I'm gonna give this location a 1 star for it's policy, rather than any service in particular. While I am Canadian, I've been overseas working as an Expat for more than a decade. As my fiancee is a foreigner, we wanted to go inside to see what all the rage is about.
Unfortunately we weren't allowed to go inside and see what is on offer inside the store. You have to show your membership card in order to get in which I am sure all the readers already know. We thought a simple explanation that we were new to Toronto and wanted to see what goods were offered before dishing out $55 dollars for a membership was reasonable, but apparently not... their solution - wait in the long lineup (It's Saturday & Easter Weekend) and once you go in if you are unhappy we will refund your membership fee...
Fair enough, it's a membership club & they are permitted to have their own rules - overall result - more than $1,000 dollars spent today at other "big box" retailers that could have been costco's.
During my MBA studies, I did several case studies on the Walmart/Costco rivalry and I simply had much higher expectations in terms of service levels from higer-paid Costco employees. For now I will continue to give other "big box" retailers my business... Makes me wonder what the Lifetime Value of Each Customer is at Costco and how much this mistake will cost them in the long-term.