Ever noticed a smiley face on your Costco receipt? Former employee finally reveals why they do it

Costco is popular for its deals, free samples, and other perks that members get, but the fame also means that it gets slammed for policies such as verification to block membership sharing. After another practice at its retail stores was questioned by a customer, a former Costco employee recently took to Reddit to clarify that marking a receipt shared by a shopper is not a "corporate policy" across stores. The shopper known as u/morto00x posted the question along with a receipt and wrote, "Our toddler loves to hand over the receipt to the person at the exit when leaving the store."

"EVERY single time the person checking the receipt will draw a smiley face on it rather than just marking it. Is that an actual employee policy?" they asked. Many took to the comment section to talk about the practice and praised the Costco employee for doing that.

One of the top comments came from a former Costco employee, who revealed that the sweet gesture is not a corporate policy followed by everyone. "To answer your question, no it is not an employee policy," u/everybodyBnicepls clarified. "As a former Costco receipt checker, it’s not a corporate policy but seeing a kid light up every single time I did it made my day. I did it because when I was their age, receipt checkers would do it for me and I remembered how happy I was," u/clb_lhsm added.

Others talked about how even their kids get the receipts back with something or the other drawn on them. "Our local Costco has a guy who draws Bluey or princesses on the receipts in less than five seconds! It’s super cute and fun!" u/ADHDGardener. 

Checking the receipt at the exit of every store is something that is being practiced by every retail chain. Recently, a Walmart shopper named Senti Rasa was barred from leaving after she refused to comply with the rules and felt that he was being discriminated against, according to the Irish Star. 

Rasa, a real-estate investor had reportedly bought a TV worth $344.09 at a Walmart location in Orillia, Canada. When he brought the item for checkout, the staff member had to call for help to remove the anti-theft device on the packaging. After the checkout was finally complete, the customer proceeded to exit the store but was stopped by a door greeter who asked him for proof of purchase. "I asked what do you need to see my receipt for, I've already paid for it, you can ask the cashier," the shopper of Sri Lankan descent recalled, as per the Irish Star.

When he kept walking he was again stopped by another employee who held his cart and said he won't be allowed to leave the store until he presented his receipt. When the conversation escalated, the manager arrived and asked the man to show the receipt. "Costco checks consistently," the manager said while trying to justify the staff's actions, before adding "Everybody gets checked, it doesn't matter if you are black, white, purple, or brown."

However, Rasa said that he was being cornered only due to his appearance as he showed up in a sweatshirt and dirty work trousers. "They randomly ran to me and asked to check my receipt, which shows that they are not educated and very ignorant," he said.