Costco wants non-members to stop eating and drinking at its outdoor food court. For years, the outdoor food court has allowed customers without membership cards to order a roll-up of the retailer’s popular $1.50 hot dog and soda combo.
According to a photo sign posted outside a Costco outdoor food court in Orlando, Florida. redditthe company quietly began a crackdown on who can eat at the wholesaler’s popular outdoor food courts at 18 locations.
“Starting April 8, 2024, you will need a valid Costco membership card to purchase items in the food court,” the sign reads, notifying customers that they can join today at the “membership counter.” It had been.
Previously, Costco staff strictly checked membership cards only when people entered the store, so only members could eat at the indoor food court.
However, employees at outdoor food courts were known to rarely check membership status. the hill Previously reported.
Representatives from several Costco stores confirmed that the store plans to more strictly enforce its membership system going forward, and several stores have approved the use of new signage in their food courts.
According to The Hill, a company representative claimed that all 18 Costco stores with outdoor food courts had been instructed to ask food court customers to verify their membership status.
In another effort to help Costco members maintain their elite status, the company is testing an autonomous membership card scanner at a location next to its headquarters in Issaquah, Washington, where a photo of the card will be scanned upon entry. We have confirmed that it matches the person who will be using it. shop.
Costco Insider, a website that claims to be inspired by its readers, shared news of the new technology earlier this year, and received mixed reactions from the retailer’s loyal shoppers.
One Costco shopper replied with an X, “That’s great for people who have a regular membership,” but a Facebook user said, “That would mean long lines and frustrate people. I think it will be!” he added.
The good news is that Costco announced earlier this month that it would keep membership fees at their current prices.
Costco charges $60 or $120 a year for basic and executive memberships, respectively, but former finance chief Richard Galanti did not rule out future price increases.
When Costco reported that its total number of cardholders increased to 132 million at the end of the second quarter, an increase of 7.3% over the same period, Galanti said on the company’s second quarter earnings call, “It’s not the time for that to happen, it’s not yet.” one year ago.
Galanti further talked about future member price increases, joking that Costco “will definitely do it at some point.” [Gary Millerchip’s] Look at the watch, not mine.
In his last act at Costco, Mr. Galanti was praised for maintaining the $1.50 price on the company’s famous hot dog and soda deals. This price has been the same since 1985, the same year Mr. Galanti was appointed CFO.
Gary Millerchip, Kroger’s former chief financial officer, replaced Galanti on March 15, retiring after nearly 40 years.
Membership numbers, the retailer’s main source of revenue, have not increased since 2017.
Costco makes about $4 billion or more annually from fees associated with its membership cards. Its official policy is that anyone with a membership card can bring up to two guests on each visit.
Representatives for Costco, which operates 871 warehouses in the United States and Puerto Rico, did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
