I'd give three stars over shortcomings, but the strengths would need an extra star above 5 stars, so I'll settle with 4 stars.
Parking--terrible. Crowded, aggressive, unilateral (lot is one only one side of the store) and if you walk your cart back down the wrong aisle, there are no curb breaks to cross over to the right aisle. Costco, known for terrible driving behavior, this is easily double in badness.
Snack bar--ok. Pepsi fountains-eeww. Tables are always dirty. Customers take their carts "onto the paint" and make crowded conditions even more tedious while violating the health code and protocols. Too little space, too few tables. Food is fine, line gets long, but it's Costco. Service is strong, kitchen/food prep management is A+.
CARTs-always full of sample cups and box remnants. In this Greater Danbury market, local customers are slobs despite all the garbage cans and staff doesn't make any effort to improve the experience. The entrance of the store is often litter with stuff members toss out of the carts as they take them in, but cant be bothered to toss them in a can.
Bottle/Can return, machines are always full or broken and crowded. No wipes any more for clean filthy hands. Often machines are reluctant to take Kirkland products back, keep trying, they usually relent.
Selection, store is small, so where you'd get 5 choices in an average store, Danbury has about 3. Meat is great. Pharmacy is so-so. OTC meds are good. Electronics are great quality and value. Seasonal choices are always perfect for the region, except for the constant offer of surf boards? Books are a mess, slobs, DVDs/music are great values and top names. Produce is usually very good, but beware, bulk berries have very short shelf lives. Optical and photo areas do great work. Gas and package store are well run and priced right.
Clothing areas are disasters despite constant staff efforts to tidy up, same slobs as the samplers apparently don't know how to fold or stack the way they found things. Always sad to see "that pig" that takes out a dress shirt, tries it on, take it off, drops it on the floor, picks up a new packaged shirt identical to the one he tried and walks off. Slobs.
Membership dues are on the high side, but there is great value and the Executive Membership easily pays for itself and still rebates money back. Store is old, has lots of support columns which makes traffic flow inside terrible, so stay away on Saturdays and right after lunch on Sundays. It's the best store in the area, but limited by an old building, bad parking and filthy, thoughtless members. But, while the Waterbury store is much better, the Brookfield staff, cashiers work hard to move you along. And avoiding I-84 and a hit-or-miss round trip traffic helps make it a reasonable experience and great value. Any problems, the refund/exchange always goes smoothly and politely. read more