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Beggars can’t be choosers at Costco.
Fed-up employees at the big box store are ripping customers for getting taken advantage of the free samples, claiming that some even have the nerve to request customizations.
The issue came to light via a Reddit thread where disgruntled employees ranted about these entitled freeloaders, along with other grocery sample etiquette violations.
In the post, entitled “No, I will not be customizing your FREE SAMPLE,” the staffer claimed that he’d get asked for everything from “extra crispy” quesadilla samples to just the “brie cheese” without a cracker.
“Where do these members get your nerve?” the employee fumed. “It doesn’t happen often to me but often enough that it grinds my gears and makes me find a way to kindly explain why I will not be doing that for them.”
They continued, “This isn’t Burger King — samples aren’t ‘have it your way’ they are ‘take what’s offered or keep walking and get nothing.’”
Another appalled employee cited an instance where a disgruntled customer complained that their sample of Peppermint Bark was not big enough split with her husband.
One recalled two customers who treated the sample cart like a complimentary Sweetgreen. “I was doing a demo of Annie’s mac and cheese,” they recounted. “A woman came up to me and demanded that I stop everything and make the other two flavors immediately so that she could try all three before committing to buy them.”
The other said that they were demoing Kirkland’s pork lion when a lady came up and demanded that the staffer cook her sample fresh to order and at 165 degrees rather than 145 degrees, as the sample purveyor was instructed.
The employee declined on the grounds that the butcher didn’t want them to serve “tough, overcooked meat,” prompting the woman to tell the manager that they were serving “raw pork.”
“I had to stop while my manager checked the temperature of every piece of meat on the griddle,” they lamented.
Of course, those weren’t the only infractions. Others cited sample hogs who take advantage of the sample carts Costco, which stipulates that patrons can take as many as they like, according to Tasting Table.
Meanwhile, one concerned emplyee put out a guide to “grazing etiquette” in grocery stores that flagged a variety of taboos, including reaching past the cart’s sneeze shield, grabbing samples at the back of the tray and thereby contaminating the others, and most alarmingly, dining and dashing sans listening to the employee’s spiel.
“Please at least listen to what we have to say about our product,” they explained. “We have daily sales quota, and it can be a little bit disheartening when people don’t even listen to us say hello and just snag a sample.”
They added, “At least say hello and greet us instead of just zooming by grabbing a sample without evening knowing what it is.”
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