Store Charges Customers $5 'Just Looking' Fee

I believe this store will suffer from the unwanted "no customer" fee in the not too distant future.
 
hahaha

This is clearly a joke. Can a store charge for entry like it is night club or something? Seems somewhat illegal.
 
hahaha

This is clearly a joke. Can a store charge for entry like it is night club or something? Seems somewhat illegal.

in what universe would charging for entry be illegal?

kind of a self-entitled train of thought you've got going on there...
 
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.
 
This is a new one to me. Kind of shocked I have not heard of this in here in the US...
 
If I walked into a store and they charged me an entry fee to look at their stuff, even if I had the intent of buying, I would walk right back out. This is not how you treat customers. This is the cost of doing business and either you resort to this type of childish market tactic or you find a way to make your items more attractive to purchase instead of having them go online.
 
That note doesn't even make sense. It claims they're adding the $5 to your purchase...but if you make a purchase, you clearly aren't "just looking." Meanwhile, there is no way to collect a fee from those who truly are just browsing. The only way to do what they claim to want to do is to charge admission...BUT THAT ISN'T WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

So..they're basically too stupid to properly implement their own (ill-considered) policy. I'd say these people have bigger problems than "show rooming."
 
OK...re-read the sign. English fail, but I think they actually are charging admission. Good luck with that.
 
basically no different that Costco or Sam's Club.

It's way different. For an annual fee you can go into Costco and shop (or not shop) as much as you want. It sounds like this place wants to make it a $5 charge every time you come into the store.

What if you forget your wallet in the car or something? How are they going to force people to pay in the first place? Just a stupid idea overall.
 
basically no different that Costco or Sam's Club.

Sam's Club doesn't charge admission, though. You have to pay the membership fee if you want to buy something, but you can go in and look all you want for free. Not that it's a particularly inviting showroom.
 
That note doesn't even make sense. It claims they're adding the $5 to your purchase...but if you make a purchase, you clearly aren't "just looking." Meanwhile, there is no way to collect a fee from those who truly are just browsing.

It makes sense...what it's saying is that you are charged $5 (upon entry of the store I guess?) and if you make a purchase that $5 is given back to you. Like a "deposit" if you will.

Good question on how they will enforce it, though. I guess you pay at the door or they kick you out?
 
It might be easier to just guarantee they have the best price with a price match / beat policy......like other stores do
 
I keep seeing costco and sams references..this isn't like those at all.

Sams, Costco and other places like them do not charge you to come in and look around. They charge for a membership to purchase at their discounted prices. You can "Showroom" them all day long for nothing.
 
the first time they charged me for this would be the last...I would never return.
 
hah if I walked into a store (any store) looked around, and then tried to leave and was told to fork over $5

I'd laugh in their face and keep walking. Try to stop me - at that point it would be unlawful detainment (or something like that) And I will happily punch of kick my way out nice and legal like :)

If this isn't a joke then the owners have to be supremely retarded -- what happens if they don't have in stock what I was there to buy? Hmmm didn't think your cunning plan all the way though.

There is a certain cost of doing business -- deal with it. If you are so far in the red each month that you have to put up a sign like this, it means you are in the wrong business and should shut your doors anyway (or rethink your strategy/marketing/setup)
 
I'm curious how this will work out for them. I know that I will try to buy some items from brick and mortar stores that I browse in if the prices are competitive. I think they risk reducing the traffic in their store and removing the opportunity for impulse buys.

They may be able to reduce their staff some to compensate for lost sales, but in the end I have to agree that this seems like a very bad idea.
 
hah if I walked into a store (any store) looked around, and then tried to leave and was told to fork over $5

I'd laugh in their face and keep walking. Try to stop me - at that point it would be unlawful detainment (or something like that) And I will happily punch of kick my way out nice and legal like :)

Stores aren't usually publicly owned. They can tell you to GTFO for any reason at any time.
 
Wow... I would step into the store just long enough to inform a manager that this sign and policy is the exact reason I have no intention of ever considering this establishment again unless that policy is revoked.

If they take too long to remove this policy, I would never patronize them again, no matter what.
 
Sams, Costco and other places like them do not charge you to come in and look around. They charge for a membership to purchase at their discounted prices. You can "Showroom" them all day long for nothing.

I don't know about Sam's Club but Costco requires you to show your membership card to even enter the store. So technically you have to be a member to "showroom" there as well.
 
It's way different. For an annual fee you can go into Costco and shop (or not shop) as much as you want. It sounds like this place wants to make it a $5 charge every time you come into the store.

What if you forget your wallet in the car or something? How are they going to force people to pay in the first place? Just a stupid idea overall.

It's a $5 entrance fee with a corresponding $5 on your bill. If you are going to spend $5, then net cost is zero.

If you left you wallet in the car are you really shopping? You obviously aren't going to buy anything. Sounds more like loitering than shopping.

I think a store with an admittance fee is a bad idea, but it is easy enough to implement.

I also doubt it will effect their regular customers.
 
I don't know about Sam's Club but Costco requires you to show your membership card to even enter the store. So technically you have to be a member to "showroom" there as well.

It may vary from state to state, but in Michigan Sam's can't require a membership to purchase alcohol. You also don't need a membership to use the pharmacy. Tell the person at the entrance you are there for one of those purposes and they will wave you right through without a membership card. You still need a membership card to purchase anything but alcohol or pharmacy items, and possibly items at their in house cell phone stores.
 
Sam's Club doesn't charge admission, though. You have to pay the membership fee if you want to buy something, but you can go in and look all you want for free. Not that it's a particularly inviting showroom.

Sam's also doesn't refund my membership fee with a purchase of more than the membership fee. I'd be happier if Sam's Club adopted this store's policy. I could just stick a $5 bill in my wallet and call it my membership card. Hand it over when you go in and get one back when you check out. At least it would work until my wife or daughter raided my wallet for cash.
 
It makes sense...what it's saying is that you are charged $5 (upon entry of the store I guess?) and if you make a purchase that $5 is given back to you. Like a "deposit" if you will.

Good question on how they will enforce it, though. I guess you pay at the door or they kick you out?

Ah that makes more sense. Wasn't the way I first read it because I read "deducted" from a customer's point of view, but it was clearly written from a bad management's pov.
 
Good luck with that.

"Can I help you ?"

"Nope, just looking"

"That'll be $5"

"Nope, just leaving"
 
Is this a twist on the famous Star Trek episode..."I cannot tell a lie, I'm lying" Mr Spock. :rolleyes:

If it is a $5 fee for "just looking", and I buy something, then I wasn't "just looking" so how are you charging me a "just looking" fee, when I was buying, and not looking, and ... beeeeeeeeeep..... :eek::cool:
 
That note doesn't even make sense. It claims they're adding the $5 to your purchase...but if you make a purchase, you clearly aren't "just looking." Meanwhile, there is no way to collect a fee from those who truly are just browsing. The only way to do what they claim to want to do is to charge admission...BUT THAT ISN'T WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

So..they're basically too stupid to properly implement their own (ill-considered) policy. I'd say these people have bigger problems than "show rooming."

No....they charge $5 admission and then if you buy something you get that $5 back
 
Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to pay the $5 "just looking" fee.

No thanks, I'll be "just leaving".

Silly, stupid and something BestBuy should totally try!
 
They should just put up toll booths in the store. That way you have to pay to get around the store, and if you don't take the most efficient path they make more money.
 
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