Some years ago, when my husband was working on several projects in Palm Springs, CA, we were introduced to warehouse shopping, particularly Sam’s Club. We got a membership and made sure that we made at least one stop there before returning home. It was cheaper than shopping at the Mall in Palm Spring and there were items there that we hadn’t even seen at home.

When Costco came to Canada, we felt right at home. The kids were still at home, I had a bigger deep freeze, so shopping in larger quantities was certainly good for us. We still shop there, but less frequently. As one lady said to me, as we stood in line for a cashier, “I’ve come to the conclusion that if Costco doesn’t carry it, I don’t need it!” We both had a chuckle, and I agreed.

We became aware of Costco’s Customer’s Satisfaction Guarantee policy several years ago, and it is almost beyond belief. If for some reason, an item that was purchased at one of their warehouse locations comes to a point where it needs repair, it is not what you expected in the product, and many other reasons, bring it back. Their computer system is amazing, and they will find your purchase just by your membership card. They will refund the amount that was paid for it, placing the refund on a cash card that can be used on any purchase at any of their locations.

This week, I got to experience this policy first hand. I was busy at home, printing documents in preparation for “tax time”. Without warning, I received an error message on my printer, stating “cannot find the print head”. What? I’ve already printed ten files, with two more to go, and now there’s no print head. After reading the instruction book and online directions, I had to give up trying to get it to work again. We packed up the printer, had no idea when it was purchased, and certainly had no idea if we still had the receipt, and headed to the city.

When we arrived at Costco, we first went to see if they still carried the same HP printer, and learned that our printer was obsolete. The latest comparable model was available at a reasonable price so we headed for the Customer Service desk. It was a quick and pleasant experience (no need to bore you with the details), except to tell you that we had purchased our printer 5 years ago, and they knew how much we paid for it. They placed that amount on a Cash Card, we returned to the printers, placed a new HP printer in our cart, and headed to the cashiers. 

The end of my story is: Cash Card minus purchase of new item = $93.00 profit (for more shopping at Costco).

I’m not making this up! I wonder if Sam’s Club has the same policy.

Tags: Experience Shopping Customer