Ky and I joined a cult today. Like all cults, they don’t describe themselves as one, but it’s definitely a cult. They lure you in with a “too good to be true” message, and boom, you’ve signed your life away, at least for a year.
I’m talking, of course, about CostCo.
I could talk day about first trip there, but instead I wanted to focus on the signup process.
For the uninitiated, CostCo is a members only supermarket. It’s not exclusive, any household that can muster together $65 can join. However, the process of getting said membership, or more specifically, the membership card, is a hassle.
We went in person, having already signed up and paid online. Surely this would only take a few minutes now that we have arrived. No. Very much no.
First off, the line. It moved slowly, which we just put down to incompetence on the side of the individual, not the corporation. How many times have you had to check-in in person at an airport where each person takes 5 minutes+ to be served, and when you turn up, you’ve completed everything within 45 seconds? In our instance, this was not the case.
The lady who eventually served us provided equally the best and worst customer service of our lives. On one hand, she talked us through every deal, and how to maximize our membership. She had recently even acquired a car through CostCo, wouldn’t you know, but her husband wanted a particular car that wasn’t available, so they had to go to Nebraska to pick it up.
Along with explaining what deals were available, she also told us the following:
- Which church she goes to at 9am on Sunday
- Which church she goes to at 11am on Sunday
- How much she dislikes credit scores (while simultaneously trying to sign us up for the store credit card)
- How she had to supplement her child during breast feeding
- How the CostCo app works
- Which aisle the coffee beans are in
Really, she was a wonderful person, but the experience REALLY shouldn’t have taken 45 minutes.
We have the cards now, so it’s one and done, but for those who are considering joining CostCo, perhaps go at 11am on a weekday.