The coronavirus pandemic has effectively put a halt to a quintessential Costco experience: snagging free food samples.
But Costco CFO Richard Galanti told analysts on a Thursday earnings call that the chain’s food sampling stations will begin returning in some capacity in June. In response to a question from Barclays managing director Karen Short, Galanti said the chain will instate new sanitary rules regarding samples.
“We’re going to start doing some things in mid-June on a slow rollout basis in sampling,” he told analysts. “I can’t tell you any more, but it’s — needless to say — not going to be where you go and just pick up an open sample with your fingers.”
The coronavirus has proved catastrophic for sample servers working in the warehouse chain. Many Costco sample servers work for Club Demonstration Services, a third-party product demonstration company. The company temporarily shuttered on April 6, resulting in layoffs affecting thousands of sample servers working at Costco.
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And free samples aren’t the only aspect of Costco food culture that has been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of the virus, Costco food courts have been operating with a “limited menu.” In an announcement posted on Costco’s website on May 4, the retailer said that its food courts would only be fulfilling takeout orders. Galanti said that “a good portion of our food court item offerings were eliminated for Q3.”
“We’ve added some but not all the items back by now,” Galanti said.
Source: Business Insider