Costco Free Samples Are Sparking Chaos and Dividing Shoppers
Anyone who shops at Costco is familiar with the many sample stations set up throughout the store, serving up unlimited hot and cold snacks and little bites. The chain makes serious money from giving out the samples, as it encourages impulse buying and reciprocity from grateful customers. While the free samples are a great way to try an item before buying it in bulk, not everybody appreciates the lines that form through the aisles, or the way some shoppers behave about the free tidbits.
"So many people will stop in the middle of the aisle, abandon their carts, and wait in line for a free sample of a saltine cracker," one Redditor said. "I have abandoned my cart a few times if an aisle is crowded and I know where an item is, but I make sure it's out of the way and I'm quick. Leaving it to stand in line for a sample or to wander around is annoying if it's blocking others," another responded. "I work there. We call them vultures," a Costco employee commented.
Another Redditor noticed that people deliberately go to Costco at lunchtime to fill up on the free samples so they don't have to buy food. "I think it depends on the sample and how busy the store is. I may try a 1 or 2 samples throughout 4 or 5 total visits. But the lines for samples and people that literally are going there for lunch, is usually a turnoff, so I usually just walk by the freezer section," they said.
Another person pointed out how unmannerly some of the shoppers are about the samples. "I've never seen that at TJs. But I do see it at Costco. It's horrific. It's like the folks hovering over the poor server waiting for the [stuff] coming out of the red hot toaster oven haven't eaten in a month. They run at the tray like a pack of zombies discovering a new victim…..server can't even put the crap onto the tray before they're tackled," the Costo member complained.
The general consensus seems to be that the sample stations would be a lot less disruptive if people didn't hover, wait in long lines, or abandon their carts in the middle of aisles just to grab a sample of something they're probably already familiar with. The lure of "free" is powerful, though. According to Supermarket News, those free samples may boost sales by as much as 2000%, so they're clearly not going anywhere anytime soon.
If you really want to avoid the sample-induced chaos, go first thing in the morning when the store opens, or stick to the Costco Business Centers where there are no samples at all. "My personal favorite: they don't offer free samples, so the store is NEVER crowded with families of 8 standing abreast in the aisle trying to eat sample lunch at Costco on a Saturday afternoon," one Redditor said.
