The Best and Worst Things About Sam's Club, According to Members

The loudest voices tend to be the critics. Still, there are plenty of people who adore Sam's Club.

With nearly 600 Sam's Club locations spread across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Sam's is a giant in the big-box niche. After all, who wouldn't want to load up on massive boxes of cereal and crates of avocados, all while leaving money in the bank? We took to Reddit to learn what members think of their experiences and selections at Sam's Club.

Where Sam's Club shines

Given the number of Sam's Club members there are in the U.S., it stands to reason that there's an awful lot about the big-box store to like. As with every topic, the loudest voices tend to be those complaining. We ran across plenty of positive posts about Sam's Club, although many of them praised the same thing(s).

Toilet paper, of all things

When asked to compare Sam's Club to Costco, members were happy to share products they found to be superior at Sam's Club. For example, original_username-79 insists that Sam's toilet paper "is far superior to the Kirkland brand."

Snacks!

It certainly appears that snack quality is of paramount importance. Sam's Club member TRexHasTinyArms answered, "Sam's has a better snack selection" BETHVD agreed, adding, "Sam's also carries alot (sic) more name brands and seems to have more snacky type food."

And since switching from Sam's Club to Costco, Omar_Town laments the loss of macadamia nut white chocolate cookies.

Convenience

A member called HelpfulArticle472 has both a Costco and Sam's Club membership. Here, they break down what each store has going for it.

"Costco: generally more variety for items I like (wine, specialty items, deli items)

Sams: scan and go is awesome, also curbside pick up. You can also go to the Sam's website, look for an item and it will tell you if it is in stock at your local warehouse."

Bottom line: Club members say that Sam's wins when it comes to toilet paper, snacks, and the convenience of Scan & Go. If there was one winner in the bunch, though, it would definitely be snacks. A shocking number of people are fond of snacks they find only at Sam's Club.

Where Sam's Club struggles

While we've noticed it on Reddit before, the number of people expressing concern about the treatment of employees comes as a surprise.

Perceived treatment of employees

For example, artraeu82 compared the retention rate of Costco and Sam's Club employees. According to artraeu82, Costco employees routinely stay in their jobs longer than Sam's Club employees. Minimum-Departure added that Sam's Club benefits don't stack up to Costco's. They also added their opinion that most people do not consider a position at Sam's Club to be a long-term job.

Whether it's true or not, according to the Reddit message boards, Sam's Club has a reputation for treating employees poorly.

Quality

While some posters claim that Sam's Club offers lower prices on the things they need and want to buy, many of those same posters point out quality issues.

"Depends on what you buy. We got Sam's membership after we heard our friends rave about how it is so much better than Costco at least price wise... We went there once and were greatly disappointed. Most things that appeared cheaper were also in lesser quantity so it is probably priced about the same," wrote twelvedesign.

Oilo agrees, writing: "Same feeling here! Sam’s has more variety of snacks and such, but the things they carry tend to be lower quality."

Unimpressive discounts

Praise_The_Tsun says, "I never feel like I’m getting a deal at Sam’s besides on a few things (chicken breast, garden salad kit, sour cream) staples like that. Their sales tend to be like $1 off of something and are few and far between."

Bottom line

Ultimately, Sam's Club members would like to see employees treated better, higher quality items lining the shelves, and steeper discounts when sales roll around.

Whether Reddit posters feel good, bad, or neutral about the behemoth big-box store, Sam's Club is on solid ground. As part of Walmart, it's not going anywhere. Whether management takes customer feedback seriously is yet to be determined.