Good Sam Membership problems...

Ok, so here is my story. Hopefully Marcus (or someone else) reads it, and fixes my issues.

Anyways, I am looking around for some gear and low and behold, stumble across camping worlds website (go figure). The ad's say something like "join good sam today and get discounts". This would make one believe that joining that day, you would be able to place an order.

So I join and pay my $25. In the internet world of today, one would think they would issue you a number right away, but nope, they don't. So I wait a few days, mistakenly thinking that a card would show up in the mail, I mean how hard can it be to get a good sams membership card mailed out, right? Wrong again.

Now I take to my email, and send good sam an email asking for my number so that I can make an online order. This turns into a 2 day process. How hard can it be to reply with my good sam number?? No we have to send a "verification letter". They send it twice. I never get it. Finally they give me the number through email instead of the letter. An hour later the 2 verification letters show up...too odd.

So I have the number put into my account on CW's site. I pick out all the stuff I want to order. Get down to the end, and the only shipping option is 10-15 days? NO WAY! I mean I can't even get the membership card in a weeks time, and I don't want to wait what would probably be a month for my order if past history is any indicator. I can't believe there isn't an express shipping option (other than a phone number tucked away in a help page).

So I call my local CW. They have all the stuff and pull it. Now its a bit of a drive but I figure I can use my lunch break to get it since its pulled. Get there, and finally get the stuff to the register. (people in front of me had problems of some sort) Do you have a good sam membership? Yes I do. Put in the phone number, nothing comes up. Ok, guy looks it up on a computer system, sees it and tells me it is expired. WTF? Then I don't know if he didn't read it right but apparently it is determined it isn't expired.

Then the fun begins. Can't get the number to work, can't get the discounts, can't find a manager. I show him the number from the super special "verification letter". Still no joy. He calls "corporate". They give him a number over the phone, I laugh as he writes down the same number I gave him. Still doesn't work. 40 minutes later, and they are manually discounting the items so I can get out of there.

Marcus, I'm sorry but this stuff isn't rocket science. Either whomever you employ has no idea what they are doing with this or they just don't care. This is ridiculous. I can apply for, receive in the mail, and use a credit card faster than this.

Yup, I still don't have my membership card, but apparently it wouldn't matter anyways, because it isn't in the system correctly.

I shouldn't have to wait to get my membership number via email.
I shouldn't have to wait 2 weeks for the membership card. (or longer)
I shouldn't have to call to get an express shipping option.
I shouldn't have to deal with "corporate" to get my membership activated or in the system correctly.
I shouldn't have to waste my entire lunchtime plus an additional 40 minutes because of the above.

I paid my $25. You have it. Thankfully thats all I paid, given the service I have recieved thus far. I shudder at the thought of double charges that I have read about here when ordering online, not to mention how long it must take to get an actual item, given that my membership card must be coming from australia on a rowboat or something.

Good Sam Club

13 Replies

_tpc_
Explorer
Apr 29, 2014
So for some reason they have removed my "account" from cw.com. Maybe this will help correct things assuming I can make a new one.

Would have been nice to get a response to my pm and/or some advance notice of what they were doing but ok.

I love the $25 coupon in the sat days ad. Says can be used anytime no strings attached for anything. I have yet to get to to work with anything, lol. Sorry, off on a tangent there.
OldRadios
Explorer
Apr 24, 2014
I have a camping World near me so I figured a couple of weeks ago I'd try joining GS for the discounts and specials at CW. I can understand it taking a couple of weeks to get a card in the mail. With that said they should send you an email with a membership number right away. They don't.

I needed to pick up some things for the next trip and would have stopped there with a GS member number but since I have not received anything yet I purchased from Amazon for less that CWs regular price and already have the things I need for my next trip. They would sell more memberships if you could get the discount at the time you join but they have not figured that one out yet. Instead they are sending sales to other retailers.
_tpc_
Explorer
Apr 24, 2014
Ok so I think I may have found one of the issues with my account.

When I bought the membership, I did so through camping world's online website. Their site does not direct you to sign up over at the separate Good Sam website.

There in lies the reason to the problem I think. Since to the two accounts are not joined, and since they send it third class mail?? (who does this?), I had no idea I needed to go to the other site and register there. Since I had received my number, I had the ability to do so, but nothing tells me I need to. I plug the number into CW's website under my account and it shows that its in there correctly.

So for what its worth, I think there needs to be some form of direction on what to do if you purchase the membership through the CW website. Really they shouldn't have that as an option, they should just direct you to the good sam site and have you sign up there.

But use 1st class mail as well. Jeez. I am signed up at the good sam site now as well, so it gives me the feeling that if I went back to CW, my information would pull up correctly. Only time will tell.
beemerphile1
Explorer
Apr 24, 2014
{tpc} your complaints are valid and have come up before. Things should not be like they are. Unfortunately, I don't know the solution. Hopefully it is just growing pains of a rapidly expanding corporation.
HappyKayakers
Explorer III
Apr 23, 2014
GoodSamFamily wrote:
...I have also confirmed that your membership cards have been mailed. Your cards will arrive in 3-4 weeks from the date you joined via USPS third lass mail...

OMG. When I was a pre-teen I used to order stuff from the back of cereal boxes, always with the stipulation that it would take 4-6 weeks. Those toys came from Battle Creek Michigan and I was just a stone's throw away in Chicago.

Anyway, that was in the '60s. Most companies have progressed since then. I don't know of any other company where I would have to wait 3-4 weeks for something so standard as a membership card.

I strongly agree with the OP. Get with the times.
Anonymous
Apr 23, 2014
Hi {tpc},

First, I'd like to say sorry for your experience and inconvenience. When joining the Club at CampingWorld.com an email is generated that includes the Good Sam Club membership # and temporary card. I learned that in your example, it took two days for the email to be sent to you. This is definitely an opportunity for improvement and please know that I've already started this conversation internally.

I've also reached out to CampingWorld.com to get more information on the reason that express shipping is not offered on some items and will follow up with you with that information.

I have also confirmed that your membership cards have been mailed. Your cards will arrive in 3-4 weeks from the date you joined via USPS third lass mail. If you no longer have the email with the temporary card you can print a temporary membership card online.

Again, please accept our apologies for your inconvenience.

Sincerely,
Good Sam Club Team
_tpc_
Explorer
Apr 23, 2014
past-MIdirector wrote:
The store had everything ready for you and it's not there fault that your membership number did not work. You also say you went at lunchtime which is when most manager go to eat but the individual at the counter did get you checkout with your discount so why are you complaining about the store. They followed proper procedures and called corporate to verify you are a member!
I agree with the membership problem on getting you a card. Good Sam use to give out a temporary card that was good for 30 days when you first joined up maybe they need to go back to that system since it usually takes at least 30 days for corporate to send off a new card!

Sorry, my complaint was not so much with the store, but with the system, which is why it took so long at the store. The store did a fine job of trying to handle it as best they could. From what I could tell, they don't have a process in place to handle things like this. They should and that flows down from corporate to the manager of each store etc. I've been a manager of a business before, and for me anyways, this meant being at the ready should a problem arise. Even if you aren't physically there there should be an assistant that can step in and/or call you via cell phone or some other means, but I digress.

If I really had an issue with the store the thread would be titled to reflect that, and likely posted in the CW forum.

As for the membership, just to be clear, I signed up online. Maybe it is a problem with making the account first, and then signing up, I have no idea. I did eventually get my number and I did enter it in the box after I was logged in to "verify" it. I also, after some time got a verification letter, which I physically showed to the person at CW, who I have no compliant with. They did as much as they possibly could and more. Again my issue is with GS. I was merely "telling my tale of woe" as it were.

I will be sending a pm to the person who responded here from GS shortly, and hopefully it can all be resolved. I didn't come here just to complain, but if no one speaks up about this stuff, how will any of it ever get fixed?
fla-gypsy
Explorer
Apr 23, 2014
That was "GS apologist", thank you. I happen to like my local CW store.
wbwood
Explorer
Apr 23, 2014
As an apparent "CW apologist"... When I joined up onlin, I received the membership number and information the same day via email. I was able to sign in online (after creating an account) and could see my membership number then. Of course this was about 4 years ago. About 2 or 3 years ago, I took advantage of the Lifetime membership they were offering to us LEO's. It took a long time to get my new cards. After a month, I posted or emailed them about it and they said they would resend them. Within a couple weeks I had about 6 or 8 cards. Some with my first name...some with my middle name. Then they called and talked to my wife and figured they needed to send one with her name and etc. what I was told then was that on the initial cards that the transmission from them to the printer did not go through or was corrupted. I believe they send these transmissions periodically and not instantaneously. I want to say once a week. It sounds as if they use a printer to handle all of this sort of stuff. Cards, letters, publications, etc. If the transmission is received correctly, then for the time that they print it, stuff it in an envelope and mail it the slowest and cheapest way, then they believe that the furtherest person should get it within 3-4 weeks.

I agree, it's not the best situation. I don't think it's monetarily the best thing to have a card printing machine at each location. You still have to deal with those that sign up online. Perhaps a rewards card more like the grocery stores would be better. They will have them in stock already and we don't need our name on them. Just the barcode associated with our information in the database. Also, add points to our accounts as we use the card more. Points for purchases at CW and points for stays at GS parks. When a certain amount of points is reached, then you can print up either a gift certificate to use at CW or at a GS park. Seems more logical to me than going through all this to just have a name on a card.
past-MIdirector
Explorer
Apr 23, 2014
The store had everything ready for you and it's not there fault that your membership number did not work. You also say you went at lunchtime which is when most manager go to eat but the individual at the counter did get you checkout with your discount so why are you complaining about the store. They followed proper procedures and called corporate to verify you are a member!
I agree with the membership problem on getting you a card. Good Sam use to give out a temporary card that was good for 30 days when you first joined up maybe they need to go back to that system since it usually takes at least 30 days for corporate to send off a new card!