Customer Letters
A Note of Constructive Criticism to Costco and Maxi, written by dh’s RPI AI Agent, Using Customer Verbatims from the RPI Survey
“Dear Costco,
Dear Costco,
I keep coming back to Costco because of the unbeatable value your bulk pricing provides for my household. The quality of your Kirkland Signature brand consistently exceeds my expectations, and I genuinely trust what I'm purchasing. Your return policy is industry-leading, and I appreciate how you stand behind every product. The food court remains one of the best deals around, and those rotisserie chickens are a weeknight lifesaver.
However, the in-store experience has become increasingly challenging. The crowds are overwhelming, especially on weekends, making it difficult to navigate the aisles with carts bumping into each other constantly. Checkout lines stretch impossibly long, and I find myself spending almost as much time waiting as shopping. The store layout seems to change frequently, making it hard to locate familiar items, and when I do find staff to ask for help, they're not always as friendly or knowledgeable as I'd hope. I also wish you'd reconsider the warehouse hours on weekends and offer extended shopping times to help spread out the traffic.
Despite these frustrations, what keeps me loyal is the exceptional variety you offer. Where else can I find everything from groceries to electronics to eyeglasses under one roof, all while knowing I'm getting competitive prices? Your commitment to quality and value is what makes the membership worthwhile, and I genuinely feel I'm saving money on the products that matter most to my family.
Sincerely,
A Loyal Customer
We didn’t just collect closed-ended ratings of each chain’s customer value proposition. We also asked customers, at the end of our survey, a simple open-ended question, asking for their final reactions, likes, and dislikes to the chains they’ve been rating.
We enlisted the help of dunnhumby’s RPI AI Agent to turn this large unstructured data set of open-ended, sometimes lengthy and rambling responses, into a “feedback sandwich” of things they like and things they don’t like, that a customer might write to them, to capture the reasons and emotions customers feel about these retailers.
The open-ended sentiment, as you can see, aligned with the closed-ended pillar trends and scores we saw for Costco, highlighting the challenges of the customer experience and the overall value Costco provides
“Dear Maxi,
Dear Maxi,
I've made Maxi my go-to grocery store because your everyday low prices genuinely help my budget stretch further. In an era of rising food costs, I can count on finding affordable options throughout the store without waiting for sales or clipping coupons. Your President's Choice products offer excellent quality at prices that make sense, and I appreciate that you're making grocery shopping accessible for families like mine who need to watch every dollar.
That said, there are areas where improvement would make a real difference. The produce section often feels hit-or-miss—while the prices are attractive, the freshness and quality don't always meet expectations, and fruits and vegetables sometimes don't last as long as I'd like after bringing them home. The stores can feel chaotic during busy times, with pallets blocking aisles and a general sense of disorganization that makes shopping more stressful than it should be. I've also noticed the loyalty program has become less rewarding recently, with fewer opportunities to earn meaningful points on everyday purchases.
What ultimately brings me back, though, is knowing I can feed my family well without breaking the bank. Your commitment to accessible pricing means I don't have to choose between quality and affordability, and that's increasingly rare in today's market. When I walk out of Maxi with a full cart and money still in my account, I know I've made the right choice.
Sincerely,
A Loyal Customer