Have you ever gotten a receipt from Costco with a smiley face drawn on it? It seems like a very unusual thing to encounter, and perhaps you have wondered what it actually means. Well, much like Starbucks is known for their baristas writing customers' names on their cups haphazardly, Costco apparently has this tradition of drawing smiley faces on customers' receipts and the reason for them doing this is quite simple than you would expect.
Reader's Digest shares that, for as long as Costco has had the practice of checking receipts as customers are going out the door, Costco employees just want to make people smile in any way they can. Initially, the smiley faces were meant for children but even teenagers and adults found them cheekily enjoyable, as the TikToks on RD show.
Not all Costco stores have this tradition, though, as some stores say that it depends on their employees. Furthermore, there are some branches which have prohibited their employees from continuing to engage in the said practice. However, if you are lucky enough to come across a Costco that still doodles smileys on your receipts, consider yourself lucky.
(Image credit: Ann Fitz/RD)