Target reducing Self Checkout

Off-topic Chatter
81

As a standard customer, why should I feel upset because someone else cost-shares with their college roommate or something? I have a membership because the math worked out that the savings outweighed the cost of membership. Some friends and roommates do the same thing as a group because they buy in low volumes. They aren’t going to go out and buy separate memberships if Costco forces the issue. Also, if someone sends their kid with a driver’s license to pick something up from Costco, that should 1000% be allowed.

 

None of these scenarios apply to me. However, I am being affected by Costco’s obtuse policies. It is entirely Costco’s fault for not figuring out a way to fix this “problem” without affecting the customers already following the rules.

 

I’m sure that Costco would like me to be offended. Maybe that’s why their solution affects me. They hoped that I would apply social pressure to these other shoppers thus fixing Costco’s problem for them. Well, it’s not happening. I’m probably going to drop my membership. I do not like being bothered when I’m shopping and Costco can SHOVE IT

82

My gf used to take me with her if I wanted to get something from there. I don’t think there was any picture on the card back then, but then again I never looked. Point is, there shouldn’t be any real difference if I go with her and pick up what I might want, or just ask her to pick up something for me then I’d pick it up from her and pay her back then.

Point being that there has to be a closeness to begin with, whether family, friend, roommate, etc., vs just handing out your card to some rando on the street to buy stuff at a discount.

Other than those cinderblock-sized packages of cheddar cheese, I don’t think I ever really “needed” anything from there, as a lot of items were just as pricy per oz as in supermarkets, but just in bigger packages. But like who needs katchup in a 5gal pail like it’s sidewalk-sealer?

83

Well since we’re sharing pet peeves, why do I have to pull my license out every single time I purchase beer in Wegmans? There is no mistaking I’m of age.

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84

Well that one is easy, because PLCB fines are huge.
If the business is smart as Wegmans is, they demand every employee card Every customer every time so they can never be cited for failure to prove age requirement.
Have no problem with that one. As long as they are consistent no one can bawl discrimination of any kind. Another product of those lovely bloodsucking Lawyers.
First time going bar hopping at Penn State the doorman said “For real, I will card my Grandmother”
Laughed at that one and never forgot it.

85

I read Costco makes it’s most money on membership fees. Netflix and others are all cracking down on sharing. I also read that if there is a pharmacy in the store you can enter without being a member so why not just check your card when you buy something. That’s what Sams is doing in our store.

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86

:rofl: I don’t blame him… With something like that, it is a matter of what the law demands. No problem with that for me.

87

That is basically what Costco was doing all the years before they had self-checkouts. You had to present the card to the cashier at time of ringing up the sale and payment. I’m relatively certain when they scanned the bar code they were also looking at the picture on the card. The cards have had a picture as far back as I can recall; decades.

88

My store also asks for your card at the door. They use a clicker to keep track of members in the store for some reason.

89

Could be fire regulations. There are occupancy limits

90

Netflix is a little different because they actually tweeted “Friendship is sharing a password” a few years ago. I didn’t think much of them then gaslighting people recently and pretending like they’ve always had a hard stance on account sharing.

Ultimately, the reason I don’t have a Netflix account anymore is because
A) I want UHD and the only plan with UHD is the most expensive plan
B) the extra screens included in the top plan can only be used at one location–useless for a single person

I guess they are making more money now, so as far as they are concerned it worked. But I know I’m not the only person who doesn’t have an account for the reasons I mentioned.

If they introduced a tier with 1 concurrent screen and UHD for $12.99 a month I’d sign up.

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91

Hmm but why the need to see the card then?

92

I tried googling if it is a Pa rule and it isn’t except in certain circumstances. That’s the part I could not determine. Only special licenses are required and these relatively new class of license may be one of them. They could do it like tobacco products where if you don’t look an age way higher than the minimum you get carded. Pa. alcohol laws are messed up anyway. Like buying a 12 pack and setting it outside and going back in for another because they only can sell one at a time. Can’t wait til they legalize pot to see what convoluted restrictions they put on that. Stand on your head and wiggle your toes kind of thing I’m sure.

93

Because you joined a Club. As in private club. Belonged to an Italian dinner club one time, had excellent very reasonable priced food by the way, and yes indeeddy you had to show your card every time you went.

This is really no different than any other Credit Card, App, etc. that you have ever agreed to. “I agree to the Terms and Conditions”

Now if you want your picture off the Costco card that is rather simple. They do not require it for Amish people who use the Ell out of it and don’t even ask.
Just tell them it is against your current Religious Convictions to be photographed. They are not even allowed to ask which Religion that would be.

Life’s too Short man, just roll with this one…
P.S. At Walmart I just hold my receipt up in the air nice and high and say convincingly “Read 'Em and Weep” and they just wave me bye and off I go.
Could be last weeks receipt really, but it is not, not a grifter.
Have fun with it! :slight_smile:

94

The problem is not that they want to see the card, it’s that it needs to be seen twice for reasons beyond the control of the customer.

Now if you want your picture off the Costco card that is rather simple. They do not require it for Amish people who use the Ell out of it and don’t even ask.
Just tell them it is against your current Religious Convictions to be photographed. They are not even allowed to ask which Religion that would be.

That’s hilarious actually. Good idea :smiley:

95

The legalize Pot thing in PA, That will have to have it’s own thread. :slight_smile:
No self checkout there !!!

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96

You aren’t a customer. Costco will never refer to you as a customer. They’re very strict about that. You’re a member. You buy a membership. Like a gym membership.

If one kid’s dad has a gym membership could he use it to get himself and his 5 roommates in? Definitely not.

And like I said, Costco makes their money from memberships. If less people have memberships they need to get the money by raising prices on items. Then you would be footing the bill for their free membership. But if they raise prices on items nobody will buy a membership. The whole system collapses. No more Costco.

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97

But that’s just it; it’s not a zero-sum game.

Let in 5 buddies on your gym membership, even individually vs as a group, and they’re using up finite resources. They’re using the machines, tossing towels in the laundry, using water for showers (I’d hope), and just in general taking up space in a limited/finite setting.

And what happened with Netflix’s “sharing is caring” where they encouraged password sharing even for adult kids away at college, and other “friends”. Now, they want to “crack down” on password-sharing. They’re pulling a Matallica. I literally don’t know anyone who got “cracked down” on and ended up buying their own Netflix subscription. Not saying it doesn’t happen, but I doubt it’s as frequently as they hoped it’d be.

But as I mentioned, it really doesn’t affect anyone if I take my sister’s shopping-list and pick up what she needs, as her proxy, or just hand off my card (if I had one) to her to do her own shopping. She’d be unlikely to buy a membership if I stopped doing that, as she just buys from Home Direct or whatever.

Maybe people do intentionally share a single membership, whether it’s Netflix or Costco. Take away the sharing, and it might not be worth hanging on to, even the main purchaser. So instead of having 1 now, and getting 2 or more subscriptions after any “crackdown”, then end up with 0 instead.

Ages and ages ago, I was in on one of those “gas club” dealies, where you buy in and get a card which allows X off each gallon of gas at “participating stations”. It paid as long as the membership cost was shared, as the local Gasatorium was a bit more expensive than the Sunoco down the street, and getting 10% off would only pay if you used a decent amount of gas and the membership wasn’t too pricey. So share with 3 other people/cars, and the membership cost is quartered.

They then required linking the membership to A license plate. So if you had 2 cars, you had to buy 2 memberships. We dropped out, and less than 2 years later the program collapsed.

Funny thing is, before the restriction, I was heading home with a cow-orker who needed to gas up, I got off the expressway first but he’d continue on, so I told him to follow me in. The guy at the gas station even held the nozzle while cow-orker for 20bux worth and handed me a 20, and I topped off in my car the rest of the way.

So it wasn’t that gas stations were balking at people “sharing” memberships, as they sold more gas. It must’ve been those running the program getting greedy and wanting more memberships.

98

It seems like you are not understanding or not giving sufficient credence to the statement, or the fact that Costco makes there money on membership fees. So if members abuse the terms of membership, members are going to lose out. The personal membership has always had a 2 person limit, and I believe they had to be at the same address. The Costco business account allowed for multiple extra people but each card jas a fee. It’s all spelled out in terms of membership…They may have changed what they enforce, or how, but they have not changed the rules.

99

Costco’s single biggest source of profit is memberships, thus they’re keen to limit borrowing of membership cards.

In my experience, scanning your membership card is part of the transaction workflow - be it a staffed checkstand or self checkout. A gift card might suffice for this step at a self checkout terminal although I do not know that it will then allow for cash payment.

The photos on the IDs I’ve had are - generously - 256•256, dithered ~2-bit B/W so they could be almost anyone when viewed for a moment at a ~1m; admittedly mine is >10 yrs old so this could have changed since. Whether the presumably better-quality original photo was retained and displays on the POS screen at a staffed checkstand or customer service terminal is another matter.

100

Was in Walmart tonight. An estimated 30+ self-checkouts that all took plastic only. I asked an employee if all of the self-checks were “card only” and she said yes. There was one checkout with a clerk. You can imagine what that one looked like. Not a customer friendly place.