They’re are two stores close to me, and I’ve been to both of them this week. One of them had the scanner, the other didn’t. I’m not really sure how it helps them, but it didn’t hold me up any either.
Serious Costco vibe in these comments
People are rabid fans of Costco and will rush to defend any little criticism of it but I can’t stand the place personally and never could.
Yeah usually it’s very anti-corpo here, this thread is making me feel gross.
I am confused, don’t they scan your card before you check out?
Apparently the issue is cheaters using the self-checkouts according to the employee I talked to.
So now we all have to jump through more hoops instead of having another cashier or two. Ironically, there were extra staff at the door enforcing the scanning.
The scanning is also supposed to bring up your picture for identification.
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 need my face linked to my name all over the internet when they get hacked next year.
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.
Yep, totally get it. I’ll squeeze by as long as I can for the sake of privacy.
I can respect that I personally hate self checkouts with a passion
To be frank, it’s foolish to think your face isn’t already attached to your name in innumerable databases, public and private. Costco even has cameras looking at you throughout the store and at the registers. You are not anonymous
Oh I have no preconceptions about anonymity here, I just don’t want yet another hackable database with my PII that I don’t need to give up. It’s more of an op sec kind of issue (I say as a former cyber security dev).
Fewer is better!
Does your state sell driver’s license data and picture to private companies like mine does?
They do at the register, yes
It’s just a person standing there glancing at your card as you enter.
Yes, but you’re more likely to run into an irate person when you turn them away with a cart full of groceries then you are if you turn them away at the door. Plus it reduces the wasted time of employees who have to unload said cart.
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.
Plus if you scan at the entrance and checkout, you have metrics for how long people shop in the store.
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.
I think it might be even simpler: add membership fee to the purchase and tell them that they can finalize the process of creating a new card at the membership desk.
It’s literally not more profit for them, especially depending on what the person is buying. Costco is able to offer lower prices than a lot of other places specifically because the memberships help make up for what would otherwise be losses on margins
Then what stops anyone from just never getting a membership?
I’m talking specifically about the self checkout loophole that only came when they made self checkouts….?
Was that not obvious from responding to someone taking about that same thing?
What’s the loophole? You still have to scan your membership card in self checkout. Or is it using someone else?
The person you responded to does not mention self checkouts fyi
They are responding to a post specifically talking about self checkouts and the loophole that exists solely with them…
How does this need to be explained? Lmfao.
At the self checkout, the cost to return all the merchandise to the shelves costs money, to let them go through the the till is profit instead of a loss. This doesn’t exist in regular checkouts since you need to scan, at the self checkouts you don’t, so people try and abuse it.
I was literally taking what the person I responded to a little further and this tripped you guys up? Fucking hell this place is weird to have conversations on.
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When you look at Costco earnings, almost all of their net profit is the membership fees.
Everybody knows you need a membership to shop there so why would these people (or anyone else for that matter) buy one if you let them shop and make purchases without it?
They don’t need their business, and no one at Costco wants them in the store.
The article makes it sound like they are doing this to speed up check out, and also to stop people from abusing the cheap hot dogs.
The only other thing I can think of is the possibility that people are getting in with expired cards to bypass the single guest per member limit, and then pooling their purchases once they’re inside at the self checkout. Seems like a bit of a stretch, but it could happen.
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!!
I just saw below it maybe varies from state to state on the food court - https://lemmy.world/comment/11638385
Hot dogs aren’t wrapped anymore and buns got smaller. Fuck the new guy.
still a really good deal imo. changing the price is absolutely off the table but it’s still a solid price for what you get given the current state of fast food prices.
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!”
Velcome to Costco. Your papers, please.
It’s a paid membership system. What makes you think you have the right to go in without a membership?
Do you bust into private gyms and demand to work out without paying?
Get outta here
You cannot have alcohol or pharmacy locked behind memberships. So they have to let you in.
Well sure, but they don’t have to sell you anything (except prescription meds and alcohol) if you don’t have a membership.
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,
You can go as a guest with someone who has a membership. As far as I know, if someone gives you a Costco gift card you can go in without a membership. If you tell them you are there to consider a membership, they at least used to let you in. But you can’t buy anything without signing up.
If I don’t know anyone with a membership, I can’t do that. But maybe they’ll agree if I say I’m considering. It doesn’t sound like it.
They certainly did before. Maybe that policy is changing
Boo. I’d been using an expired card to get in to buy pizza.
Food court and pharmacy are areas of the store you do not need a Costco membership to get to.
At the moment.
Living in Canada, by law the pharmacy needs to be accessible to non members.
Down-voting because you don’t live in Canada? Eh
I shop at Costco. I don’t mind scanning my card. I suspect anyone who shops at Costco does not care one way one another. This isn’t news, and anyone getting irate about this should find a new topic.
I literally don’t see the difference. My card gets checked by a person up front anyway. Who cares if it’s now digitally scanned?
Now give me the option to skip the line by scanning and paying for my stuff via phone and the only person I absolutely have to interact with is the one who checks my cart as I’m leaving.
If you want that option, try Sam’s Club.
Ew, the Waltons? No thanks.
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Then, you don’t have that option.
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.
Agreed. The only change is a machine scanning your card rather than a pair of eyeballs.
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.
I wouldn’t be surprised if you had to scan the card twice now because of this though. I doubt they’d have the ability or foresight to scan as they walk through the door and nowhere else.
The other day I paid for pizza, and they didn’t have any ready. I had a 10 minute wait so I took my groceries to the car and then returned to pick up my pizza I’d already paid for. I was literally outside the store for 2-3 minutes. On my way back in, I ignored the receipt signers like I always have since I’m going to the food court and they literally shouted at me for walking past them because they forgot I’d just left the building. They made a big stink about me not showing my membership card when I exited the second time. I guess you can’t access the food court without a membership anymore?
No, I think you just got a jerk employee. It’s rare at Costco, but maybe they were having a bad day.
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
Whether or not they remembered me was irrelevant to the story frankly. In the 10-15 years I’ve been shopping at Costco, I’ve never once been hassled at any location ever for walking in the exit to go to the food court.
Well, at least until this incident happened a few weeks ago.
Hell I didn’t even have a membership for the first couple years. I just happened to work very close to a Costco, and I would sometimes go get a slice of pizza for lunch.
You know you did something that’s not allowed and you’re mad you got called out. 👁️👄👁️
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.
For as long as Costco has existed, a membership was not required at any location to buy from the food court.
I like how you are getting downvoted. Food court never required a membership before, you could just go in the exit and say I’m going to the food court and they would let you per policy. This all changed a few years ago, and OP clearly didn’t know bc they probably haven’t done that in a while.
I wonder if this is a way to get rid of the two greeters at the door.
Costco in the UK have been scanning cards since covid. It started as a way to limit numbers in store then someone probably went and looked at the data.
The scanners also spare Costco employees from having to ask shoppers for membership cards at registers and self-checkout, speeding up the process of entering and checking out, the Galanti told CNN.
Wait, one of the things is that Costco has is that it actually stores purchases on your account (this is especially useful for returns).
How do they connect purchase with your account?
Does this mean that they will use facial recognition? That’s not that cool…
You scan your card before you purchase any items, so that’s how that works. It’s not facial recognition.
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.
Yeah this is interesting. I might ask a manager about this on my next trip.
The only things you can get without a membership card are prescription medications and alcohol. Someone would have to approve the purchase in order for it to be made in the first place. You have to scan your card at checkout, otherwise.
It may not be a timesaver, but whenever I go to Costco I just keep the card in my pocket, outside of my wallet, anyway. Also they check your receipts and count your items before you leave.
You really aren’t paying attention. The new policy may not require scanning at checkout because they’re scanning on entering. We aren’t talking about the current policy. The person knows how it works now. If you don’t scan at checkout though, and only when entering, then how do they link purchases to accounts?
I mean. Target already did/does facial recognition. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/shoppers-hit-target-with-privacy-suit-over-facial-recognition
They really gonna make me paint up like a juggalo to shop at Target??
Same way all the other stores do? With your card number
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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/costco-membership-cards-warehouse-club-scanner/
I visited a local Costco and they have started scanning memeberships, I forgot what the person told me but I think they have been doing it for a couple of weeks, not sure though.
I wonder how they will get around the alcohol only non-members.
While this legal side-step is great news for state residents hoping to save money on alcohol, it’s not as simple as merely walking into the store and heading to the liquor section. Since greeters often check for membership cards at the door, someone hoping to take advantage of this loophole will likely need to tell the greeter they are there to purchase alcohol. Once inside, they will typically be given a temporary number by the membership desk, but will not be allowed to grab extra grocery items or hit the food court for a snack during their shopping spree; aside from the pharmacy and liquor, everything else at Costco is out of bounds.
In states where this alcohol loophole exists, additional limitations may apply. According to My Bartender, Costco stores in Delaware, Indiana, Texas, and New York are only allowed to sell wine and beer; other states permit the sale of hard liquor, while the state of Vermont insists that club stores sell their spirits to members only. Consumer Reports notes that these same policies apply to other club stores including BJ’s Wholesale Club — but not to Sam’s Club stores, which already have a nationwide policy of allowing non-members to purchase alcohol.[1]
Costco Wholesale is installing membership scanners at the entrances of all of its locations to discourage non-members from shopping at the stores.
Guests must also be accompanied by a valid member in order to enter a store, Costco added.
The discount retailer began testing the technology earlier this year, with Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti relaying that more people had been sharing memberships since the pandemic in 2020.
Costco earlier in the year cracked down on who uses its food court to ensure that only members can capitalize on its famous $1.50 wiener-and-soda deal.
Costco said last month it was hiking its basic membership fee for the first time since 2017, increasing the annual charge to $65 from $60. The roughly 8% cost increase takes effect on September 1, the warehouse club announced. The cost of a premium membership is rising to $130 from $120. Costco also said the maximum annual 2% reward for its executive membership will rise to $1,250 from $1,000.
Did they change the rules? I thought there were two things you could access without membership:
-Food court -Alcohol
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.
Oh that makes another comment I made sound ill informed 😅All of the states I have shopped at Costco have allowed non members to access food courts no matter where they were located, inside or out.
Huh. Maybe it was just the one I went to in SoCal. I called ahead and was told it would be fine, only to be stopped at the door and told I needed to buy a membership to access the food court. Guy made a big deal out of it. Like dude, I just want to buy a slice of pizza and a Pepsi, chill.
Pharmacy is accessible to public in some states as well.
-Pharmacy too
They cannot enforce this unless they remove the pharmacy. Just refuse and walk in.
This is dependent on local law. For ours, only the food court and customer service are accessible without a card, and you use a different entrance for it.
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.
Or don’t be an ass to the person just trying to do their job and tell them you’re there for a prescription.
Are they changing policy that the food court and pharmacy are accessible to everyone? That’s in my membership agreement.
I don’t think they are allowed to change the policy in the pharmacy. Pretty sure it’s a legal thing, you can’t charge a membership fee to access one kinda thing.
Food court is up to them though.
Saddest day of my life not being able to get a hotdog without a card. Woman literally laughed in my face and said well if you’re too cheap… I wanted to go home and sic my wife on her. But I’m petty like that. A month a ago and I’m still so but hurt. Like why insult me and my finances?
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.
Anyone can go in to buy liquor too, if your Costco sells it.
Is the real play here to try and make account sharing more difficult? Encourage more membership purchases?
Been a shopper there for 30 years - they’re not a company that makes changes willy nilly. Even if you can get into the store without a card, you can’t buy anything without one. Surely the cost of sneaky samplers isn’t the main thrust of this.
The issue is they added self checkout, and the people at the door never have bothered checking the cards all that hard. This meant people could in theory sneak their card to friends/ family as long as they used self checkout. The people at the register were always hardcore about people using membership cards that don’t belong to them. (I know because I have tried in the past before I had a membership) This is only going to cause a line to get in the store, and deter customers. Real forward thinking by the MBAs as always. Instead of getting rid of self checkout, this is their solution. Absolutely moronic.
