The average right now is 2.5 stars and 2 seems about right. In grade school, we were shown pics of people in Russia waiting for bread, to warn us about ... something. This Sam's Club vibes similarly at times.
This is a place with so many stories of poor treatment and substandard service at every turn. They haven't had replacement membership cards in months - they inactivated my old card for reasons I don't know. At least I can use the app. They suggested I drive to a location 20 mi away to get a new card.
Scan & Go is a lovely feature, but works best when things are in stock for purchase. As I complete my scan & go purchases, the app often recommends I buy other things, which I would, were they available. Eggs and cream and other dairy products have been out of stock for a few days now - I've been checking. When asked when things will be restocked, employees reply with a shrug; or, like the woman yesterday, by nodding 'no' and walking away without a word. There are no shortages in late 2024 and I was able to purchase everything at WinCo Foods down the street.
Merchandise selection is rather limited. Suburban locations have more stuff. This one focuses on groceries and basics. But they have an entire aisle of Shark vacuum cleaners. Maybe add a bit more variety especially for the gifting season?
The snack bar is brutal. Scowling employees who are bitter about their entire life circumstances. The line is long and moves slowly. A few times I ordered pizza or something, but it isn't put on the pick-up counter until I call out to somebody. One time I did this they accused me of trying to scam them out of food. Nobody makes eye contact or even responds to pleasantries like "Good morning" or "Hello."
I was going to buy new tires from them last year but didn't. I asked for a written quote and was told they can't do that. But they couldn't even give me a verbal price - this was in-person. The experience was so confidence-shaking that I bailed.
Parking is obnoxious. Nearly the entire east lot has been taken over by dedicated spots for order pick-up, pharmacy pick-up, and most recently, overflow parking for the Tire/Auto garage. All these spots are nearly always empty and I stop by SC about 2-3x/week different times. They removed a cart return from the area too, so now everybody abandons their carts all over the lot, blocking whatever spots might be left. They could handle all pick-up and overflow parking with about 6 dedicated spots instead of the current 15+.
Employees create friction when returning items. I return a fair amount of food here because it is spoiled, especially produce. I return it within a day or 2 of purchase, typically unused, but moldy or damaged. They usually require me to find the receipt myself in my app even though they have my purchase history on their computer after scanning my membership. One time I returned a few items of clothing and I was brow-beaten by the employee over missing tags, etc., item-for-item. In my observation, produce and meat are underweight by a couple or few ounces nearly every time I check. Oh look - WM had a class action over this recently.
Their customer service portal on the website is designed to prevent meaningful communication. You can read the FAQ; or you can chat with somebody in the Philippines who will do absolutely nothing to help; or you can fill out the contact form. The contact form doesn't have enough spaces to enter your membership ID, and the text box for explaining your situation only permits 275 characters, which is about 50 words. When the employee wouldn't give me a written tire quote as required by law, and I was unable to write about it in the small text box, I sent my complaint to the attorney general instead, where no character limits are in effect.
Finally I have something good to say. The pharmacy staff are wonderful. They communicate well and transactions are typically flawless, with the occasional issue solved without trouble. Thank you, Sam's Club Pharmacy! Another compliment: The place is clean and orderly pretty much always.
You might wonder why I bother to go to SC at all. It's convenient, a short mile from my home. I would never purchase a Plus membership, because the experience doesn't justify spending a dollar more than I must. Moreover, all these problems mean that I purchase far less from Sam's than I would if things were easier and more pleasant.
The temptation to compare SC to Costco is strong, but we're talking about a company which is laser focused on the customer and (empowered) employee experience with a heavy emphasis on local (empowered) management, aka Costco; vs. a company that is laser focused on shareholder returns, with a top-down management style and completely helpless local staff, which I will call Bitch Stewie Costco - IYKYK. read more