Costco VIC, Ringwood

Hearing Aids - impressed by service of staff and quality of equipment – Hearing aids - excellent deal ($2K), excellent quality, inexpensive parts, staff honest and highly qualified. Very happy with full featured hearing aids until recently; a problem developed after nearly 3 years of ownership - Kirkland brand. Costco staff identified it was still under warranty (3 years), replaced them with brand new hearing aids. If… Read more ·  1

out of warranty, repairs would have cost $200. While waiting for repairs I was given a loan pair. Staff not pushy and most helpful i.e. setting up new hearing aids and apps. I drive nearly 100 km to come to this store, it saves so much money and the staff are much more honest than a disappointing, high pressure business in Warragul that quoted a fortune to match the features in Kirkland hearing aids (models $6 - 10k). Friends state Australian Hearing is also good. I got parts there, but it seems this business is for children, youth (<25) and those on Centrelink payments. This experience is an exception to the rule, local businesses often offer superior service to a city business.

Costco -customer service excellence – What a brilliant company. The customer service is the best I have ever experienced. We bought a Woll fry pan from the Ringwood store at one of their roving in store road shows.It was an expensive pan with the removable handle to enable placing it in the oven. Well after it broke i contacted Costo online about where i could purchase another handle… Read more

as we had dropped the handle, and they gave me 2 options 1) bring in the pan for a full refund -no questions asked or 2) a new handle. We chose the new handle as we live 60km away so it was more convenient and I did not want to be without my pan while purchasing a new one. That is it, no hassle what so ever, today 2 days later I have just received a tracking number to track my handle. Customer service excellent. No stress at all. Here is another story, my husband about a year ago bought a computer-got it home and when he opened the box the screen had a crack in it. Again we contacted Costco online and they said come back a swap it over-no hassle. This is truly a great company with great customer service. The membership fee pays for itself in the first shop

I am very happy with my purchases from Costco in Ringwood. My only concern is driving into the car park, where my car was damaged hitting that big concrete strip as I was turning into the lane for parking. They really should take away that big concrete strip. Show details

Great staff, love the bakery food! – Nothing is too much trouble for the staff, they're so helpful! The muffins from the bakery section are my FAVOURITE! But they have other delicious bakery food as well. Definitely worth it just for that.

Great atmosphere and range – They have a huge range of products and the ability to purchase in bulk was great especially because I have a large household. Prices are good too. Finding a parking spot can be difficult though at their Ringwood location

Customer service leaves a lot to be desired. They expect you to pay to be a member to be treated like that? And you can't make an informed decision about becoming a member since they won't let you in to look around and decide if you are prepared to pay to be a part of their "exclusive secret society". You can't but anything without scanning your… Read more

card so what's the point in not letting you in to look around and determine if it suits your needs. Meanwhile, people were walking out without paying for things. I would think that should be a bigger concern for them. This experience at the membership desk made my decision that I don't want to be a member so thanks for saving me my fee.

We had not visited a Costco previously, so wanted to have a look to gauge whether a membership would be worthwhile. We didn’t realise we needed the membership to walk through the front door. The older lady on the door was rather rude and abrupt, leaving us with an unpleasant first experience at Costco. I suggest providing better customer service… Read more

training for your staff, or alternatively don’t put such a rude person as your first point of contact to the public.

Sahara halloumi not right – I have tried to complain on line and personally about the Sahara halloumi stocked but to no avail.The product shouldn’t be called halloumi as it’s porous and full of water.Its a shame as when first stocked it was perfect and then quality got bad.Myself and a lot of family friends are not buying it .Please do something about it

Atrocious service! – Customer service is atrocious! Staffs just does not seem to want to be there, from checkout staff to customer service staff. It has gone from bad to worse of late. Mind you this is a paid membership store. Paying an executive membership and getting services worse than a $2 dollar shop. If this is what you aim, you have absolutely aced it! The… Read more

customer service staffs need to pick up their game with acknowledging and owning the mistakes made in pricing and not pointing the mistake back to customers. Disgusting.

Horrible service – Took my child for a drive there to have a look and have some pizza. When we got there we were refused entry because we did not have membership card. We were very diappointed. Show details

Horrible customer service – So me and my husband both on membership together. We entered Costco ringwood together. He went on to look for some stuff and I went to return something and a guy there Faizan asked me to get my husband to the counter as we had his membership card. By the time I called my husband and he came my toddler had a huge meltdown and other people lined up… Read more

before me. Now it is definitely not difficult to check the membership and match faces if I am on the membership or not. But the whole idea is to not being even little bit lenient towards regular customer and trouble them for silly things. And when a customer service person can’t check membership details and assist. If they are not willing to do anything. Then why we have them. Even a self serv kiosk repeat same thing like robot and that would still be better experience.

Shame on you CHLOE- – I would rate zero if i had this option avaiable in terms of customer service with this person named chloe. CHLOE -Is very rude…such a same to this Brand… If you cant assist the people who needs help then you need to find a job suitable for you chloe…please stay home. Leave this attitude of yours. You are a Bully.

Groceries are poor value for money – TV's, electronics and some of the clothes items are not bad value. But I find the groceries really not cheaper than other grocery stores when you look at a price per weight/volume level (e.g. grams per $1, litres per $1, etc). The bulk size of everything at Costco means you have to buy quantities 3-4 times larger than at grocery stores (e.g.… Read more

margarin at Costco comes in a bucket) making it hard to transport and store at home, not to mention the race to consume perishable items before the use-by dates.

Customer service – Tried to get through with empty trolley at checkout out. Was verbally abused by Sonny who told me to go on member side with trolley. He then attacked me again as I went through as I had to ask people to move and kept apologising to them as I went through. He said "what are u saying" and I said I'm trying to get through as u advised but I'm… Read more

running over everyone's feet so I'm apologising as I go. No reply to that but I would have liked to attack back but I was too distraught to reply. Other customers looked shocked at his behaviour also

Terrible service at checkout and door – The service at this store is always terrible. Long queues with other staff standing around doing nothing. Lost me as a customer Show details

Double standards – Had always been able to go through as 2 transactions because we own 2 cards. Today, the [Content Removed] [Name Removed] at the register told us no, can only go through as 1. Since when did this start? It’s not in Costco’s membership details. Why had we been able to go through twice in the past? Then when we decided to go through as 1 transaction,… Read more

they said only 1 toilet paper pack per transaction. (Why bother going to the extent of telling us off to go through as 1 then tell us no in the end??) There was no limit sign in the toilet paper area either. After moving to a separate register, they let the white man who was behind me go through with 5 packs of toilet paper! [Content Removed] and [Content Removed]. Today I had planned to renew my membership, after 4 years shopping bi-weekly here no thanks.

Wiping the toilet seats with bleach! – I have just come out of Costco in Ringwood, the smell of bleach in the ladies toilet was overwhelming! The toilet seats were wet, the cleaner was wiping the seats and toilet with bleach, I asked the cleaner what she was using as the smell is far too strong, she just said she was “cleaning” I understand the need to be clean especially with… Read more

situation we are in with covid, but I am wearing new trousers that I am just hoping don’t end up with bleach stains on them front touching anything. I ask I spoke to a staff member who just looked at me blankly..

Not what I expected – Not that cheap actually some items are dearer than elsewhere. I feel very sorry for poor cashiers having to stand on their feet for duration of their shift..Give them the chair..I’d like to see top managers standing on their feet all day. Show details

Not worth a Years Membership – While some foods are a relatively good price per kilo, when you calculate the costs and compare it to your average supermarket you're not really saving much money at all. The same can be said for nappies too. The price per unit at Costco isn't much different at supermarkets. A lot of the homewares and electronics are not worth purchasing either. … Read more

If I owned a restaurant or cafe or any other type of business that would benefit from bulk purchases, then it would be beneficial. But for a small family that prefers to eat healthy, Costco ain't it.

I feel like people continue to shop here and feel the need to justify their spending just because they have a membership.

Stick to local markets and supermarkets with better quality produce, and you'll be right as rain!

It’s a great store BUT – There is nothing wrong with the store in general. However, I have an issue with their freezer and refrigerator section. Their selection of general foods are severely limited. Around 70% of the space is set aside for Asian food products. I couldn’t even buy a frozen pizza, only pizza dough as they don’t seem to want to waste space on westernised… Read more

foods. I have never seen something so bizarre considering this is an American/ Australian wharehouse not Asian-mart! They are catering to their Asian cliental at the expense of everyone else!

Plastic land-wrapping and more wrapping – I refunded my membership today as I just could not continue to see the amount of plastic/packaging material Costco uses. Even though consumer buys bulk quantities, Costco actually doesn't reduce packaging on usually packed products. Rather they pack multiples again in plastic. They also pack fruits, greens, fresh produce and anything and everything with plastic that they do not even take back for recycling.

Touchy Register Tape Checker – It's bad enough, that we now have to purchase hot drinks from a vending machine, but I only drink tea, and that's the one drink the machine, doesn't dispense. I don't pay a membership fee, only to have things taken away. First it was sausage rolls, and now tea. I then wait in line to have my register tape checked, and noticed that the checker… Read more

was touching and moving peoples groceries, in their trolleys. I was furious to think that she was actually moving people's items, she should only look, and check, never touch. When it was my turn, she asked how I was, and I replied, that it depends if she touches my stuff or not. She looked amazed when I said that, but then she went to touch my stuff, to which I replied to her to not touch my stuff. In all, I had to say three times for her not to touch my anything. These checkers make you feel like a thief-not impressed. Kaufland will be here before we know it, so Costco had better watch out.

Not what I ordered – I ordered a birthday cake for my husbands 70th birthday, which was to have raspberry filling in it. It wasn’t until the cake was cut I saw it was filled with a layer of thick cream and not the jam I had ordered. Not the end of the world but I expected to get what I’d ordered. Far too much cream so unfortunately most of it was not eaten. Show details

Outstanding customer service – I bought an expensive item and didn't save a receipt. Customer service representative found me in they system and proceed with refund immediately. It took 6 min while we had a lovely casual chat. Stress-free, worth every dollar. Thanks Show details

abysmal product management and customer service – I bought a TV there yesterday. When I opened the box later yesterday, the plastic bag containing components was already ripped open with power cord missing and the battery already inside the remote. So I went back to the store to exchange it today. I explained the situations and the staff responded to my query mechanically. I wanted to exchange it… Read more

with the same TV with all the components inside but she said they could only refund it and I need to buy a new item. But refunded money didn't come through my bank account straight away and the staff said it might take a couple of business days depending on bank. I don't understand why they could take the money straight away when I buy the product but it could take a couple of days when they refund it. I was frustrated by the fact that the staff there responded in a mechanical attitude and said sorry without even looking at me and she didn't look like she meant it. I asked for the store manager and she responded in a similar way. She didn't seem to understand how hard it was for me to understand something like this could happen - a company like Cosco could sell already-opened product with missing components. It seemed to me that even if they made this appalling mistake, they think that all they should do was just refunding it. They didn't care about how frustrating it is for a customer like me to find out that Costco sold this kind of product so that I had to pack the 65'' TV back into the box, load back into the boot and drove all the way back to Costco just to exchange the next day, then found out that Costco's policy was not to exchange but to refund it which takes a couple of days. I asked the manager how could they sell TV suspected to be already opened and missing some components and she said that they would investigate. I asked her to inform me the progress of the investigation but she said that she is not required to do so and wouldn't let me know. So I asked her for Costco headquarters' complaint contact but she gave me Ringwood store's membership team's contact details only. Afterwards, I went inside the store again to check and buy the same TV and found out the packaging of other products (the same TV) is different from what Costco had sold me yesterday - sticky taped only on top and two hard straps covering the box around. What I got yesterday from Costco was with lots of tapes around all top and bottom sides without plastic straps. I inquired with the duty manager why the product I bought was missing some components with different packaging, suspecting they might have put returned product without checking properly whether all components are inside the box. The manager repeatedly claimed that they wouldn't sell returned products without notes on it and the manufacturer might have sent wrong product. But any person with common sense would think that it is more probable Costco put out this product with other new items by mistake or on purpose. I was so frustrated by their attitude unable to express their apology and delayed refund after selling a faulty product in the first place and just left there not buying the TV I intended to purchase. After I left Costco, I went to another electronic store and bought the same product. When I opened the box, I realised that the TV I bought at Costco was also missing 3 more protective foams in the box as well. They should properly manage their products before selling to customer, train their staff to respond customer's complaint in a more sympathetic way and arrange refund to be processed straight away.

The Best Savings – Costco is the most amazing company to purchase all your groceries from. Despite selling in bulk if you are clever and know your prices you can rotate your items of need into 3 to 6 monthly blocks. The store is professionally set out easy to find what you are looking for and the staff are all very friendly and keen to assist.

COSTCO Offers Bad Attitude instead of Customer Service, when the customers realised being OverCharge – It appears that I am not the first or the last person whom altered the stores about being overcharged for an advertised item at a lower cost, when I noted the error on my receipt before leaving the store recently. It is also evident from the series of complaints about the same issue, COSTCO's people are trained to make customers to wait at… Read more

least 10 Minutes, before they can make a Price Check on an item in there.

Then they literally throw the Overcharged amount at the customers, Without Expressing any Regrets or an Apology for the False Advertising an item and Holding the Customers to wait over 10 minutes to correct their "mistakes" of Overcharging.

I have found that Stores Supervisors Often are Very Rude and Crude type of People, lack the basic qualities and qualifications to deal with the Customers in there.

COSTCO have to realize that Australian Customers Deserve a Better Customer Service as Paid Members, than their Low Level of benchmark that may apply in the USA Stores.

January 18th 2019 Update: Costco Kirkland Lamb Packs, Pulling Wool Over Members Eyes.

Costco's Kirkland Lamb Pack carry a Hidden Surprise within the packs, underneath of the top layer is a Gross and Fatty meats covered in thick amount FAT. The hidden meat in the below, it is more look like Mutton, than Lamb.

After the chopping and sorting the cuts of meat, I took over 1.20kg of Fat, out of a 7.395kg Pack. The Fat / Rubbish is worth of $14.40 and to be thrown out in the bin.

This is a very Dishonest way to conduct a business and patronizing to treat the Paid Members like so. It should be considered as illegal and Unethical to sell such Packs of filled with Rubbish to the Consumers, instead of what has displayed to be on the top of packs.

Good store and interesting products – I like shopping at Costco as they have stuff other stores dont and good prices. Show details