I shop at Costco because it saves me a lot of money and that's it. I'm glad you have more pressing things to worry about, but Costco is popular because most people care about the low prices over what the "shopping crowd" is like. Also I'm not sure why you call a large parking lot a bad experience. They attract thousands of people a day, having a parking lot for 10 people would make the experience far worse. Also there are many ways the customer experience is good... They will take anything back if you have a problem with it up to a year after you buy it.