Costco Wholesale reviews

3.9

74% would recommend to a friend

(18,705 total reviews)
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Ron Vachris

76% approve of CEO

70% positive business outlook

Costco Wholesale has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 18,705 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Costco Wholesale employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

19K reviews
1.0
May 10, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

People - The people that work here are from a wide range of backgrounds and are generally great people. Timely Paycheck - Payroll is consistent and reliable

Cons

Compensation - The rates based on what is available in the Seattle area is laughably low and non-competitive. For the same positions at competitors you can make anywhere from 30-50% more on base salary alone, not including bonuses, stock options and RSUs. If you are looking for "competitive" wages Costco is not the place for you. Yearly Merit Increase - Regardless if you are a labelled as a "high performer" or someone that does absolutely nothing you will both be given the same yearly merit increase that will not exceed 3%. There is no motivation to go above and beyond for Costco as your only reward will be more work and responsibilities of those that do not perform their own job. Bonuses, stock options, discounts, RSUs - There are none of these available for non-managerial positions. - There are no employee discounts on buying Costco stock whatsoever. - There are no discounts in-store, Costco Travel, or other Costco-partnered services. Healthcare Benefits - While the coverage is good on the services and prescriptions it is way too costly for those that are single or couples coverage. Compared to the competition in the Seattle area the health care packages are nearly double for those that are not family based meaning a family of 4+ pay the same as a couple. PTO - Paid time off hours are very low and only increase after long years of tenured service to Costco. Even if you stick it out and accure a reasonable amount of hours with 10+ years of tenure you are locked into taking your PTO within specific windows. There are archaic blackout period when you cannot take your PTO. They claim this is due to an outage that occurred during Black Friday years past, but in actuality it is due to the fact that there is not enough resourcing and staff to accommodate vacations and those on maternity and paternity leave. - The miniscule time you get to take off you are still constantly bombarded with company concerns and other's issues. Management does not covet your time as your own if there is an issue happening. This is also due to no cross-training and low staff resourcing. You have to either turn off your phone or go off the grid to be completely left alone to enjoy your time. Technology - In recent past Costco has decided to double-down in on-premise hardware let alone relying on iSeries/DB2 technology. If you are looking to do new, innovative or engaging work this is not the place for you. If you are done with your IT career, looking to coast, not develop and play as caretaker to archaic dying technology this may be the place for you. - The cloud adoption is slow and reeled back largely depending on the software looking to be migrated. The focus on relying on physical hardware is staggeringly disappointing and the opposite of what the IT industry has been doing for years. - If you are well versed in Azure, Infrastructure as Code, Configuration as Code and other DevOps skill sets this is not the place for you. You will be held back from using and exploring technologies to their fullest by RACI's and siloed teams not willing to expand their knowledge and capabilities. Accountability - There is no accountability within Costco IT. You can bring down the entire network, DNS or Costco.com website with zero repercussions brought upon you. Root cause analysis is not a concept used widely within Costco IT so the same problems happen frequently if not yearly. - The lack of accountability is what perpetuates lazy, incompetent and reckless behavior that contributes to the lack of reliable systems nor the ability to accomplish any project in a timely manner within Costco IT. - The only two ways you will be fired within Costco IT is if you commit a felony on the HQ grounds or eat an M&M before paying at the cafes at the HQ.

1.0
Apr 6, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I can't think of anything that could possibly justify enduring the hostility and hatefulness that is found within the company culture of Costco Wholesale.

Cons

It was as though I was working among prisoners. You are dehumanized by your coworkers who have a sense of superiority as a result of being there for so long. ...Costco has been praised by many for being such an ethical company. In reality, the only facts that contribute to that ideology are that employees make a few dollars more than they would at Walmart, in addition to higher-up positions that pay considerably more than their counterparts at comparable retailers. There are also good health benefits. However, no amount of money should be able to justify emotional abuse and ultimate objectification. There is homophobic hate-speech thrown around casually in a jokingly manner. During one of my first few days, I was pummeled by a shelf of about twenty boxes of Synergy drinks, all of which contained 6 glass bottles. One employee who noticed asked if I was okay only to subsequently alert the person from whom I was taking direction with the statement, "You didn't tell him that the shelf was broken!" (I was stocking the drinks as they collapsed on me.) The man then came out of the produce cooler and said to me, "Just do one layer." He then walked back inside of the produce cooler. I was left with bruises from the occurrence, and it was basically ignored by everyone. The company culture at Costco is repulsive. In reality, the people who constantly praise Costco and consider it to be the most ethical company ever are most likely members of the higher middle-class who would never find themselves in any comparable line of work. With that said, they view the people who work at Costco or within any similar contexts as people whom they're above on the social hierarchy ladder; they think it's wonderful that the incompetent, poorly educated people who occupy the bottom of society's rankings are given the amazing opportunity to make $13 an hour as opposed to $9. Would Walmart be viewed as the holy grail of employers if they raised their pay a few dollars and increased their benefits? If the answer is no, then Costco shouldn't be idealized like it is today. Costco is a glorified Walmart. Costco is a place in which you will be demeaned and put down if you approach anyone with kindness or compassion. Kindness and compassion have no place there, and the majority of the staff aren't even capable of recognizing anything of the like. It's like a prison in the sense that the employees feel as though they're empowered by being able to treat new people as if they're worthless indentured servants. I had to endure the wrath of the person who was supposedly training me during my first few days when I made a mistake with stacking oranges. A few boxes fell over, and she screamed profanity at me. This was in conjunction with being treated as if I was her misbehaving child who needed to be disciplined. Honestly, Costco Whole Sale is the worst context in which I have ever found myself. It was depressing just waking up to know that I'd be going there after the first day, because the first day exposed so much of what they're about and set the time for my brief experience there. I had never been so dehumanized and put down before working at Costco and around some of the most volatile human beings I have ever encountered. I left with physical injuries as well as emotional ones. Costco is a disgusting place that only perpetuates some of the most hateful mindsets in society. I will never be returning, and that is the happiest thought I am left with after my abusive experience at Costco Wholesale.

1.0
Jun 13, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

$11 an hour to start, good benefits

Cons

You're never doing the right thing, management change their minds all the time, one day they say one thing, next day they say another, you're never good enough, even if you work your ass off they don't care, you're not getting a promotion because everything is based on seniority and your performance only gets you in trouble but never benefits you. they're very abusive when it comes to being outside pushing carts, they don't care if your sick, they'll still send you out if it's raining/thundering/snowing or over 100 degrees and keep you out there your whole shift every friggin day. if you're looking for a full-time job this is not the place to work for you, expect to get from 24-32 hours every week, Costco's infested of all creeps that won't retire cuz they wanna keep all their benefits so pretty much someone has to die to leave a full time position available and when theres one there are already like 10 guys with more seniority than u waiting for it.

Viewing 13 - 15 of 18,705 Reviews

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