[OP]
Contributor
I have been a member of both over the years. Been with Costco last 5 years or so. Some of the items I purchase have some issues and no one to communicate with. Oven roasted turkey breast is so moist and compressed together you can't peel of a slice without it coming out in crumbles. They've know of the problem by others posts for over a year. Stuff like this....
Curious how Sam's is doing for you or similar problems with Costco.
Brian
Brian
Contributor
Sure there is. Take your complaints to the service desk where you would take your returns. We have had satisfactory results with any issue we had by taking the problems there. Though, we haven't had a lot of issues with Costco over the 20 or so years we have been members.
Go to their website and chat with their customer service department.
Last edited by Ken Fitzgerald; 10-05-2023 at 6:34 PM.
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
[OP]
Contributor
Not just with an individual package, happens more often than not. I have done both so have others, no change. Thanks BrianOriginally Posted by Ken Fitzgerald
Last edited by Brian Runau; 10-05-2023 at 7:02 PM.
Brian
Contributor
Kind of like the Pinto "Exploding Gas Tank" situation.
Ford decided it was cheaper to leave things the way there were and just pay the "wrongful death" lawsuits rather than spend money to change anything (recall/redesign/scrap future models).
Costco has obviously deemed it cheaper to maintain the status quo and just refund customers who aren't happy (even if the complaints are legitimate).
You and those other customers are like the dead in the Ford Pinto Fiasco.. you are a small minority of their customers.
Does that sound cynical?,... It was meant to.
"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
[OP]
Contributor
Yes and that is how it feels it feels to me. Brian
Brian
We have no trouble returning the balance of a multi-item package if one or more prove to be bad even after we have used / consumed some. We use Costco for most items and use Sam's enough to make it pay. The points plans change or have periods of "specials". Currently we use the Costco card for all Costco stuff and the Sam's card for as much of everything else as we can. This can change as the plans or offerings change. One of the benefits is that we have never had a problem with any return, ever. We go often enough that any returns just wait till the next trip so, minimal additional effort to return problem items.
We have stopped buying any clearance items at one of our Costco stores as the manager seems to have no problem selling things that are just plain bad. The other Costco has been fine on discontinued or clearance stuff. As in so many cases, most problems are the fault of sub-optimal management. Stores with good managers have good employees. Good employees mean happy customers.
Last edited by glenn bradley; 10-05-2023 at 8:27 PM.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
Moderator
I've had zero issues with getting satisfaction at Costco...if something is amiss, they take care of it "no questions asked" at the service desk. They go out of their way to keep folks happy. Heck, I got a refund a few weeks ago on an opened bag of dog food that, for some reason, Oliver couldn't keep in his stomach. (A different flavor than we normally buy) Full refund without blinking an eye.
It's been a few decades since I've been in a Sam's club simply because I have a thing about not doing business with Wally World. But I suspect they also take care of their customers which is an expectation of this type of business.
--
The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
[OP]
Contributor
Wally world is my one reason for hesitating. They would take it back, but they don't fix the consistent problem. Being type 2 diabetic it is easier for me to manage my blood sugar by eating same stuff, so a lot of sandwiches for lunch, hence turkey being a daily pain for me. Brian
Brian
Contributor
I think (correct me if I'm wrong) Brian's complaint is that nothing changes. I.e., you return something that is sub par, you tell Costco it's sub par, and then next time you buy it it's still sub par.
I suppose the answer is "don't buy that item anymore, or at least don't buy the brand of that item."
But it begs the question: if an item is sub par, why is it being stocked?
Ans: most people are OK with it, maybe not super happy with it if it is sub par, but not enough to stop buying it or even file a complaint about it.
The same thing happened at Trader Joe's (TJ's), but with a different outcome: I went there to buy the to-die-for Key Lime Pie (KLP) and there weren't any.
No problem... it's a super popular item and the freezer is often devoid of it for a week.
Except this went on all summer, and so I asked about it.
Apparently the supplier had changed IT'S supplier and was delivering a sub par Key Lime Pie. TJ's was getting a lot of complaints--the clerk told me the complaints were non stop.
So TJ's stopped stocking it until it could find a supplier that provided a KLP that met it's "taste/texture" standards. It took over a year before the KLPs were stocked again.
I suppose that if it were only a minority of customers who complained that the KLP "was different and not as good", nothing would have changed... I don't know.
But I do know profit margins in the retail grocery business are razor thin, so a retail store is going be very careful about deciding when its worth cutting into profits even for the short term.
"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
Contributor
Our Costco stocks several (like 4-5) kinds of sliced turkey. I've experienced the one that sticks together, it doesn't bother me so I'd probably buy it again anyway, but mainly because I can't remember which is which. The other kinds they stock don't do that. So of it bothers you there may be a choice. I'm guessing that there is some benefit that more discerning turkey buyers than me find with the sticky one that causes them to stock it and people to buy it. Stuff that people don't buy isn't carried for long.
Contributor
I've belonged to both Sam's & Costco, and don't expect customer service to be a high point of going to either place. It's all about cheap.
< insert spurious quote here >
Contributor
We buy this and slice it ourselves. https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.c...100343513.html We have a slicer because we also slice home made bread and other bulk meat products we purchase. We freeze in a food saver bag. I'm not sure we save but it works for us.
Moderator
These businesses make their money on memberships, not the products. Customer satisfaction is very high on their list because otherwise, folks would not renew their memberships.
--
The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
I think I can actually count on no hands a bad customer experience at Costco. The employees have been pretty happy to help, and engaged in their jobs at everyone I've been to. I am in agreement with Jim on the other place. Haven't set foot in one in this millennium, and it's gonna stay that way.
It's a bummer about the turkey, I have to wonder what the complaint to purchase ratio is.
~mike
happy in my mud hut
Contributor
I'm not at all certain there's any difference between the two...and I'm unlikely to find out as long as Costco is about one mile away and the nearest Sam's is over ten.
(The great bulk of my Costco spending is optical and electronics, very little food. But yeah, I've never gotten them confused with Trader Joes.)
Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
"Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
We used to be hunter gatherers. Now we're shopper borrowers.
The three most important words in the English language: "Front Towards Enemy".
The world makes a lot more sense when you remember that Butthead was the smart one.
You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much ammo.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote