Costco Employees Have Reddit Shook With This Rotisserie Chicken Truth
Trust us, this story is something to ba-gawk at. While you might know and love Costco for its bargain $4.99 rotisserie chickens, complete with crispy skin and juicy breasts, it's the secret deets behind how these chickens are prepared that may leave you clucking your tongue.
Eat This, Not That reported that Costco hasn't raised the price of its rotisserie chickens since 2009, which may help explain the bird's wild popularity among shoppers. In fact, customers bought 91 million of the warehouse's chickens in 2018, which is double the amount the wholesaler sold in 2008, according to CNN. Fans even started a Costco rotisserie chicken Facebook page that currently has 19,000 followers. But with the success of our favorite store-roasted chicken also comes some drawbacks. According to Reddit commenters who claim to be current or former Costco employees, one of these downsides is unpleasant working conditions due to the intense physical labor required to prepare the chickens.
The chicken room makes little space for employees' comfort
Evidently, the Costco employee who asked Reddit, "Anyone else struggling to retain chicken room employees? People quit the first day/2weeks. Send help," is not the only bewildered higher-up at the warehouse chain to have had this issue. "My building can't keep any employees, let alone chicken room or closers. It's to the point where we're interviewing anyone who puts an application in," responded another possible managerial figure.
Costco employees who have worked in the chicken room, however, do not seem surprised by the problem. It's clear from their comments that positions in the department require physically tough tasks that seem potentially harmful. "It has a reputation for being an extremely physically demanding position that most people are not going to be up for. I tried it and knew there was no way after just 20 minutes," one worker said, adding that their 5-foot, 2-inches height makes it difficult to reach high-up skewers. "You are basically trying to hold 35 [pounds] or so of flaming hot, dripping, greasy chicken over your head."
Some chicken room workers feel unsupported by managers
Chicken room staff are not only fed up with their working conditions; they're also done with supervisors who lack sympathy for their employees. "It's hard too when you have managers who haven't worked a full day in chickens in years barking at you for not getting things done fast enough, certain things not clean enough, list goes on..." wrote another user on the Reddit thread, who said the heavy boxes she lifts on the job have given her back and shoulder pain.
While some Costco bosses may be apathetic, a number of customers are expressing support for staff upon hearing about their less than favorable working conditions. "Wow sorry to read this. I don't even buy the rotisserie chickens but once every few months, but I would hate to see you feel this way," wrote one Reddit user. "What can we as customers do to help make your life easier?" asked another.
In the end, it appears that the original Reddit poster wondering how to retain chicken room staff might have tough luck filling the roles. An anonymous deli service assistant in the Costco rotisserie section gave the employer a one-star review on Glassdoor, writing, "I absolutely recommend that the practices and policies of the department change before anyone decides that it is a good idea to enter this position."