There are many delicious secrets to Costco’s free sample offerings, chief among them that you can have more than one. That gives you the opportunity to taste Costco’s hidden premade food gems, such as tandoori wraps and frozen chicken bites that could be a Chick-fil-A copycat. Hungry or not, what shopper hasn’t availed themselves of a little cup filled with strawberry Yoplait yogurt, mini-Belgian waffles, or Mexican street corn esquites? No matter what’s available, shoppers are gleefully invited to enjoy Costco’s free samples.
But if you do not possess the manners needed to toss your trash in one of many (many) garbage cans located throughout the store, you should probably have your membership revoked. In the same vein as returning your cart to a corral rather than leaving it stranded in the parking lot, cleaning up after your free samples is a no-brainer.
Clean up after yourself
Even if you’re used to someone always cleaning up after you, there’s no reason you can’t hold on to your trash or leftover sample supplies until you find a garbage can. There’s one at the end of almost every aisle.
And while Costco is unlikely to revoke memberships from customers who leave a mess, it’s always nice to show a little courtesy, both to Costco employees and your fellow Costco members. Would you want to use a shopping cart with leftover food or trash in it? Would you buy a carton of fresh strawberries with a crumpled napkin and half-eaten food on top?
Costco employees are there to help you find the product you thought was right here last time, guide you to the next available checkout, and, yes, keep the store looking tidy. But just because there’s a team to handle cleanup doesn’t mean you should make a mess for everyone else to deal with in the meantime.
