Costco workers slam 'entitled' shoppers over infuriating free sample demands: 'People have a lot of nerve'

Costco customers are getting more bold with their samples - and employees are taking notice. 

The warehouse retailer prides itself on offering free products for customers to sample while shopping. 

Employees are stationed throughout the store to hand out treats, but some have reported that 'entitled' customers have recently been making this added perk more complicated. 

According to workers, Costco shoppers have begun to make specific requests when collecting their samples - and the employees aren't happy.

One Reddit user who claimed to work at Costco asked where members get the 'nerve' to ask for customized samples. 

'It doesn’t happen often to me, but often enough that it grinds my gears and makes me find a way to kindly explain why I will not be doing that for them,' the Reddit post said. 'This isn’t Burger King - samples aren’t “have it your way” they are take what’s offered or keep walking and get nothing.'

The poster clarified that there is no such thing as 'modifications or customizations' when it comes to free samples.

The post quickly went viral, with Costco members and employees alike chiming in with their least favorite customer habits, including greedily grabbing samples off the tray before employees have a chance to arrange it.

'I was doing samples of Annie's Mac & Cheese,' one Reddit user wrote. 'A woman came up to me and demanded that I stop everything and make the other two flavors immediately so that she could try all three before committing to buy them.'

Other Reddit users chimed in with their Costco pet peeves, like when there's a line to receive a free sample and someone chooses to cut the line. 

Another added: 'we absolutely hate that from the Demonstrator’s side, too. I don’t tolerate lack of manners I’ll pull the tray back and tell them to get in line.'

One shopper said that sometimes employees will 'kindly offer' to leave off spicy elements of a food sample for children, adding that it's 'really sweet' when they offer that. 

For some, employees will offer to give more than one sample to children when they pass by multiple times during a shopping trip. 

'I have twin toddlers and everyone at my local Costco hooks it up with samples,' one customer wrote. 'They'll give us extra crackers and plain whatever when they see our kids.'

A 'sample lady' at Costco confirmed this practice in the Reddit thread, saying she 'always' accommodates requests like serving chips to kids without dip or salsa or giving 'a huge sample of broken chips' for them to nibble on.

Costco's legendary free samples are served in warehouses daily, typically between 11am and 4pm and on weekends when store traffic is at its highest. For some shoppers, this is a major perk of the membership, which comes with an additional annual fee. 

Memberships currently start at around $65 a year for a basic plan or $130 for the Executive tier, which offers added benefits like 2 percent cashback on eligible purchases. 

Customers are also allowed to take more than one sample while shopping, but for allergy reasons, children aren't allowed to sneak samples without an adult nearby. 

For most shoppers, a Costco membership is all about bulk groceries, giant packs of paper towels and the occasional $1.50 hot dog.

Beyond checkout, Costco has rolled out a series of digital upgrades, including app improvements and virtual 'waiting rooms' for high-demand items such as Pokémon cards, designed to prevent bots from overwhelming the site.

The company is installing membership card scanners at store entrances to curb card sharing, a move that drew mixed reactions from customers.

As part of that crackdown, Costco began requiring membership verification at certain outdoor food courts, limiting access to non-members who previously could purchase the retailer's deeply discounted food court staples.