Unless there has been a recent change that I'm not aware of, Costco membership is not required to get prescription meds at the pharmacy -- the only Costco service that I know of, that does not require membership.

I'm not sure how they handle this at the store entrance. I don't use the Costco pharmacy; Publix grocery pharmacy is more convenient for me, and Costco does not have a price advantage over Publix, for my Rx stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Unless there has been a recent change that I'm not aware of, Costco membership is not required to get prescription meds at the pharmacy -- the only Costco service that I know of, that does not require membership.

I'm not sure how they handle this at the store entrance. I don't use the Costco pharmacy; Publix grocery pharmacy is more convenient for me, and Costco does not have a price advantage over Publix, for my Rx stuff.

In the case of our local Costco, the pharmacy area is within the 'membership' zone of the store.

My wife and I have two memberships; we share one with our daughter and one with our younger son. Bought a membership for my sister this year.
Yes, we had a run on TP that was completely due to hoarding.

But overall I think Costco is amazing in accomplishing what it does with its business model. Compare it with WalMart.
Costco staffers--I admit they're hard to find inside the store when you have a question--are invariably working hard but seem to be enjoying their work. We are encouraging our younger son to apply to work at Costco because of that. Yep, self-check-out is actually assisted self check-out, which greatly speeds things up. And the regular checkers are very fast; box things up for us and chat with us at the same time.
Their deals on tires and batteries are great.
In SoCal we have CostCo car washes--you get a top of the line wash with ceramic wax for $7.99.
Now if only their meat were as cheap as it used to be.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:

CostCo car washes

Wow! I would love to see that here, at the nearby Costco location. Another thing that some Costco locations have, is EV charging stations. Per the local Costco warehouse manager, we're not likely to see those here.

Here's the video I referenced in my earlier post. NSFW warning:

It's been like at least 10 years when they started requiring you to go through the entrance instead of the exit.

For lunch, a co worker and me would sometimes go get a costco pizza or hot dog. My wife had the membership at the time and we didn't have the membership on the back of the credit card. One time we got stopped. Explained we were just there for the food and still no go. We just waiting for someone who was going in and asked if we could walk in with them.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Unless there has been a recent change that I'm not aware of, Costco membership is not required to get prescription meds at the pharmacy -- the only Costco service that I know of, that does not require membership.

I'm not sure how they handle this at the store entrance. I don't use the Costco pharmacy; Publix grocery pharmacy is more convenient for me, and Costco does not have a price advantage over Publix, for my Rx stuff.

In CA membership is not required for the pharmacy or to buy alcohol. When doing either people tell the door checker and get access that way. They aren’t allowed to buy anything else.

Here in Central Texas I have no doubt that card sharing is a problem.

Are they using the scanners at the entrance to the Costco you frequent?

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
Here's the video I referenced in my earlier post. NSFW warning:

Meh. Lying a bunch in that thing. The milk, eggs, bread, meat, fish, chicken, fruit, are always in the same exact area. Actually 90+% of what I buy never moves. Once in a while (once a year maybe) yeah they’ll move something I regularly buy but it’s usually 1 aisle over. Skip the electronics and the bullshit foo-foo stuff and it’s 10 minutes from door to exit. That video had loads of sensationalism. Didn’t even bring up gasoline cost. I’m not wearing anything that says Kirkland on it either or pimping my card at the bar. I do check the clothes, quickly, to see if they have any of my workout gear, or maybe a pair of slacks or polo for work clothes. Sometimes they get the really nice brands and it’s massively discounted, even less than the outlet stores here.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Unless there has been a recent change that I'm not aware of, Costco membership is not required to get prescription meds at the pharmacy -- the only Costco service that I know of, that does not require membership.

I'm not sure how they handle this at the store entrance. I don't use the Costco pharmacy; Publix grocery pharmacy is more convenient for me, and Costco does not have a price advantage over Publix, for my Rx stuff.

I just smile as I pass. If they ask for the card I just say I am picking up prescriptions and keep moving.

Costco here has switched to full self ordering at the food court.
Not sure if you have to swipe your card to start and order.

Costco.....Pizza..... are you kidding...is it any good? You must live pretty close to get it home hot...around here it take 5 minutes to just get out of the parking lot and the closest one to me is at least 20-25 minutes...Pizza is only fresh once, let it cool and reheat it and it's just leftover pizza..

I'm a Pizza Nazi, I grew up around NYC and now live in Jersey, both are the Pizza Meccas of the universe. I'm lucky enough to have 3 really great places within 5-10 minutes and a number of so-so ones... Having a Brooklyn with Sausage tonight...Might even have a cold beer with it, in a Pilsner glass of course,,,LOL

60

quote:

Originally posted by 1860ARMY:

Costco.....Pizza..... are you kidding...is it any good? You must live pretty close to get it home hot...around here it take 5 minutes to just get out of the parking lot and the closest one to me is at least 20-25 minutes...Pizza is only fresh once, let it cool and reheat it and it's just leftover pizza.

The Costco location that's about five minutes from my house has outdoor seating at the food court, so I can get a large slice of pizza ($1.99) or a 1/4 lb hot dog and a beverage ($1.50), sit at a table and enjoy my cheap lunch while it's hot.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Costco here has switched to full self ordering at the food court.
Not sure if you have to swipe your card to start and order.

No member swipe needed to use the food order kiosk at ours.

quote:

Originally posted by 1860ARMY:
Costco.....Pizza..... are you kidding...is it any good? You must live pretty close to get it home hot...around here it take 5 minutes to just get out of the parking lot and the closest one to me is at least 20-25 minutes...Pizza is only fresh once, let it cool and reheat it and it's just leftover pizza..

For a large pizza, it's significantly cheaper than the other pizza chains, and with 3 kids, 1 large is enough for the 5 of us usually.
Most of the time, we'll call in an order for a whole pizza while we're headed to the checkout, but occasionally we'd just need something quick/easy for dinner & I'd run up to pick one up. The latter is not an option anymore, per the OP [or we'll have to see if they'll issue a 3rd card on the acct].

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
I've been able to enter via the exit, pay & pick up to go.

Last time, they have scan her card, and no problem, for a pizza & left.
Tried today & got stopped by the door guard/greeter.
Card holder must be present for entry.

Do they have someone checking memberships at the exit for people who doing returns? I've never seen that before. If you can enter through the exit for returns, then you should be able to sneak over to the food court as well w/o someone for checking membership cards.

The local Costco to us makes merchandise returners go through the entry door and scan their card. Went through that last week with a too big storage bin that I returned. They no likey ANYONE going through the exit, whether to the return/membership counter or to the food court.

Once the membership card is scanned at the entry, the scanner shows a nice big facial pic of the card holder. I know one of the guys (a former coworker at the gun shop) at our local warehouse and he let me look at my mug of the scanner screen on a day he was doing the greeting thing.

My Costco card has my pic and is dated from 2000. Every time they look at it crossways and say you want a new one ? Nah I’m good. Wife and I go about every 2-3 months usually to get their dog food and then spend 400$ more on 20 items. Wonder when they will crack down on sharing cards for gas. License plate readers ?! My Costco is far enough away not to go there for gas except when we are shopping. But in another state I used to live close enough to Costco that it would be my regular fill up and they were fully a dime or more cheaper than anywhere else in town

I was at my local Costco in Limerick, PA last week and noticed they have the scanners now, along with people standing there like before. Never noticed that before so they must be new. The self-checkouts are a newer thing too and I love them since I rarely buy whole cartloads of stuff there.

I doubt they will install license plate readers.

quote:

Originally posted by SW_Sig:
I doubt they will install license plate readers.

I wish they would and ban California plates

So it's basically theft, entering without paying the fee of admittance (membership) and taking advantage of reduces benefits offered to members only.

I pay for membership, why should anyone who doesn't pay get to come in and get the benefits of lower cost food/services/benefits that are reserved for paying members.

If enough non members do it then the anticipated cost of providing the service will exceed accountings estimates and the price of membership will go up to cover these costs, and/or the cost of the product will rise for paying members, or, the service will have to end.

If you're not a member then either buy a membership so you're contributing to the costs, or, GTFO and go pay full price on the street and stop eating food there for a discount off of the backs of paying members..