Costco doing away with senior hours

[Montecfo]

i never found them that useful. Seemed more crowded.

I also rejected waiting in line for carts. I'd just take my own bags and get in and out and try not to get famous.

Now just avoid weekends and evenings.

 

[statsman]

Our local Costco has done away with senior hours some time ago, however, they changed their opening hours from 10am to 9am and plan to retain them . Not crowded and, most important to me, I get to start my running errands day earlier.

I'm hoping ours does the same. We'll see. 9am open on weekdays would be great.

 

[athena53]

I don't like costco crowds in general... I try to get in early, well before the lunch grazers show up around 11. The oversize carts and folks who don't know how to pull to the side when they stop to look at items - blocking the whole aisle.

Prior to my kids getting their drivers permits I made them navigate Costco without hitting any other carts, people, or displays... I'm proud of that test - it shows a 3d awareness which is something you need as a driver. (And many costco shoppers don't have.)

I agree on the people blocking the aisle with oversize carts or ambling at an agonizingly slow rate with no way to get around them. I buy too much to go without a cart but sometimes I "park" mine out of the way so I can duck down aisles unencumbered and grab what I need.

My grandchildren are young now but what a great idea for teaching them how to navigate a cart before they learn to drive!

 

[jollystomper]

I am glad I was able to cash in on my COFSDASH™ trademark already .

It will not bother me. Our local Costco has very civilized clientele. The busy hours tend to be between noon and 5PM. I will keep going early near to their opening time, there still will not be many people there.

 

[Chuckanut]

I agree on the people blocking the aisle with oversize carts or ambling at an agonizingly slow rate with no way to get around them. I buy too much to go without a cart but sometimes I "park" mine out of the way so I can duck down aisles unencumbered and grab what I need.

+1

Cart blockers are very special people. And the ones who manage to turn their carts 90 degrees so they have maximized the amount of blocked aisle space are among the anointed.

I also often park my cart and set off on foot, cross country, bobbing and weaving to dodge other customers as I work my way through the aisles, tables and end-caps to do my shopping. But, one must be careful not to leave an empty cart behind. Secure it with something big and on the heavy side. Otherwise, it will disappear into the clutches of some sociopath too lazy to have secured a cart when entering the store.

 

[audreyh1]

So Costco self-checkout finally came to our Costco year or so ago and we’ve been enjoying using it.

However, for the past two months it’s no longer self-checkout! They have an army of employees there, wands in hand, that check you out! Almost one per station. They actually wand your stuff in the cart as much as possible, so it does save a lot of time. I suspect they figured out they could double+ the checkout speed doing this. Still, it’s kind of ironic.

 

[REWahoo]

So Costco self-checkout finally came to our Costco year or so ago and we’ve been enjoying using it.

However, for the past two months it’s no longer self-checkout! They have an army of employees there, wands in hand, that check you out! Almost one per station. They actually wand your stuff in the cart as much as possible, so it does save a lot of time. I suspect they figured out they could double+ the checkout speed doing this. Still, it’s kind of ironic.

Our Costco usually has 1 or 2 employees at each section of 4 self-check stations. DW noted they appear to give priority to assisting those of us above a certain age.

 

[audreyh1]

We have 6 stations total, and I’m pretty sure yesterday they had 5 employees working it. I got started but one swooped in to finish for me. And since we put refrigerated food in a cooler in our cart it does save me a lot of effort with them wanding what is in the cooler directly.

Huge number of people going through “self-checkout” and they kept it moving really fast.

 

[MichaelB]

We have 6 stations total, and I’m pretty sure yesterday they had 5 employees working it. I got started but one swooped in to finish for me. And since we put refrigerated food in a cooler in our cart it does save me a lot of effort with them wanding what is in the cooler directly.

Huge number of people going through “self-checkout” and they kept it moving really fast.

That sounds like ours as well, the exception being one of the employees must have been a drill sergeant in her previous job. She doesn’t ask, she orders. Put this there! No, not here - I said there. Put that back in the cart. Please scan your next item now.

They even put up a chain link fence to separate it from the regular lanes and stop people from trying to cut in at the head of the line.

 

[aja8888]

I never used the early time in Costco because it interfered with my daily ROMEO coffee meetup with my circle of friends.

I found the best time for me to go to Costco was Wednesday or Thursday afternoon around 2:00 PM. The store is mostly empty at that time on those days.

 

[braumeister]

I always go soon after opening (10 am) to avoid the crowds. At that time most people shun the self-check area and go to attended cashier lines, but I never have a big order and I like the self-check. Only once have I had an employee jump in and speed me up, but she was quite pleasant about it.

 

[Midpack]

Ours has 6 self checkouts, usually 2 Costco employees. They don’t usually wand scan check customers out, but sometimes. Most customers have gotten so good/fast with checkout I don’t know why anyone still goes through cashiers. Scan Visa on barcode scanner, scan items, scan Visa on payment unit, grab receipt and go. Very quick!

 

[audreyh1]

We went yesterday because DH got the text that his glasses were ready for pickup. Got there at 10am, but of course people were streaming in and it got real busy fast. I had an important mission - picking up some Lomo de Bellota 100% Ibérico which I’d never seen in Costco before.

 

[Venturer]

We went by Costco Wed. and saw the Ebikes they have. After we got home DW ask me what I thought about them. It got me to looking and thinking about them as well. So it looks like we will be heading up there today and getting ourselves a Christmas gift. When we camp we have always walked around or rode bikes around the campground-- we mainly camp in state parks or COE campgrounds. I don't know if we will like the Ebike experience but are going to try it. The folding bikes seem like they will take up less room when traveling and be ok for what little we will use them, we shall see!

 

[jollystomper]

So Costco self-checkout finally came to our Costco year or so ago and we’ve been enjoying using it.

However, for the past two months it’s no longer self-checkout! They have an army of employees there, wands in hand, that check you out! Almost one per station. They actually wand your stuff in the cart as much as possible, so it does save a lot of time. I suspect they figured out they could double+ the checkout speed doing this. Still, it’s kind of ironic.

Out Costco started with 4 stations, and they have now expanded to 10. They usually have 2-3 employees there to direct folks in line to an open station as soon as possible, and to scan large items that do not need to go onto the counter. I also notice that they will help those with very full carts by hand scanning some of the items, all in an effort to speed checkout time. The pile of boxes is also near the self-checkout, and some of them will ask if I want a box and will bring one over.It works well, it has been a few years since I have used a manned register.

 

[Koolau]

Last time I used the senior hours, they were still restricting the number of people inside, so there was now a line of us old people. Not a pretty sight but YMMV.

 

[pacergal]

We enjoyed the senior hours, now we simply go in 30 minutes before closing as it is usually less crowded. We try to use the self check out, those lines are frequently shorter. And we have a drill sergeant there too!

 

[tutan]

For a less crowded experience, go to a Costco Business Center. They have items that regular Costcos don't have and vice versa. For example, there's no vitamins, optical, food court, TVs, or gas pumps, but they carry blue cheeses which I can't seem to find in the regular stores.

 

[GravitySucks]

Our Costco usually has 1 or 2 employees at each section of 4 self-check stations. DW noted they appear to give priority to assisting those of us above a certain age.

Same here.
Pro tip - buy beer and try to run it through first. It triggers an employee call for an ID check and the employee will usually complete the check out for you.
Especially if you look like a poor old widower not used to doing the shopping.

Sent from my LM-Q850 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[audreyh1]

Same here.
Pro tip - buy beer and try to run it through first. It triggers an employee call for an ID check and the employee will usually complete the check out for you.
Especially if you look like a poor old widower not used to doing the shopping.[/URL]

No chance of that at ours. Even when packed I get pounced on before I even ring any liquor ha ha. I’ve learned to go with the flow. The employees claim it’s boring if they aren’t wanting stuff, so I guess they get my sympathy. It really does save time.

 

[Koolau]

Same here.
Pro tip - buy beer and try to run it through first. It triggers an employee call for an ID check and the employee will usually complete the check out for you.
Especially if you look like a poor old widower not used to doing the shopping.

Sent from my LM-Q850 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

Yeah, don't even need beer. They see my cane and lined face and come running. There is still a spirit of Aloha toward kupuna here in the Islands. I rarely have to lift anything out of the cart. A kid with a wand hustles over and wands me through the line in short order. Age still has one or two advantages. YMMV

 

[Koolau]

Oh, I just remembered: First time I went through the self-check out, one of the "Costco Kids" was stationed at the "line to get into the line" and asking to see our Costco card. It took a moment for me to figure it out. I didn't ask but assume folks must be lending out their cards to friends, neighbors, etc. to use at Costco. No one would know if there weren't a human there to check the picture ID. Heh, heh, the more we automate, the more kinks in the system appear. Certainly, the automated line saves a lot of human checkers - yet that one step of checking cards takes a whole human to do. I imagine biometrics will be next at Costco but YMMV.

 

[audreyh1]

Oh, I just remembered: First time I went through the self-check out, one of the "Costco Kids" was stationed at the "line to get into the line" and asking to see our Costco card. It took a moment for me to figure it out. I didn't ask but assume folks must be lending out their cards to friends, neighbors, etc. to use at Costco. No one would know if there weren't a human there to check the picture ID. Heh, heh, the more we automate, the more kinks in the system appear. Certainly, the automated line saves a lot of human checkers - yet that one step of checking cards takes a whole human to do. I imagine biometrics will be next at Costco but YMMV.

Like all Costco registers, the self-check registers require you to wand/swipe your membership number to start the checkout process. Always been that way.

 

[isisdave]

The last time I tried to do self-checkout at Costco, they still required me to take each item out, scan it, and put it on the scale-thingy to verify it. The whole idea of self-checkout is not to have to touch and lift each item twice!

Since they check the receipt at the door, I cannot figure out why they don't put a scanner on each station (like Walmart, duh) and let us do that ourselves. That way everything stays in the cart.

Since I always face the barcodes up and rarely have more than one layer of stuff, the person with the scanner usually does the whole cart in about six seconds. I should get a kickback.

 

[jazz4cash]

Does Costco have the option to self scan as you put items into your cart? Sam’s Club and BJ’s have that feature in their apps. It is far better than traditional self scan.