Friday, October 28, 2011

Wholesale Club Membership and Red Roses


When one lives in a rather buried burg, the opening of even a little store is big news.

When a big store opens, watch out!  That's super gargantuan news!

A BJ's Wholesale Club recently opened in Western Massachusetts.  People throughout all the surrounding towns, as well as the main burg where the warehouse store was built, flocked to the grand opening in droves.




The parking lot around the store has been looking a lot like Christmas! That's when lots fill with frenzied shoppers.

Well, yesterday we took a drive to  check out the new BJ's and got our family memberships.  Guess what?

The lady behind the counter who took our pictures for our ID cards, handed me a bouquet of 20 red roses!  It was a "welcome to BJ's" gesture. What a thoughtful thing to do and what good marketing to show customers they are valued and appreciated.

As soon as we got home, I put them into a beautiful red and transparent glass vase. A special friend had given it to me in September for my birthday.
BJ's, for those who are unfamiliar, was started in 1984 by Zayer, a discount department store, according to good old Wikipedia. 

The letters in the warehouse's name stand for Beverly Jean, after the daughter of one of the company's founders!

As of last year, BJ's had 187 clubs in 15 states and more than 22, 000 employees or "team members."

People who want to shop at BJ's have to pay annual membership fees. During the opening of this new store, the usual $50 membership costs $40. A more elaborate plan costs more.

BJ's has thousands upon thousands of items. Because the Western Mass store is new, everything is sparkling clean and shining!  Huge aisles are filled to the brim with everything imaginable including groceries, shampoos, cds, flat screen tvs, and on and on.

Gas at BJ's pumps is discounted, too.

Competition is always good and BJ's, I would think, is definitely competition to a nearby Walmart as well as to Sam's Club and Costco members.

It's doubtful we'll ever spend oodles of cash there, (mainly because we don't have oodles to spend, ha!), but it's nice to have the BJ's membership for discounted grocery items, particularly.

And I love my roses in October!


Do You Shop at Wholesale Clubs?

11 comments:

La Tea Dah said...

Wow, what a special treat! Amazing that they gave them away for membership. That's awesome!

And yes, I shop at a membership wholesale club. It's easy to spend money there, but you can save a lot too!

Have fun!

Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes said...

What a lovely gesture! We shop at BJ's all the time, and Sam's Club too!

Love that vase!

diane stetson said...

I live right near and have a membership to Costco where I also get gas. I only shop there sparingly as I don't need things in bulk like they have...esp. food items but I do get other household stuff there. I've been a member for over twenty five years.

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Never hard of BJ's but have been to Sam's Club before. Don't know that I've ever visited a Costco. I like that books are greatly discounted at Sam's. A friend and I used to get mini quiches from there, bake them up and sit with a bottle of wine enjoying her deck and the beautiful weather -- those were the days. Have a fabulous Friday. Tammy

Linda O'Connell said...

Well, lucky you! I've never been to a BJs but we used to have a Zayre's her eintown about forty years ago, and I loved it.

mo said...

Hi Susan,

What a wonderful surprise the beautiful roses must have been. I didn't think anyone did that anymore...

We go to Cosco and they always have beautiful fresh flowers for a good price. I am sure BJ's will too.

*hugs*

mo

Terri Tiffany said...

You got roses??? I didn't:) We loved BJS when we lived in Fl--they are the best. Now that we moved, we have to go to Sams again and they don't take coupons like BJs. I miss them!

Bookie said...

What a nice perk the roses were! Never heard of BJs...Sam's is the only choice around here.

Chatty Crone said...

Well I didn't get roses when i opened my BJ account - they are beautiful!

But I did get the first year free.

Love the big stores like that.

Sandie♥

Dianne said...

Beautiful roses in a lovely vase! What a nice gesture! I remember Zayers! We used to shop there when I was a kid!

Mari@ said...

Olá, Lindo seu blog seguindo aqui do Brasil.

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