Costco is cracking down on non-members eating at its food courts.
Effective April 8, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from the food court.
Costco is cracking down on non-members eating at its food courts. Effective April 8, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from the food court. This policy change aims at locations with outdoor food courts and member complaints had risen about people sneaking into these areas and taking advantage of budget bits like the hot dog combo.
Costco is cracking down on non-members eating at its wallet-friendly food courts.
“Effective April 8, 2024, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from our food court. You can join today. Please see our membership counter for details.”
Richard Galanti, the club's chief financial officer, told Axios in March that the policy change is aimed at locations with outdoor food courts.
“member complaints had risen about people sneaking into food courts and taking advantage of the budget bits like the hot dog combo,”
The company touts being able to offer those benefits for less because of its membership fees.
Accuracy
Costco had 128 million members at the end of 2023 with fees adding up to $4.6 billion — nearly 75% of its total profit for the year.
Deception
(30%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author implies that Costco has always allowed non-members to eat at its food courts by mentioning the $1.50 hot dog combo and cheap pizza slices as favorites. However, this is not entirely accurate as customers have always had to show their membership card to enter the store and access indoor food courts. Secondly, the author quotes Richard Galanti stating that member complaints about people sneaking into food courts have risen due to non-members taking advantage of budget bits like the hot dog combo. This implies that members are entitled to these discounts when in fact they are available to anyone who wants them regardless of membership status. Lastly, the author mentions Costco's total profit for 2023 as nearly 75% of its fees adding up to $4.6 billion which is misleading as it does not take into account other sources of revenue such as gas stations and optical services.
The article implies that non-members have always been able to eat at Costco's food courts by mentioning the $1.50 hot dog combo and cheap pizza slices as favorites, but this is not entirely accurate.
Fallacies
(70%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Bias
(75%)
The article is biased towards Costco's decision to require membership cards for food court purchases. The author uses language that portrays non-members as 'sneaking into food courts and taking advantage of the budget bits'. This implies that non-members are not entitled to use the food court, which is not accurate. Additionally, the article quotes Richard Galanti stating that member complaints had risen about people sneaking into food courts. However, this statement does not provide any evidence for these alleged complaints.
“Effective April 8, 2024, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from our food court. You can join today. Please see our membership counter for details,”
Hot dog at the Costco Food Court (Shutterstock)
“member complaints had risen about people sneaking into food courts and taking advantage of the budget bits like the hot dog combo, which co-founder Jim Sinegal said will stay at the same price it was at in 1985 “forever.”
Richard Galanti told Axios in March the policy change is aimed at locations with outdoor food courts.
“the food court, like its gas stations and optical services, was one of the ancillary parts that drives membership at the wholesaler. The company touts being able to offer those benefits for less because of its membership fees.
Costco will enforce a requirement that food court patrons have a Costco membership card starting in a couple of weeks.
“Effective April 8, 2024, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from our food court. You can join today. Please see our membership counter for details.”
Richard Galanti, the club's chief financial officer, told Axios in March that the policy change is aimed at locations with outdoor food courts.
“member complaints had risen about people sneaking into food courts and taking advantage of the budget bits like the hot dog combo,”
The company touts being able to offer those benefits for less because of its membership fees.
Accuracy
Richard Galanti, who retired from serving as Costco's longtime CFO in mid-March, recently told Axios that the move would affect locations featuring exterior food courts due to member complaints about non-members using inside food courts.
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in that it states Costco will enforce a requirement for food court patrons to have a membership card starting in a couple of weeks. However, the photo uploaded by the user on r/Costco subreddit shows signage at an Orlando, Florida location stating this requirement would become effective April 8, 2024. This contradicts Costco's statement and therefore it is deceptive to report that they will enforce a membership card requirement for food court purchases starting in a couple of weeks.
Costco will get stricter about who can use its food courts.
Fallacies
(85%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Bias
(85%)
The article reports that Costco will enforce a requirement for food court patrons to have a membership card starting in a couple of weeks. This is an example of monetary bias as it affects the ability of non-members to access and purchase items from the food courts.
COSTCO TAPS INTO SILVER COINS SALES FOLLOWING OVERNIGHT SUCCESS OF GOLD BARS
Its website says generally
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has a financial interest in the topic of Costco as they are reporting on a policy change that will affect non-members eating at food courts. The article also mentions Richard Galanti who is the CEO of PepsiCo. Inc., which could be seen as an affiliation.
The new policy requires all customers to have a Costco membership card in order to eat at the food court.
Costco is limiting access to $1.50 hotdogs and soda deals for non-members.
“Effective April 8, 2024, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from our food court. You can join today.”
Richard Galanti, the club's chief financial officer, told Axios in March that the policy change is aimed at locations with outdoor food courts.
“member complaints had risen about people sneaking into food courts and taking advantage of the budget bits like the hot dog combo,”
The company touts being able to offer those benefits for less because of its membership fees.
Accuracy
“Effective April 8, 2024, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from our food court. You can join today. Please see our membership counter for details.”
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in that it implies the $1.50 hotdog and soda deal will soon be out of reach for non-members when in fact Costco has been testing plans to require members to scan their cards before entering stores since at least April 8th, 2024.
Costco is going to require proof of membership at their outdoor food courts before dispensing any cheap hotdogs. This comes on the heels of Costco testing out plans to require members to scan their cards before entering the stores.
The article states that the $1.50 hotdog and soda deal will soon be out of reach for non-members when in fact Costco has been testing plans to require members to scan their cards before entering stores since at least April 8th, 2024.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy by citing the former CEO of Costco as a source for information. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing the $1.50 hotdog and soda deal being in danger due to inflation.
]Effective April 8, 2024, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from our food court. You can join today. Please see our membership counter for details[
I think they finally figured it out and the way to recoup on this loss leader is to limit sales to paying members.
Bias
(85%)
The article is biased towards Costco's decision to limit access to $1.50 hotdogs and soda deal for non-members. The author uses language that dehumanizes those who do not have a membership such as 'outsiders'. Additionally, the author quotes Craig Jelinek saying 'we are losing our rear ends', which is an extreme statement and implies that Costco's loss of revenue from the hotdog combo deal is significant.
The legendary Costco $1.50 hotdog and soda deal will soon be out of reach for non-members.
Effective April 8, 2024, an active Costco membership card will be required to purchase items from the food court at all of Costco's outdoor food concessions where the food courts can be accessed via walk-up outdoor windows.
Accuracy
`The roast beef sandwich divided Costco fans on social media because of its $9.99 price, which costs more than the 18-inch food court pizza or six $1.50 hot dog combos.
Deception
(30%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author states that the roast beef sandwich divided Costco fans on social media because of its $9.99 price, which costs more than the 18-inch food court pizza or six $1.50 hot dog combos.
The statement is deceptive as it implies that all Costco fans were against the roast beef sandwich and only those who are against its high cost would be divided on social media.
Fallacies
(70%)
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority when they quote Richard Galanti as a source for information about the new turkey sandwich and other changes coming to Costco food courts. They also use inflammatory rhetoric by describing the roast beef sandwich as dividing fans on social media due to its high price, which is not necessarily true or accurate. Additionally, they make an assumption that because the big chocolate chip cookie was a hit merchandise item and did not change the $1.50 hot dog or pizza prices, it means that these items are also popular with customers.
The roast beef sandwich divided Costco fans on social media
Richard Galanti confirmed another change coming to some Costco food courts
Because the big chocolate chip cookie was a hit merchandise item and did not change the $1.50 hot dog or pizza prices, it means that these items are also popular with customers.
Bias
(75%)
The article is biased towards the new turkey sandwich and its price. The author mentions that the roast beef sandwich divided Costco fans on social media because of its $9.99 price, which costs more than other menu items like pizza or hot dog combos. However, they do not mention any negative feedback about the new turkey sandwich's high cost compared to these options.
Between the lines: Galanti also confirmed another change coming to some Costco food courts. Starting April 8, clubs with outside food courts will require membership cards to make a purchase.
The big picture: Changes to Costco’s food court menu are rare and the sandwich switch follows the double chocolate chunk cookie dethroning the fan-favorite churro in January.
The roast beef sandwich divided Costco fans on social media because of its $9.99 price
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The article by Kelly Tyko for Axios reports on Costco's latest food court menu change which includes a new turkey sandwich. The author has disclosed that the CEO of Costco Wholesale confirmed to her that the turkey sandwich should be rolled out completely to all U.S. locations this week.
The article reports on Costco's latest food court menu change which includes a new turkey sandwich.
