Scumbags abuse Costco’s return policy. These are the people you shop with.
Great Hasan Minhaj line during the WH correspondents’ dinner on whether he thinks his dad should be president:
My dad, Najme Minhaj? The guy who tries to return used underwear to Costco?
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I have a Costco very close to me but crowds are too much. Walmart…never. BJ’s had been great. I use their app and always find clipless coupons. The crowds are not bad at all. Plus I use their credit card for 3% cash back.
I’m there quite often actually as I eat a lot of fruit. That and lack of lines and it’s my go to place.
Honestly like a lot of these places the trick is to know what you want to buy and don’t deviate from that.
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Went to Costco and Safeway tonight (Halloween). Cashiers were idling at both stores.
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In costume?
Normally busy cashiers dressed up as idling cashiers.
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I guess this article is meant for customers and former employees to be proud of Costco. What’s the real reason Costco employees check receipts at the exit? I don’t believe that if you’re overcharged by a small amount, a receipt checker would be able to catch it unless he/she is a savant and knows the price associated with every SKU. They don’t spend enough time looking at each receipt to save consumers money or catch shoplifters.
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You are 100% right, they aren’t checking on price accuracy. Costco has really gone downhill on management clearance items (end in .00), and even normal clearance items (end in .97). At least half the time the price at the register doesn’t reflect the price tag.
This behavior is not even remotely exclusive to Costco shoppers.
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Usually the receipt checkers look at the item count at the bottom of the receipts, then make sure it matches in the count. I don’t expect them nor do they normally verify that the item on the receipt matches the item in the cart.
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A friend and I used to separate purchases at the register, but go out with one cart. We would only show one receipt at checkout. We were never questioned even though, according to the receipt, we only paid for half the items in the cart.
You must have a more honest face than I.
A long time ago, I walked out of Fry’s Electronics after making a purchase and bypassed the receipt checker. It was quite freeing but I wouldn’t recommend trying this at Costco. They would probably lose their shit.
Regular stores cannot require receipt checks. They either have cause to detain you as a suspected shoplifter, or you are free to leave. Had a big to-do about this at Walmart once, involving a 3-day old baby and handicapped grandma, prevented from leaving when ‘the receipt’ had ran ahead to pull the car up to the front.
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Yep. I believe the legal term of interest is “false imprisonment”. I think it doesn’t apply at membership stores because it’s a condition of membership (and I’m guessing non-members have to accept it too? I dunno).
And if you ever find yourself accused of shoplifting, never allow their “loss prevention department” to detain you in a backroom of the store. That is where you will be threatened and held hostage until you sign a written confession. They will take away your cell phone and no one will hear you scream.
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I have a similar attitude about beeps that sound when exiting the store because the cashier forgot to deactivate some tag (ink-filled clothing devices excepted). I do not understand why people have a Pavlovian response upon hearing the beep to stop and look around for help of some kind. If you are certain you have paid for the items, keep walking. The beep will be out of earshot soon. I am not going to wait around while somebody rummages through my property.
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I dream of this happening. Adds more zeros to the inevitable settlement…
I’m guessing it’s social norms. People do not like to or want to be accused of stealing. The beeper is the accuser and puts you on the defensive, so you stop and look back at the cashier.
There’s an episode of The Real Hustle where they demonstrate how to fool the beeper – you steal a bunch of stuff and hang out between the cashiers and the exit, then drop something into a bag of another shopper who already paid for his stuff and walk right behind him. As his beeper goes off and he turns around, you walk right past him. Disclaimer: this probably doesn’t work at all stores and the big stores have cameras. Don’t steal!
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I don’t shop at Costco, so I don’t know what you guys are referencing when you’re talking about the receipt checker. I’ve been stopped at the door maybe a dozen times in my whole life where someone asked to see my receipt. They had no reason to believe I was shoplifting and were just doing their job. The last thing I would want to do is act like I was trying to avoid them or, even worse, refuse to comply. Now they are going to think I am shoplifting and might claim I did something even if I didn’t. Not worth it.
As for the beeping, one time when I knew I paid for my item, it beeped and I ignored it. I had to drive back to the store the next day because the tag was still on my coat. Now I stop when I hear the beep and check my bags so I don’t have to make a return trip.