A parody video mocking Costco’s lenient attitude toward customer returns led dozens of people to share the most egregious abuses of the mega-retailer’s returns policy they’ve ever encountered.
Brian Herzog, a comedian from Toronto, shared a 37-second parody to their TikTok account, acting as different Costco customers looking to take advantage of the store’s notoriously flexible return policy.
‘I saw a video about someone who returned a sofa without a receipt after having had it for years. The comments section said Costco will return anything,” Brian captioned the video, referring to a woman’s viral TikTok video in which she revealed that she had returned a seven-year-old couch to the retail giant.
His first character demanded to “return this nonstick frying pan.”
Brian Herzog, a comedian from Toronto, shared a satirical sketch mocking Costco’s return policy.
Costco has nearly 900 locations worldwide. An archive image is shown in the photo.
‘Reason for return?’ Brian’s employee at Costco asked.
“It’s sticky now,” the customer responded, showing visible food residue on the item.
The return is approved.
Next, Brian dressed as a woman who wanted to return a couch she claimed she bought at Costco “maybe like seven years ago,” without a receipt for the purchase.
His reason: “I just don’t like it anymore.”
Again, the Costco employee accepted the return. Moments later, he asked to be directed to the couch section.
The most worrying of Brian’s parody customers was a man who had brought the remains of a “roast chicken” he had purchased 24 hours earlier in a brown paper bag.
Still, the return was approved, according to Brian’s promulgation.
Brian’s parody led many to share stories of people taking egregious advantage of Costco’s lax return policy.
Judging by the comments on the video, it turns out that Brian’s satirical take on Costco’s return policy may not have been so far-fetched.
‘I worked there. “A lady returned a book because she didn’t like the ending,” stated one.
“Here, Costco employee, the worst thing is when someone returns a bunch of unopened food, like meat, we ‘bought too much’ and have to throw it away,” lamented a second.
“As a Costco employee, I’ve seen someone return a used toilet,” a third chimed in.
“I worked at Costco; someone brought in a plant that they killed months later,” a fourth volunteered.
‘My dad used to buy old lawn mowers at yard sales and “return” them to Costco. “Bro, he was a menace,” a fifth shared, and his example sounded like an absolute scam.
“I’ve seen someone return a mattress after 7 years and get a refund, they really take anything back lol,” laughed a sixth.
‘Former employee here: we recovered a modular sofa with bed bugs. And a pile of wooden scraps claimed to be a set of games,” described a seventh.
“We have Canadians who come to Montana for the summer, buy kayaks for the summer, and then return them before they come back,” another person offered about another creative way to game the returns system at Costco.
‘People have no shame. At my Costco people return Halloween costumes and Christmas decorations at the end of the celebration,” another chided.
Costco, which has nearly 900 locations worldwide, announces a “100% Risk-Free Satisfaction Guarantee” return promise on your website – with some specific exceptions, including a 90-day limit for electronics; and stricter rules around the return of diamonds larger than 1.00 ct.
Still, some claimed to have legitimate reasons for their Costco returns.
‘I returned a Nespresso machine that wasn’t working properly and I still feel guilty. Where do people keep their audacity? one wondered.
And while another protested: “I actually returned a roast chicken because it was all raw inside.”
Still, some swore they had legitimate reasons to return their Costco purchases.
In January, a Seattle-based mother of a child documented her successful attempt to return a seven-year-old couch to the store without a receipt.
Jackie Nguyen filmed herself loading the gray L-shaped sofa and chaise lounge onto a trailer, admitting she was a little nervous about the considerable return.
In January, a Seattle-based mother of a child documented her successful attempt to return a seven-year-old couch to the store without a receipt, admitting that she had decided to try the flexible return policy because she no longer liked it. the furniture
Jackie Nguyen filmed herself loading the gray L-shaped sofa and chaise lounge onto a trailer, admitting she was a little nervous about the considerable return.
Once she was in the store, Jackie explained that she knew approximately the date she purchased the couch because she had some photos of the delivery on her phone and a sales assistant could look them up for her.
“I told her around the date I bought it, and she looked it up on the computer and told me exactly what it was,” he said.
“I mean it’s very intimidating to walk in there with a giant purchase and then return it,” Jackie admitted, as she showed off the couch in the trailer.
And he added: “There are a lot of people looking at you.”
However, Jackie urged Costco customers to get over their embarrassment and return if they no longer want the item.
‘Return it. They have an amazing return policy,’ he encouraged, although he recommended customers check his online policy first.
And she’s not the only customer taking advantage of the lax rules.
This week, an image of a customer returning an old television from the 2000s also went viral on social media.
The image shows an old Samsung TV placed on an iconic orange flat Costco cart in a store in Pennsylvania.