co op membership

rose11

I joined the co-op membership, and went in my local co-op superstore and found out they don't take it!! I e-mailed the co-op but haven't got any reply. Does any one know why there are only certain ones and how do I found out which they are?

Maysie

whereabouts are you?

i am in the oxford swindon and gloucester co-op part never had a problem hereabouts.

grannybiker

Same as Maysie, even down to area!
I've used my Co-op card all over the country, even when I've been on holiday in Wales, etc without a problem. I wonder whether you simply got a new employee who hadn't been trained? Ours all seem very "In the know," and nearly always ask whether you have a card if you're a little slow fumbling in your purse! Maybe worth asking to speak to the manager or similar at your local store so they can clarify their decision not to accept it as your next course of action.
Surprised they haven't responded to your email. Co-op usually take customer satisfaction quite seriously. Alternatively, you could try contacting the store where you joined.
How irritating and most bizarre!
Good luck.

zorber

hi Rose

The coop must be one of the most confusing organisations for a customer to get grips with.

Whilst there is a Coop Group who have stores all over the country there are also patches of stores owned by Independant coops, Like in Maysies case she falls in midcounties coop territory.

Now membership- you need to think of each independant Coop as a seperate company so if you own a membership card in one Society it will not be valid for another (like trying to use tesco clubcard in sainsburys). This is down to the fact that the dividend given back comes out of profits made by each society and the amount given back varies between each society. So for example if you did half your shopping in society A store then Society B say why should they fund your dividend points total with their profits when you havent shopped with them (you are a member of society

I had though that this was set to change in the food stores to eliminate this confusion. certainly if maysie wished to collect points on the coop bank or other services offered by Coop group and not Midcounties coop she would need multiple cards.

Hope this helps

zorber

grannybiker wrote: »

Same as Maysie, even down to area!
I've used my Co-op card all over the country, even when I've been on holiday in Wales, etc without a problem. I wonder whether you simply got a new employee who hadn't been trained? Ours all seem very "In the know," and nearly always ask whether you have a card if you're a little slow fumbling in your purse! Maybe worth asking to speak to the manager or similar at your local store so they can clarify their decision not to accept it as your next course of action.
Surprised they haven't responded to your email. Co-op usually take customer satisfaction quite seriously. Alternatively, you could try contacting the store where you joined.
How irritating and most bizarre!
Good luck.

Lots of us from this region then

yes i thought they had changed the membership for the food stores, if you have a card with a bee on it you should now be able to use it in most food stores. But again if you are shopping at a society who havent opted into sharing points then you may have issues.

K9ine

The Co-op is not a single society, it is a concept for a business. Originally there were many hundreds of different societies all over the country (eg Bournemouth and Poole Co-operative Society etc) Many got together and formed a main manufacturing society (CWS Co-operative Wholesale Society) Over the years many society merged and merged and the biggest society is the Co-operative Group. However there are smaller societies whose values and principles do not match the Co-operative Groups, and there are many prospering perfectly well as smaller societies. It is these societies that do not take the 'Honeycomb' Membership card, eg PlymCo in Devon/Cornwall, Southern Co-operative 'the Co-op's in Hampshire, Oxford & Swindon, and many other areas. And many years ago (1940/50s?) London Co-op stores were not allowed to belong to one society (Monopoly & Competition concerns). Many of the smaller societies are considering working together with the Co-operative with it's 'Honeycomb' card but each society has to have members meeting and votes to agree on such a decision and the computer systems have to be made compatible.

If stores take the 'Honeycomb' Membership card then they should have a small bee logo sticker near the entrance.

> Surprised they haven't responded to your email. Co-op usually take customer satisfaction quite seriously.
Did you email the membership helpline, they are notoriously bad compared to customer services.

K9ine

Intriguingly the Isle of Man law does not allow stores to share their profits with members so they have a standard loyalty card that pays a fixed amount.

rose11

Thanks for all your replies. The co-op I use is in the Leicestershire area. I might try contacting the store. I can't remember where I sent the e-mail now but I got it off the co-op bank site, and I know I used 2 different e-mail addresses.

an1179

rose11 wrote: »

I joined the co-op membership, and went in my local co-op superstore and found out they don't take it!! I e-mailed the co-op but haven't got any reply. Does any one know why there are only certain ones and how do I found out which they are?

Hi I am in Lincolnshire and we have Lincoln Co-op and Nottingham Co-op you have to get membership for both. One card is yellow and the other blue so I just ask yellow or blue when I go into a new store.:rotfl::rotfl:

stingylolo

I work in Cooperative Chemist and apparently all the Coops are working towards becoming a large group containing every time of outlets (food, funeralcare, travel etc...) by 2010... maybe that will solve the card problem.

deanos

an1179 wrote: »

Hi I am in Lincolnshire and we have Lincoln Co-op and Nottingham Co-op you have to get membership for both. One card is yellow and the other blue so I just ask yellow or blue when I go into a new store.:rotfl::rotfl:

Same as me, it is confusing, you would think Skegness Co-Op is owned by Lincolnshire Co-Op but its owned by Nottingham Co-Op :cool: