One of the most beloved customs of many Costco members is to take a seat in one of the retailer’s food courts and have a meal that is both fast and delicious. This may be done either before or after a trip to the store. It is possible that in the future, certain customers could have a more difficult time securing a seat as the corporation continues to implement a contentious new “upgrade.”
A Costco customer posted on Reddit this week that their local warehouse in Visalia, California, has replaced some of the traditional sitting food court tables with new standing tables. The customer shared this information with the community.
There are perhaps a dozen standard tables in addition to the five standing tables that they offer. In order to create way for them, they did do rid of some of the usual tables,” the shopper said in their writing. Moreover, they said that they had not been to Costco in “a while,” thus they were unable to provide an accurate estimate of how recently the change had taken place.
This particular Costco food court is not the only one to undergo such a transformation. Additionally, customers have reported seeing the new standing tables at warehouses located in the states of New Jersey, Minnesota, Montana, South Korea, Japan, and Canada. A significant number of customers are dissatisfied with the move. The latest conversation on Reddit regarding the Visalia warehouse made it quite obvious that customers were particularly dissatisfied with the standing tables.
“You are looking at the worst. Our warehouse does not make use of them, and all they do is gather empty cups and napkins without using them. According to the comments of a Costco customer, “0/10 would not recommend.”
The response of another individual was, “Nope—immediate dislike of this development.”
When it comes to the tables, one of the most frequent complaints that customers have is that they would much rather sit while enjoying their meal, particularly after a long and exhausting shopping excursion. Customers in the past have expressed concern on the potential effect that the move would have on certain demographics, including the elderly, children, and those with disabilities who would not be able to eat comfortably at the tables.
At the very least in the United States, the complaints from customers show that Costco is not totally doing away with sat tables in food courts that are getting standing tables. Nevertheless, the decrease in the quantity of sitting tables at these food courts may make it more difficult for those who prefer or need a seat to get one of these tables.
“Maybe it’s myself, but I like being able to relax on my legs for a few minutes and eat a hot dog after spent an hour walking up and down the aisles,” a Redditor bemoaned.
That is not to imply that every single customer who shops at Costco is opposed to the change. A few of Redditors even expressed their approval of the modification, expressing their expectation that the standing tables will discourage their fellow members from remaining in the congested food courts for an excessive amount of time.
My opinion is that it is an excellent concept. A commenter commented that if this were not the case, individuals would take an extremely long time to depart, which would result in cart traffic simply attempting to go.
But despite the fact that these defenders have come out in support of the new food court feature, the detractors continue to be passionate in their opposition to it.
One user on Reddit said, “These are horrible,” in reference to the tables that were standing.
In response to our inquiries for comment about the reasons for the move, the outrage from customers, and whether or not other food courts are on the agenda to get the standing tables in the future, Costco did not immediately address our inquiries.