You know that fluorescent hum of a warehouse store — the cold concrete underfoot, the smell of rotisserie chicken drifting past pallets of paper towels stacked twelve feet high. It’s familiar. Comfortable, even. But lately, that familiar experience has been shifting fast, and a lot of shoppers aren’t happy about it. Both Sam’s Club and Costco have rolled out changes over the past year or so that have customers absolutely fuming online.
Sam’s Club Is Killing the Checkout Lane
This is the big one. Sam’s Club plans to remove traditional checkout lanes from all 600 of its stores. Not just trim them down. Eliminate them. Self-checkout kiosks? Gone too. The company wants everyone using its Scan & Go app, where you scan items with your phone as you shop and pay digitally before walking out the door. According to reports, about one in three Sam’s Club members already uses Scan & Go, and usage has jumped more than 50% over the past three years. So the company clearly sees the writing on the wall — or the screen, rather.
But What If You Don’t Have a Smartphone?
That’s the question a lot of people are asking. When Sam’s Club posted on Facebook asking how customers use Scan & Go, the comments section turned into a battleground. One commenter, Linda Parson Root, pointed out that many shoppers — especially older ones on fixed incomes — simply don’t own smartphones. “Many are on a fixed income and won’t pay outrageous prices for a smartphone to shop,” she wrote. Another shopper called the elimination of all checkout options except the app “terrible customer service.” And honestly? It’s hard to argue with that frustration if you’re someone who’s been shopping at Sam’s Club for decades and suddenly can’t check out the way you always have.
Not Everyone Hates It, Though
Some shoppers are welcoming the change with open arms. One commenter named Sue Powell said she had actually refused to shop at Sam’s Club because of the long lines. Now? “Super easy to get my stuff and go.” So there’s a real split happening. People who are tech-comfortable see this as a massive time-saver. People who aren’t — or who just prefer a human interaction at checkout — feel like they’re being pushed out.
Did Sam’s Club Already Start Phasing Things Out?
Yes, and the checkout change is really just the latest in a string of moves. Sam’s Club already installed exit scanners that automatically check the items in your cart, replacing the old system where an employee would look at your receipt before you left. They’ve also moved away from physical membership cards in favor of digital ones through the app. You can still request a plastic card at the Member Services desk, but the default is now digital. The reasoning for that one was environmental — cutting down on plastic. Each change on its own might seem minor. Stacked together, though, they paint a picture of a store that’s racing toward a fully app-dependent experience.
Meanwhile, Costco Has Its Own Problems
Sam’s Club isn’t the only warehouse retailer ticking people off. Costco has made a series of changes that have generated real anger among its loyal shoppers. One of the biggest: restricting early shopping hours to Executive members only. Starting in mid-2025, only Executive membership holders could shop during the hour before the store officially opened. Regular Gold Star and Business members were locked out. For people who specifically liked beating the crowds, this felt like a slap. Some have reportedly considered switching to Sam’s Club, which offers more flexible hours for all membership tiers.
Why Are People So Mad About Muffins?
I know. Muffins. But hear me out — Costco’s bakery muffins have been a beloved staple for years, and the company somehow managed to mess with them in almost every way possible. First, they stopped letting customers mix and match flavors; you had to commit to one type per pack. Then the muffins got smaller. The old six-packs of large muffins in mixed flavors were replaced with eight-packs of smaller muffins in a single flavor. And while the price per muffin dropped for smaller packs, the 24-packs actually got more expensive — classic shrinkflation. Worst of all, the new muffins are reportedly drier, with a different texture and an unpleasant aftertaste. They also apparently go bad faster, which Costco attributes to having whole ingredients and fewer preservatives. A healthier muffin that tastes worse and costs more. Not exactly a win for most shoppers.
The Diaper Disaster
Parents who bought Kirkland diapers in bulk were blindsided when Costco’s diaper supplier changed in 2025. The previous manufacturer, Kimberly-Clark (which also makes Huggies), decided to focus on its own name-brand products and dropped the private-label arrangement. Costco switched to First Quality, and the complaints rolled in fast. Parents on social media said the new diapers were thinner, less absorbent, had a wider waistband, and smelled like chemicals. Reports of blowouts, leaks within 30 minutes, and skin irritation were everywhere. For families who had specifically chosen a Costco membership to save money on diapers — and newborns go through something like 12 a day — this was a major deal.
Can We Talk About the Toilet Paper?
Kirkland toilet paper used to be one of the best arguments for a Costco membership. At around $0.70 a roll, it was a steal. But customers say the quality has slowly degraded. Complaints include weakness, excessive lint, clouds of white dust, and a lack of softness compared to what it used to be. People report needing up to six layers just to keep their hands clean. And here’s the kicker — despite being thin and weak, it doesn’t dissolve well either. Some customers have had plumbing problems because the paper clumps rather than breaking down, with plumbers reportedly pulling football-sized wads out of septic tanks. Cheap toilet paper that causes expensive repairs. That’s a rough trade.
Standing Tables in the Food Court? Really?
The Costco food court is practically sacred to a certain kind of shopper. A $1.50 hot dog and soda combo — at a price that hasn’t changed since the 1980s — after an hour of walking on concrete. Bliss. Or it was. Many locations have started replacing sit-down tables and chairs with tall standing tables. If you’ve just spent an hour on your feet pushing a heavy cart, the last thing you want is to keep standing while you eat. The tall tables also don’t work for kids, shorter adults, elderly customers, or anyone in a wheelchair. Some families have resorted to eating on the floor. Others just take their food to the car. Neither option screams “great customer experience.”
The Rotisserie Chicken Bag Situation
Costco’s $4.99 rotisserie chicken is iconic. It’s a loss leader — the company reportedly loses money on each one just to get you in the store. So when Costco switched from the familiar hard plastic clamshell container to a flexible bag in 2024, people noticed immediately. The reasoning was solid: less plastic waste. The execution? Not great. The bags leak. Chicken grease in your trunk, on your car seats, all over the grocery bags. You can’t carve the chicken inside the new packaging. Leftovers are harder to store. Some cashiers have started double-bagging the chickens in meat department bags just to contain the mess — which, if you think about it, kind of defeats the whole “less plastic” point. And the new bags aren’t recyclable anyway.
Show Your Card or Get Out
Costco has gotten stricter about checking membership cards at the door, and some long-time members have taken it personally. There was a time when you could wander into a Costco without showing anything — browse, hit the food court, whatever. Those days are over. Employees now check cards at the entrance, at self-checkout, and sometimes at the register too. Some customers who’ve been members for 20 years have had full-on meltdowns about it, interpreting the card check as some kind of accusation. It’s not. But when you change a routine that people have had for years, the emotional reaction doesn’t always match the logic.
So Where Does This Leave the Average Shopper?
Back under those fluorescent lights, pushing a cart that probably has one wonky wheel, the warehouse store experience is changing whether we like it or not. Sam’s Club is betting its future on an app. Costco keeps tweaking products and policies in ways that frustrate loyal customers. Some of these changes make sense from a business standpoint. Others feel tone-deaf. But if there’s one thing these companies should remember, it’s that the people walking those concrete floors have choices — and they’re not shy about making noise when something doesn’t feel right.
