5 Reasons Costco May Cancel Your Membership

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From Costco’s generous return policy to its ever-popular tasting stations, the retailer prioritizes customer satisfaction. But that doesn’t mean Costco will just let anything fly. Did you know that Costco reserves the right to cancel a membership at any time?

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Although Costco will refund membership fees when a cancellation occurs, it can be surprisingly difficult to rejoin. If you’re wondering what someone can do to get the warehouse giant to strip them of their membership, read on as Costco employees share their experiences.

Best known for helping shoppers protect their personal finances, Costco also has one of the best return policies in retail. Most items can be returned at any time, while specialty products such as electronics have a 90-day return period.

However, the warranty has limits. Occasionally, a customer abuses the store’s return policy to the extent that his or her membership privileges are revoked and the membership fee is refunded. Here’s an example of a Costco employee sharing the experience on Reddit:

Two guys approached customer service saying they wanted to return two televisions. This was the seventh or eighth time these men had returned in the last 90 days, always just before the 90-day mark. A quick-thinking general manager accepted the return and told the men, “Well, I guess the quality of our products isn’t up to your standards, so we hope you find a place that meets your needs.” The general manager placed a $55 membership fee refund on the counter and wished the gentlemen a good day.

When asked how a member could lose access to Costco’s great deals, a store employee named Certain-Marketing650 reported theft. The employee wrote that they found meat behind dry dog food. They reported the issue to their supervisor because they heard that a customer had lowered the prices of cheaper cuts of meat and put them on more expensive cuts. Later, the supervisor told the employee that they had found the fraudsters on camera and denied them access to the store.

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Verbally attacking 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 types of employee abuse that Costco employees on Reddit report witnessing:

An employee who goes by the handle Almcken says they once saw a person at the front door who had difficulty showing the greeter their membership card to enter. The manager intervened and gave the customer the choice of showing his card or canceling his membership. With Costco rolling out a new system that requires members to scan their cards upon entry, there’s really no reason to be snarky.
Another employee told the story of seeing members yelling at a manager. The manager pointed to his radio and told the angry customers that the entire transaction had been recorded. He further informed them that their membership was being canceled and refunded.
Frecklesofaginger shared their experience as a “monster lady” at Costco for five years. “We had a member who sneaked up to us and tickled us. After repeatedly being told to take it off, he did it again. Told our supervisor, who went to the store manager. The manager took the man’s card and escorted him out.”

A Costco employee named CostcoPanda shared the following:

“I had a member come to the counter while I was finishing asking to cancel the membership. He was about 10 months into it, but if you know me, you know I stand by the return policy 100%.”

CostcoPanda returned the membership fee to the member, who said, “Just take that and sign up again.” When CostcoPanda looked at them questioningly, 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 didn’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 he was indeed canceling his membership once a year and immediately renewing it. The Costco employee says they deactivated the account due to a “policy violation,” meaning it can’t be restarted without the manager canceling the account.

Once you’ve gotten through the checkout, the last thing you want to do is wait in another line to show your receipt to an employee standing at the exit. Employees check these receipts to ensure that all purchases have been made correctly. It may not feel critical, but it’s a way Costco can keep its prices low. Speeding past the person checking the receipts violates the Costco membership terms and may result in cancellation.

If you plan to remain a Costco member in good standing, avoid dealing with the items on this list. Want to make your time as a Costco member all the more rewarding? Click here to learn more about how to maximize your Costco membership.

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5 Reasons Costco May Cancel Your Membership was originally published by The Motley Fool