Retail

Costco Careers: Should You Work for a Favorite American Company?

Sammi Caramela

Published: July 3, 2024 2:30 pm

Many Americans love the warehouse club retail store Costco. In fact, we’ve even covered Costco life hacks to consider when shopping there. However, is it a good place to work? If you’re seeking a part-time or full-time job at Costco, you’ll want to understand the ins and outs from an employee’s perspective. 

Overall, Costco received 3.9 stars on Glassdoor. According to Glassdoor reviews, here are some of the pros and cons of working at Costco, so you can decide whether this American-favorite company is right for you.

1. Pro: Good Pay

Many Glassdoor users shared that Costco’s pay is high compared to its competitors. In fact, it was one of the most commonly listed pros.

Here’s what some current and former employees are saying about the pay rate at Costco.

• “I know an employee who finished their teaching degree but ended up staying at Costco because of pay and everything else great about Costco. That’s how great working at Costco is.”
• “The pay is good and if you work carts then it’s super easy as well.” 
• “Good pay. Great pay even.”

2. Con: Poor Management in Some Locations

Management issues seem to be one of the most quoted issues of working at Costco. Many claimed that their specific Costco locations had unfair and even childish managers and supervisors, which made it difficult to thrive.

Here’s what some current and former employees are saying about the management at Costco.

• “Management is poor and childish.” 
• “Management makes their own rules, and the only way to get past that is to continually go to HR, which is a pain and can cause a huge rift between you and upper management.”
• “They think they can talk to and treat employees however they want. Management is filled with zero leaders, just some bosses, who treat their employees like their children and talk down [to] them constantly. If you do have an issue they will try and make you sign an agreement that says you can’t talk to anyone about it (which I think is illegal). The only way to get promoted is to be a yes man or a rude unhappy person cause that’s all I’ve seen.”

3. Pro: Great Benefits

Costco’s benefits seem to attract new employees while retaining current ones. From health insurance to retirement plans, the retail store provides great perks to its workers.

Here’s what some current and former employees are saying about Costco’s employee benefits.

• “It is a clean environment with excellent benefits.”
• “Very affordable high-quality health insurance benefits even for PT employees. Great for working parents who split up child care and need coverage.”
• “Amazing health care benefits especially if you have a family or are part-time. They also offer quite a few personal days (80 hrs) if you are not in a Union warehouse.”

4. Con: High Turnover Rates

Another concerning con of working at Costco is the high employee turnover, which many said was a result of poor treatment.

Here’s what some current and former employees are saying about Costco’s employee turnover rates.

• “Good people are jumping ship on a daily basis. The good ones that remain are the only reason the doors open every day.”
• “The share of bad managers far exceeds the good ones, and the good ones end up quitting or ask for a demotion.”
• “In recent years there is a noticeable lack of empathy for the employees. Many long-term employees are leaving the company.”

5. Pro: Overall Positive Environment

Many Costco employees shared that their colleagues (not at the management level) are what made their work experience so positive. Furthermore, for the most part, they quoted a generally positive work environment. 

Here’s what some current and former employees are saying about Costco’s work environment.

• “A lot of the people are a pleasure to work with.”
• “Great benefits, good fellow employees, free membership, options to jump around to other departments.”
• “A healthy work environment that offered great benefits and fair pay.”

6. Con: Lack of Training

Unfortunately, several individuals felt that Costco failed at training their employees. Taking it a step further, they even mentioned that management would get angry if an employee messed up due to a lack of proper training.

Here’s what some current and former employees are saying about Costco’s employee training.

• “Little to no training on work responsibilities – ‘get out there and figure it out’ mentality. Inconsistencies in proper procedure between different employees make learning duties additionally frustrating. (New hires were grateful for me giving them extra time to explain things and let them figure things out, but I did not have the same experience starting.)”
• “I have consistently, in all of the departments I worked in (across 3 warehouses and 2 corporate buy teams), had to ask for training and explanations on things that should be mandatory and of common sense. I have seen people get written up for mistakes they made because they were not trained, yet the blame still fell on them. I ran into so many issues when learning what I needed to learn when I worked in buying such as how to handle certain emails and prioritizing, report building, and understanding how to build a cadence just to name a few.”
• “Costco does not have any training perimeters or have any way of documenting what an employee has been taught.”

7. Pro: Flexible Schedule

Here’s what some current and former employees are saying about Costco’s scheduling options and flexibility.

• “Just move fast and work as a team and you’re ok. You’re working at a good company that will work with your school schedule. Work hard and they’ll easily give you 40 hours a week.”
• “Company has great benefits and worked well with me during my college years to accommodate for my classes.”
• “Flexibility with school schedules for college students.”

8. Con: Bad Experience in the Food Court Department

Here’s what some current and former employees are saying about working in Costco’s food court.

• “Almost any other department in the whole store is better than the food court [in my opinion]. Cleaning dishes is self-explanatory as to why it sucks. Taking orders from members is degrading. Not fulfilling at all. Closing shift is a lot of cleaning and leaving late. Transfer out of food court asap.”
• “Food court can get CRAZY and some supervisors disappeared during peak hours to do ‘office work,’ dumped all their work on us, then get mad when they come back and there’s a line. There were some very nice customers, but unfortunately, most of them are ENTITLED and RUDE.”

Why We’re Covering This

Costco is a great place to shop and — according to countless reviews — to work. If you’re seeking a career at Costco, the above insights should help you decide whether it’s the right place for you.