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Try to behave while you're waiting for your free sample.
- Costco membership gives people access to the popular warehouse chain.
- But it doesn't entail members to do whatever they want in the store.
- At the very least, certain behaviors will prompt eye-rolling and judgment from Costco's employees.
- Business Insider corresponded with 48 Costco employees, who shared the things that members do that make them cringe.
Costco employees aren't going to thank you for leaving frozen foods in the clothing section or talking on the phone during checkout.
Costco employees deal with scores of members all day. As with any job, certain interactions are going to be positive, while others veer toward the negative. To get a better sense of what we all can avoid doing on our next Costco run, Business Insider asked 48 Costco employees what behaviors made them cringe or judge shoppers.
"I don't judge anybody, but we are all in this together, so be nice, courteous, and patient," a seasonal Costco employee from New York told Business Insider. "Do not interrupt while we are helping another customer."
Another Costco employee who's worked at the chain for 23 years told Business Insider that cringing at members comes with the territory: "Alas, without the member, I have no job."
A number of employees shared that some unhygienic, rude, or just plain irritating behaviors usually make them judge customers. Common pet peeves included people holding their membership cards in their mouths before handing them over, as well as people discarding trash all over the warehouse.
Here are some behaviors that Costco employees find pretty cringeworthy: