\
A NEW membership card policy has left Costco customers fuming.
Implementation of the update began at the end of August, with many stores gradually including it over the past few months.
3
3
3
Some members saw it appear at their local Costco store in Winter Springs, Florida, about 15 miles northeast of Orlando, earlier this week.
“At my local Costco, I discovered that entry is now conditional upon scanning a valid membership card,” fumed member Emilio Gonzalez in a post to Facebook.
He included a picture of the setup, which saw a barcode scanner at the front door with a sign that directed members to “scan membership here” before entering.
“I asked when this policy was instated, and the employee at the door responded that it took effect this Monday,” Gonzalez explained.
He noted that the policy would certainly weed out those shoppers who tried to sneak in without a membership, especially those headed to the warehouse retailer’s famous food court.
Costco’s food court developed after a hot dog vendor was hired by the company to serve hungry customers at its San Diego warehouse in 1984, per Taste of Home.
Years later, it opened a fully functioning food court at the store called Cafe 150 and sold a hot dog combo for $1.50.
That hot dog combo remains today for the same price within indoor and outdoor food courts at Costco’s over 600 stores nationwide.
DEAL DENIED
Those shoppers without Costco memberships also became aware of the deal and would find sneaky ways to get it without one.
Earlier this spring, however, Costco started cracking down on non-members buying items from the food court, with signs posted notifying members of the decision.
“Effective April 8, 2024, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from our food court. You can join today,” the signs read.
Many members, seemingly including Gonzalez, were happy to see the signs and card membership scanner implementation to prevent non-members from getting food without paying fees like everyone else.
“So for you guys without a card, no more $1.50 Hot Dog Combo for you,” he wrote in his Facebook post.
Gonzalez also feared that his privacy would be invaded by the card scanner.
Costco’s membership scanners
Costco has unveiled membership scanners at its store entrances.
In August 2024, the retailer released a statement about the scanners on its website.
“Over the coming months, membership scanning devices will be used at the entrance door of your local warehouse,” it wrote.
“Once deployed, prior to entering, all members must scan their physical or digital membership card by placing the barcode or QR Code against the scanner.
“Guests must also be accompanied by a valid member for entry.
“If you have any questions or concerns, there will always be an attendant at the door to assist you!
“If your membership is inactive, expired, or you would like to sign up for a new membership, the attendant will ask that you stop by the membership counter prior to entering the warehouse to shop.
“Additionally, if your membership card does not have a photo, please be prepared to show your valid photo ID.
“We encourage you to stop by the membership counter to have a photo taken to have on your card.”
“Also, there goes your privacy. Another Big Brother will be tracking you,” he claimed.
He wouldn’t be the first to have those concerns over Costco’s recent membership-sharing crackdown.
TRIPLE CHECK
The warehouse retailer has started to match IDs to membership cards at checkout and even at the entrance for some stores, and a woman was furious this month after allegedly getting checked on three separate occasions during her grocery trip.
She claimed she was stopped twice while in the aisles looking for merchandise and then a third time at the self-checkout kiosks, per a post to X.
Furious, the Costco member recommended that other shoppers head to Sam’s Club and take advantage of its Scan and Go feature.
Scan and Go allows customers at the competing chain to use their mobile devices and scan all their groceries while shopping, generate a single barcode for everything, and quickly pay and leave without waiting for ID checks.
Some longtime Costco members have recently switched to Sam’s Club after 20 years due to benefits like Scan and Go.
