For decades, Costco has done a good job of keeping members happy. However, the store can revoke your membership for any of these reasons. Read on to learn more. [[{“value”:”
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From Costco’s generous return policy to its ever-popular sample stations, the retailer prioritizes customer satisfaction. But that doesn’t mean Costco will let just anything fly. Did you know that Costco retains the right to cancel a membership at any time?
Although Costco refunds the membership cost when a cancellation occurs, it can be surprisingly difficult to become a member again. If you’re wondering what someone can do to cause the warehouse giant to strip them of membership, keep reading as Costco employees share their experiences.
1. Abusing Costco’s return policy
Costco, best known for helping shoppers protect their personal finances, also features one of the best return policies in retail. Most items can be returned anytime, while specialty products like electronics have a 90-day return window.
The guarantee does have limits, though. Occasionally, a customer abuses the store’s return policy to such a degree that their membership privileges are revoked, and the membership cost is refunded. Here’s one example from a Costco employee sharing the experience on Reddit:
Two guys approached the customer service desk saying they wanted to return two televisions. This marked the 7th or 8th TV these men had returned in the previous 90 days, always just before the 90-day mark. A quick-thinking general manager accepted the return and said to the men, “Well, I guess the quality of our products isn’t up to your standards, so we hope you find somewhere that fits your needs.” The general manager laid a membership fee refund of $55 down on the counter and wished the gentlemen a good day.
2. Theft
When asked how a member might lose access to Costco’s amazing deals, a store employee referred to as Certain-Marketing650 mentioned theft. The employee wrote that they’d found meat stashed behind dry dog food. They turned the issue over to their supervisor because they’d heard about a customer taking prices off less expensive cuts of meat and putting them on more expensive cuts. Later, the supervisor told the employee they found the fraudsters on camera and banned them from the store.
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3. Employee abuse
Verbally assaulting or threatening a store employee is never cool, and at Costco, it can lead to the cancellation of your membership. Here are three examples of the kind of employee abuse that Costco employees on Reddit report witnessing:
An employee going by the handle almcken says they once saw a person at the front door giving the greeter a hard time about having to show their membership card to enter. The manager intervened, giving the customer the choice of showing their card or canceling their membership. Now that Costco is rolling out a new system that requires members to scan their cards upon entering, there’s really no reason to be snarky.Another employee told the story of seeing members screaming at a manager. The manager pointed to his radio and informed the angry customers that the entire transaction had been recorded. Further, he told them their membership was being canceled and refunded.Frecklesofaginger shared their experience as a “sample lady” at Costco for five years. “We had a member that would sneak up and tickle. After being told repeatedly to knock it off, he did it again. Told our supervisor, who went to the store manager. The manager took the guy’s card and escorted him out.”
4. Rigging your membership
A Costco employee called CostcoPanda shared the following:
“I had a member come to the desk while I was over Membership asking to cancel. He had used about 10 months of it, but if you know me, you know I stand behind the return policy 100%.”
CostcoPanda returned the membership fee to the member, who said, “Just take that and sign me up again.” When CostcoPanda gave them a questioning look, the member admitted that they make the same move every year because they “don’t believe in membership fees.” They went on to say that if the Costco employee wouldn’t sell them a new one-year membership, they would “just go to another store.”
After checking the customer’s membership history, the employee realized that they did, indeed, cancel and immediately renew their membership once a year. The Costco employee says they deactivated the account for a “policy violation,” meaning it can’t be restarted without a manager’s override.
5. Speeding past the receipt checker
Once you’ve made it through the checkout line, the last thing you may want to do is wait in another line to show your receipt to an employee standing near the exit. Employees check those receipts to ensure all purchases have been correctly rung up. It may not feel critical, but it’s one way Costco can keep its prices low. Speeding past the person checking receipts violates the terms of Costco membership and can lead to cancellation.
If you plan to remain a member of Costco in good standing, then avoid engaging in the items on this list. Want to make your time as a Costco member all the more rewarding? Click here to learn how to maximize your Costco membership.
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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Dana George has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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