AI reviews summary
Overall sentiment is significantly negative, with users expressing frustration over a perceived decline in value and service quality. While a few staff members are praised for exceptional care, the majority of recent feedback highlights aggressive enforcement of entry policies, poor online order fulfilment, and a lack of price competitiveness compared to major supermarkets. Significant concerns regarding food safety and declining product quality were also frequently raised.
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Costco appears to be struggling with a disconnect between its membership-based value proposition and its current operational reality, particularly regarding poor online fulfilment and inconsistent food quality. Prospective members should weigh the potential savings on fuel and tyres against significant frustrations with store overcrowding and increasingly rigid, sometimes unprofessional, staff interactions.
They don't tell you on there website about delivery dates. Until you've ordered and paid. So if the date is to far in advance you just have to accept it. They may let you cancel but won't give you your money back for 3 to 5 days. My advice is to price check othere retailers first and check when they can deliver. Once they have your money they don't give a shut
Went to check it out before potentially buying a Membership. Staff at the entrance was extremely rude, high on his power trip, refused entry to check out if it was worth joining ( I was well aware I would not be able to purchase) and the obnoxious staff made the decision easy… we will not be joining.
I normally love Costco but unfortunately, I went last night and wanted to buy a brisket which I have been buying for years from there. But noticed the halal sticker on all of the briskets when I asked a staff member if there was brisket that wasn’t Halal. He said no, and he said all of their briskets for the last three years having been Halal.… Read more
When I challenged it and told him I’d be buying normal brisket for over that period of time he told me that they were have all been Halal and they just didn’t put the sticker on which I find disappointing as some of us don’t share the same faith as Muslims. And if that is the case then Costco needs to be more transparent with it. I don’t understand why we in Australia are changing our ways for a faith that doesn’t even belong to Australia.
Reviews with attachments
Tasteless – Hot chicken was disgusting, no seasoning, no stuffing, watery and undercooked, tastes like was cooked in a microwave. Yuck. Cheap garbage to feed to your dog.
WARNING - ONLINE ORDER LEFT UNSECURED - STOLEN - BEWARE Customer service do not care 5 min response !! My online order got stolen ($140)after it was left in a “secured” area. Oviously it wasn’t (on the street on a busy road) not packed (original packaging with the item on full display) Delivery is included… without options to upgrade it. So… Read more
No signature required on delivery even when I asked for it in the delivery instructions, No insurance for the delivery. Delivered by Australia Post, why not take it to the post office ? Spoke to customer service & emailed, their response was NOT OUR PROBLEM.
Before you order from Costco beware your money could be gone !!
Bought Kirklanh large pacific oysters 14 pieces. After eating, discovered a live worm 45 mm long inside the oyster shell.
Never buy fruit especially strawberries and tomatoes!!!! Purchased for the 2nd time and simply disgusting quality. The photos say/ show it all. Show details
It’s good especially they have my favourite snack called the Snack Charmer. The Banana Plantation Strip made in Cambodia is the best. Can’t stop eating. I usually buy 4 or 5 packets. Yummy Show details
The whole grill chicken is awful, under cook and taste like a rubber! Today I told it to the lady that every time I’m buying the chicken is undercooked and very jelly.. she told me take this is just came out of grill after I advised her the chicken in uncooked. I took one as she is advised me got home cut it.. very uncooked and taste like… Read more
plastic! I really don’t know where they are getting those chicken and what they inject them with. Is should not pass to put on shelves!!
Today I went Costco to buy some stuff for my big Christmas party I have bought Cinnamon rolls As I usually trusted big organisations like Costco I just grabbed cinnamon rolls and didn’t check When I arrived home I saw it’s open and one eaten It’s not hygiene any more what should I do now ? Show details
What happened to this years xmas cake?????After buying the xmas cake both for my household an as it used to be so great I would also gift it. Everyone one loved it. Well this year it seem the recipe has changed will not be buying the xmas cake anymore ☹️ Show details
Stock rotation appears to be an abstract concept - 2 items purchased on the same day have expiry dates no less than 3 months apart. Provolone cheese purchased from here in September displays a best before date in December, yet grows green mould after being opened and stored in an air tight ziplock (also purchased from Costco) less than 2 weeks… Read more
from opening.
I have also had white mould on low carb wraps less than a week after purchasing, with the best before date apparently weeks away. Note, these are sold in a 2 pack and only one package spoiled. Again, each package had very different best before dates listed from the other.
Costco lets down its suppliers by not managing basic stock rotation in its stores, therefore giving a poor impression of product quality.
Do better, you've wasted enough of my money.
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I am not sure how fresh the fresh products are. not long ago, we bought some chicken breasts, kept in the fridge, two days later, opened the box, it smelled strong off smell and sticky. Most recently, bought some bread rolls, kept in the fridge, next day, they were modly.
Purchased fish from Costco Gold Coast and was shocked by the foul smell upon opening—clearly spoiled despite being within the expiry date and properly stored. This isn’t just poor quality, it’s a serious food safety concern. When I requested a refund on behalf of my friend—who is recovering from hip surgery—the manager refused unless he came in… Read more
personally. This is not just poor service, it’s a complete disregard for accessibility and compassion. Shame on Costco for making recovery harder than it needs to be.
Latest follow-ups
Bought 4 x hot rotisserie chickens. When I got home the chickens were raw on the inside. I put them in the oven to cook and they turned green. This is a major health hazard. Salmonella poisoning can kill! Show details
Follow-up · The store did not respond or acknowledge the issue at all
I am extremely disappointed with Costco’s service. I purchased an iPhone on 20/12/25 as a Christmas/New Year gift for my wife. As of 9/1/26, I still have not received the item. I contacted Costco Member Care on 2/1/26, 5/1/26, and 7/1/26. Every… Read more
single time, the only response I received was to “wait”. No proper explanation, no delivery update, no solution, and no immediate refund for an item that was clearly never delivered.
I have no idea what is going on internally, but from a customer’s perspective, this is completely unacceptable—especially for a high-value item like an iPhone. The lack of accountability and communication is shocking.
This experience has cost me time, money, and unnecessary stress. A gift meant for a special occasion turned into weeks of frustration. I am now seeking a full refund, including my membership fee, as the membership has provided no value at all. Totally disappointed. This has been a complete waste of time dealing with Costco. I expected far better from a company of this size
Follow-up · Very poor — the tracking showed the parcel bouncing between three locations repeatedly without ever being delivered. None at all. There were no updates or notifications after that date. I have to keep calling to chase updates. Yes. I contacted Australia Post and was advised the issue was caused by Costco dispatching the item without completing a required safety declaration form.
I don't usually do this but ,I just love good customer service, so last week I was at Costco and I do like to see if Kathy is working as she always happy and no matter how busy , Anyway for the past 2 years people have been trying to get me to join… Read more
as an executive member, but it was to hard to understand. Until Kathy the super sales person explained it to myself and daughter and made it sound so good.. yes I joined Thanks Kathy for making things so simple and exciting.. Your always make shopping at Costco a delight Paul
Follow-up · Never have had a bad experience
Positive reviews
We absolutely love shopping at Costco. Although it's not the cheapest around for groceries (Aldi has better prices) the variety can't be beaten. The muffins are brilliant value though at 12 for $12 and they're huge. The clothes and shoes are great and so are the appliances. My vacuum is from here (Shark brand) and it was $100 cheaper than anywhere… Read more
else. I do wish they'd bring the book ailse back though. Checkout lines are usually quite busy as is the queue for food but I've never waited more than 15 mins to be served. Worth the membership fee if you go every 2 weeks or so and are prepared to spend at least $100 each time.
I recently visited the Lidcombe Costco looking for flushable wipes that were on sale, but unfortunately, they were out of stock on the shelves. When I asked another staff member, they mentioned there might be stock somewhere but weren’t sure where. While continuing to search, I met "Joy",who went above and beyond to help us. She kindly took the… Read more
time to check for the item, and even more impressively, she came to find us later while we were shopping to let us know that the stock would be available in about 30 minutes.
It might seem like a small thing, but her attentiveness, kindness, and willingness to follow through truly made a big impression on us. It’s rare to see that level of genuine customer care.
Thank you, "Joy", for your outstanding service. You made our shopping experience memorable!
Sarah had served me today and I just had signed up and she upgraded me to executive while I was in store! She was honestly so d#mn nice and sweet to deal with! Please make sure you look after, she is one of the good people out there!
Negative reviews
Bought fried rice tray on the 16th June that had prawns and char siu pork on top, it looked good until we ate the rice and it wasn’t even cooked, it was so crunchy, seems like whoever made the fried rice doesn’t know how to cook rice, for almost $30 it’s a ripoff. Show details
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This morning proceeding to the restroom without going through the entrance first. Ryan was rude and said I must go the other way first. I said what if I peed in my pants( I was in a real hurry) ; he wasn't accommodating and just replied "it's up to you'. Question: If I was saying I needed to the customer service, would I have to go thru entrance… Read more
first; on weekends when there are a lot of people will you stop every person and ask them what they were coming in for? Just common sense and courtesy would go a long way.. very disappointed...
We have been buying the thin lamb chops with tails for a long time. My last visit theses chops were all fat ,badly boned out and very little meat on them for the price,for the first time I did not purchase them. I feel you have changed supplier as quality for these chops is way below par.
Recent reviews
I did a appointment and payment through my cell phone application to replace the tyres for my car, however Costco Tyres cancelled my appointment even when they had confirmed previously many times. I haven't received any refund or any new after 4 days. I claim urgently my money because I need to buy my tyres in other store. This experience is the closest thing to a scam. Show details
Can we have 0 star? Now I know why the service is so terrible from Costco given such low review overall. They simply guide customers to go after manufacturers when their is any issue with electronic device and then mess up what you have worked out with manufacturers.
No hot chooks past mid afternoon every day, weekends are worse. When you don’t feel like cooking on a Friday or Saturday night you Go for a chook or pizza. Chook ovens are closed down by 4pm! Nothing in deli cases either. What happened? Show details
I have been a member of Costco for years. I loved Costco (past tense) and have never had a problem with anything until recently. I have now lodged a complaint with them regarding both an overcharge and the way they have not-handled my complaint, even making me feel like I was in the wrong. On 29 April I purchased a small quantity of items… Read more
totalling $178.56c from Costco (Majura Park. Canberra). I went through the self-service checkout. The cash register indicated the transaction was complete but unfortunately did not print a receipt. A helpful young lady then took my Costco card and advised that she was going into the office to print a receipt. She returned with a male employee (name withheld) and no receipt. He advised that they would have to scan the items again. I questioned this action stating that the cash register had indicated 'transaction complete' and that I objected to paying twice. He then sought the assistance of a manager who emphatically informed me that the transaction had not gone through. I questioned why the register had displayed 'transaction complete' if this wasn’t the case? He was so demanding that I gave him my credit card and received a receipt for the $178.56c. I advised him that I believed I had paid twice, but he again assured me that this wasn't the case. As I left I advised the manager that there would be consequences if he was in the wrong. I returned to Costco on Thursday of last week (8 days after my purchase), and noticed that the offending check-out register had a sign stating that it was out of order. I then wondered how many other unsuspecting customers had fallen afoul of this recalcitrant register? As this had been over a week since my original purchase, it reminded me that I had not checked my bank statement. I did this when I returned home and was appalled to see that I had been double charged for the purchases. This showed up on my bank statement on 4 May, and I was quite inflamed by the incompetence of the Costco staff who had acted with both intransigence and arrogance.
I rang Costco immediately and spoke to a very helpful lady in customer service who advised that she had herself noticed the overcharge and was just about to ring me (yeh right). She was very pleasant and advised that she would reverse the overcharge but it may take up to 10 days to take effect. I informed her that this was unsatisfactory as I had been overcharged instantly, I expected the refund to also be instant (or within a day or two). She advised that she would contact the Sydney office and inform them that I was quite irate and demanded immediate action. She concluded by checking my contact details and left me with the impression (I believe she stated it) that she would contact me (keep me informed), the following day (8th May). So why am I surprised that this didn't happen. Noting also that my refund still hasn’t occurred now fourteen days after their foul-up. Why do I have apprehension that when I check my bank account later this week the refund will still be absent and I will have to repeat this infuriating process all over again. Costco have let me down, and quite possibly I am not the only one. Their system needs fixing and this includes customer relations, refunds and training for their shameless managers. I demand an immediate refund, and an apology would not go very far astray (and pigs might fly)
Most of their products are Not cheap at all & Their Basic $65 Memberships Is Not Justifyable After Paying to Discover Its Much Cheaper to Shop Elswhere ALDI COSTCO Management Should Seriously Look at Restructuring The Whole COSTCO PRODUCTS & SERVICES TO CUSTOMERS & PRICING ALSO THE UNJUSTIFIABLE $65 MEMBERSHIP SUPPOESEDLY TO BE A SO CALLED PRIVELIDGED FOR CUSTOMERS & ITS ABSALUTLY A SCAM
Service is very poor, I like to buy a apple phone , they were displayed on the counter on special , but when I want to buy it the staff told me is out of stock, this been happened twice, I just can’t understand if there is no stock why display on the counter, waste my time, wait there for a customer service for 10-15 minutes then been told no stock, absolutely terrible customer service. Show details
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A live worm found in oyster.