Costco's Food Court Beverages Are Receiving Major Complaints: 'Continuously Awful'
You'd be hard-pressed to find a Costco shopper who doesn't adore the affordable, tasty bites served up at the retailer's famous food courts, from the $1.99 pizza slices to the iconic $1.50 hot dog combos. But despite the general fanfare around Costco's proprietary eateries, one food court offering has recently started to face major shopper criticism: the fountain beverages.
The retailer's food court sodas came under scrutiny this week after a Costco shopper declared them "the worst fountain drinks" they'd ever tried in a Reddit post.
"At least in my area, our fountains are the worst of any I have ever used. The flavor ratio tastes like when normal machines are slightly out of syrup. And it takes 90 seconds to fill a cup because within 15% of volume being filled the foam is overflowing. Carbonation and flavor are both F's," the shopper wrote.
This Costco member is far from the only one who feels this way. The post has since received over 230 comments, many from other shoppers who detailed their own negative experiences with Costco's fountain beverages. Like the individual who started the Reddit thread, a number of these shoppers also complained about taste and fizz issues in Costco's sodas.
"I actually don't disagree. I find most locations definitely have issues getting the balance right. Some are crazy syrupy and some too much carbonation," a Redditor commented.
"Continuously awful and poorly managed," another lamented.
In addition to slamming the beverages themselves, some Costco members also have issues with the retailer's drink variety. The company switched from offering Coca-Cola beverages to Pepsi beverages in its fountain machines back in 2013, a change that many are still irked about to this day. While the selection could vary by store, you'll typically find Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Starry, Mountain Dew, and Tropicana Light Lemonade in Costco food court fountains nowadays.
"They really messed up when they switched from Coca-Cola to Pepsi fountain drink machines," a Redditor wrote.
"I would pay more for Coke options," another said.
Of course, not every Costco shopper has taken issue with the food court soda fountains. Some said that they genuinely enjoy the retailer's selection of Pepsi products, or that their warehouses do a good job of maintaining their machines so they dispense better drinks.
"Mine has the best fountain Pepsi ever," one Redditor said of their local Costco.
However, the fact that so many shoppers have criticized the food court fountains indicates that the issues have become pretty pervasive. Costco did not immediately respond to our queries for comment on the complaints.
The food court sodas are only the latest Costco offerings to garner major shopper criticism. The retailer's popular Kirkland Signature Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks recently came under fire for reported textural and quality issues. Customers also recently complained that Costco's Kirkland Signature Sparkling Water cans sometimes lack the fizz.
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