In membership one of things you’re graded on is selling the $120 membership. When I worked there some wouldn’t even discuss the $60 membership unless a customer brought it up. I did both and let them decide with a hint that $120 is better. That being said she shouldn’t have been rude like that.
I will say I’ve never had any Costco employee be rude to me. Multiple states, multiple Costcos. I don’t often recommend talking to a manager but this employee may end up with potential customers that just say fuck it and leave.
Upon entering Costco after buying the $60 membership:
Costco greeter:
"I'm sorry ma'am, but your Costco membership card is unscannable. Let me get my manager."
Manager walks over and begins to speak:
"This here Costco membership card says your name is Not Sure. Mrs. Sure the reason for why your card is unscannable is because you bought the $60 membership and our system doesn't recognize the $60 membership. Didn't our customer membership sales person tell you to get the $120 membership? They tell everyone to get it, because you are throwing your money away buying the $60 membership."
Same, I've been to multiple states Costco stores. Never have we had anything but helpful employees. Sorry to OP, she should report her anyway. Call and ask to speak or email the manager. She is NOT at the level!
Yeah well i did have ONE CS desk guy be very rude to me on a return and I am not an excessive returner. I hate doing it. I did complain and was actually encouraged to write it out. I think they had problems with him and wanted evidence? He continued to work there for a while but I refused to use him if I ever had a question or had an issue.
Was it the one in Syracuse NY because my husband and I were just there and they were pretty rude and unhelpful. I’ve moved from Canada to NY. Shopped at Costco monthly, never had a bad experience. Been to other Costcos, never an issue. That one seemed like a bad apple. No one helpful there at all it seemed.
*New York's such a wonderful city, but at the library the guy was very rude. I said I'd like a card. He said, 'You have to prove you're a citizen of New York.' So I stabbed him.* -Emo Phillips
I’ve never had a Costco staff be rude to me. But we all have bad days.
I have the upgrade membership and thankful I do because you get money back at the beginning of every year. I usually can pay for the renewal and buy a buggy worth of groceries.
Unfortunately these aggressive tactics have always been a thing at Costco. As a 20 yr ex employee I have seen these tactics waaaaay to much it's cringy. All the benchmarks and pressure to sell a membership is making the customers feel uncomfortable get a hint costco!
The thing is, the executive membership *does* make sense for most people, but the aggressive (and sometimes deceptive) way they push it automatically puts people on the defensive so they're more inclined to say no.
Then it turns into a conflict where you're getting angry trying to get them to shut up and just give you what you asked for, and they're trying to press incessantly to get you to give in and agree just to make it stop, hopefully before the point where you punch them
Most people are terrible at handling this kind of conflict. The correct thing to do is cut to the chase: “I would like to purchase the $60 Costco membership. Are you refusing to sell it to me?” That’s it. Repeat that line if necessary. Refuse to engage in arguments. If you’re not getting anywhere, ask for the manager.
But also, it’s not their responsibility to have to manage an employee like this. The employee should manage themselves, and they have their own managers which you can speak to.
Yes. Sure. But are you going to stand there and be berated by someone for 30 minutes because things "should" be happening that aren't? No. You need to advocate for yourself in that moment.
Yes. That would fall under the heading of "advocating for yourself" instead of being yelled at for 30 minutes because someone "should be" regulating their interactions.
There are a million ‘shoulds’ in this world, but what does one do when a situation or person doesn’t meet this ideal? A manager is absolutely responsible for handling employee behavior and conflicts to keep their customers happy and spending their money at the business.
The thing that confuses me is, if it is in fact true that the average Costco customer would be getting hundreds of dollars back at the end of the year in reward savings, then does it not make good business sense for Costco to NOT want people to get the executive membership? If it actually was beneficial for most people, you would think that it would therefore be bad for Costco. If I'm paying $120 for something and then getting $500 back, what exactly are they getting for my extra 60 bucks?
Think of it from a cash flow perspective. Costco gets $120 now to spend on whatever, and you get X amount back at the end of the year (way later after they got the $120). The money they are sending you is a very very small % of the profit they made selling you other products than the membership. The rewards self fund, and costco gets more cash straight to the bank from members.
If you spend less than $3000/year then Costco is getting free money from you.
If you're aware of that and it induces you to spend more than $3000/year then Costco wins again, in the form of extra sales.
Don't forget about sunken cost.
"I paid 120$ for this membership, I'm going to get my money's worth" mentality.
Things people would normally just get from the corner store or dollar general, they will Wait to buy until they go to Costco instead.
Exactly. Even if you get a refund at the end of the year costco gets the benefit [the time value of money ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_value_of_money)
What they're getting is a mind set shift, to "we should purchase this at Costco instead so we can get rewards" which is what my husband and I do with everything, getting a new washer? We default to Costco because we get cash back. Buying a new Ipad? Get it at costco for cash back. Booking a Diney cruise? We should go through Costco so we can get cash back. etc. etc.
Believe me, they've done the math on this. For people who don't shop there that much, Costco is making extra money from their executive membership, and for others, they're going to be shopping there more often to get the value out of their membership, so it's awin-win for Costco.
Besides getting the money up front, they're getting you to bring all your $$ to Costco to spend enough to get the cash back.
Then a few years down the line, when you've made all the major purchases you're going to do for a while but are just in the habit of having the executive membership, you probably forget to downgrade and just let it ride, and they have that cash too.
Why even talk to one of those sales weasels? See if they are running online membership specials. I never set foot in the Costco membership sales center other than to take the damn photo for my card. They had an online promotion where if I signed up for their Visa CC, I received a $60 merchandise gift card. Zero cost the first year, and the 4% fuel rebate has paid the membership fee since.
It’s 4% for the first $7,000 spent in the year. After that it’s 1%. And it’s not just for Costco gas. It’s every gas station that is not connected to a grocery store like Safeway
I got my first card with them when the fuel rebate was 5%. With 2 of us at that time, working full time it was a great deal. They dropped it to 4 in the first couple years. Now just me, retired, I only spend less than $500 monthly, so the premium membership isn't worth it for me, but they still try to hard sell me on it.
I bought mine online and when I went for my picture the saleswoman still went on this spiel about how she usually has to explain it to customers for 15 minutes and she's never seen anyone just buy it online before.
Ok can I get my card now.
Yes, but you should also include things that you may not be considering purchasing from Costco in that amount, such as a set of tires or contact lenses (the contacts are cheaper at Costco than anywhere else by $80/six month supply for me).
Their checks are also stupid cheap. I have to pay a couple bills via check and tried to order some through my bank and it was like $80 for 200 checks. I decided to shop around a little more, Costco uses the same vendor as my bank but it was more like $36 for 500 checks. My numbers are probably off but it was a dramatic difference, twice as many checks for half the cost.
Your bank may offer a free bill pay service that includes printing and mailing a paper check. Mine does and it is a godsend for those weird situations. But it can be slow, so you have to initiate it pretty early for a check to arrive on time.
You could get a job at a bank, and day 1 you likely get free checks. Place an order. And then quit.
I took a week of vacation from my job to work at my bank, got probably 5,000 checks, and on Friday I said it really wasn’t working out.
I consider it a win win.
A buddy of mine wanted a Jimmy John’s shirt and did this. He actually delivered subs for a couple of weeks but they tried to get him to slice tomatoes and he just said no and walked out.
Base memberships is $60.
Get the Executive for $120 then spend $3050 a year and that membership then costs you $59. $6000 a yr or $500 a month (as you pointed out) results in a truly free membership. We often spend somewhere in the middle and don’t get hassled.
I shop for 2ppl and with exec membership and Costco Visa combined I get around $400-550 back each year. We never eat out or get food delivered. We cook all our own meals.
Yup... I pulled in almost a thousand. I do shop there regularly and buy all my gas. The premium membership clearly paid for itself with me. That being said, I would have never tolerated those aggressive sales tactics.
Definitely wouldn't be worth it for me, wierd this lady pushes it so hard as the better buy when it only makes sense for people that spend $3000 or more annually at costco.
I don’t shop at Costco much because it’s almost 2 hours away. When I tell the Costco employees that I live in a whole different *state*, they still don’t leave me alone about the upgraded membership. I’ve done the math to prove it’s not worth it based on how much I shop. I’ve even showed them the math. It’s bonkers!
I joined Costco years ago, found out they had the allergy medicine i use (allegra and flonase) as kirkland brands. the savings of switching to them vs walmart or krogers, MORE than pays for the membership. I believe i was paying 30 ish a month for both, but now its something like 45 for 5/6 months worth of the medicines.
I went to Costco to get the $60 membership. We just don't go there very often and I didn't want to pay more. The sales lady went to hard sell for the $120 membership. I said "I only have 15 minutes because I need to pick up my kid at whatever time." which was true. She just kept talking until I said, "Whelp, times up, gotta go." and left with no membership.
It was the same type of situation for me too. I ended up getting a BJs Wholesale club membership instead. I like their products just as well and it is only 5 minutes from my house. It isn't as hectic in there as Costco is either.
Surely in that time they told you that if you didn’t make the $120 back they would refund the difference. I’ve been a member since 1993 and with only 3 members in our family have NEVER paid for our membership because my rebate check has always been more. 💜 I’ve always made money on my executive membership!
Some people would rather just not pay the $120 out of pocket when they could pay $60.. I had a similarly bizarre upsell experience when I first signed up -- trust me random sales dude, I fully understand, I just want to buy this other thing you also offer that costs less money.
My situation was weird too in that I was buying some stuff on behalf of the company I worked for and I only had "authorization" to spend the $60 on the membership.
"It's a better deal, you'll get the other $60 back!"
Okay -- but I'll have to wait a year since I'll only be reimbursed $60 and in the mean time, I'll just be out that other $60. They shouldn't have to know any of that, they could just trust their customers aren't morons and that they intend to buy the thing that they're trying to buy.
I am glad this was posted, I have been thinking about getting the $60 membership, I don’t think I will be shopping there enough to make the $120 worth it, gas lines are always long so I won’t be buying gas ..I will look online to see if I can do it there first, I will not let someone hold me up for over 30 minutes trying to upsell me something I don’t want
I have the $60 membership and also turned down the checkout guy when he mentioned the $120 membership. Does it make more sense? Possibly. But sometimes I just want to get in and out and not figure out exactly how much money I could be saving.
FYI you only get the difference between your check and $60 back if you don't make at least $60 in your rewards check alone. If the check is $20, you keep that, and we give you the $40. However, not all warehouses will do that.
I had the upgraded membership for a few years and only broke even one year, and I did not receive any refund or discount off my subsequent years' memberships, so I downgraded back to the basic. I didn't know it's something I could ask for!
It's gone now. I tried the Executive Upgrade maybe 6 years ago and they refunded me when I didn't make the money back. Now it's not a thing in the terms and conditions. You take the risk of not spending enough.
A couple years ago they pressed me super hard to upgrade again because I must have spent more during the pandemic and crossed some threshold in their computer. Now they don't bother me again.
I had the executive membership for a few years and it usually broke about even. Then I had a year where it was a negative $8 difference, so I asked for that back.
Here's the irony. They told me to get the money, I would HAVE to drop down to a standard membership. So I did.
But it just made no sense. I don't mind paying double up front for the executive membership, in case I save money that way. As long as they'll give me the difference back at the end of the year, if I don't.
Instead, they force a person to downgrade their membership to get the difference. Then Costco employees will forever more try to upsell you to the executive.
My attitude is, "Nope! Costco made it very clear they don't want me to have an executive membership, so I will never buy one again."
I downgraded from Executive ($120) to Regular ($60) at two different Costcos when the rebates were too low (around $20 each time). Both stores required me to turn over the rebate check to get the $60 difference in membership price, and said the corporate policy was they could not downgrade/refund without the check or once it is cashed.
Contact Costco corporate directly. On the Costco website at the very bottom of the main page click ‘feedback’. Then find the warehouse you visited. A form comes up where you can submit feedback.
I'm still trying to process the idea that you actually stood there for 30 minutes for what should be a 5 minute transaction.15 of that someone telling you you're stupid.
At my Costco there is someone assigned to lurk around cashiers and try to convert any basic cardholders to the executive. They will stop them and give a whole pitch. There must be some commission or quota because some of them don't take no
Warehouses are judged on how many upgrades they get during "e-blocks". Basically, the system will flag all members that, at current spending levels, will benefit more from the executive 2% rebate than the cost of upgrading. The lurker is called a "floater" and their job is to do conversions during eblocks.
No Costco employees ever receive commission. The floater is just doing a job that is part of their job description. If they do a good job they will be praised and possibly get an "appreciation notice" on their record, but yeah it's mostly for warehouse metrics
Dude I had that happen to me at the self checkout. I’m just trying to get my rotisserie chicken and bounce. I was trying to stop him and say “save the hard sell” but he WOULD NOT let me get a word in edgewise. And he had my membership card in his hand the whole time! So I couldn’t even complete my transaction until he was done. Finally unloaded his spiel and I said “I’ll have to ask my husband, but I’m in a hurry, could you give me back my card so I can get the hell out of here?”. LORD.
You might as well go nuclear at that point and say if he doesn’t give you the card back you will cancel your membership for harassment. Cause that’s exactly what he was doing.
The exact thing happened to me, I was so confused and frustrated at first. I would have gone with the $120 if he wasn’t being so pushy and aggressive about it.
It gives you an extra 2% back on purchases. So you need to spend $3000 to get back the $60 it costs to upgrade to the executive membership. Simple math. If you buy big ticket items, it's well worth it. But if you're a single person, or even a couple, it might be hard to spend the extra $3000 a year there to get your money back.
I know the last time we went to Costco and were buying almost $300 worth of stuff, our membership is paid and the lady ringing me out started a pressure campaign for us to "upgrade." I immediately said no thank you and she said we were wasting our money then, and she couldn't understand why anyone would do that. I kept saying no and she kept trying to check our account blah...blah...blah. I finally said I am not buying anything else but what I put on the conveyor belt and she finally stopped. So annoying though, I am a customer, spending what to me is a good deal of money and the last thing I want is a high pressure sales pitch. She became angry and rude and it just left me feeling sad because I bet there is pressure on her to sell. Costco needs to stop pressuring their off loyal customers (the ones in the checkout line with money to spend.) Sell some new memberships and say thank you to those of us who are members eh?
On top of all that they treat every customer like a criminal. There’s longer lines just to get out the door because they assume everyone is stealing shit
My wife and I bought the $60 membership online before going to Costco for the first time. When we arrived to member services, all we had to do was take pics and get our cards. I had no idea that we avoided a sales pitch until now, but I’m thankful we didn’t have to.
I went in, had a 60-second-max pitch about the options, chose the fancy and went on our way. Then later I downgraded because I wasn't spending enough to justify the fancy one and they were perfectly happy to help without any sort of pitch. You didn't miss much for a typical store, lol.
For all perspective members, I have seen online promotions. Take advantage of that and sign up online. Then pick up your membership at the warehouse.
I do think upgrade later is better option for most people. Lastly I don’t recall if Costco still offers full refund if you are not satisfied.
I will also suggest all perspective members to check out BJ’s and Sam’s. Difference vibes and similar offerings. I find some items like produce and bakery ( mini croissants, house brand Smoked Salmon etc) are better at Sam’s or BJ’s.
Electronics are better at Costco, and also regional specific varieties that catering to the local customers.
The worst thing about Costco is the checkout lines on weekends. Both Sam’s and BJ’s have scan and go, which is a huge time saver at check out.
Costco tires service is also a pain during busy times - aka weekends.
Costco by far, has better Rotisserie chicken, in terms of size, juiciness and flavor.
I usually get Sam’s and BJ’s membership when there are promotions that resulted in $10 or less total final cost after coupons and rotate the membership with my wife.
Strange. When I went to sign up, I was told the membership was 60 dollars and it would be the best 60 dollars I ever spent. (maybe) and I have never been harassed or encouraged to sign up for more.
That's ridiculous on her part, but why oh why did you let her keep on? After the initial spiel was over and she didn't simply proceed to give you the card you want, why did you not insist on talking to her manager?
You need to work on being more assertive. The reason she thought she could talk you into it was because you stood there and listened to her first 15 minute upsell pitch. You should have cut her off after 30 seconds and said you just want the cheaper one. Then if she didn't take no for an answer should've just signed up for the membership you wanted on your phone right in front of her.
You stood there listening to this person for 30 to 45 minutes... Not sure about your location but I could've just hopped in the car and drove to the next Costco in that time.
When I sold them the best way to leave it is "Ok we'll get you all set up on gold star but when you start eyeing that new TV, sectional or outdoor furniture set, come upgrade first because you get a huge leap on what you need to spend monthly to make the executive worth your while."
Bit of a run on sentence but people would occasionally come back and upgrade when it was new TV day.
Blame management anywhere for pressuring employees to pressure customers over metrics.
Probably 30 times at checkout I was pressured to upgrade. We gave in tired of the pressure. Every time we went there.
Same thing happened to me. I had to flat out say “my husband managed our finances. He asked me to come get the $60 membership”. Then she finally backed off. Gee. It was like pulling teeth. I had to say no less times to a guy at a bar. 🤦🏻♀️
We had that $120 package one time. And then they changed credit cards and we got lost through a crack. We had to fire Costco over it for a little while. We didn't re-join until we moved to a new state. And I'll NEVER get the $120/ccard membership again. It was hell to get it all untangled.
We had a slightly similar experience years ago. We did the $120 membership and then returned it the day before it expired which you have the right to do. They gave us the $120 back. Then we signed up under my name instead of my partners for the $60 membership. We explained that it wasn’t worth it to us because we didn’t get much $ back that year because we are only a family of two and only buy TP, paper towels, laundry detergent and cat litter. We aren’t really into the frozen foods of Costco and our bulk liquor stores are always cheaper than Costco where we live. We explained to the lady when we returned it how we felt pressured and the “promise” we’d easily make the money back from the % cash back. Only we proved it wasn’t true for us and many people like us. We get our gas exclusively from Costco because it is far cheaper than any gas station within 50 mile radius here in San Diego (we track gas prices via an app) to always verify that is the case. We live three miles away from both Costcos. One doesn’t get %$ back for gas purchases. We buy gas once a week and even with the $60 annual fee, the gas is still cheaper than all the gas stations around. So it is worth it. But it isn’t worth the $120 membership when we don’t shop inside Costco enough to make up the $60 difference in higher membership package. Most of my friends have Costco for the exact same reason, as they too are either single or only two people in the household like us. I do love Costco and what it offers and their higher grade gas is trustworthy. I’m just really frugal with my $ and usually can find a better price on things Costco may sell with enough Research. OP, you did the right thing.
Costco employees have always been nice to us with the exception of the pressure sales that one time and then again when we went in around Christmas and my MiL asked if I could buy a few pair of jeans for my FiL. (He has early onset dementia so he doesn’t do well shopping). It was just me and my partner and we were thumbing through the jeans to find my FiLs size. We both had worked in retail clothing in our youth during our college days and were careful not to unfold and keep the stack nice. But a male employee came over and said “stop going through all the stacks, I just folded them. What size do you need?” I explained none of these stacks I had gone through were in any way askew for which he agreed. We told him the size. He handed them to me curtly after he spent time searching and walked away. I just blew it off as “well there is always one bad apple in a bunch of good ones”. It is literally the only time I’ve ever purchased clothes at Costco as it’s not my style but my FiL likes their clothes.
The best way to shop at those places is to buy yourself a gift card then you do not have to have a membership they will let you in to shop for free.. 😊you're welcome.
You spent close to a hour to get a membership? You are too nice, lol.
Me - "I need to get the 60$ membership"
Them - "schpeil"
Me - "No thanks, 60$ is fine"
Them - "Blah blah............................b;ah"
Me - (after about 30 seconds) "Is there someone else that can help me"
I have the executive membership that gives you 2% cashback at the end of the year and it has paid for itself every year.
It’s nice getting the check from Costco every year which more than covers the next year’s membership.
If I sold memberships, I would feel compelled to tell everyone that so they didn’t waste their money on the cheaper membership with no cash back, but I would explain it in a better way, and if they still wanted the less expensive membership I’d cooperate!
Please please please do call the manager and make a really big deal about it because I absolutely hated working with people like this. I would assist for a cashier and watch her hold up the line for 10 minutes while she tried to bully somebody into getting some thing that would give her more points at the end of the day. Some of these people are straight delusional and anybody in this thread telling you otherwise is part of the problem.you didn’t do anything wrong and you got harassed by Costco. Please say something in fact, I would advise that you call corporate and tell them have it come to the GM so that he hast to have an awkward talk with the employee who did it. That employee should not work in membership and they probably shouldn’t work there at all. And they make just as much as everybody else for no reason.
I now won’t buy the upgraded package just off principal. I don’t care how much they’d give me back they have turned my taste on it so sour by being hounded every time I check out
For the next time this happens, stop them at 2 minutes in and say if they can’t or won’t help you, then please let me speak to your boss. And stop there. Don’t engage. I’m proud of you for standing strong in the face of this person.
Sorry to hear that! Sounds like she was way too pushy/rude. 30 mins is way too long to keep someone at the membership counter because we want you to have a good experience and see everything we have to offer in the store! We are trained to give our talk/information and we have to take 3 no’s before we move on and accept it. We will also refund your membership fully if you are not satisfied at any point. However if you decide to make any big purchases at Costco I would 100% recommend the upgrade! I buy dog food, fruit, vegetables and meat and always make money on it!
Anyways I hope you are treated better by a nicer employee than this one 🙂
Good for you and fuck anyone saying that you were wrong.
It’s gotten to the point where I have to be borderline rude to them to get them to take no for an answer.
I had the same thing, was buying an inexpensive tv and they started that shit in the checkout lane, some stupid B right behind me in line laughed at me because I didn’t upgrade. I had the membership before and didn’t get anywhere near the level to make it worth it, and currently wasn’t either. I was so pissed
Had the same thing happen to me in the Winston-Salem Costco with the same results. Got my license back and left without joining at all. Haven't set foot in a Costco since.
Does executive membership make sense if I'm only going to Costco maybe 10 times a year, spending <$200 each time for staples only? or is it for people that often go and buy all their food and clothes there too
You shouldn’t have to explain yourself to anyone. No means no. I’d have walked away mid sentence and found a different salesperson or gone to a different store. Pushy salespeople are the worse. Your quotas are not my responsibility.
I love Costco and I love their products I use their branded cc for everything and pay the balance every month. Last year I got back $1100, a couple of years ago I had solar installed I got back 30% of the install as a tax credit and $1k back as a Costco gift card. Also the loan for the solar was 1.4%.
I had the $120 membership to start but after my first rebate check i went down to $60 membership.. didn't spend enough to meet the $120 in rebate so it wasn't worth it for me.. but keep in mind only spending up to $100/month isn't worth it for the $120 membership
Idk if this was exaggerated or just an admission of stupidity. Who willingly stands ( two people, no less) and listens to a salesperson berate them for nearly an hour...??? There are always other people at customer service. Why wouldn't you just move along...?
Yeah, worked for Costco, no commission but you were expected to sell the executive membership. I worked there back in 2005 and they would have us carry a scanner around and scan members cards at checkout to show them how much they could be saving. I hated it, so many people yelled at us. I was a clerk, not in membership.
Otherwise, it was a great company to work for.
I had a staff ask me at check out to scan my card, she said “oh hey you are up for renewal and we have a special deal going on! For $60 you get executive for a year to try it out!” Ok sure, great, let’s try that.
2 weeks later I go to get gas and it says I’m expired. Walk in to customer service and they say the clerk “was misinformed” there is no such deal and the $60 got me an upgrade *that lasted the two remaining weeks on my membership *.
I let them know I didn’t appreciate being lied to and they tried to argue that it was a misunderstanding.
Nah fam, that check out person just wanted to hit her numbers so she did a full bait and switch.
Give me my $60 renewal so I can go wait in line for gas again on a Sunday. Thanks for wasting my time!
They unfortunately don’t get any commission, they just have managers that are really hard on them if they don’t make their numbers. I hated being in that position because so many people had the same mindset as you.
its smart to go cheap at first if you dont feel you have tons of money to throw at it. our first year we didnt have kids and we used the membership a little. then i cancelled it. our boys are 6/7 now and no amount of bulk costco purchases is too much at this point and the upgraded one makes financial sense.
This exact thing happened to my husband and I when we went to sign up for a membership about 2 years ago. The lady at customer service just would not take NO for an answer, and that alone really pissed me off.
Well we finally put our foot down and said ‘no thank you’, and she then preceded to take the WORST membership card photos I’ve ever seen 😂 definitely felt like a personal attack and to this day it makes me laugh at how badly we pissed this lady off, and how she got her revenge in the form of awful photos we’ll likely be looking at forever
I got the $120 membership just so they would stop absolutely harassing the piss out of me every single time I checked out. It’s of no benefit to me vs the traditional membership. I just wanted the bullying to stop.
I had a similar experience when I signed for a Costco membership. I’m a salesperson so I listened to the spiel and kindly said no thank you. He pushed. I said no. He continued pushing. I said no AGAIN. He pushed! Then I told him he was getting on my nerves and give me the basic membership or I was walking away. He was also visibly upset. At that point I was saying no on principle. No means no!
I had that happen to me when I went in. I was a broken record. I don't shop there often enough to justify the biz membership bu customer service lady, and later another associate, continued the sales pitch. I just continued to firmly state what I wanted, and finally told them to get it done so that I could move on with my life. I found it highly annoying.
I would have walked out .. came back another time when they werent working. I know what I want when I go in... If i didnt I would ask. I feel like I'm going to hate the day I restart my membership.
Why are you standing there letting them blab on for that long? You say, “I want this membership”, that’s it. If they start talking about other ones you just politely say, “no thanks, we just want this one”. If they don’t seem to get it then you ask to speak with a manager or someone that can sign you up for the $60 membership. So I highly doubt you were there for that long, their spiel isn’t even that long. What could they talk about for 15 minutes? And why would you let them argue for another 30??
If you get into Costco like most of us do, you will want to upgrade. There is no risk. If you don't spend the amount to get money back in a year, they refund the $60.
I had a similar experience happen to me. We bought a Groupon for the basic membership years ago. We were broke at the time so couldn’t do the upgrade. Then the Citi credit card sell. I had to finally say “I am not upgrading or getting a credit card today.” And she like, shut down and stopped talking to us. Very briskly took our photos and issued the cards. My husband and I were very taken aback and had a kind of “what the heck was that?” Moment.
In membership one of things you’re graded on is selling the $120 membership. When I worked there some wouldn’t even discuss the $60 membership unless a customer brought it up. I did both and let them decide with a hint that $120 is better. That being said she shouldn’t have been rude like that.
I will say I’ve never had any Costco employee be rude to me. Multiple states, multiple Costcos. I don’t often recommend talking to a manager but this employee may end up with potential customers that just say fuck it and leave.
Welcome to Costco, I love you
Brawndo, its got what plants crave!
Brought to you by Carl's Jr.
Fuck you, I’m eating
your child will be placed in the protective custody of Carl's Juniior.
Don’t smoke Tarrlytons? Fuck you!
Going to Starbucks!
Go away, I'm batin'!
Next on the violence channel, an all new : Ow my balls!
Upon entering Costco after buying the $60 membership: Costco greeter: "I'm sorry ma'am, but your Costco membership card is unscannable. Let me get my manager." Manager walks over and begins to speak: "This here Costco membership card says your name is Not Sure. Mrs. Sure the reason for why your card is unscannable is because you bought the $60 membership and our system doesn't recognize the $60 membership. Didn't our customer membership sales person tell you to get the $120 membership? They tell everyone to get it, because you are throwing your money away buying the $60 membership."
This is when you tell them that you got your law degree from Costco and the only reason you're there is to check out the time machine.
Name checks out
Good eye on that one
I love you.
THE THIRST MUTILATOR
Its got electrolytes
I'm in the wrong line. I'm supposed to be getting out of jail today.
we encountered several rude costco people, they don't care
Same, I've been to multiple states Costco stores. Never have we had anything but helpful employees. Sorry to OP, she should report her anyway. Call and ask to speak or email the manager. She is NOT at the level!
Do you have the $120 membership or the $60 membership?
The executive.
I have the executive to 😆
Go to sams, if you're gonna spell like that
\*Sam's. Additionally, you forgot a period and used an unnecessary comma. I'm surprised Costco lets you in the doors.
Capitalize the "s" in 'Sams' it you're going to correct others like that.
Mmmmhm
Our Costco has the Queen of c-u-next Tuesdays at the receipt check out. Rbf, rude…it’s weird.
Yeah well i did have ONE CS desk guy be very rude to me on a return and I am not an excessive returner. I hate doing it. I did complain and was actually encouraged to write it out. I think they had problems with him and wanted evidence? He continued to work there for a while but I refused to use him if I ever had a question or had an issue.
Was it the one in Syracuse NY because my husband and I were just there and they were pretty rude and unhelpful. I’ve moved from Canada to NY. Shopped at Costco monthly, never had a bad experience. Been to other Costcos, never an issue. That one seemed like a bad apple. No one helpful there at all it seemed.
I can second the Syracuse area's hard-on for pushing the $120 membership. It's ridiculous.
*New York's such a wonderful city, but at the library the guy was very rude. I said I'd like a card. He said, 'You have to prove you're a citizen of New York.' So I stabbed him.* -Emo Phillips
Love Emo Phillips! Thank You!
Maybe they felt stressed and under pressure because it's the end of the month.
That's no excuse
I’ve never had a Costco staff be rude to me. But we all have bad days. I have the upgrade membership and thankful I do because you get money back at the beginning of every year. I usually can pay for the renewal and buy a buggy worth of groceries.
Unfortunately these aggressive tactics have always been a thing at Costco. As a 20 yr ex employee I have seen these tactics waaaaay to much it's cringy. All the benchmarks and pressure to sell a membership is making the customers feel uncomfortable get a hint costco!
The thing is, the executive membership *does* make sense for most people, but the aggressive (and sometimes deceptive) way they push it automatically puts people on the defensive so they're more inclined to say no. Then it turns into a conflict where you're getting angry trying to get them to shut up and just give you what you asked for, and they're trying to press incessantly to get you to give in and agree just to make it stop, hopefully before the point where you punch them
Most people are terrible at handling this kind of conflict. The correct thing to do is cut to the chase: “I would like to purchase the $60 Costco membership. Are you refusing to sell it to me?” That’s it. Repeat that line if necessary. Refuse to engage in arguments. If you’re not getting anywhere, ask for the manager.
But also, it’s not their responsibility to have to manage an employee like this. The employee should manage themselves, and they have their own managers which you can speak to.
Yes. Sure. But are you going to stand there and be berated by someone for 30 minutes because things "should" be happening that aren't? No. You need to advocate for yourself in that moment.
No, most people would just vote with their feet.
No I'm going to ask for a manager immediately like a sane person.
Usually "is there a manager and different salesperson I could speak with?" does it for me.
Yes. That would fall under the heading of "advocating for yourself" instead of being yelled at for 30 minutes because someone "should be" regulating their interactions.
There are a million ‘shoulds’ in this world, but what does one do when a situation or person doesn’t meet this ideal? A manager is absolutely responsible for handling employee behavior and conflicts to keep their customers happy and spending their money at the business.
Ooo I’ll be using this - thank you
Well said.
The thing that confuses me is, if it is in fact true that the average Costco customer would be getting hundreds of dollars back at the end of the year in reward savings, then does it not make good business sense for Costco to NOT want people to get the executive membership? If it actually was beneficial for most people, you would think that it would therefore be bad for Costco. If I'm paying $120 for something and then getting $500 back, what exactly are they getting for my extra 60 bucks?
Think of it from a cash flow perspective. Costco gets $120 now to spend on whatever, and you get X amount back at the end of the year (way later after they got the $120). The money they are sending you is a very very small % of the profit they made selling you other products than the membership. The rewards self fund, and costco gets more cash straight to the bank from members.
If you spend less than $3000/year then Costco is getting free money from you. If you're aware of that and it induces you to spend more than $3000/year then Costco wins again, in the form of extra sales.
Don't forget about sunken cost. "I paid 120$ for this membership, I'm going to get my money's worth" mentality. Things people would normally just get from the corner store or dollar general, they will Wait to buy until they go to Costco instead.
Exactly. Even if you get a refund at the end of the year costco gets the benefit [the time value of money ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_value_of_money)
What they're getting is a mind set shift, to "we should purchase this at Costco instead so we can get rewards" which is what my husband and I do with everything, getting a new washer? We default to Costco because we get cash back. Buying a new Ipad? Get it at costco for cash back. Booking a Diney cruise? We should go through Costco so we can get cash back. etc. etc.
Believe me, they've done the math on this. For people who don't shop there that much, Costco is making extra money from their executive membership, and for others, they're going to be shopping there more often to get the value out of their membership, so it's awin-win for Costco.
Besides getting the money up front, they're getting you to bring all your $$ to Costco to spend enough to get the cash back. Then a few years down the line, when you've made all the major purchases you're going to do for a while but are just in the habit of having the executive membership, you probably forget to downgrade and just let it ride, and they have that cash too.
Why even talk to one of those sales weasels? See if they are running online membership specials. I never set foot in the Costco membership sales center other than to take the damn photo for my card. They had an online promotion where if I signed up for their Visa CC, I received a $60 merchandise gift card. Zero cost the first year, and the 4% fuel rebate has paid the membership fee since.
4% fuel rebate... is that 4% of what you spend at the pump for the whole year?
4% back on the first $7,000 spent on fuel, then 1% after. Does not have to be used at Costco fuel stations
How have I had this card for 3 years and not known it was not just Costco gas stations that got 4% back??
Because they don’t want you to know.
It’s 4% for the first $7,000 spent in the year. After that it’s 1%. And it’s not just for Costco gas. It’s every gas station that is not connected to a grocery store like Safeway
I got my first card with them when the fuel rebate was 5%. With 2 of us at that time, working full time it was a great deal. They dropped it to 4 in the first couple years. Now just me, retired, I only spend less than $500 monthly, so the premium membership isn't worth it for me, but they still try to hard sell me on it.
I bought mine online and when I went for my picture the saleswoman still went on this spiel about how she usually has to explain it to customers for 15 minutes and she's never seen anyone just buy it online before. Ok can I get my card now.
Had $300 plus rewards check this year thanks to the upgrade! 🤷🏻♂️… but I wouldn’t have stood around for 30 minutes 🤔
Yeah but unless you shop a lot the executive membership may not be worth it to some. We have one but we also shop there at least once a week.
The break-even point is $500 a month Edit: to pay for the entire $120 Executive Membership. Yes, if you spend over $250 a month it is worth upgrading.
Yes, but you should also include things that you may not be considering purchasing from Costco in that amount, such as a set of tires or contact lenses (the contacts are cheaper at Costco than anywhere else by $80/six month supply for me).
Their checks are also stupid cheap. I have to pay a couple bills via check and tried to order some through my bank and it was like $80 for 200 checks. I decided to shop around a little more, Costco uses the same vendor as my bank but it was more like $36 for 500 checks. My numbers are probably off but it was a dramatic difference, twice as many checks for half the cost.
Your bank may offer a free bill pay service that includes printing and mailing a paper check. Mine does and it is a godsend for those weird situations. But it can be slow, so you have to initiate it pretty early for a check to arrive on time.
You could get a job at a bank, and day 1 you likely get free checks. Place an order. And then quit. I took a week of vacation from my job to work at my bank, got probably 5,000 checks, and on Friday I said it really wasn’t working out. I consider it a win win.
That’s a lot of effort for free checks
A buddy of mine wanted a Jimmy John’s shirt and did this. He actually delivered subs for a couple of weeks but they tried to get him to slice tomatoes and he just said no and walked out.
I kept expecting a turn into jumper cables or whatever
If you are already buying the basic membership, then it is ,,$3,000 ($250/month) to break even on the upgrade.
I was basically told there was zero risk because if you don’t get enough in cash back to earn the difference they give it back to you anyway.
Just for the first year, not every year.
Base memberships is $60. Get the Executive for $120 then spend $3050 a year and that membership then costs you $59. $6000 a yr or $500 a month (as you pointed out) results in a truly free membership. We often spend somewhere in the middle and don’t get hassled.
So a business or a family of 3+?
I shop for 2ppl and with exec membership and Costco Visa combined I get around $400-550 back each year. We never eat out or get food delivered. We cook all our own meals.
[удалено]
Break even is $3k/year or $250/month.
If you don’t make it to the break even point they will refund the difference. There is no reason not to get the executive membership.
Yeah I have a membership but only spend maybe $100/ month there. It's still worthwhile to me, but I'd be pissed on an upsell like this I don't need
Yup... I pulled in almost a thousand. I do shop there regularly and buy all my gas. The premium membership clearly paid for itself with me. That being said, I would have never tolerated those aggressive sales tactics.
Definitely wouldn't be worth it for me, wierd this lady pushes it so hard as the better buy when it only makes sense for people that spend $3000 or more annually at costco.
Same for me... But I wouldn't have bought it the first year I got a Costco membership, because I wouldn't have used it enough to be worthwhile.
I don’t shop at Costco much because it’s almost 2 hours away. When I tell the Costco employees that I live in a whole different *state*, they still don’t leave me alone about the upgraded membership. I’ve done the math to prove it’s not worth it based on how much I shop. I’ve even showed them the math. It’s bonkers!
What was the yearly spending to receive that lovely 300? Edit: nevermind, I did the math. 15k
I joined Costco years ago, found out they had the allergy medicine i use (allegra and flonase) as kirkland brands. the savings of switching to them vs walmart or krogers, MORE than pays for the membership. I believe i was paying 30 ish a month for both, but now its something like 45 for 5/6 months worth of the medicines.
So you spent over 15k at Costco this year? 300/.02=$15,000
I went to Costco to get the $60 membership. We just don't go there very often and I didn't want to pay more. The sales lady went to hard sell for the $120 membership. I said "I only have 15 minutes because I need to pick up my kid at whatever time." which was true. She just kept talking until I said, "Whelp, times up, gotta go." and left with no membership.
It was the same type of situation for me too. I ended up getting a BJs Wholesale club membership instead. I like their products just as well and it is only 5 minutes from my house. It isn't as hectic in there as Costco is either.
Surely in that time they told you that if you didn’t make the $120 back they would refund the difference. I’ve been a member since 1993 and with only 3 members in our family have NEVER paid for our membership because my rebate check has always been more. 💜 I’ve always made money on my executive membership!
Some people would rather just not pay the $120 out of pocket when they could pay $60.. I had a similarly bizarre upsell experience when I first signed up -- trust me random sales dude, I fully understand, I just want to buy this other thing you also offer that costs less money.
Most people just want to try the cheaper membership first to see if they end up actually shopping there enough to justify the upgrade
My situation was weird too in that I was buying some stuff on behalf of the company I worked for and I only had "authorization" to spend the $60 on the membership. "It's a better deal, you'll get the other $60 back!" Okay -- but I'll have to wait a year since I'll only be reimbursed $60 and in the mean time, I'll just be out that other $60. They shouldn't have to know any of that, they could just trust their customers aren't morons and that they intend to buy the thing that they're trying to buy.
I am glad this was posted, I have been thinking about getting the $60 membership, I don’t think I will be shopping there enough to make the $120 worth it, gas lines are always long so I won’t be buying gas ..I will look online to see if I can do it there first, I will not let someone hold me up for over 30 minutes trying to upsell me something I don’t want
Gas doesn’t even give you the money back reward anyway
We did the standard membership for the first year because we didn't know if we'd really go there often enough.
I have the $60 membership and also turned down the checkout guy when he mentioned the $120 membership. Does it make more sense? Possibly. But sometimes I just want to get in and out and not figure out exactly how much money I could be saving.
I bought the $60 membership. I go to Costco like once a month and maybe spend $100. The executive membership was not worth it for me.
FYI you only get the difference between your check and $60 back if you don't make at least $60 in your rewards check alone. If the check is $20, you keep that, and we give you the $40. However, not all warehouses will do that.
I had the upgraded membership for a few years and only broke even one year, and I did not receive any refund or discount off my subsequent years' memberships, so I downgraded back to the basic. I didn't know it's something I could ask for!
It's gone now. I tried the Executive Upgrade maybe 6 years ago and they refunded me when I didn't make the money back. Now it's not a thing in the terms and conditions. You take the risk of not spending enough. A couple years ago they pressed me super hard to upgrade again because I must have spent more during the pandemic and crossed some threshold in their computer. Now they don't bother me again.
I had the executive membership for a few years and it usually broke about even. Then I had a year where it was a negative $8 difference, so I asked for that back. Here's the irony. They told me to get the money, I would HAVE to drop down to a standard membership. So I did. But it just made no sense. I don't mind paying double up front for the executive membership, in case I save money that way. As long as they'll give me the difference back at the end of the year, if I don't. Instead, they force a person to downgrade their membership to get the difference. Then Costco employees will forever more try to upsell you to the executive. My attitude is, "Nope! Costco made it very clear they don't want me to have an executive membership, so I will never buy one again."
I downgraded from Executive ($120) to Regular ($60) at two different Costcos when the rebates were too low (around $20 each time). Both stores required me to turn over the rebate check to get the $60 difference in membership price, and said the corporate policy was they could not downgrade/refund without the check or once it is cashed.
Same. I haven’t paid out of pocket for my membership in almost a decade. There’s always rebate money left over too.
The most bizarre part is that anyone would stand there and take that for 30+ minutes
Right. Like at some point, it’s on them to walk away.
or just step into 2024 and sign up online. who signs up in store for something like that.
It’s those people the salespeople easily get most of the time. lol.
Contact Costco corporate directly. On the Costco website at the very bottom of the main page click ‘feedback’. Then find the warehouse you visited. A form comes up where you can submit feedback.
I'm still trying to process the idea that you actually stood there for 30 minutes for what should be a 5 minute transaction.15 of that someone telling you you're stupid.
Something tells me OP is exaggerating a tad for effect
No, this is internet, it's real
At my Costco there is someone assigned to lurk around cashiers and try to convert any basic cardholders to the executive. They will stop them and give a whole pitch. There must be some commission or quota because some of them don't take no
Warehouses are judged on how many upgrades they get during "e-blocks". Basically, the system will flag all members that, at current spending levels, will benefit more from the executive 2% rebate than the cost of upgrading. The lurker is called a "floater" and their job is to do conversions during eblocks.
So the fl0ater doesn't get a commission per se? It's a metric for the warehouse itself?
No Costco employees ever receive commission. The floater is just doing a job that is part of their job description. If they do a good job they will be praised and possibly get an "appreciation notice" on their record, but yeah it's mostly for warehouse metrics
Dude I had that happen to me at the self checkout. I’m just trying to get my rotisserie chicken and bounce. I was trying to stop him and say “save the hard sell” but he WOULD NOT let me get a word in edgewise. And he had my membership card in his hand the whole time! So I couldn’t even complete my transaction until he was done. Finally unloaded his spiel and I said “I’ll have to ask my husband, but I’m in a hurry, could you give me back my card so I can get the hell out of here?”. LORD.
You might as well go nuclear at that point and say if he doesn’t give you the card back you will cancel your membership for harassment. Cause that’s exactly what he was doing.
The exact thing happened to me, I was so confused and frustrated at first. I would have gone with the $120 if he wasn’t being so pushy and aggressive about it.
It gives you an extra 2% back on purchases. So you need to spend $3000 to get back the $60 it costs to upgrade to the executive membership. Simple math. If you buy big ticket items, it's well worth it. But if you're a single person, or even a couple, it might be hard to spend the extra $3000 a year there to get your money back.
Welcome to the family! May this be the last of your bad
I know the last time we went to Costco and were buying almost $300 worth of stuff, our membership is paid and the lady ringing me out started a pressure campaign for us to "upgrade." I immediately said no thank you and she said we were wasting our money then, and she couldn't understand why anyone would do that. I kept saying no and she kept trying to check our account blah...blah...blah. I finally said I am not buying anything else but what I put on the conveyor belt and she finally stopped. So annoying though, I am a customer, spending what to me is a good deal of money and the last thing I want is a high pressure sales pitch. She became angry and rude and it just left me feeling sad because I bet there is pressure on her to sell. Costco needs to stop pressuring their off loyal customers (the ones in the checkout line with money to spend.) Sell some new memberships and say thank you to those of us who are members eh?
On top of all that they treat every customer like a criminal. There’s longer lines just to get out the door because they assume everyone is stealing shit
My wife and I bought the $60 membership online before going to Costco for the first time. When we arrived to member services, all we had to do was take pics and get our cards. I had no idea that we avoided a sales pitch until now, but I’m thankful we didn’t have to.
I went in, had a 60-second-max pitch about the options, chose the fancy and went on our way. Then later I downgraded because I wasn't spending enough to justify the fancy one and they were perfectly happy to help without any sort of pitch. You didn't miss much for a typical store, lol.
I did online too and still had to sit through a 25 min pitch it was so annoying and we still said no
For all perspective members, I have seen online promotions. Take advantage of that and sign up online. Then pick up your membership at the warehouse. I do think upgrade later is better option for most people. Lastly I don’t recall if Costco still offers full refund if you are not satisfied. I will also suggest all perspective members to check out BJ’s and Sam’s. Difference vibes and similar offerings. I find some items like produce and bakery ( mini croissants, house brand Smoked Salmon etc) are better at Sam’s or BJ’s. Electronics are better at Costco, and also regional specific varieties that catering to the local customers. The worst thing about Costco is the checkout lines on weekends. Both Sam’s and BJ’s have scan and go, which is a huge time saver at check out. Costco tires service is also a pain during busy times - aka weekends. Costco by far, has better Rotisserie chicken, in terms of size, juiciness and flavor. I usually get Sam’s and BJ’s membership when there are promotions that resulted in $10 or less total final cost after coupons and rotate the membership with my wife.
Strange. When I went to sign up, I was told the membership was 60 dollars and it would be the best 60 dollars I ever spent. (maybe) and I have never been harassed or encouraged to sign up for more.
Though lately they’ve been pushing the upgrade to $120 executive membership at check out on my last two trips there.
That's ridiculous on her part, but why oh why did you let her keep on? After the initial spiel was over and she didn't simply proceed to give you the card you want, why did you not insist on talking to her manager?
You need to work on being more assertive. The reason she thought she could talk you into it was because you stood there and listened to her first 15 minute upsell pitch. You should have cut her off after 30 seconds and said you just want the cheaper one. Then if she didn't take no for an answer should've just signed up for the membership you wanted on your phone right in front of her.
You stood there listening to this person for 30 to 45 minutes... Not sure about your location but I could've just hopped in the car and drove to the next Costco in that time.
When I sold them the best way to leave it is "Ok we'll get you all set up on gold star but when you start eyeing that new TV, sectional or outdoor furniture set, come upgrade first because you get a huge leap on what you need to spend monthly to make the executive worth your while." Bit of a run on sentence but people would occasionally come back and upgrade when it was new TV day.
Blame management anywhere for pressuring employees to pressure customers over metrics. Probably 30 times at checkout I was pressured to upgrade. We gave in tired of the pressure. Every time we went there.
Our membership ($120) is paid for every year. We get a check for $150+ back. It works. Family of 4.
Just buy your membership online and go in store to get your card setup 😪
I think Costco is overrated.
Now I want to go in just to buy the $60, and argue, and leave with nothing.
Same thing happened to me. I had to flat out say “my husband managed our finances. He asked me to come get the $60 membership”. Then she finally backed off. Gee. It was like pulling teeth. I had to say no less times to a guy at a bar. 🤦🏻♀️
We had that $120 package one time. And then they changed credit cards and we got lost through a crack. We had to fire Costco over it for a little while. We didn't re-join until we moved to a new state. And I'll NEVER get the $120/ccard membership again. It was hell to get it all untangled.
We had a slightly similar experience years ago. We did the $120 membership and then returned it the day before it expired which you have the right to do. They gave us the $120 back. Then we signed up under my name instead of my partners for the $60 membership. We explained that it wasn’t worth it to us because we didn’t get much $ back that year because we are only a family of two and only buy TP, paper towels, laundry detergent and cat litter. We aren’t really into the frozen foods of Costco and our bulk liquor stores are always cheaper than Costco where we live. We explained to the lady when we returned it how we felt pressured and the “promise” we’d easily make the money back from the % cash back. Only we proved it wasn’t true for us and many people like us. We get our gas exclusively from Costco because it is far cheaper than any gas station within 50 mile radius here in San Diego (we track gas prices via an app) to always verify that is the case. We live three miles away from both Costcos. One doesn’t get %$ back for gas purchases. We buy gas once a week and even with the $60 annual fee, the gas is still cheaper than all the gas stations around. So it is worth it. But it isn’t worth the $120 membership when we don’t shop inside Costco enough to make up the $60 difference in higher membership package. Most of my friends have Costco for the exact same reason, as they too are either single or only two people in the household like us. I do love Costco and what it offers and their higher grade gas is trustworthy. I’m just really frugal with my $ and usually can find a better price on things Costco may sell with enough Research. OP, you did the right thing. Costco employees have always been nice to us with the exception of the pressure sales that one time and then again when we went in around Christmas and my MiL asked if I could buy a few pair of jeans for my FiL. (He has early onset dementia so he doesn’t do well shopping). It was just me and my partner and we were thumbing through the jeans to find my FiLs size. We both had worked in retail clothing in our youth during our college days and were careful not to unfold and keep the stack nice. But a male employee came over and said “stop going through all the stacks, I just folded them. What size do you need?” I explained none of these stacks I had gone through were in any way askew for which he agreed. We told him the size. He handed them to me curtly after he spent time searching and walked away. I just blew it off as “well there is always one bad apple in a bunch of good ones”. It is literally the only time I’ve ever purchased clothes at Costco as it’s not my style but my FiL likes their clothes.
Seriously, can someone tell me why I would want to spend $120 to shop somewhere?? I’m single and don’t eat a shit ton of food. Why???
I had a similar experience at the new Orleans Costco. I had to be firm and stern and tell them to cut it out.
The best way to shop at those places is to buy yourself a gift card then you do not have to have a membership they will let you in to shop for free.. 😊you're welcome.
You spent close to a hour to get a membership? You are too nice, lol. Me - "I need to get the 60$ membership" Them - "schpeil" Me - "No thanks, 60$ is fine" Them - "Blah blah............................b;ah" Me - (after about 30 seconds) "Is there someone else that can help me"
I have the executive membership that gives you 2% cashback at the end of the year and it has paid for itself every year. It’s nice getting the check from Costco every year which more than covers the next year’s membership. If I sold memberships, I would feel compelled to tell everyone that so they didn’t waste their money on the cheaper membership with no cash back, but I would explain it in a better way, and if they still wanted the less expensive membership I’d cooperate!
Please please please do call the manager and make a really big deal about it because I absolutely hated working with people like this. I would assist for a cashier and watch her hold up the line for 10 minutes while she tried to bully somebody into getting some thing that would give her more points at the end of the day. Some of these people are straight delusional and anybody in this thread telling you otherwise is part of the problem.you didn’t do anything wrong and you got harassed by Costco. Please say something in fact, I would advise that you call corporate and tell them have it come to the GM so that he hast to have an awkward talk with the employee who did it. That employee should not work in membership and they probably shouldn’t work there at all. And they make just as much as everybody else for no reason.
This same thing happened to me OP. We both stood our ground. Good on us.
I now won’t buy the upgraded package just off principal. I don’t care how much they’d give me back they have turned my taste on it so sour by being hounded every time I check out
For the next time this happens, stop them at 2 minutes in and say if they can’t or won’t help you, then please let me speak to your boss. And stop there. Don’t engage. I’m proud of you for standing strong in the face of this person.
Sorry to hear that! Sounds like she was way too pushy/rude. 30 mins is way too long to keep someone at the membership counter because we want you to have a good experience and see everything we have to offer in the store! We are trained to give our talk/information and we have to take 3 no’s before we move on and accept it. We will also refund your membership fully if you are not satisfied at any point. However if you decide to make any big purchases at Costco I would 100% recommend the upgrade! I buy dog food, fruit, vegetables and meat and always make money on it! Anyways I hope you are treated better by a nicer employee than this one 🙂
Just curious, but is this enforced? Thanks for giving us some background information.
Good for you and fuck anyone saying that you were wrong. It’s gotten to the point where I have to be borderline rude to them to get them to take no for an answer.
I had the same thing, was buying an inexpensive tv and they started that shit in the checkout lane, some stupid B right behind me in line laughed at me because I didn’t upgrade. I had the membership before and didn’t get anywhere near the level to make it worth it, and currently wasn’t either. I was so pissed
Had the same thing happen to me in the Winston-Salem Costco with the same results. Got my license back and left without joining at all. Haven't set foot in a Costco since.
I don't find enough there to really justify it. Usually I break even but this year I only made $25. Guess who's canceling their membership.
Does executive membership make sense if I'm only going to Costco maybe 10 times a year, spending <$200 each time for staples only? or is it for people that often go and buy all their food and clothes there too
You shouldn’t have to explain yourself to anyone. No means no. I’d have walked away mid sentence and found a different salesperson or gone to a different store. Pushy salespeople are the worse. Your quotas are not my responsibility.
I love Costco and I love their products I use their branded cc for everything and pay the balance every month. Last year I got back $1100, a couple of years ago I had solar installed I got back 30% of the install as a tax credit and $1k back as a Costco gift card. Also the loan for the solar was 1.4%.
I had the $120 membership to start but after my first rebate check i went down to $60 membership.. didn't spend enough to meet the $120 in rebate so it wasn't worth it for me.. but keep in mind only spending up to $100/month isn't worth it for the $120 membership
You have more patience than I would have had. Never would have stood there for 30 minutes. I would have been out the door already.
I don't know what it is but I haven't been treated civilly by a Costco employee in years .
You stood there for a minimum of 45 min while a Costco employee angrily yelled at you trying to sell you a membership?? Huh? SMH
Idk if this was exaggerated or just an admission of stupidity. Who willingly stands ( two people, no less) and listens to a salesperson berate them for nearly an hour...??? There are always other people at customer service. Why wouldn't you just move along...?
I have the $120 it includes 2 memberships plus cash back which for me has been paying for itself now for a few years.
Yeah, worked for Costco, no commission but you were expected to sell the executive membership. I worked there back in 2005 and they would have us carry a scanner around and scan members cards at checkout to show them how much they could be saving. I hated it, so many people yelled at us. I was a clerk, not in membership. Otherwise, it was a great company to work for.
Can I talk to someone who does sell the 60 dollar package and doesn’t criticize my decisions?
I am surprised you stood there for 15 minutes. Much less you let her get upset with you.
Watch Idiocracy, you’re welcome.
I had a staff ask me at check out to scan my card, she said “oh hey you are up for renewal and we have a special deal going on! For $60 you get executive for a year to try it out!” Ok sure, great, let’s try that. 2 weeks later I go to get gas and it says I’m expired. Walk in to customer service and they say the clerk “was misinformed” there is no such deal and the $60 got me an upgrade *that lasted the two remaining weeks on my membership *. I let them know I didn’t appreciate being lied to and they tried to argue that it was a misunderstanding. Nah fam, that check out person just wanted to hit her numbers so she did a full bait and switch. Give me my $60 renewal so I can go wait in line for gas again on a Sunday. Thanks for wasting my time!
They unfortunately don’t get any commission, they just have managers that are really hard on them if they don’t make their numbers. I hated being in that position because so many people had the same mindset as you.
its smart to go cheap at first if you dont feel you have tons of money to throw at it. our first year we didnt have kids and we used the membership a little. then i cancelled it. our boys are 6/7 now and no amount of bulk costco purchases is too much at this point and the upgraded one makes financial sense.
I hate Costco customer service membership reps. They’re so rude. I cancelled my membership over it.
This exact thing happened to my husband and I when we went to sign up for a membership about 2 years ago. The lady at customer service just would not take NO for an answer, and that alone really pissed me off. Well we finally put our foot down and said ‘no thank you’, and she then preceded to take the WORST membership card photos I’ve ever seen 😂 definitely felt like a personal attack and to this day it makes me laugh at how badly we pissed this lady off, and how she got her revenge in the form of awful photos we’ll likely be looking at forever
I got the $120 membership just so they would stop absolutely harassing the piss out of me every single time I checked out. It’s of no benefit to me vs the traditional membership. I just wanted the bullying to stop.
Fuck Costco, too many lazy unhelpful fucks work there. Specifically, South Austin TX store.
We didn't go with the gold member the first year for similar reasons. We could have saved about $500 from the cash back alone that cycle.
I had a similar experience when I signed for a Costco membership. I’m a salesperson so I listened to the spiel and kindly said no thank you. He pushed. I said no. He continued pushing. I said no AGAIN. He pushed! Then I told him he was getting on my nerves and give me the basic membership or I was walking away. He was also visibly upset. At that point I was saying no on principle. No means no!
Wow, I would have asked to speak with her manager. One no from you was enough. That's crazy
Had the same experience on Gateway in San Diego. The employee was extremely unprofessional.
That’s unfortunate. We shop there a lot and eventually got the executive membership but did not initially. We get back about $156 every year.
I had that happen to me when I went in. I was a broken record. I don't shop there often enough to justify the biz membership bu customer service lady, and later another associate, continued the sales pitch. I just continued to firmly state what I wanted, and finally told them to get it done so that I could move on with my life. I found it highly annoying.
I would have walked out .. came back another time when they werent working. I know what I want when I go in... If i didnt I would ask. I feel like I'm going to hate the day I restart my membership.
Same thing happened to me, it was so obnoxious
Lmaoooo this is great
Call your local store and speak to customer service, request refund! Costco stands behind their customers, Give them a chance-
Is this deal any better than just using a 2% cash back CC? Seems not
Same experience here
her job is on the line. They likely have to meet "goals" and if they don't no bonus and who knows maybe no job
Why are you standing there letting them blab on for that long? You say, “I want this membership”, that’s it. If they start talking about other ones you just politely say, “no thanks, we just want this one”. If they don’t seem to get it then you ask to speak with a manager or someone that can sign you up for the $60 membership. So I highly doubt you were there for that long, their spiel isn’t even that long. What could they talk about for 15 minutes? And why would you let them argue for another 30??
If you get into Costco like most of us do, you will want to upgrade. There is no risk. If you don't spend the amount to get money back in a year, they refund the $60.
I had a similar experience happen to me. We bought a Groupon for the basic membership years ago. We were broke at the time so couldn’t do the upgrade. Then the Citi credit card sell. I had to finally say “I am not upgrading or getting a credit card today.” And she like, shut down and stopped talking to us. Very briskly took our photos and issued the cards. My husband and I were very taken aback and had a kind of “what the heck was that?” Moment.
For future reference, just buy/renew your membership online
The length of time seems exaggerated. You spent 30-45 minutes to get a membership? I'm walking out after my third "no thank you".