Costco employees are like most any other employee. There are times when they want to tell shoppers something — whether it’s information about a special sale or a snide comment directed to a shopper with a bad attitude — but can’t for various reasons. That being said, here are 20 things Costco employees wish they could tell you but can’t.
20. Don’t Abuse Their Return Policy
Costco is known for its generous return policy. You can return pretty much anything — even your membership, if you’re not fully satisfied. But, there are some people who get carried away and try to return bizarre items like stained mattresses, dirty toilets, dead plants, smelly freezers that are no longer working, and couches that are over five years old. “Interestingly enough, they still have the receipt, Rachael, a Costco employee in Colorado, told Mental Floss magazine. “My guess is that they buy that couch with the intention of returning it someday, so they tape the receipt to the bottom of the couch so they don’t lose it. Then, when they’ve worn it out and want something new, they bring it back and get a full refund.”
FYI, Costco employees know if you’re a serial returner. That’s because their records go back 10 years or so, and all they have to do is look up your membership information. But, even if they don’t search your record, they can still spot a serial returner just by the words that come out of their mouth. “When someone comes in to return something without a receipt and they go, ‘Oh, you can look it up on my account,’ that’s a tell,” Thomas, a Costco employee in California, told Mental Floss. “It tells me you return so much stuff that you know what we can find on the computer.”
Here’s something else you should know: They can revoke your membership if you’re a serial returner. Employees can make notes under a comments section of your membership, and they sometimes do that when an individual makes frequent returns. If you’re found abusing their return policy, your membership can be terminated.
