Hi, anyone here ever worked/or do work for Costco?
Are they hard, tough etc?
Anyone Here Worked for Costco?
BewareOfThe Dog on 19/05/2021 - 10:57
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Something to do with Inventory management, which I have had several years experience in for a major retailer competitor. I have a forklift license as well.
Sounds like you'll be dealing with stocking - the Costco model relies on the idea that there's always something new to see/purchase - the idea is to keep customers wandering around, checking every aisle to see if there's something that piques their interest. Costco's sales model is that they want members to come in maybe once a month and do a huge shop, as opposed to a regular supermarket et al that has a standard layout and all of the customers know where to go to get certain things.
So, at Costco there is a ton of stock turnover. They may get something in once and then that's it. This requires the "floor" or the entire shop to be in a constant state of flux. Things are moved around constantly, and this requires a lot of manpower. Costco also does not want any stocking or stock movement to be done when the warehouse is open - think about how annoying it is to see a worker stocking the shelves in a supermarket right in front of the stuff you want to buy - it's annoying - so Costco eliminates this by having all of their stocking, rearranging, staging, etc 100% done before the store opens.
This means that the folks who deal with inventory usually have to work early hours. As I mentioned earlier, I worked there part time while I was searching for a full time teaching position. I worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 8 hour shifts. I worked in "majors" (electronics) in a hybrid inventory/sales role. I usually started around 6am and left at 2pm. That being said there were instances where a big move needed to be done and I would have to go in earlier. The earliest I started a shift was 4am. Obviously, you're paid penalty rates, but if you're not a morning person this can be difficult.
The pay is decent and I found that I had a certain level of autonomy. If I wanted to move something (e.g. a TV display), I could try it out and management was happy to give it go. That being said, there isn't really any room to slack off. Costco runs a tight ship and everyone is accountable. During my tenure there I saw many people fired. This ranged from failing drug tests (fork lift drivers are randomly tested regularly), to shoplifting (a guy needed steel capped boots during his shift and took some we had for sale but never paid for them when the store opened), to missing shifts.
All in all, I thought Costco was fair, but they expect you to work. Inventory (if you're on the floor) can be hard, it's a lot of manual labour. If you're in the office doing price comparisons, returns, or dealing with shrinkage, it's not quite as labour intensive - but the expectation to perform is still there.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any further questions.
Thank you for a great insight. I've applied for 2 roles.
I'm not really a morning person, but Coffee solves that. ;)
I'm going to throw in a comment or two
Coles staff are generally cheerful
Woolworths staff are generally cheerful
IGA staff (owners & generalists) usually cheerful
Costco staff - approachable and cheerful
Myer staff - miserable
David Jones staff - always delightfulAldi staff - generally miserable, rude, and dismissive
So (as a former Safeway & Coles employee) I would expect that Costco provides a decent work environment
And also explains why I am always surprised to see a familiar cashiering person at Aldi - Aldi seems to enjoy developing non-retail staff who are focused on outcomes and KPIs and where customers are just in the way
Enjoy your Costco role!
Thank you.
I've found Aldi staff in my area generally okay, but you do get a few that are as you said. KPIs, Targets, written warnings for not offering a catalogue etc.
myer have staff??? i never see them
Agree on the Aldi staff. I personally couldn't give a stuff how much I could be saving (will hand in my OzB license) because that place is seriously depressing.
add to the fact that my local Aldi has now started to inspect bags.. not just inspect but also touch which they shouldn't be doing.
Aldi staff - generally miserable, rude, and dismissive
I'm pretty sure that's their policy
I prefer rude over a self checkout beeping at me anyday!
Interesting comment about Aldi, given the reputation I've heard of them from supermarket workers is that they offer the best pay and conditions of any store, and they only hire the best. Hence why you'll rarely if ever see teenagers working at their stores.
And yet, the people there usually seem disinterested and a bit miserable, perhaps that's the result of being in that sort of work for too long?
Behind the scenes roles can be pretty different, heard some shitty things about IGA warehouse conditions.
Coles head office is also a nightmare, from what I've heard, weird place to be.
Still beats Amazon warehouse jobs though.
Aldi staff - generally miserable, rude, and dismissive
Because they're better paid and not worried about faking being happy to deal with you.
Customer service is mentally taxing. Staff at Woolies and Coles are told to put on a fake persona or get in trouble. Aldi doesn't give a crap about whether they smile, just that they run the store efficiently and meet their KPIs.
That what makes Aldi so great for regulars, cheap prices, efficient service, no BS. I wouldn't change a thing.
I currently work in retail I have found people to be rude impatient I have been sworn at interrupted while I am talking to another customer by another customer, it works both ways.
It’s like anything you get good and bad try not to take it “personally “ you may be there for 20 mins you don’t know what has happened to them before your encounter.
I try and help all people but if I come across 50 people in a shift there are some I can’t help it’s the law of average’s.It’s a very large store.
One thing I have learnt is that there are some very “entitled “ people out there.People haven't changed in my 35 years in Retail.
I once had a colleague that had a customer say, you know there is a place called Consumer Affairs, where you can complain about shops. Her response, well where do we go to complain about customers?.
And to think she became my Boss.
I worked for Costco for about a year, part time in-between relief teaching. There are a number of different departments, there is the front end (cashiers, returns, etc), sales (customer assistance), forklift drivers, stockers, etc. All have different responsibilities, expected working hours, etc. I'm assuming that you're applying for a job there, do you know which department you'll be angling for?