Something similar happened to me. Checkout clerk handed my Costco card to the lady in front of me as she was leaving. Then he asked me for my card. Fortunately she wasn't out the door yet.

I'm not understanding what happened to your card. You received the wrong card back, but weren't you asked for your card? What happened to it? Sorry for being dense!

At my Costco, they only take the card when you are directly in front of them. They always ask if you will be charging on that card or a different credit card. Meanwhile, the person ahead is already packed up and on the way out.

She had both of our cards, face up. She handed on to the lady who walked away and processed my order and when she handed the card back to me, it was the wrong card. I'm talking about the Costco membership card. We can't charge anything to it, it's just for identification purposes.

Sounds like you had a dimmer than normal bulb to deal with. Giving back a photo card to the right person isn't a hard task to get right.

We avoid Saturdays too. Though as far as the season goes, I was at a Costco late last week. It was very crowded and busy but they had all the check-stands open (I'd never seen that before). The wait was noticeably shorter than what it would be on a normal day with fewer customers. They seemed ready to handle the greatly increased traffic

I was there last Wednesday, with just a moderate list - not a full cart. The store was wildly busy, parking lot full clear to the outskirts. DH dropped me at the door and I began shopping, he came in and joined me, helped me finish. We were checked out and on our way so quickly we were both surprised, but we did very little browsing and mostly stayed to what I had on my list. It wouldn't have been a good day to leisurely go up and down each aisle looking for treasures and bargains.

I was in the supplement and vitamins aisle, and heard one of the sales associates offer help to an older gentleman who looked like he was struggling a little walking with a cart. He was offering him an escort to help him finish his shopping and go through checkout, not a service I knew they provided. He was declining, I don't know if they changed his mind but he looked frail and pale - I hope he accepted some assistance getting his things to his car and into it.

We mingled with the (not so) jolly Costco crowd this morning. DH had a hearing test scheduled, and I went roaming -- to fill the hour -- and my basket. But, wait! Here's DH in front of me in just 45 minutes! No test. His ears are full of wax, not a good thing, but probably the only reason he throught he needed a test. He made an appointment with the ENT for next week.

I got our wreath, which I will 'dress' with our ornaments and hang on our front door. I got garlic bread, some raspberries, lamb chops, cheese, and *chocolate* -- a bag of Lindt truffles and a box of those cute spirit-filled dark chocolate 'bottles' to take to family Thursday. The ravioli lasagna goes into the oven in 15 minutes.

I recently made the mistake of going to Costco the day a new group of coupons was available. All registers were open, and there were at least ten people in each line.

I was there twice yesterday (bought main meats for the rest of the week, but that night's dinner plan got left off the list, so I forgot to buy it!) I think I was one of the more relaxed people in the store. I helped people find the size turkey or ham they were looking for in the huge piles.

Glad we have so many Costco stores near by and didn't encounter your conditions chisue's. It was only 2-3 per here. Otherwise I would not have returned.

I have a question: It's just the two of you and two cats. Everything is sold in bulk. What do you buy at Costco? (just curious)

Nicole, are you serious?

Paper towels, toilet paper, garbage bags. Great blueberries, bananas, vitamins, sauce, coffee. Lobster tails. Lunch. Nice flowers and plants. We have a basement and a large pantry for storage.

We are just the two of us these days too. I love Costco meats and produce. Their tomatoes and berries are the best and cheapest. Every now and then we buy their large shrimp cocktail, especially when our daughter is visiting. SIL is very allergic to fish and shellfish and so they do not have any in the house. When she visits, we have the shrimp and fish too.

Just the two of us with 2 cats too.

C&P from the other Costco thread:

I buy Kirkland paper towels, organic romaine hearts and any other organic fruits or veggies that look decent.

Organic chicken thighs and breasts. Lobster ravioli is great! Dh loves Rians creme brulee.

I like the rotisserie chicken to use in soup or enchiladas.

Dh buys gas there. He chats with one of the attendants while he pumps. Cheapest gas in town and we get money back.

Bought a pair of fake Uggs recently for $29, but hasn't been cold enough to wear them yet.

We have friends who recently bought a Yukon through Costco. Saved a good bit.

My last set of tires came from Costco.

Rx glasses, but prefer Warby Parker. Better selection.

Had a similar experience and now I wait until they hand off the old card before allowing them to take mine. I actually hate when a cashier starts trying to work with the next person before the person they’re already helping is done. It’s like their dismissing them, now that I got your money, forget about loading your bags, just move on!

In addition to the non-perishables that marcopolo buys, the 2 of us purchase gas for 2 cars, laundry soap, white vinegar, kleenex, bars of soap, aluminum foil, zip-loc bags, furnace filters, Halloween candy, cheddar cheese, feta cheese, cottage cheese, Carr’s crackers, butter, men’s tshirts, men’s black socks, milk. One time purchases have included tires, a crockpot, a TV.

we save 30-35 cents per gallon of gas. That alone makes the membership worthwhile.

I've lived alone for years since my kids have grown, but am still an enthusiastic Costco shopper and have been for nearly 30 years.

I might as well chime in too, since there are only two of us and we shop at Costco. We buy meat and seafood and break the packages down into smaller packages once we get home. Those go in the freezer for future meals.

We also buy toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, laundry soap, cheese, butter, tea, liquor, take and bake pizza (cut those in half when we get home and one half goes in the freezer for a future meal - they freeze great), printer paper and whatever impulse buys we decide to make. One of my favorite things about Costco is sampling the samples. I'm sure there are other things that I can't think of at the moment.

Kirkland toilet paper is the best! They're paper towels are sturdy, but I don't like the 1/2 sheets. Give me a full sheet. Kitty litter, hubby loves the Kirkland t-shirts.

Anything household. We bought a portable a/c this summer there.

When they have San Marzano tomatoes I buy a case. They're extremely hard to come by here. Also their brand of chicken broth is the best. Organic and very flavourful.

What else? Quinoa, brown sugar (cheap). Good price for Tetley tea. They're walnuts are a good price, nuts are expensive and they have a 1.3kg for $17. Their coconut is a good price but it's all sweetened, I like the unsweetened. We bought a package of 2 roasts once, they were a good price, and they were delicious. I find their chicken is too expensive.

I was there Friday and Saturday. I usually go on less crowded days. Friday, I realized I needed to get my Thanksgiving shopping done or it would be crazy busy. Saturday, I went back in with kid's sizes so I could pick up some clothes. My middle child wants something besides jeans for pants and doesn't care about brand. My daughter like the jammies they have and I found a sweater in a cranberry color that looks good on her. I remembered that I needed potatoes and milk. My trip was relatively easy, but I didn't have large goals either.

I had to go tonight to return the drone I got for hubby for his birthday. Apparently it is not compatible with a google pixel 1, which I got him last year for Christmas, grrrr. They had no problem taking it back. Then I easily spent 240.00. I bought TP, meat, supplements, beautiful flowers for the Thanksgiving table, some really soft sheets that I had never seen before, and 2 white bed pillows that are soft and shaggy, like a bischon puppy. Oh, riced cauliflower and petite romaine heads also. I never get out of Costco without spending a couple hundred. Honey for my honey too.

nicole -- We are just two adults. Look at the earlier "Costco Favorites" thread.

We joined Costco on Maui. At the time, Safeway and others only sold 'Select' grade beef; Costco had 'Choice'. They had good buys on supplies for our condo too -- towels, sheets, kitchen stuff, etc. We hadn't joined at home on the mainland because the nearest Costco was not convenient then. Also, I had walked through a local Sam's Club without being impressed.

Now that we have a Costco 20 minutes away, we shop there for food about every six weeks. Our biggest purchase to date would be tires.

chisue....I don't know how many people only have 2 or less to shop for, unless stated.

I saw mostly young people with children when I was there.