The large box store is being criticized by some Costco customers for implementing a significant shift that would drastically alter their shopping experience.
Some internet users claim that the new arrangements are “horrendous” and “monstrosities,” while others contend that they will draw customers away from the already crowded store.
People have been enjoying the classic $1.50 hot dog and Coke combo, which hasn’t changed in 40 years, since it was originally offered in Costco’s food courts in 1985.
A Costco member’s best reward for enduring large crowds and the lengthy checkout line—the last obstacle between you and the food court—is the inexpensive wiener, which is consumed while lounging in a rock-hard cafeteria seat.
Rest assured that Costco will not be raising the price of the common hot dog. However, the store is altering the way you will eat.
International customers are apparently debating Costco’s new food court seating arrangements, which are being tested at several warehouse sites.
Tall, standing-only “monstrosities” have taken the place of typical tables in a South Korean warehouse, according to a recent post on the Costco subreddit.
Therefore, due to this terrible arrangement, no youngsters or people less than four feet are permitted to utilize the tables. It was difficult to balance my toddler on my lap while supporting one leg on the crossbar so she could eat her ice cream. A manager quickly ejected some families who were seated on the floor along the back wall, according to the Redditor.
This significant change may be an effort to solve issues unique to a given area.
Some Costco stores in Japan are “packed with groups of non-working women,” according to one Redditor, who “treat Costco like a cultural experience that should take all day.” While their husbands are at work, the group of women “spend hours each week drinking the refillable tea and soda,” the user says.
Additionally, a user from the United States reports that she “saw someone doing a fifth birthday party there with pizza and acai drinks!”
“Not a family get-together.”
Several Redditors support the new arrangements, noting previous difficulties with packed food courts, while online users confirmed that Costco shops around North America are undergoing modifications. They contend that taking seats away deters long visits and makes the area more usable by other patrons who only need a quick location to eat.
“The eatery isn’t a three-star Michelin establishment. One commenter comments, “Eating a hotdog and watching your kids spill a soda (sic) takes less than three minutes.”
The food court is such a shit show; people sprawl out and flop down far too much. Another says, “[The food court] isn’t a family get-together, it’s for getting a bite to eat on your way out.” A third shares that they agree with such remark, asking, “What’s the problem? Costco is not a dining establishment.
In the meantime, a California user explains that her father started the custom of eating hot dogs in the food court forty years ago. Except for the fact that they are simply too tall for children to eat at, I wouldn’t mind. Eating at the end (or beginning) of a Costco trip is a custom my dad established with me about 40 years ago, and it’s something I’ve been doing with my daughter on a regular basis. Over the course of the year, I met with a few managers, and they just added extra seating tables.When there is extremely little seating and a number of standing tables that are empty because no one wants to use them, it certainly adds a great deal of frustration.
How do you feel about Costco altering its food court? So that we can hear from others, kindly share this story and let us know what you think!