Ice at Sam's Club Events

dmprantz · Jun 9, 2012

I wanted to let any one who plans to compete in a Sam's Club event but hasn't yet: The eMail you get the week of the competition says "Ice is available for purchase inside Samʼs Club." What it doesn't say is that they aren't setup to sell the ice to you unless you are a Sam's Club member. They may try to change that for future events, but at this point, if you aren't a member and don't normally arrive with all the ice you'll need, you might want to make some alternate plans.

HTH,

dmp

SirPorkaLot · Jun 9, 2012

dmprantz said:
I wanted to let any one who plans to compete in a Sam's Club event but hasn't yet: The eMail you get the week of the competition says "Ice is available for purchase inside Samʼs Club." What it doesn't say is that they aren't setup to sell the ice to you unless you are a Sam's Club member. They may try to change that for future events, but at this point, if you aren't a member and don't normally arrive with all the ice you'll need, you might want to make some alternate plans.

HTH,

dmp

Thanks for the info, but I gave up on the Sams Club events after the first year.

Gowan · Jun 10, 2012

A good tip, but to be fair, I don't think you would have any problem finding a team next door to buy ice for you since so many teams have Sam's cards. Also, if memory serves when we cooked Marietta last year, they announced at the cook's meeting that anyone who wasn't a member could get a 3 day guest pass at the customer service desk.

So in truth ice is available as they say, even if some exta hassle is involved.

no1woogie · Jun 10, 2012

When we did the Lenexa Sam's event a couple weeks ago and they said that if a team did not have a membership that they would give out a temporary pass to the club so you could purchase ice.

Red Valley BBQ · Jun 10, 2012

no1woogie said:
When we did the Lenexa Sam's event a couple weeks ago and they said that if a team did not have a membership that they would give out a temporary pass to the club so you could purchase ice.

They did the same thing last year at both events we cooked.

dmprantz · Jun 10, 2012

CivilWarBBQ said:
if memory serves when we cooked Marietta last year, they announced at the cook's meeting that anyone who wasn't a member could get a 3 day guest pass at the customer service desk.

So in truth ice is available as they say, even if some exta hassle is involved.

I remember being told last year that we were allowed to buy ice (or anything in the store) if we weren't members. This year the employees of the store had no such plan. I was told to my face by the series coordinator that if I didn't have a Sam's card, I could not buy ice, and that it fit the goal of the series of getting more Sam's Club members. If other clubs are handing out temporary cards, that's great. Having some one else buy ice for you works, but falls into the "alternate plans" I mentioned. This post is not about complaining, but just to inform others of my experience this year. Be prepared.

dmp

Gowan · Jun 10, 2012

That's definitely a change then. It doesn't surprise me to hear of a lack of communications between the organizers and the store employees, as that is in line with what we experienced the first year at Marietta when the store manager came out and asked US what was going on in his parking lot!

The bottom line is you definitely must be prepared to be totally self-contained at these events, and treat any services you do receive as a pleasant surprise. Basically, you're on your own in a sea of asphalt.

Smoke Ring · Jun 10, 2012

CivilWarBBQ said:
That's definitely a change then. It doesn't surprise me to hear of a lack of communications between the organizers and the store employees, as that is in line with what we experienced the first year at Marietta when the store manager came out and asked US what was going on in his parking lot!

The bottom line is you definitely must be prepared to be totally self-contained at these events, and treat any services you do receive as a pleasant surprise. Basically, you're on your own in a sea of asphalt.

That's because KCBS is more concerned about their corporate sponsors these days than their members. It's more important to get more Sam's Club members than to look out for the needs of the cooks.

Buckshot Malone · Jun 10, 2012

For what it's worth, I competed in the Sam's event in Huntsville this weekend. I am not a Sam's member. I went to costumer service desk asked for a temporary pass (1 day pass), and was able to purchase ice and other supplies. So, just ask.

Jeff

dmprantz · Jun 10, 2012

Jeff. I did. I'm the guy who was setup right next to you. That is not the response I got. Like I said, I was told by Troy, with Charles standing right there, that if I didn't have a membership I could not buy ice. Maybe my comments caused them to change their mind, and that's a good thing. It was nice meeting you by the way.

dmp

dmprantz · Jun 10, 2012

Just a little more detail. I showed up at about 11:30, and used the rest room first thing. On my way out of the store, I stopped to buy a bag of ice like I do at every competition. I am a Sam's Club member, but didn't have my card, and when I asked for the ice at the customer service desk, I was prompted for it. I told them that I didn't have it on me, but that last year we were allowed to buy ice without a membership card, was it the same this year? She started to call and speak to a manager, but I told her I'd be glad to give her my ID and get a temporary card. She told me it was okay, because she needed to know how to handle that the the rest of the day and called and spoke to two managers, who basically told her no, and then Troy walked by and the CSR asked him to get involved, and he said "If you don't have a membership card, you can't buy ice. One of the goals of this series is to get people to join Sam's Club." The GM was standing right there and did not refute that. I got my temporary card and bought my ice. Again, I'm not really trying to complain, but rather to inform. If they decided to allow non-members to buy ice, that's great news because it's what I would expect from any contest, and people may have little to worry about on this front the rest of the year.

If a membership is required though, that should be included in the eMail IMNSHO, and after about 45 similar events in 18 months, I would think this one would have come up before, but what do I know. I just write code and cook meat.

dmp

Smokedelic · Jun 10, 2012

So...to get ice, as well as other provisions you might need, it's as easy as going to the customer service desk and getting a temporary pass? Sounds simple enough, thanks for the info.

djqualls · Jun 12, 2012

It's amusing how many people trash talk the SAMs contest however fall down to pray when any mention of Pitmasters is made.... Sam's has done more for BBQ than the jaded TV show on obscure networks will ever do. I have a sneaky suspicion that SAMs will expose more people to Competitive BBQ and pay more cash to the contestants. It would be great if Restaurant Depot and Costco would get involved with contests.

DawgPhan · Jun 12, 2012

djqualls said:
It's amusing how many people trash talk the SAMs contest however fall down to pray when any mention of Pitmasters is made.... Sam's has done more for BBQ than the jaded TV show on obscure networks will ever do. I have a sneaky suspicion that SAMs will expose more people to Competitive BBQ and pay more cash to the contestants. It would be great if Restaurant Depot and Costco would get involved with contests.

I must have missed the part where people worship Pitmasters.

Sam's does for Sam's. They arent doing it to expose people to competition BBQ.

dmprantz · Jun 12, 2012

djqualls said:
It's amusing how many people trash talk the SAMs contest

I don't know why you feel the need to mention trash talking Sam's. The series organizer told me I wasn't allowed to buy ice without a membership, and I passed it on so that future competitors would be aware. Apparently they decided to allow it after me. End of topic....except that you may not be able to get your ice first thing.

dmp

ParkAvenue_2 · Jun 12, 2012

We've done the Sam's event both in '11 and again this year. In both years, it was made clear to us during the cooks meeting and during the walk around on Friday afternoon that anyone on a cooking team who didn't have a Sams membership would be allowed in the store to buy ice or anything else they want for that matter.

In '11, they included a one day pass in the welcome bag. This year, they didn't, but it was as simple as getting a pass from the comp organizer or from Cust Service inside. I believe they even had one day passes for anyone who walked in off the street to use right inside the front door.

Both years, we bought not only ice, but items to cook for dinner as well, and I've never owned a Sam's membership in my life.

Just my experience.

dmprantz · Jun 12, 2012

ParkAvenue_2 said:
We've done the Sam's event both in '11 and again this year. In both years, it was made clear to us during the cooks meeting and during the walk around on Friday afternoon that anyone on a cooking team who didn't have a Sams membership would be allowed in the store to buy ice or anything else they want for that matter.

This mirrors my experience in '11 and my hopes in '12. I was told otherwise and wanted to prevent other teams from having the same surprise. Apparently the store manager and series organizer had a change of heart, and I'm glad that they did. I just wonder why I was told differently at first. Maybe it's a club-by-club decision and the GM is the one who had to change his mind.

dmp

AZScott · Jun 12, 2012

Huh, I've cooked in 3 Sam's Club events and I've never had an issue buying ice. This past year in Tucson a store representative gave out free passes and a discount for a business membership. She was quite nice about it. I wouldn't blame Sam's as a whole since the individual stores are still the ones that have to support it and communicate it to their staff at the front. As we all know, some things can and do slip through the cracks.

chzhed · Jun 12, 2012

Fox River BBQ will be at the Madison, WI Sam's event, and we have a membership, so if it's an issue and any brethren need something just holler. We'd be glad to help. Hopefully, it won't be an issue.

Mrs. McFrankenboo · Jun 12, 2012

We've cooked 4 events so far and haven't heard of any issues but I can see how there may be some issues because up until Midwest City this year, none of the store employees knew what was going on outside! I think they've done more to inform the employees this year so that helps but, either way, all Sam's Clubs usually give out a temporary one day pass.

Ice at Sam's Club Events

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