‘It’s getting ridiculous,’ fumes Costco shopper in response to new membership rule & says ‘it’s time’ to change

SHOPPERS have slammed Costco shoppers after the chain imposed membership identification checks at store entries nationwide.

The wholesale retailer recently announced a crackdown on members after bosses concluded that card sharing was becoming an issue for the exclusive chain.

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However, Costco’s measures to clamp down on membership sharing have pushed some customers away from the retailer.

One shopper uploaded a video of an employee asking him to scan his card before entering the store.

The clip triggered a seething response from customers.

“It’s getting absolutely ridiculous,” one customer fumed on Facebook .

“Costco has gone coocoo.”

However, some shoppers leapt to the retailer’s defence.

Another wrote: “It’s a membership club.

“Pay the fee to be there, if you’re not happy about it get your money back and go somewhere else, simple.”

A third weighed in: “Meh, I’m fine with this.”

CRACKDOWN

Costco bosses have defended the crackdown on membership sharing after the company noticed an increase in non-member purchases since the installation of self-checkouts.

“Our membership policy states that our membership cards are not transferable and since expanding our self-service checkout, we’ve noticed that non-member shoppers have been using membership cards that do not belong to them,” the Costco website states .

“As we already asked for the membership card at checkout, we are now asking to see their membership card with their photo at our self-service checkout registers.”

“We don’t feel it is right that non-members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members,” former chief financial officer Richard Galanti said in a company statement last year.

To make the verification process at the store entrance more efficient for shoppers while addressing concerns from executives, the retailer has been testing card scanners , which have received mixed responses .

“Poor Costco. How will they ever survive if, god forbid, I let the single mom at work use my card to go buy something?” one member said.

“I really don’t get the big deal. A machine that scans the membership card isn’t really any different than a person you flash the card to,” another shopper wrote.

Costco membership sharing guidelines

Costco has strict rules for membership use that shoppers must follow and they've been cracking down on offenders in recent years.

• Primary Member Use : Only the primary cardholder can use this Costco membership card. Sharing it for purchases is not allowed as the photo on the card must match the person using it.
• Household Card : Each primary member can add one free household cardholder who lives at the same address. This person will receive their own membership card and can shop at Costco independently.
• Guest Policy : Members can bring up to two guests per visit to Costco. However, only the member can make purchases. Guests must be accompanied by the member.
• Authorized Cardholder : For an additional fee, you can add an authorized cardholder, such as a family member or friend, who doesn’t reside at your address. They will receive their own card and can shop independently.

Credit: Costco

Galanti noted that even though only a minority of members share their cards with others, “when you’re dealing with millions of transactions, even a small percentage is something you want to correct.”

However, with the shoppers threatening to go elsewhere because of the move, Costco may be hurt more by the loss of membership fees than by having non-members cheat the system.

The retailer recently got backlash from a shopper who was blocked from paying at checkout due to the strict policy despite using a common loophole.

Meanwhile, members will receive the first fee hike in seven years .

Despite this, changes to the overall shopping experience seem to be the reason members are considering a move to rivals like Sam’s Club.

Earlier this year, Costco announced that it would stop selling books all year round, which saw members threaten to leave.

However, it is not just Costco that is struggli ng to keep members happy; shoppers at Sam’s Club are raging over a major membership policy change .