Store Charges Customers $5 'Just Looking' Fee

Australian stores either collude pricing with other stores, or offer a niche market. There is no competition.
 
The oddest thing is this is a specialty food retailer. Who the hell showrooms specialty food?
 
Ocean said:
Local whorehouses (ahem* stripclubs) do the same.

If you dont need a membership to browse samsclub, why do they always ask for my card upon entering?
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People (businesses) like to ask for a lot of things they don't need. Why does Fry's ask to see the receipt on my way out? I don't need to show it to them, and they won't stop me if i leave without showing it either. I think Costco around here gives out single day memberships, if you don't have a card, they might want to sell you on that.
 
I want £10 every time they look at my arse. I would be a millionaire by the time I leave the shop. The perverts.
 
I love that, apparently, the fee is only added when you go to checkout. So it essentially only hurts customers who still decide to buy there instead of online.

Seems so much like overly obtrusive DRM hurting paying customers while pirates get a much better experience and no cost at all.
 
rsaotome said:
King of like in Germany, where some places charge for parking at a store, unless you buy something, then the parking is free.
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Yes, but I bet the parking allows you access to more then just that one store right?
I've seen a few different pay to park, but refundable on purchase places in the UK.
The car parks are next to other stores or attractions and you don't have to go into the store.
Personally my favourite was a pub with free fishing, you bought a £5 parking ticket fished all day then cashed it in for a bowl of chips and a pint at night :D.

A pay to enter scheme is stupid for most stores, sure if you get a complementary drink, concierge or a lot of advise. But 99.9% of stores don't offer anything like this, 9/10 the staff no less about the items then the showroomer, they try to sell you premium items and extras over the items your wanting.
I stopped buying electrical and games from stores about 3 years ago after bad experiences with staff being pushy and trying to sell me incompatible things for the items I was buying.
Sure I'll pop my head in if I'm passing by, but without its got a decent price tag and the staff leave me be I'll just walk out.
 
Delving further into this story, this is a grocery store sells only gluten-free foods. The owner apparently has a good number of customers that seek knowledge about those foods, but then decide to buy elsewhere.

Here is a link to a better article: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/celiac-supplies-in-coorparoo-brisbane-charges-5-to-browse/story-fn7ve1gj-1226607041430

A grocery store is probably the one place that when I go in, I am guaranteed to buy something there. If this policy will work anywhere, this is the type of environment that is could.
 
Ocean said:
If you dont need a membership to browse samsclub, why do they always ask for my card upon entering?
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There are a number of different ways to get into Sam's Club or Costco without a membership. Just tell them you are visiting the pharmacy, or you want to buy a membership. They aren't going to watch to make sure you really go to the membership desk. They don't automatically turn away anyone without a card at the door. If you walk in at a busy time you can generally walk right in with a bunch of other shoppers.

I don't even know why either store spends the money to have a card checker at the door. Why do they care if you have a card to go in since you can't check out without a card? I suspect the real reason is to stop merchandise from leaving the front door.
 
Here in Minnesota, Sam's Club and Costco both have separate entrances for their liquor stores. It has to do with Minnesota law that only allows liquor stores to sell liquor. Liquor can't legally be sold in the main store. The separate entrance makes it easy to allow anyone to buy liquor.
 
dgz said:
self-entitled? wow :D

I don't mind it, really. It's their business. I just assume things like that depend on legal status of the premises.
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What? No, you don't have the right to enter a company's or person's private property, even if they are offering to sell goods to people.
 
It's a federal law that allows you to go into any store (Costco, etc) that has a pharmacy, without paying a membership fee. I just saw a story about it on the local news not too long ago.
 
timta2 said:
It's a federal law that allows you to go into any store (Costco, etc) that has a pharmacy, without paying a membership fee. I just saw a story about it on the local news not too long ago.
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This doesn't mean you can freely walk into a Costco's. If you need access to the pharmacy, communicate as much to the entrance clerk & you'll be directed/accompanied to the pharmacy.
 
timta2 said:
It's a federal law that allows you to go into any store (Costco, etc) that has a pharmacy, without paying a membership fee. I just saw a story about it on the local news not too long ago.
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Sure, have fun trying to check other items out though ;), membership card sir?
 
belfert said:
There are a number of different ways to get into Sam's Club or Costco without a membership. Just tell them you are visiting the pharmacy, or you want to buy a membership. They aren't going to watch to make sure you really go to the membership desk. They don't automatically turn away anyone without a card at the door. If you walk in at a busy time you can generally walk right in with a bunch of other shoppers.

I don't even know why either store spends the money to have a card checker at the door. Why do they care if you have a card to go in since you can't check out without a card? I suspect the real reason is to stop merchandise from leaving the front door.
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They have people who check your receipts to make sure people aren't stealing. I'm also sure that there are some people who hear about Costco or Sam's Club but don't realize they are member stores, and might wander in thinking they can just shop. Someone at the door to check for that would reduce the risk that someone loads up a cart then gets to the checkout stand and can't buy anything, and then the whole cart has to be restocked.

This is sort of a big deal since "stocking" at these stores consists of a forklift dropping a pallete of stuff on the floor and someone taking the plastic wrap off.
 
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