10 Things You Never Realized About Costco’s Free Food Samples

Costco warehouses attract crowds of loyal members who stock up on everything from bulk groceries to electronics. The retail giant encourages in-store snacking with its famous $1.50 hot dog and soda deal or, for the more thrifty: plenty of

free

samples

. Here are 10

things

you

never

realized

about Costco's

free

food

samples

. Best Times to Head to Costco For true sampling fans, there are ideal times to head to Costco if you're looking to maximize your sampling potential. According to a Reddit AMA with a Costco employee, Mondays and Tuesdays are the best times to get the most free

food

because they tend to be less busy.

You'll likely find a smaller selection, but you'll have less competition for those tasty little bites as you browse, along with the ability to return for seconds and thirds without fear of hogging other shoppers' sample table. Sunday is the busiest day for those looking for free samples, as people from the office pick up their weekly purchases, but samples are more plentiful and varied during the weekends in general. It's all about perspective! If your goal is to go for a run on the weekend, employees recommend doing it before 11 a.m. m., which is before the weekend rush hour hits, or between 1 and 2 p.m. m. (if you don't mind the crowd) as all shifts end at that time, giving you more options.

If you stick with a weekday to avoid the crowds, make several rounds and get the most food, then aim for between 3 and 5 p.m. You'll avoid the lunch rush and arrive before the post-workday rush. In the words of one Costco employee, "if you feel like you haven't eaten a full meal when tasting, you're not doing it right." You don't always need a Costco membership. You may be able to get free food at Costco without a membership. There are many reasons to visit the grocery chain without one, such as shopping with a gift card, using the pharmacy, eating at the food court, or even purchasing alcohol.

Costco allows non-members to shop with a gift card, so ask a friend with a membership to connect you and you can browse (and sample!) at your leisure. Similarly, in some states it's illegal for vendors to require a membership to purchase pharmaceuticals and alcohol, so you can take advantage of Costco's deals on 'scripts, liquor, and samples' while you shop without committing to a year-long membership. Costco Pharmacy has competitive prices on prescriptions, as well as affordable flu shots that also don't require membership. If you're tempted by an inexpensive bottle of spirits in your sampler, you won't be disappointed.

Costco's Kirkland brand vodka is said to be comparable to its much more expensive counterpart, Gray Goose. Finally, if a sample whets your appetite, you can grab a cheap meal at Costco's food court without being a member. Although the prices are good, the options are generally limited to classic Costco fare, such as hot dogs, pizza, rotisserie chicken, and sodas. Get your gourmet fix at the sampling stations and then tuck into affordable comfort food at the food court? Sounds like a great budget-friendly evening of food. Costco samples are unlimited. Several employees on Reddit have confirmed that the samples are indeed unlimited (within reason, which we'll get to).

One responded: "You can have more than one sample. Really. You don't have to ask. As long as you don't stuff a whole tray of cookies down your shirt, feel free." It may seem crazy, but people have really taken the entire tray. Many ambitious customers have combined their free samples into a complete free meal. This is particularly popular among young people and students with money problems. If you think you're making the most of unlimited samples, one Costco warehouse regular has it right. He stops by every day and fills his bag. However, if you're worried about toeing the line between a social faux pas and an actual steal by making a third, fourth, and fifth stop at a particularly tasty sample table, you're not alone.

The courts have been involved in altercations between customers seeking samples and grocery stores. A Minnesota man named Erwin Lingitz was reportedly attacked by store security and police after repeatedly walking around a sample table at Cub Foods and leaving with a pound and a half of summer sausage and meat sticks. However, encounters like this are rare at Costco. Employees report that his job is to avoid saying no to customers, and while they may give him a disapproving look, they technically can't stop him from cleaning their sampling station. You're definitely safe as long as you're not clearing the tray or taking multiples when there's a crowd.

One employee wrote: "Our job is to hand them out, so don't feel bad about accepting them." He can prepare a meal with Costco samples. A student who wrote an article in the University of Virginia's Cavalier Daily says Costco is a "student's best friend" and recommends taking advantage of nearby Costco free samples to prepare a three-course meal. You're not alone: ​​Many customers have reported that making a few strategic rounds of the store can provide them with a very filling and varied meal. In a report on Costco's best free meals, it was said that you can get a gourmet lunch with twenty free samples, including mashed potatoes, hummus, Oscar Mayer bacon, salami, white fish, Stacy's Simply Bruschetta, a variety of cheeses that include Cambozola, 3-year-old aged cheddar and Couronne Brie, and Lindor chocolate truffles, cheesecake and mini red velvet cakes for dessert.

An employee they encountered on their trip mentioned that some customers come for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...and they bring their kids. Of course, this practice is usually more welcome if you are also shopping at the same time. Sample food has many advantages besides saving money: you get the opportunity to try foods you otherwise wouldn't be able to, expand your usual shopping list, and discover potential new favorites. Costco is counting on you and your fellow shoppers to make enough purchases to balance out the sumptuous sample runs, so eat your fill. Costco is rigorously clean Almost everyone has a horror story about finding something unpleasant in their food... it's jarring, takes away from the experience, and can leave a bad taste in your mouth when it comes to the restaurant or business.

Fortunately, this is very unlikely to happen in a Costco sample. If you've ever had doubts, rest assured that Costco is big on both food quality and safety, especially when it comes to their samples. When a concerned customer on Reddit shared his concerns about employee cleanliness and the equipment used for sampling, one employee responded, "Sorry to disappoint you, but we have annoyingly strict hygiene policies." All equipment is thoroughly sanitized and employees are expected to change gloves every five minutes. Every time a customer touches something he shouldn't touch, he throws it away or replaces it. Employees managing sampling stations are also expected to meet high standards of personal cleanliness.

The same employee who spoke about food safety wrote that while they personally are very clean, some of their coworkers had been sent home for smelling bad. It's quite embarrassing, but much better for our peace of mind as customers! Costco samples are not for children. Although shopping can be a boring responsibility for adults, the samples make it worth it! And at Costco, the samples are effectively restricted to adults. According to Costco rules, samples should not be given to children under 13 without their parents present. One employee said they aren't allowed to give samples to any tiny shopper in case the child in question has food allergies he didn't know about.

However, they're not checking IDs for paper cups of trail mix, they just need to see the parents accompanying them. Another employee said that children experience a lot of policy changes and are largely dependent on the manager's preference. In his store, children taller than the sample table can take a sample. If you can't reach it, don't seem to know what you're taking, or obviously look like a small child, the employee should ask the parent's permission to give them a sample. Costco's Well-Proven Business Strategy Costco samples are a win-win...the company doesn't mind giving away free food because of the huge benefits that come with offering it, including sales increases of up to 2,000 percent.

In simple terms, samples create a more fun and engaging shopping experience that keeps customers looking forward to what might otherwise be boring shopping trips, and the guarantee of free samples with every visit keeps them coming back. The use of sampling by Costco and other supermarket chains is well supported by research. The product demonstration company that handles Costco's free samples tracks the effect of its product sampling stations and reported some pretty impressive sales numbers. Sales of frozen pizza reportedly increased one store's sales by 600 percent. A behavioral economist at Duke University highlighted the importance of psychological reciprocity in Costco's decision to invest in free samples for its customers. "If someone does something for you," they wrote. "You really feel a surprisingly strong obligation to do something in return for them." To make sure it captures all of this potential profit, Costco is careful not to leave its demo tables unattended.

Customers who empty their trays under the watchful eye of a sampler may feel greater social "pressure" to make a purchase. There's also a chance that a free sample will remind you of a familiar flavor and uncover a latent craving. If you've ever been influenced by a sample of chocolate to buy the entire bar, you've experienced the well-proven psychological effects of sampling in-store! Sample Employees Are Not Costco Employees If you've ever asked the person behind the sample counter to point you in the direction of a particular product and received a blank stare, there's an explanation... the people who hand out samples They are not employed by the same company as those registering their purchases.

Costco sampling is outsourced to a variety of companies, including Club Demonstration Services in the US. If a particular employee is not employed by a larger sample demonstration company, it is likely that he is a direct representative of the manufacturer. . However, even regular Costco employees may not be able to give you instructions. Costco rearranges its products almost daily to give customers an engaging "scavenger hunt" experience and keep them guessing, so you won't go crazy if you've

never

been able to find the bread in the same place twice. As you wander the store in search of those coveted deals, Costco hopes you'll inevitably find more products (and make more purchases!) than if you went straight to each item on your shopping list.

A Costco warehouse employee confirmed that because of the frequent shuffling, they tend to know where basic

things

like milk, deli, and chips are, but for more specific items they probably don't have as much information as you do. Favorites and Repeat Customers If you're hoping to share a smile and a few words with your Costco model on your shopping trip, he might recognize you too. A sample Costco employee on Reddit wrote that he recognizes some of his favorite regulars! A Costco regular customer shared a photo of his father with a Costco sample employee he befriended. The two are on a first-name basis due to the family's tradition of frequenting nearby Costcos for free samples.

It makes sense that many Costco samplers remember customers and have favorites, because people go to some pretty extreme and memorable lengths for their samples! Apparently, a man has taken several women on their first dates to Costco... you'd probably recognize him as an employee too. Even if he's not as memorable or close with his sample staff, your local Costco employee probably isn't judging you for taking more than your share occasionally. Working with all that tempting food means they understand the struggle. Another sample employee on Reddit wrote that they "of course" eat the samples, but only during breaks.

At some Costcos, employees can even be fired for eating a sample on the clock! It is also very useful to remember your manners when taking your samples. One employee wrote on Reddit that they "stand in one place for six hours, saying the same thing over and over, giving samples to the same (mostly ungrateful) people. There's nothing nicer you can do than say 'thank you.'" ". You'd be surprised how many people just walk up to us, put things in their mouths, andhe stumbles away. We thrive on the rare occasions when people treat us like human beings and not like human vending machines." The least you can do is listen.

Numerous Costco employees online have written that they don't mind customers stopping by multiple times to get extra samples, as long as they let them do their job. "We are obligated to try to sell them our samples, not just give them away for free," one employee wrote. "If you're going to take a sample, and especially if you take two, just do us a favor and. listen to our little speech." If you've ever worked in retail or sales, you know how cheesy it sometimes feels to pitch to people, but sample peddlers are really just doing their job. One Day in the World The life of a Costco sample worker involves long hours on their feet, and they are often not allowed to leave a twelve-foot radius of their stations for food safety reasons.

They see countless faces throughout their shifts, many of which are there to grab their food and leave. Taking a few minutes out of your shopping trip to smile, chat, and genuinely connect with employees who are often treated like robots can brighten their day, even if they end up not buying into your sales pitch. Although employees are required to submit proposals to you, they are not paid a commission. One employee wrote that "we could literally sell every unit Costco has of a product and we wouldn't see a cent more. We receive a pretty good hourly wage, although we don't receive any monetary commission for doing well." Get more bang for your buck by playing another of our great videos.

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