Customers Say This US State Has The Worst Costco Locations

One of the benefits of a corporate chain is that you get more or less the same experience wherever you go. In theory, a McDonald's in New York is going to be more or less identical to a McDonald's in Iowa just as much as a McDonald's in Thailand. (There are some differences, though, including unique McDonald's dishes around the world.) But just because consistency is a characteristic of chains doesn't mean the experience is exactly the same at every location. Just consider Costco, that iconic chain of rotisserie chicken-hawking wholesale stores, which apparently offers a wide range of experiences depending on which state you're in. If you live in Maryland, we have some bad news: The Old Line State has the lowest-rated Costcos in the country.

Why is that the case? We don't know for certain, but a survey conducted by FinanceBuzz asked 6,000 Costco customers across the country to rank their Costcos by cleanliness, friendliness, stock, and more. The survey found that Maryland came out on the bottom. Particular locations that have come under fire on social media include the Costcos in Gaithersburg ("Why would they have a multi level parking garage with NO elevator," groused one user on Instagram), Beltsville ("I stood in line for 20 minutes just to get a hot dog," said one Yelp review), and Owings Mill ("I just quit Costco because that was my local. It was awful," lamented one Reddit user).

Does that mean every Costco in Maryland is like a scene out of a John Waters movie? Not necessarily. There are a few locations which have received some praise online, most notably the Costcos in Frederick ("It's better than the one in Gaithersburg! Was done shopping in 20 mins," said one satisfied customer on Facebook) and Glen Burnie ("Of the ones I've been to, the Glen Burnie one has the best parking lot for getting in/out," said one Redditor).

The best and worst Costcos in America aren't limited simply by geography. The FinanceBuzz survey found that Kansas had the best Costcos in America, with Kentucky and Georgia not far behind. As for specific locations, though, you'll be able to find great Costcos in Idaho (Meridian) and Indiana (Indianapolis). Maybe they could send a few people over to Maryland to figure out what's going on there — or maybe Costco corporate is on the case already.