife SUV tires done there and they misplaced 2 log nuts outta of 5 and the other 3 were lose I think (according to the dealership damage report) . She drove for it few miles and her tire literally broke at 70/mph. The damage, the scare and then me loosing my shit with the Costco GM and the tire tech supervisor. That little fuck would not take any accountability for their fuck up and the GM was all over me for being pissed and loosing my shit with him. He said it wasn't their fault and that we did something with the SUV. I was like WTF, are you nuts? We almost got in a fight over this. I escalated to corporate, they moved my complaint to the Texas region and this VP retard would not even talk to me, she delegated some lawyer to discuss the issue. Rather than taking accountability they pushed the issue on me loosing my shit over this. They paid the damage, paid for my tires and told me to keep them but they canceled my membership and banned me for life LOL. But they never took ownership and acknowledge their fuck up, never. So yeah fuck Costco. Not one time they asked about our safety and the well being of my wife, to them it was all about money and turning this around as it was my fault for being pissed.

 

That same year, however, Costco's Portland warehouse allowed a vendor nicknamed "Warm Wonderful Gene" to sell hot dogs outside the store too. The store's manager, Joe Portera, didn't ask Costco corporate for permission, but the brand's co-founders loved the idea so much that they let it slide.

 

I'm not saying it's their fuck up, but to their defense, I lost 3 lug nuts on my Tundra years ago on the same stud. It ended up being the stud that had a damaged thread somewhere in the middle. It was able to be torqued down to spec without turning righty loosey or snapping off. On the 4th lug, I took it to the tire shop to get the thread inspected they stated it was damaged and they offered to replace all 5 since they were starting to get corroded, so I accepted and haven't lost a lug since. At the same time, it may the tech's fault, I'm not putting my hands over the fire for no one, including myself, LOL...

 

SUV was fine before the tire job and that happened within the hour driving from Costco, so I am 1000% it was their fuck up I mean my wife didn't pull over and removed 2 lug nuts and unscrew the other 3 LOL. She was like 3 miles away from this location when the accident happened.

 

Hey, I figure after paying $120 for an executive membership, it pays for itself if I get a hot dog and soda for lunch every weekday for 4-5 months.

 

That sucks big time. And I would like to think that was hopefully an isolated incident. I was having tires put on my 2006 Tundra about 10 years ago and the tech broke one of my wheel studs while doing it. They immediately called me. They told me what happened and said if possible to come down so we can discuss further. That Costco is really close to my house so I was there in 5 minutes. Walked up to the tire counter where I was met by the head of the tire department and the GM of the store. They apologized profusely and took complete ownership. They could have easily pushed it off as the truck had close to 200k miles and the studs were original. They offered to have my truck towed to wherever I wanted and to pay for parts and labor to fix it. I was given a $100 Costco gift card and either 20 or 30% off on the tires.

 

I haven't hit the food court in a while at my local costco but I seem to remember ours did change as well. I think you order from a tablet and pay on the tablet then take a receipt to the window. On another note, I love Costco like many of you maniacs. But a few years back they accused me of shorting their cashier after one visit when I paid cash. They actually called me a couple days later to tell me that and that they were going to put a note on my account for the next time I visit and that I would have to pay an extra $100 as I recall. I was so taken back by this thought it was a scam but after speaking with a manager I was told they do have someone who follows up with instances like that. I know I didn't short the cashier--I count it in front of them--so I can only assume they pocketed money or lost it. I ended up writing corporate about it and the local manager called to apologize. Still rubs me the wrong way especially being a member for nearly 20 years but I till chose to shop there still and drown myself with in misery with the masses every other weekend.

 

I wonder if the 1.50 hot dog is a big joke for founder Sinegal. He may get the last laugh knowing the hot dog eater gets to smell and taste it long after it’s been eaten.

 

Yeah you got lucky and is down to the local store GM how they handle it. I mean if you look at the 2.7 reviews for my store, that tells you right there. What really gets me is the GM not being onboard either and sending her narrative to the corporate office before me reaching out. They were prepared to take me down before I even opened my mouth. Since the path was taken, of course they all gonna try to protect themselves even if they're on the wrong. I am still pissed several years later, just thinking about it. It wasn't about the money but rather taking accountability for your fuck ups.

 

Why do you anticipate they'll stop it. Everywhere else has moved from humans to automated alternatives. I'm super bummed Costco is doing so as well, but not surprised.

 

Costco

since it's on my way home from work, I generally get our work snacks/drinks/supplies/ Tundra gas.

the self serve section of Costco is wonky. it does not have a natural flow. and they jam you all together.

so, I avoid the self serve aisle.

the manned registers flow very quickly.



now Sam's Club....forgetaboutit.

NOBODY cares about you in there. the check out section has the worst customer focus. the manned registers , all 2 of them, are staffed by ex-meth heads and parolees.

they do have a much larger, robust snack section. I go for those boxes of single serve pistachios.

 

Guess we know who's part of the 10%. LOL

 

I automated my account here 3 years ago.

 

I honestly don’t know how a Sam’s survives anywhere there’s a Costco nearby. They’re significantly worse in every way.

 

When I go to our local Superstore, there are only one or two cashiers working and they're old and slow as hell and have long lineups. So I go to the self checkout despite having more than the 25 item limit and I get shit from the two cashiers who are standing around there doing fuck all.

 

That seems really weird. I just looked at all the Costcos near me and they all are rated 4.5 or above.

 

Scan and Go is awesome at Sam's. Also hotdog combo is $1.38