It’s on its head for the giant Costco, which is recognized and celebrated even for the quality of its customer service. The company drew the wrath of its most loyal and passionate members on the Facebook group Les accros du Costco. Usually, the comments you read there are almost always praiseworthy.

It all started with a Sunday afternoon release by Eric Georges. He said he was informed by a staff member after paying for his purchases that there was a “problem” with his membership card. “He was a very mysterious person with a suspicious look,” he told me. It was extremely uncomfortable. »

The two men went to the counter near the cash registers, where a card check was carried out. “It took less than a second. I was told, “Everything is fine, but do you know all of Costco’s payment methods?” »

Stunned by the question, Eric Georges wanted to understand why his card had been taken from him and identified a problem. So he went back to the cashier who greeted him with an awkward and unusual tone. He eventually realized he had been the target of a commercial publicity tactic.

“It’s very uncomfortable. We feel a little suspicious, but we don’t know exactly what. And the person doesn’t even show up. I didn’t like that at all,” says the man, who has been a member for over 15 years and has always described the service as “first class”.

His story generated almost 300 comments and more emoticons in a few hours. The same happened in Laval, Boucherville, Anjou, Saint-Jérôme, Trois-Rivières… If hundreds of people bothered to express their dissatisfaction online, how many thousands didn’t appreciate it?

Some members say they felt stuck because they didn’t have their membership card or receipt (necessary) in hand to leave the store.

“The exact same thing happened to me. […], wrote Amelie. Extremely stubborn person who refuses to return my bill to me. I had my 2 year old son with me. No time for his credit card, which doesn’t interest me. I quietly explained to the lady that I had nothing to do with her card, that I wanted to leave. She insisted, she even approached me arrogantly. […] Me, from the print sale, not able. »

Others said they were pulled aside to convince them to sign up for automatic membership renewal or move up to executive level.

“I was almost forcibly escorted to the counter to switch to auto-renewal. I had to get mad to leave,” Aline wrote.

Mélissa had her bill and her basket taken away. ” [Elle] put it behind her so I couldn’t take it. She said, “There’s a block on your card.” At the time I thought blocking and yet I had just paid, well no, it was to offer me the executive card. »

In Quebec, François Bélanger didn’t appreciate being approached while paying. “You would have thought I stole something,” he told me. Doing this in front of customers makes no sense! I can understand that people are a bit taken aback. Like others, he was told that auto-renewal would soon be mandatory, which means providing a credit card number.

Costco spokesman Martin Groleau could neither confirm nor deny this information on Tuesday. He also did not react to the flood of negative comments.

A customer from Quebec even had to renew automatically. After being forced to contact customer service because of what she called an “address or phone number problem,” she found that this option was enabled in her online account. without his consent.

She is angry. “I think it’s an unfair practice. If I had been offered it I would have declined because I don’t want forced deals. If I decide to stop going to Costco? The customer declined to be named , as she filed a complaint with Costco.

All of these practices demonstrate a “blatant lack of ethics,” says Louis Fabien, an honorary professor in HEC Montreal’s marketing department. This is my opinion too. That is “completely unacceptable” because “the term customer service implies openness,” adds his colleague Jean-Luc Geha, customer service specialist.

In this case we find ourselves more in the subterfuge, in the awkward tactics that eat up time when we’d rather leave.

I have a hard time understanding the idea of ​​Costco excelling in service right now. It’s inconsistent. Plus, the customers love the shop so much that you don’t have to twist their arms to fill their big baskets there.

The card renewal rate reached 92.6% in the most recent quarter, up 0.3 points from the previous period. According to the management, this is a “historic high”. The number of complaints could also peak if this continues.