Over the past year, Costco has introduced a plethora of changes and updates to its stores, including a crackdown on membership sharing, new additions to the food court menu, a fresh sushi counter, and a rise in membership prices, to name a few.
One change that has sparked much online discourse is the introduction of a new system for ordering at the food court. Previously, customers placed their orders at the food court kiosks and then would receive an order number. When their food was ready, the kitchen would call out their number.
In a recently uploaded viral video, TikToker The Costco Mom (@costcotv), who has built a following of crafting content around shopping at Costco, captured the new system for ordering at the food court.
In the video, she places her order on the kiosks, before facing the camera. “They’re not gonna make your food. You have to go up to them and they have to make it for you for receipt,” she shares.
She hands the worker the receipt, before asking, “You prepare it per number?”
The kitchen worker replies, “Yeah, we switched it.”
With this new system, customers are now required to order from the kiosks and then wait in line at the counter to show their receipts to the kitchen before workers can begin preparing their food. Ultimately, this adds a few more steps to the process.
@costcotv Many changes are happening at Costco warehouses lately! Let me know if you have the same ordering in your local store besides California! A new food court ordering method is being tested at the Plano, TX location, the same one with the scanner at the front entrance. They aren’t calling numbers anymore! Don’t wait for your food to be automatically made.👍 : : If your store has been already implementing this method, how do you feel about it? : : #costco #costcoshopping #foodcourt #newchange #beingtested #orderingsystem #costcofoodcourt ♬ original sound – THE COSTCO MOM
This change has left Costco customers divided
Many expressed their feelings about the change in the popular TikToker’s comments.
Some viewers felt frustrated by the new system. “Why not just start going back to purchasing at the register again…? What’s the point of a self-service kiosk?” one asked.
Another added, “If they are gonna do this then get rid of the kiosk and start using the register again, this makes absolutely no sense.”
While others felt unbothered by the change. “This prevents the hold of people standing in line looking at menu. But can’t make up their mind until at the register. Holding up the entire process,” a viewer commented.
Outside of TikTok, folks have taken to Reddit to share their thoughts, mainly voicing frustrations around the roll-out process of this change and it not being communicated clearly.
“There was 1 sign notifying people of this change. The food court worker was very stressed. And there were crowds of people not knowing their order was not being prepared as it has been for all of time,” a Reddit user shared.
The Daily Dot has reached out to The Costco Mom via Instagram and to Costco via contact form for comment.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.