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Costco Sams rant

We should build a wall and have BJ's pay for it. ;-)

Reply to
DerbyDad03
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The funny thing about that is they all have a wall in front of the registers in the store. If you don't scan a valid card, you can't buy anything except the cheap food they will sell people without a card. It sounds like a flawed business plan to me.

Reply to
gfretwell

A wall? What kind of wall?

BJ's has no wall. Anyone can enter the store and browse. You just can't check out without a card.

The "food court" at the front of the store requires no card.

I don't know how "flawed" the business plan is. How many people actually go to a wholesale club just to eat? Even if lots of people do, I'm sure the profit margin is high enough for it not to be a problem (for them). In addition, if they get just a few of them to join, they are that much farther ahead.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I could be wrong, but I think they get super deals from their suppliers on condition that they do not sell to non-members.

It's a long time since we had a Sam's Club membership, but I don't think one could get to the food court at our local one without a membership card -- but they may not all be laid out the same.

It's even longer since we had a BJ's membership (they aren't in our current area), but I don't recall a food court at the one where we used to shop.

Perce

Reply to
Percival P. Cassidy

I'm not sure I understand why you're so upset that people are buying food and getting in your way, but . . .

I have my own separate rant - The local Costco food courts have the same procedure the rest of the store does - open just enough windows so that the lines are long, and close one or two if there are a few people in line.

However, they also have, say 4 windows open, but only 1 person servicing two of the windows. They take someone's order and then someone else gets the food, while they go to the 2nd window and deal with the customer there. While this sounds efficient, I've seen it delay getting food to people and taking payment.

Oh, they have one line for each window, rather than one line for all the windows. I always seem to get in the slowest line.

Reply to
Charles Bishop

CostCo is about 4 blocks from where I work so sometimes in the summer I'll walk up and get a turkey sandwich for a change so I'm one of those people who piss Snowflake off. Of course, I am a CostCo member and do shop there about once a week, but CostCo quantities aren't conducive to a walking trip. It's bad enough on a motorcycle.

Reply to
rbowman

I've never been in Sam's Club -- and that's my rant. I delivered a load of mattresses to one and since it was going to take several hours for them to unload the truck I decided to go for a bike ride only to find the tube was shot. I figured they might let me in to buy a tube, but no way that was going to happen. Fortunately there was a bike shop in the adjacent mini-mall.

Walmart itself is my stop of last resort and I go into it about once a year. I certainly won't be joining Sam's if they ever build one here.

Reply to
rbowman

You have to assume that if they are selling hot food at the food court for barely more than it costs in the store raw, it is supposed to be a service for the paying customers. My issue is not that the people are getting such a bargain but that they are preventing the paying customers from actually using that amenity. If I am sitting there with a few dollars worth of refrigerated food, I don't really want to hang around another 30 minutes watching it get warm, just to get a snack that I am taking with me. ... and yes, around here there are lots of people who just walk in to eat, without having a membership. If what another poster said, that I can order at the regular register and pick it up on my way out is true, I am OK. I have just never heard of that.

Reply to
gfretwell

They usually do not want the same person handling the money who handles the food. That person would need to wash their hands or put on a new pair of gloves on every order. That is just the health department.

Reply to
gfretwell

How about an express checkout line for that matter? For people who only have 6 things?

Reply to
trader_4

What annoys me is most of the people that take samples can't just take the damn free sample and get the hell out of the way. Usual scenario is to roll the shopping cart up, block everyone else out, then peruse the samples, start a conversation with the sample giver, etc. When I take a sample, I just walk up, take it and move on.

Reply to
trader_4

those are probably the same people who finally make it to the front of the entrance line and THEN open their purse and start fishing around for their Costco card.

Reply to
Taxed and Spent

Per Taxed and Spent:

Something around lack of consciousness about being in a share environment.

I see them at the boat ramps all the time: 3 people waiting, one guy pulls his boat out, stays on the ramp, cleans stuff up, rearranges equipment, and so-forth. Yank the damn boat and get off the ramp!...

Ditto the gym.... I'm starting to see more and more people just sitting on machines between sets. I suspect one or more of the trainers there is pushing the idea of multiple sets. Do your set, get off the machine, rest, and then get back on to do the next set. I can do my reps three times while one of those bozos is sitting there resting.

Reply to
(PeteCresswell)

The other day there was a guy at a busy gas station. He finished pumping, then did not move away from the pump as he used the squeegee to wash his car. ALL the windows. The hood. probably more, but I left.

Reply to
Taxed and Spent

Per Taxed and Spent:

There has to be a term-of-art for that stuff among psych people.

Reply to
(PeteCresswell)

I would not make the leap that it is a "service" for paying customers. If it was, then they would require a card like they do for the raw food.

The mere fact that they don't require a card means that it is open to the general public.

Based on your assumption, would it be your assertion that if card holders don't buy anything from the main store on any given day they shouldn't be allowed to buy food on that day either?

If that is not your assertion (and I'm not saying that it is) then aren't we back to it being a member vs. non-member issue? IOW, if you, as a "paying customer" by virtue of having paid for your membership should be allowed to buy food at any time, then that puts it into the "services offered to the members only" category, which obviously the store has chosen not to do.

I'm not sure that reads the way I mean it...

Basically, it's gets down to whether or not members should be the only ones allowed to use the food counter. Since the store does not require a card for food purchases, then it seems like they don't consider it as anything other than a "general use food court" or maybe a loss-leader to attract new members.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

My strategy is to go down the back aisle where the dog food is and go down and back in the finger aisles to get my stuff, staying away from the center end caps altogether.

Reply to
gfretwell

Our local Costco used to have a self-service checkout for people with the Costco/Amex credit card. It was the fastest way to get your stuff and get the hell out of the store. They got rid of it, I suppose because since every Visa card is now accepted, just about everybody could/would use it.

The store/parking lot is almost always mobbed, so I can't see most people making the effort to get in there only to grab a $1.50 hot dog and soft drink or other cheap deal. Not worth the aggro.

Reply to
Moe DeLoughan

I don't see why the acceptance of more cards would cause them to eliminate the self-service lane. It seems like they would want to *add* self-service lanes to cut down on labor costs.

All the BJ's in my area have multiple self-service lanes, maybe as many as staffed lanes. There is always at least one person at a podium, sometimes 2, ready to help out if there an issue with a self-service lane, just like Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

Now that I kind of agree with. The BJ's near me are always in the back of large lots, sort of off the beaten path. While some folks might go there just for the cuisine, I sure wouldn't make a dedicated trip just to eat. Of course, about the only thing I think I've ever bought at a BJ's food counter is a pretzel to tide me over until I can get to a real meal.

They just opened the first Costco near me, but we won't be joining mainly because of the location. We are much closer to a BJ's than the Costco. In addition, of the 3 BJ's in our area, 2 of them are in areas that we frequent for other reasons. They are convenient for both scheduled shopping trips and quick drop ins for a few items or gas.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Maybe you just don't live in a place with so many bored seniors. My FIL's day is Go to McDonalds for cheap coffee and talk to his friends there. Then go to the mall and walk around for a couple hours. Then go to a big box for a hot dog or a slice of pizza. Then go home for his soap and the doctor shows. Then he catches an early bird dinner and it is bed time. This or something similar is a very popular lifestyle here for people who do not play golf or fish.

Reply to
gfretwell

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