The Dark Truth About Costco's Free Samples

As reported by Glassdoor, the average Costco food demonstrator receives only $13 per hour and no benefits. This is in stark contrast to full-time Costco employees, who receive an average of $24 an hour, not including overtime, via GOOD Inc.

Bloomberg Businessweek also reported in 2013 that about 88 percent of the store's employees have company-sponsored health insurance. In 2018 interviews with Business Insider, employees raved about the 401k match and vacation time as well.

Why is there such a big difference in salary between food demonstrators and Costco employees? As explained in a HuffPost report, Costco does not directly employ demonstrators. Instead, contracting companies such as Club Demonstration Services hire and pay these workers. They are required to work part-time in six-and-a-half hour shifts and their hourly rate increases by just 25 cents per year. These employees are said to account for ten percent of in-store Costco workers, though this number has been debated.

Whether you blame Costco or Club Demonstration Services for the low wages of food sample workers, it's important to know how the system works. While free samples may return to your local Costco in the near future, according to Daily Hive, the low wages of demonstrators won't change anytime soon.