Signed up for a membership online. I already do my grocery shopping in Canton so I figured why not, especially since my last trip to Walmart for bill items proved to be very expensive. After signing up for a primary and free household membership online it instructed me to pick up my card along with ID in the store. I also received an email with a $5 off coupon afterwards which I thought was a nice touch. The coupon had to be printed out and could not be scanned off my phone which I thought was a tad archaic and a waste of paper.
Upon pulling up to bjs there was ample parking and the lady at the entrance was friendly and greeted us nicely. We asked for member service to pick up our membership cards and she pointed us in the right direction. We were glad to see no line at the member services. There were two customer service reps but no one greeted us or said anything so we decided to walk up to the 1st rep. I had to say hello to him, not particularly friendly. It honestly came off like we were bothering him. While waiting I noticed the store was pretty empty which I was happy about seeing it was my first time and I didn't know what to expect, especially with the forecast calling for snow.
The process for the membership card took a bit longer than expected. You have to show ID of course and upon signing up online they email you your membership information, that you show to the teller, it's not scannable so it was a back and forth with the rep asking to see my phone. The email showed 2 cards, one for me and one for my hubby as listed in the email. He handed me my card of which I thanked him and asked for hubby's card. His response was well you only asked for one card when you came in here. Yikes! Let me get this straight, there are 2 of us at your counter, the email has 2 separate cards listed with 2 separate names with the wording "primary member" as well "household member" listed and you thought I would only want one card? Interesting. So then we had to do the whole process over, with me pulling up the email again, showing ID etc. I respect and appreciate the hard task of frontline workers during covid but there's never an excuse to blame the customer. Next time I'll try to be more clear and say the two of us are together and are both picking up cards together.
As for the goods in store, we found some good deals on food particularly frozen fruit and other frozen items, whole chicken, Cracker Barrel cheese, and household items like dish soap, plastic forks/knives, bottled water and ice melt etc. There were many items that despite being a larger size still came out to the same price as Harris Teeter supermarket prices, especially Bath, beauty and laundry products. Some meats and seafoods and especially the all in one meals I thought were overpriced. I think the keys is being aware of what the store prices are based on weight. The electronics section had a nice variety of flat screen TVs at great prices. The store was so big we only made it to about 75% of the store but the idea that you could find almost everything you need is comforting especially when covid is over and hosting resumes. I did notice in the frozen section they had loads of boxes of eggo waffles just sitting on a pallet on the ground in the aisle in front of the freezers but not inside the freezer where it could stay cold. That was concerning and definitely made me wonder if they ever let their meat or diary products sit out unrefrigerated like that.
When it was time to check out, there were no lines, only a cluster of customer service reps all gathered at one register having a disagreement about break times. We had to wait patiently until they finished. Please note you have to scan your card prior to them ringing up your items. We weren't aware and all just stood there until I asked if she needs my card. Phew. My first trip to bjs overall was a three out of five. It had its highs and lows. I would return only for some of the deals but would be hesitant to recommend to others in fear they would experience the same flawed customer service. Customer service has a lot of kinks to work out. Upon exiting you show your receipt and once again the front of store lady was super friendly and kind on the way out. read more