‘I swear to god’: Woman holds both Sam’s and Costco memberships. Then a manager decided to intervene

A TikTok user named @polish80s recently shared a frustrating experience at Costco that has gotten thousands of views. She holds memberships to both Costco and Sam’s Club, but after this visit, she says she is ready to shop more at Sam’s Club instead.

Costco’s business model is built around paid memberships, which are required just to enter the store. A large portion of Costco’s net operating income comes from these membership fees, which help keep their prices low and fund perks like their generous return policy.

According to The Mary Sue, the TikTok user visited Costco with her husband, following their usual routine where she goes inside while he parks the car. She was on a FaceTime call with her grandchildren at the time. “The guy inside was like, ‘You need to scan your card,'” she recalled. 

Costco’s stricter entry checks are a direct response to self-checkout abuse by non-members

She explained that her husband was coming with the card and stepped further inside to get out of the way of other shoppers. This only made things worse. “He called the manager on me,” she said. “The manager came over, ran, I swear to god, she ran over to me, [and] was like, ‘Ma’am, ma’am, ma’am, you need to scan your card.'”

She explained again that her husband was parking and would be there shortly, but the manager would not budge. “No, no, no, no. That’s not our policy. You need to go scan your card right now,” the manager insisted. She ended her call and scanned her card. Even after she explained that this was their normal routine, the worker insisted that members cannot stand in the doorway without scanning first. 

“I didn’t see a big deal. Lord have mercy. People are staring at me like I stole something,” she said. “I think I’m going to Sam’s.” This TikToker is not the only one who has noticed Costco’s card-checking policy getting stricter. 

Costco has confirmed that many locations now use automatic membership card scanners at the entrance, requiring shoppers to scan their physical or digital card before walking in. Guests must also be accompanied by a valid member. Costco shoppers are no strangers to going viral for unexpected in-store moments, and this incident is just the latest example.

While membership cards have always been required, this level of enforcement is a newer development. Costco says the reason is the expansion of self-checkout options. Since rolling out more self-service registers, the company says it has noticed non-members using cards that do not belong to them. As a result, Costco now requires members to show their membership card with a photo at self-checkout too.

Consumers are becoming more vocal about retailer policies in general, and some TikTokers are even exposing hidden pricing tricks at major retailers that many shoppers never notice. The incident reflects a broader tension between Costco’s tightening enforcement and shoppers who feel the approach is too aggressive, even when they are paying members following what they thought was an acceptable routine.