My dad loves Costco — maybe not as much as Clark (since that is impossible) — but I spend a whole lot of time on the phone with my dad while he's browsing around at his favorite local warehouse club.

From household items, food and wine, to party supplies, gas and electronics — the bargains, deals and discounts are right up Skeet’s alley. Skeet is my dad.

But while he always enjoys every money-saving opportunity he can find, there’s another very important reason why my dad continues to shop at his favorite warehouse club: Costco has great customer service!

And Skeet’s story is a great example.

Costco lives up to reputation for great customer service

A few weeks ago, while my parents were watching their Samsung TV, they heard a loud static sound and then immediately lost the video display — the audio still worked fine.

“We did the typical unplug, disconnect and reconnect, etc. — but still no video,” my dad told me. “I called the number displayed on the sticker on the back, thinking I was calling Samsung. When the call went through, it was Costco Concierge Services…. guess I didn’t remember sticking that sticker on the back of the TV.”

When the Costco staff member answered the phone, he told my dad that the system immediately recognized his phone number, as well as the TV purchase — which, unfortunately, was seven days past warranty!

“We had a one-year Samsung warranty, on top of an additional one-year Costco warranty, but I never checked to see if I had paid for the TV with my credit card that offers even more coverage on the purchase.”

The Costco employee told him to hang tight while he could find out if a one-time concession would make the situation better.

“He didn’t say how at the time, but I said ‘sure!'”

Skeet said he had no idea what the guy was doing, but he figured, why not?

Costco for the customer service win

When the guy got back on the phone, he told Skeet that he was going to turn everything over to the repair department and they will call him with any updates.

One day later, Skeet got a phone call from a Costco employee confirming that they were sending the TV to get repaired. Two days later, the repair department called to say they couldn’t find any parts that needed to be fixed.

This is when Skeet started to think, “uh, oh. So long TV.”

Nope. The repair group emailed his local Costco where he purchased the TV and then called and told him to bring it in for a full refund.

“So, I took it in and it happened in five minutes (no line!) — and just like that, I had a credit.”

It gets even better.

“I went over to buy a new one and it was $125.00 cheaper than the original one I bought. Plus, I charged the TV to my Costco Visa and consequently got a four-year warranty! So no need to buy the additional warranty from the store.”

Go Costco!