It seems Costco has no grace period for grief. After this woman’s mother died, it refused to let her take over her mother’s membership, instead demanding she show specific paperwork.
Costco is a membership-based establishment, meaning customers must hold a valid membership card to enter the retailer and check out. Multiple stores have the same member model, including BJ’s and Sam’s Club, which, like Costco, sell items in bulk.
Some people are starting to sour on Costco as the company has been getting strict about its membership policy. (Kind of like how Netflix made it so you can’t share a login with people who don’t physically live in your house.)
Some people are calling it out for being unreasonable, especially when there are special circumstances like this one.
Daughter can’t take over deceased mom’s card
“Costco doesn’t [expletive] around,” @opinionatedhag said.
In a trending video with more than 41,000 views, a woman who goes by @opinionatedhag on TikTok said that she saw a woman crying online because Costco gave her a hard time about her and her husband having different addresses.
Well, @opinionatedhag has a story to beat that.
“Not to play the Costco experience oppression Olympics, but when my mother died, and I wanted to take over her half of the membership with my dad, they would not let me unless I gave them a death certificate,” @opinionatedhag shared.
She explained that this approach was particularly out of pocket since it was only a month from her mother’s death, and @opinionatedhag had no clue when that piece of paperwork would even come in.
“Can you just let me have it?” she asked the Costco worker.
She was met with an outright “no.”
It seems @opinionatedhag’s location might be extra strict, or it may be part of Costco’s larger membership crackdown. In a Facebook group of UK Costco enthusiasts, several members said they were able to take over a loved one’s membership without jumping through any hoops.
New protocol
As part of the larger crackdown, Costco is experimenting with requiring members to scan their cards upon entering the store. Generally, cardholders just flash their card to the employee at the entrance without much fuss.
But people are unclear how this really changes things. It doesn’t seem like there’s an extra verification step at the entrance to ensure the person holding it pays for the items.
Instead, this is happening at checkout in some locations where Costco’s requiring people to give their photo ID alongside their card, CBS reported.
“We don’t feel it’s right that non-members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members,” Costco said when it announced the change.
Without that card holding up, customers are forced to leave their items behind or enroll in a membership on the spot.
And yes, Costco really is enforcing this.
Changing food court policy
The crackdown has even made its way to the beloved food court that’s maintained low prices on everything from hot dog combos to pizza to salads.
You’ve always needed a Costco membership to shop at one of its warehouses, but depending on the location, you could fill up on its well-priced food court without paying the annual fee.
A lot of workers would just look the other way if you were only there for the staple $1.50 hotdog. But now they could get in trouble for breaking the rules.
That went away just a few months ago. As of Apr. 8, 2024, all food court patrons must have a Costco card, Delish reported.
Food & Wine pointed out that the crackdown isn’t really about the cheap eats at the food court but rather a ploy to get more people to pay for the annual membership. Between 2021 and 2023, Costco’s membership earnings increased by $700 million.
If you do want to avoid the shame of being turned away from Costco’s now exclusive dining area, you can get its standard membership for $65 a year (which is about $5 a month) or its upgraded membership, which has additional perks, for $130 a year (a bit under $11 a month).
@opinionatedhag and thats why we love them ! #fyp #costco ♬ original sound – opinionatedhag
Commenters react
“Meanwhile Sam Club’s literally doesn’t care. I have my mom’s membership on my phone and I use it all the time. I even used it when I was away for college. No problems at all lol,” a top comment read.
“Like [expletive] Costco who hurt you?!” a person said.
“Ok i had to do this at sam’s club and the lady was so uncomfortable after we told her my mom was dead that not only did she switch me into the plan, she gave waived the fee upcoming year lol,” another shared.
The Daily Dot reached out to @opinionatedhag for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Costco via email.
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