Costco Shopper Buys a Box of Crackers From the Store And Noticed a Major Issue After Opening It

Costco, one of the popular retail chains, thrives on its customer loyalty across the country. While it is well known for its high-quality products sold at affordable prices, the grocery chain has sparked concerns about its declining quality of late. There have been several reported instances of customer complaints about defective or spoiled items, particularly in the food sector. This has resulted in consumers losing their trust in Costco products and smearing the retail brand’s image. A Reddit user, who goes by u/mdpilam on the platform, penned his bizarre experience after his wife purchased a box of crackers and fruit pouches from Costco. 

The Reddit user ranted about the declining quality of Costco products in the post. They talked about their “last two Costco trips,” where the user and their wife returned with subpar products that had already been used and restored on the shelf. The couple had found a half-eaten bag in a box of crackers, and one of the fruit pouches was empty. “I guess this is just a rant, but the last two Costco trips, my wife comes home with a box of crackers and fruit pouches (among other things) and the crackers had an opened bag (of 2) with a rubber band around it and the pouches had one eaten with the empty pouch still in it,” the post stated. 

The Costco customer raised questions about the store’s practices, whether they were putting back used products on the shelves without inspection. “Or are people eating while in the store and leaving on the shelf?” the post asked. The user’s dilemma caught attention on the internet, and several people rushed to the comments to share their thoughts on the shopping debacle. Some users jested at the Reddit user’s wife, saying she might have snacked on the crackers and fruit pouch and left them in the box.

“Husband wondering why the wife's new diet isn't working and why they have gotten open boxes of eaten crackers and gummies,” figured u/InsaneAdam while u/OnFirst speculated, “Odd that someone would eat in the store and then put a rubber band on it. Sounds more like something someone would do at home.”  Similarly, u/IPThereforeIAm wrote, “Hmm, I would suspect the wife, first.” u/tigernike1 mused, “I’d return the wife to Costco and keep the food.” People were conflicted on the poster’s claims about the opened packets of crackers tied with a rubber band.

u/Sispants explained in an elaborate comment, “The thing that doesn’t really add up here for me is that in order to eat crackers or fruit snacks from a box, you’d have to open the box. Which should be fairly obvious. Also, if someone is opening boxes, munching the food inside, and then putting it back on the shelf, I can’t see them also carrying around rubber bands to put around the opened packages in the box.”

However, there were a few others who shared similar shopping experiences to the poster. u/mrsg1012 revealed, “We bought a container of the peanut M&Ms that had been opened and snacked upon.” The consumer returned the packs with no issue and “grabbed a new one.” They noted that every purchase with sealed boxes is now checked before buying.