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.
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.
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
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
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.
I want to make a complaint to the staff member [Name Removed] that stood at the gates at Costco Marsden park on the 20/07/25 at about 5:00pm for discrimination. We had a family coming from overseas to visit cosco as one of the biggest and cleanest location. Unfortunately this incident has left us very very disappointment and we will never visit… Read more
again or recommend any family to go.
We had two membership cards and the women - [Name Removed]was obviously discriminating against us with my mother in a wheel chair and my non English speaking family from overseas.
This has made such a bad impression and experience for Australia they vow not to ever purchase cosco products again.
I had a pram and my husband had to abandon me outside the gates for an hour as we were not allowed in despite Having two memberships cards under the wind and cold. This women has no feelings and does not care about customers.
It was cold and lonely and I watched that woman “ [Name Removed]” allow everyone else in. A family with four people. A couple who complaint and just walked in and various families that had more than 3 people, a parent with 3 kids meaning 4 people in total.
Everyone else just walked in and I sat alone with a pram hungry, lonely and very very upset. I can’t believe that cosco employs such terrible staff. It is absolutely disgraceful to even think of going to cosco as a destination to show my family from overseas. It is a big mistake.
We can’t believe that being polite and honest would lead to bullying, discriminatory behaviour from this women [Name Removed].
I will report further regarding this issue to the authorities.
Apparently this isn’t the first time she has harassed people at Cosco. I have attached a photo of her at the entrance and a snap shot of someone else experiencing the same terrible rudeness from her. COSCO you can do better than that. She deserves to be retrained or sacked.
I complaint about the service in costco marsden park. The lady is name Chantelle. She shout of me excuse me where is ur member, I didn't know I'm in the phone I shocked everyone staring to me. After I come back from toilet, I went to her and I said this is my receipt, i put my things to the car. I just go back because I need going to toilet. She… Read more
didn't say apologies she just said you must telling me next time?I said ok. Such very good manner for the lady in the service area didn't apologies and ask me to telling her if i go back for toilet. I don't know is the rules of costco like that?. I have to report if I come back for anything??very rude, She shout of me like I'm stealing something. And everyone staring of me!sigh
Short beef ribs were full of small bones and expensive
Latest follow-ups
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
Have been trying to buy XL golf gloves for 3 months. If their waiting for the SML size to sell out, they are going to miss $$$ in sales. Clear the small sizes so you can get a new pallet in. Other than this, I like the store. Show details
Follow-up · Been to Costco twice since review, they got some medium size golf gloves in but still no large or X/large which are the most popular sizes. I was looking for X/large.
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.
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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
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.
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
Recent reviews
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)
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A live worm found in oyster.