Costco is a well-loved American warehouse-style chain store among consumers. From its generous return policy to the popular snack sampling stations, Costco has always prioritized customer satisfaction. However, this does not mean that Costco will allow members to do anything they want. In certain situations, Costco may still cancel a membership and refund the membership fee.
Costco is beloved for its low bulk purchase prices, discounted gasoline, and extremely affordable food court, making the praise for Costco completely understandable. But Costco is a wholesale members-only store, which means customers need to pay an annual fee to shop there.
Once a Costco membership is canceled, obtaining a new membership may not be easy. The following are some reasons why Costco may cancel a membership, as compiled by the renowned investment and finance website, Motley Fool.
Costco is known for selling high-quality goods at low prices and has one of the best return policies in the retail industry. Most items can be returned at any time, while special items like electronics have a 90-day return window, far exceeding other retailers.
Can you return items at Costco if you’ve lost the receipt? The answer is yes. According to Costco’s return policy, employees can look up a consumer’s purchase history by scanning their membership card.
However, Costco’s return system is not unlimitedly generous. Costco also tracks consumers’ purchasing history and assigns a score to each customer. Sometimes, customers may abuse the store’s return policy, leading to the revocation of their membership and a refund of the membership fee.
Costco customer service staff revealed that membership may be canceled due to the misuse of the store’s return policy. But it must reach a certain extreme level to have a membership canceled.
An example shared by a Costco employee on Reddit: Two people approached the Costco customer service desk, saying they wanted to return two televisions. These individuals had returned the 7th or 8th television within the past 90 days, with each television being returned before the 90-day deadline. A quick-thinking general manager accepted the return and told them, “Well, I guess our product quality doesn’t meet your standards, so we hope you can find a place that suits your needs (for shopping).” The general manager refunded the $55 membership fee at the counter and wished the two individuals a nice day.
When asked about the circumstances under which a member might lose eligibility, a Costco store employee named “Certain-Marketing650” mentioned theft.
The employee wrote that they found meat hidden behind dry dog food, and they reported this discovery to the supervisor because they had heard of customers removing the price tags of cheap meat, instead sticking them on more expensive meat. Subsequently, the supervisor informed the staff that cheaters had been spotted on camera and banned them from entering Costco stores.
Behavior such as verbally attacking or threatening Costco store employees may lead to membership eligibility being canceled. Below are examples shared by Costco employees on Reddit witnessing such behavior:
An employee said they once saw someone causing a scene at the front door with the greeter asking for their membership card. Later, the manager intervened, allowing the customer to choose between showing the membership card or having their membership revoked.
Another employee wrote, “I’ve seen people scream at the manager. He pointed to the walkie talkie saying, this whole process is being recorded. Your membership will be canceled, and the fee refunded.”
A Costco employee named “CostcoPanda” shared the following: “A member came to the service desk asking to cancel the membership. He had been using the membership for about 10 months, but if you know, Costco has a 100% return policy.”
“CostcoPanda” refunded the membership fee to this person, who said, “Take this money and sign me up (for a new membership) again.”
When “CostcoPanda” looked at the customer with a questioning gaze, the individual admitted doing the same thing every year. He then said that if Costco employees did not approve his re-registration for a one-year membership, he would directly go to another Costco store.
After checking the customer’s membership history, the employee realized that indeed, every year this person would cancel their membership once and immediately renew it. The Costco employee stated that due to “policy reasons,” this person’s membership was canceled without a manager’s approval, meaning the person’s membership would not be reinstated.
After queuing for checkout, Costco members also have to queue to show their receipt at the door before leaving. One of the reasons Costco employees check shopping receipts is to ensure the purchased items are correct.
The “Exit Greeters” at the store’s exits, the employees who ask for receipt checks, are trained to record the quantity of items on the receipt and quickly tally the items in the shopping cart to ensure the numbers match. Receipt checkers are not instructed to monitor theft.
Non-compliance with receipt check rules at the exit qualifies as a violation of Costco’s membership terms and may lead to membership cancellation.
In conclusion, honest and polite members never need to worry about losing their membership.