Costco Claims Its Controversial New Front-Door Policy Has Major Benefits for You
Costco shoppers have never been shy about sounding off against the warehouse club when they're displeased with a product, service, or an aspect of the overall shopping experience. But in a twist that's sure to surprise some Costco critics, the company just revealed that a new front-door policy that has been inspiring controversy actually has some major benefits for shoppers.
Back in January, Costco introduced new membership card scanners at the entrance of its flagship warehouse in Issaquah, Wash. The devices display a member's photo for employees to check, only after which they're allowed to enter the warehouse. This was a big adjustment for shoppers since they previously only had to flash their cards to a Costco worker before heading inside—and the change has inspired a fiercely divided reaction.
For example, some customers worried that the scanners would create larger crowds and more congestion in Costco's warehouses. In contrast, others have defended Costco's decision to scan cards at the door and hoped that it would prevent non-members from making it inside.
"It is extremely quick to scan the card. I've had no delays or issues," a shopper wrote on Reddit.
"I get it, there are people out there that try to work the system and enter without a membership. I'd rather have them turned away at the entry as opposed to the checkout," another Redditor said.
Since January, Costco has been installing the new membership card scanners at more and more warehouses across the United States. And in a Sept. 26 earnings call, the company revealed some of the ways that these scanners are improving the Costco shopping experience.
CFO Gary Millerchip said that the devices give Costco warehouses "real-time traffic counts throughout the day," which allows them to open and close lines based on how busy they are. So if you stop by Costco during a particularly congested time, scanning your card at the entrance can help the store gauge exactly how many people are there and make staffing adjustments if necessary to better serve the crowds.
Another perk of the card scanners is that Costco "can monitor our fresh foods a little better because we know what the traffic counts look like," Millerchip said. In other words, the devices may help Costco warehouses ensure that they have the right amount of fresh food items on shelves to serve shoppers at a given time.
A final benefit of the scanners, according to Millerchip, is that they allow Costco customers to card-checking step out of the way as they enter rather than while checking out.
"It has also taken the friction of membership verification away from the front-end registers and moved that to the front door, where we're able to look at people's membership status," he said.
The card scanners have been rolled out at about 350 warehouses in the United States so far. Despite the debate the devices have inspired on social media, CEO Ron Vachris said during the earnings call that the response to the scanners has been good so far.
"Reaction has been very positive…both from the members and from the operators as well."
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