Costco Is Making More Big Changes & Some Customers Are Outraged
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For anyone who may have thought that Costco was bluffing when it was announced that the warehouse was considering mandatory membership card scans for entry, we've got some bad news. Months after the warehouse began testing membership scanners at a location in Issaquah, Washington, they've announced that they'll soon be at your local Costco.
“Over the coming months, membership scanning devices will be used at the entrance door of your local warehouse,” Costco said in a statement posted on its website. “Once deployed, prior to entering, all members must scan their physical or digital membership card by placing the barcode or QR Code against the scanner.”
Additionally, guests must be accompanied by a valid member for entry.
When the membership scan test was announced in January, it was met with mixed emotions from customers. Some welcomed the change, while others were concerned about potential inconveniences like long waits for entry.
But on the contrary, a new policy Costco implemented during the summer of last year to attempt to curb membership-card sharing was met with absolute rage.
In June 2023, the warehouse began its crackdown on membership sharing by asking to see photo identification when a person checks out using their card if there is no photo on the back of it. In response to the new policy, some members threatened to cancel their subscriptions.
If your card doesn't have a photo, Costco says you should be prepared to show a valid photo ID. They company is also telling shoppers without photos on their cards to go to the membership counter and ask to have their photo taken.
Despite these various tweaks to Costco's membership policies, members were met with one of the biggest changes yet when it was revealed a few weeks ago that Costco would be increasing the price of membership for the first time since 2017.
Beginning September 1, the annual cost of a membership will increase from $60 to $65 for Gold Star and Business members, and from $120 to $130 for Executive members.
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