Costco to start scanning membership cards at the entrance of all its stores

Doesn't the card go into a machine at the checkout anyways? They're just changing the location of the machine, really, not introducing something new.

Who cares if it's now digitally scanned?

I do. It will be a massive annoyance for me because instead of just flashing my card as I walk in and starting shopping, I'm probably going to have to queue up and wait to be scanned if there's any kind of a rush.

I try to get there near open because it's less crowded over all and I don't want to deal with shoulder to shoulder shopping, but that means I'm going to have to get in line with 40 other people before I can get to shopping.

Ohhh shit now there’s a good idea. Those eagle eyes at the door would totally catch of you didn’t scan something. Win win.

If you want that option, try Sam's Club.

because they forgot I'd just left the building.

Or because they see hundreds of people leaving and don't bother trying to remember faces? Why on earth would you expect them to remember you haha

I hated that shit when I worked in food service

"What can I get you?"

"I'll have my usual haha"

"... Idk what that is"

"What?! I'm here every week!"

As if I didn't see a hundred people who were there every week lol

You were never supposed to be able to get to the food court without a membership. Some places care more about it than others but that's the policy.

You entered the exit door to get in. You're supposed to enter from the entrance door and then you can cross over to the food court from there. When you enter always go in through the entrance door that's common sense.

The receipt checkers see literally thousands of people per day and they aren't generally looking at faces they're checking receipts and carts. Expecting them to recognize you out of the hundred people they've checked through in the last 10 minutes is insanity.

No, I think you just got a jerk employee. It’s rare at Costco, but maybe they were having a bad day.

Yep, I think this is part of the answer.

I'm guessing another is identifying which members are primarily using membership card and cash, membership attached to an alternative FOP from their in-house charge (Citi currently), and digital native customers who are all in on the ecosystem.

Those data points can be used in several manners as Costco can glean valuable marketing insights into their customer base, their shopping habits, and their frequency. More than likely it will be used in ongoing in-house charge provider negotiations to ensure favorable terms for offering their services exclusively.

Makes more profit to let them through than to refuse them at that point.

Also, let them through and they may get a membership for next time, refuse them and they are never coming back.

They don’t have a picture for me on file and gave me crap when I scanned. I just showed them my license and went on my way. I don’t my face linked to my name all over the internet when they get hacked next year.

I get that, but its a private club. If its part of their membership rules your choices are comply or not be in the private club.

But you do not need a membership card to access the food court, and in some states the food court is actually outside of the entrance. So I am going to have a little bit of doubt in the idea that this has anything to do with hotdog abuse. No offense intended!!

It's 1000% a bellwether of the general state of approaching enshitification at Costco. Light justify all you need, the hot dog and the rotisserie chicken are sacred idols in that space and frankly, maintaining the exact experience and price of those, COMPLETELY in tact, should be factored in indefinitely as the basic cost of doing business for Costco - they know that. There is no way they do this unless they have decided that they want to send a clear, "fuck you, we're the new guys and we'll do what we want to boil you fucking frogs in the pot!"

Did you read the quoted text that provides context that makes your response not helpful?

But if you're not scanning your card with the checkout, how do they know what you purchased? Scanning on entrance just confirms that you entered the store, while scanning with checkout was used to confirm what you purchased on that trip.

Unless you're using a Costco-issued card at checkout, too, I would have same question. And if you are still scanning at checkout, then this isn't the time-saver they're purporting.

They really gonna make me paint up like a juggalo to shop at Target??

Actually saying "you're too cheap" to your face is incredibly unprofessional and insulting. I would have immediately told them to get their manager over to talk to them.

That’s a shitty way to treat someone, sorry that happened to you.

If you have storage space though and look for good deals, ironically a Costco membership could help with your finances, and you could have cheap hotdogs again.

The trick to Costco is that, while everything they sell is normally of very good quality, only some of it is a good deal. I’ve yet to encounter particularly bad deals at Costco, something where I feel like I’ve been ripped off. That said, some things are a better bargain than others.

If you happen to have storage space, which isn’t the case for everyone, you might find that by purchasing some items in bulk and storing them that you end up saving more than the membership costs.

Some items that I find Costco normally has stable good pricing on that you can easily calculate out if it would make the membership worthwhile

• eggs
• milk
• toilet paper
• paper towels
• soda
• beer (depending on brand, there’s normally something that’s a good deal but it might change month to month)
• fruit
• meat (depending on cut, ground beef is normally a pretty good deal if you have freezer space for a few pounds)

Although if your bad experience with the food court person put you off that’s reasonable too. Anyways, just thought I’d share what I’ve found having a Costco membership for like a decade, I didn’t really want to pay upfront to go to a store but when I sat down and ran the numbers I came out ahead. But I have enough budget flexibility and storage space to make that viable and so I’m in a privileged position in that way so your mileage may vary.

Anyways still sucks that the person decided to belittle you, no one deserves to be treated like that. Hope your days ahead are filled with nicer people.

At the moment.

I used to be a cashier for Sam's Club in Missouri. Same thing here.

We had this guy who was a semi-regular. He didn't have a membership, he'd just come every once in a while and buy a shitload of alcohol. One time he went through my line for it, so I hit the button to call my supervisor over and we're waiting there while she's finishing up talking to another customer. We're sitting there for maybe 15 seconds before he walks his ass all the way to where they're standing and tries to get my supervisor to come over immediately. They both come back after a little bit, she puts in her thing, and I start scanning. I scan each bottle like I'm supposed to, then I tell him his total; and he starts acting like I must have messed up and scanned some a couple extra times.

This motherfucker watched me like a hawk the entire time, my supervisor was standing there the whole time, and to top it off he tried to come behind my register to look at my screen and "make sure" I scanned it correctly. Both of us had to tell him to back off, and he finally had me remove some of the bottles I scanned so he didn't have to pay as much.

It was a whole thing, and the dude was insufferable and entitled to the max.

If you are only getting alcohol they can scan something else, and I think it's the same for medicines

I do have a membership, but I hate having to maneuver the cart and pulling out my wallet and look for my membership card at the entrance. It's one of the small inconveniences in life that I can't stand

Food court rules have depended on the location for years now. Where I live the rule is typically, if the food court is outside you're good, but if it's inside you need a membership. Never knew about the booze rules.

-Pharmacy too

Pharmacy is accessible to public in some states as well.

Their website states

You don’t need to be a Costco member to purchase Costco Pharmacy prescriptions online or at our warehouses. Our Pharmacy counter will accept several different forms of payment, including cash, debit/ATM cards, Costco Shop Cards, and Visa®.

You can just go in, everywhere.

Also you can get a gift card of any value and keep it forever to get in.

You cannot have alcohol or pharmacy locked behind memberships. So they have to let you in.

Because browsing isn't buying. You absolutely can go into a gym and check it out without a membership.

Edit: Expecting me to buy a Costco membership before I can see things like whether or not they're keeping the place clean and their produce fresh is unreasonable in my opinion,

I guess you don't realise when someone's profiting off you left, right and centre lol

Think about it; what does the membership fee actually cover?