Costco review: arrogant employee! 18

Anyone who is a member of costco knows you need your card to get in the door. I work for another retailer and this sounds like the typical customer who feels that the rules do not apply to him

Laura Reed,

I am a costco member and all my years of shopping with costco, I have never been asked my card to get in the door. It is understandable that from time to time, they might ask this of you, but to be treated rudely? There is simply no excuse! Membership isn't free, isn't it? So are we paying to be abused and be treated with such disrespect? I am one of the many costco members who is appalled and disgusted by the awful customer service this company provides. People/retailers like you should start to realize that it is not we who need you, but the other way around. If we finally decide that we've had enough of your ### service, then YOU'RE IN TROUBLE. You sure sound like a typical retailer employee who think the company you work for is blessing to humanity. Pathetic.

You knew that a membership card was required to enter. Why didn't you just go to the car and get it?

I was at Costco today with my family on a crowded weekend day. My daughter and I lost my husband, who took the cart to the check out. We walked around the store to look for him but couldn't find him, so we went outside. After not being able to find him, I realized that he might still be inside the store. The employee at the door refused to let us in without a card, even after I explained to him. It was obvious I was not going to shop there, without a cart, with a small child. He was very rude about it too. I walked in, after seeing someone else (whose wife was inside, who was more stern) was able to get in without a card. He yelled and asked the manager to follow me. I found my husband and later showed him the card, he was still very rude. THIS IS A STUPID POLICY. I would not be able to make a purchase without the card anyway, why have such a restriction at the door? No matter what, do they serve the CARD or the CUSTOMER? You are worth nothing if you don't have that stupid card. This is at the Edison NJ store.

Lilian,

"Dontlyetome" has sent you a message on ComplaintsBoard.com:

FYI, just because you don't want to show your card or forgot your card at home does not entitle you to just walk on in. Costco is PAID membership warehouse. They have the right to allow or not to allow you in to shop, look around, go in for the free food aka demos that people eat like it's their last meal etc...Yes it is true you can't shop without the card. But can STEAL...without a card. The majority of members that PAY for a membership will think twice about stealing as it can and will raise the costs of the membership fees in the long run. To say yourself the embarrasment...just go them you need to go the membership counter for a temporary pass because didn't have your card. READ THE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION where it tells you MUST have the card to enter the building.

MY REPLY TO THE ABOVE MESSAGE

Dontlyetome,

I was embarrassed. WE WILL NEVER RETURN TO COSTCO AGAIN. I did not pay $55 to get abused and treated like a potential thief or eater of free food, like the one eighth portion of a meatball. According to you, COSTCO COLLECTED ANNUAL FEE (AND REQUIRE CARD FOR ENTRY) FOR STORE THEFT PREVENTION, SO THAT WE WOULD BE LESS LIKE TO STEAL. Perhaps costco wanted to prevent people like the poor gentleman, who complained about Costco refusing to sell him diapers for his daughter, because he could not afford the membership fee. Sounds like costco wanted to stop poor people from getting in and stealing...
We did not sit down and study the all the store policy after my husband got the membership. To save customers like me the embarrasment, COULD YOU TELL YOUR DOORMAN AT COSTCO ABOUT THIS POLICY - that customer could get a temp pass if they don't have the card with them. So that desperate customers would not be refused re-entry flat out by your RUDE DOORMAN, WITHOUT ANY OPTIONS.

Lilian

The whole membership thing is a scam to begin with. If you were not a member, what harm would you do? Illegally glimpse inhumanly large packs of toilet paper? Faint at large boxes of massively overpriced cereal? You wouldn't be allowed to buy anything, so why be nazis about it? McJobs seem to go to the brain. I hope you talked to the manager, and if that doesn't work, write a letter to the president. There is no excuse for treating "members" (aka customers) that way.

take a cart, put some vulnerable staffs, like eggs, glass, flour in it and vandalize them while u go around in the costco and leave them inside and come out and have a cheap hot-dog and pop and go home...

to get in the door you need to have your membership card. it is a method of security for the warehouse and to make sure only costco members are taking advantage of the benefits the membership gives them. however, the member service door assistant should have explained to you that you could just get a temporary membership at the membership desk

This guy sounds like he was using his family to distract the front door employees so that he could steel merchandise. what ###ed up guy, get a job and stop steeling, ###!

Rudeness is never an excuse. Proper customer service means that you help the customer not try to make their life unpleasant. There are too many ignorant uncoth bullies who are given jobs which they are ill suited for. Forgetting your card is hardly a cardinal sin - or perhaps it is at Costco.

This man's complaint is perfectly valid. Even if the rules say you are not allowed in the store without a card (are you sure this is true? In Illinois you can buy from the pharmacy without being a member.) the employee should have treated him with respect and presented various options. With a moment's thought I would have suggested: they go to the customer service desk and have his wife paged, they try to call her on her cell phone, using the store's phone if necessary, or even have an employee escort them into the store to find his wife. Call the police? Come on. Surely Costco's all over the country deal with similar situations several times a day. How many times do you think they end up calling the police?

costco has a clear policy that you need your card when you enter, but I do think the lady standing at the front door needed to be rude about it. I'm sure if you saw some wierdo trying to get in the door without a card you would be glad that you pay your membership fee to keep those people out. So play by the rules and save everyone the time.

My issue with Costco is not whether or not I had my membership card with me.

I did have my membership card with me. I walked into the Costco store, towards their "return counter" to return a heavy detergent bottle. Some Costco employees yelled at me, and told me that I have to enter through the "entrance" because they were counting people?

Well, I am NOT buying anything, I am returning only. Why should I walk through their "entrance" with my return item? So they would accuse me of something else? The return counter is closest to the exit door.

Well, if that is the petty way they want to go about it, then why not put a sign somewhere that says "for returns, enter here"?

So disgusted with them, I don't want to purchase anything else there.

Bad policies only alienate customers.

As a Costco employee for the past 5 yrs I am fully aware of my company's policies. The door lady was out of line! By law we have no right to touch another person. She could lose her job for this or worse go to jail for assault. It is people like her that give our company a bad rep. She is not there to be a police officer she is there to greet customers as they enter, take a door count and yes check cards. But she is not suppose to be the door police, nor is she theft protection. She is not there to stop criminals. I have seen all types steal. And in my 5 yrs I have by far seen more paid members steal items than those who have "snuck" past the door. And if she is to have any issues while at the door she is to get a manager involved. They get paid the "big bucks" to deal with these issues. If anyone forgets their card they can easily be looked up at the membership desk! Takes 2 minutes! On another note the reason we charge a membership fee is because it's our main source of profit due to us only being able to markup our products up to 15 percent. People gladly pay the fees in order to save money on quality products, get a great return policy, (hell even our membership is fully refundable), not to mentions our savings on countless other things like optics, tires, and benefits such as auto buying. Bottom line I feel I work for a great company that tries to pride itself on customer service. Unfortunately there are those few employees that will ruin our reputation and it's unfortunate because we get paid good money to give great customer service specially in this economy! Bottom line nobody whether at a paid member's warehouse or the local Walmart should be treated with such disrespect.

As an employee of costco for 15 years I seriously doubt that the lady at the door would have called the police. Mangement would have had to been involved with that decision, and they wouldn't have done just for the hell of it. Someone is not telling the whole truth, only their version of it because they are upset.

i just want to say that i was a costco employee for 5 years, my fiance still works at the warehouse that i worked at, and i went to visit him one day for lunch with my 3 month old son, ALL of these people know me, as i was walking in the door lady STILL asked me for my card, AND refused to let me in and gave me attitude becuase i couldnt get to my card which was in my diaper bag, all of this after telling her that i was only there to visit my fiance...THIS is how they treat even their own people now, its not the same store that i worked for a few years back, costco is going down hill fast, and im extremely scared to see whats going to happen when jim is gone.. very very scary

If you don't want to show your card go shop at Walmart. Costco outlines its policies and is a membership club. Do you expect 24 hour fitness to let you in without a membership? Costco charges a membership fee and what they bring in for membership fees every year is very close to what their profit it every year based on their annual report. This means we pay cost on all the items we buy. I will take paying cost on the items and pay the membership fee. Members like Canuto Morales and donttredonme need to go back to Walmart and shop. Being a member means that you sign a contract and promise to abide by the rules. I will take showing my card and showing my receipt when I leave so that only Costco members are in the store shopping over going to Walmart. The bottom line is as a Costco member if you can't follow the rules you agreed to when you signed up for the membership we don't want you in the Costco family. Go back to Walmart please and let the rest of us enjoy our Costco experience

As a 2 year Costco employee, I'd like to go ahead and clarify some things for you.

First: While you certainly DO need to show your membership card when you come to Costco, it is absolutely understandable that you may not have it and your wife would. The Entrance doorperson should NOT (under the circumstances) have gotten physical with you. She was out of line and, honestly, should have faced termination for what she did. As someone who has been asked to man the door countless times, I usually just go ahead and let spouses join their husbands/wives.

Secondly: YES, you DO need to show your membership cards when you come to the door. Don't just ignore the person at the door and try to walk through. First, because that's just rude. Sure, you pay good money to shop here--but that doesn't give you the right to behave arrogantly. Your membership can be revoked for repeatedly refusing to adhere to Costco's membership card policy. Additionally, we're not asking to see your card out of vitriol or spite. We're doing it for several reasons. My personal favorite reason, is that in the event you might have forgotten your card at the door, we can direct you over to the Membership desk for a temporary. Also, it saves the awkward embarrassment you'd suffer if you made it all the way to the register only to cause a huge hold-up and make everyone wait for an assistant or supervisor to look up your membership information. We NEED that card to start the transactions. The registers will NOT start without it.

Thirdly: I'd like you all to know something from someone who's worked that door more times than I can count. Yes, we can get a little testy at that door. You want to know why? Because there have been grown men (keep in mind that I'm an unassuming 5'4" woman) who try to physically intimidate me when I ask for their cards. They like to walk right up to me, get in my face, and scream at me when I ask. Yeah. They scream---and it's really hard to resist kicking their knees backward or slapping them. They actually get so close that I could count their nose hairs. It's sickening. There have also been people who complain about the "inconvenience" of having to pull their wallets out of their back pockets, just to present their cards. INCONVENIENCE? More like first world problems. Suck it up, buttercups.

Oh, and don't let me forget the people who actually put THEIR hands on ME. Yep. They take out their cards, walk right up to me, and press their cards into my face. INTO. MY FACE.
Look, I love my job. Costco is an amazing company and I couldn't ask for a better CEO or business model, and 90% of my members I know by face and I know their kids (who always need smiley faces on their receipts)--but the members who antagonize us at the door...you can't take years of that without occasionally slipping into some negative behavior yourself. It's not always on purpose, and what that door lady did was wrong...but you need to realize what we go through every day just to make your day a little easier--and we do it all with a smile.