The Unwritten Costco Bakery Perk Kids Love

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Ask loyal Costco members to name the things they love most about the wholesale store, and you'll be sure to find shoppers with great things to say about the Kirkland Signature bakery. Costco ranked among the best on our list of the best and worst grocery store bakeries. Among the praises being sung across the Internet, many shoppers have noted that there's an unspoken perk with Costco's bakery that keeps them returning — the employees at many stores give out free cookies to children. While it's not an official Costco policy, certain stores and employees appear to be reliable week after week, according to parents. 

Costco employees have long been recognized by shoppers for their consistent, pleasant moods – especially when interacting with children. We suspect snagging a few samples for themselves might be a contributing factor to employees' cheerful demeanors. In a Reddit thread of Costco shoppers discussing their appreciation for employees, one user said that a store local to them is known to their family as the "cookie store" because its bakery employees consistently give their children free cookies. So, if you haven't yet, try sopping by the Costco bakery the next time you're out with your kids. If it's their lucky day, they might even score the best of the best, the Kirkland Signature chocolate chunk cookie.

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It's important to note that while Costco bakery employees are often happy to hand out cookies to kids, the store appears to have an unofficial policy encouraging them to withhold the tasty freebies if there is no adult present. Employees and customers have attested to this in Reddit threads, with potential allergy exposure being the reason most commonly cited for the parental supervision precaution.

Day and time are two other factors that could influence the likelihood of scoring a free cookie sample for your kids. While weekends are the busiest days for in-store traffic, they're also the days with the most plentiful samples inside the store – especially Saturdays between 1 and 2 p.m. Further conversations across Reddit suggest luck might also play a role — like arriving after a fresh batch of cookies is baked or prior to the food court being stocked.

Reddit threads also suggest that building a rapport with Costco employees can lead to repeat handouts, and sometimes additional quantity. One self-identified employee who hands out samples at Costco was asked if they judged shoppers who come back for seconds. They replied, "Not as long as they're polite."