BJ's is open today (11/7)

Just went to BJ's! They said today was their first open day - but the grand opening is 11/21. Hooray!

Be prepared to bring a flashlight if you go at night. They would not turn on ANY of the front lighting in the parking lot, even after being REPEATEDLY warned that a customer or employee might get hit and killed by a car in the pitch dark lot.(Thank goodness that the front of Lowe's and the rear lot of the movie theater had THEIR lights turned on.)

Also, there were plenty of cashiers standing aimlessly in front of empty registers tonight, but NO ONE to assist customers searching the aisles for items.

Hey, BJ's Management, whether your openning is "Soft" or "Grand" - Customer Service and SAFETY should still be Priorities, not just having registers open to Take Money !!

Wish we could find the hours of the gas pumps! I guess in due time there will be info. onm the world wide web!

I went tonight and the lighting situation is resolved. On Sat half the parking lot was dark, but tonight all lights were fully on and lot was fully bright.
TickedOff - the reason there are no sales assistants in the aisles is intentional. In order to maximize savings for Club Members, BJ's stores are as self service as they can be. Also, the aisles are clearly marked for what they should feature.
Another nice bonus was the Gas Station, which I haven't seen at a BJ's before. The gas is cheaper than the norm, and because it's supposed to me Members Only, the lines are a heck of a lot smaller than you'd see at say the Wawa on Trooper Road.
All in all I contend this is a nice place if you happen to be a member.

Glad to hear they finally turned the parking lot lights on. Saturday night there were NO lights on whatsoever in BJ's own front lot. Thank goodness no one was hit by a car.

As for the lack of customer service personnel on the sales floor, I know that these member warehouse places are self serve.(We are longtime members of Costco, BJ's Downingtown, and Sam's Club.) My point is that there were cashiers at every single register on Saturday night and nearly ALL of them had absolutely NO customers in their checkout lines. Wouldn't it have made sense to deploy just a few of those idle cashiers to help shoppers locate items listed in the initial BJ's sales brochure?

I just went this morning (Mon ~9:30am). There were only about 5 other people in the store. Tons of stuff to choose from and the staff were polite and helpful. By the way they take coupons.

Glad they're here!

Is there a way to go into a BJs without being a member? How do I decide whether it's worth the membership without seeing it first? Do they have a guest pass?

John -

I am 99.9% sure you can go into BJ's and check out the prices, etc. without being a member. I did that before I joined (in Plymouth Meeting) without any trouble.

You can use this pass:

http://www.bjs.com/join/one_day_pass.shtml

to get in to shop for one day. If you DO NOT buy the membership you will have %15 added to the price of your purchases. If you decide to by a membership (I think within 7 days) you will have that 15% added to your account. It's in the fine print.

I just walked in today and there was a man standing there checking receipts for the people leaving (like they do at Costco) but he didn't ask to see my membership. I think they're happy to have people check it out.

BTW, they have a gas station too. Membership price was $2.60 a gallon.

Also you can get a 15 month membership (it's usually 12 months) for only $35 (it's usually $45) by going here: http://www.bjs.com/oaks

You can get the same deal by calling their membership line 866-820-2585 or by stopping at the Member Services Desk at the store.

I did not see anywhere any information about when this deal ends.

BJs, unlike Costco, does not ever check membership upon entering the store. You do not need the pass to check out the prices, John, but you will need it should you decide to buy anything.

We've shopped at the locations in Allentown, Downingtown, Springfield, and Norristown - no one ever checks memberships at the front door when going in.

BJ's is awesome. I think it's better than Wegmans, actually.