BJ’s Wholesale Club

I like this place. I’d have preferred a Costco here but it’s worth having. It’s convenient, right on route 9 and very easy to get a parking space. The store has never been crowded any time I’ve gone there which is always a plus. I don’t know how that fact will fare with corporate but that’s what it is.
Aisles are brightly lit and set up like most of these warehouse/​stores. I particularly like the deli, which ironically is usually crowded, and the meat section. Other shopping favorably resembles Sams and Costco.
Sometimes you have to wait at the checkout line but they do have a self-​checkout section that Costco does not. The cashiers are generally friendly as are the people at the help desk, and the guy who checks your receipt upon leaving the store.

So, BJ’s builds a nice store in Howell, very close to the Lakewood border. While it is clean, well lit and has good signage I cannot understand the tiny area given over to check out, customer service, the food court and the eyeglass center. they are all jammed together and the store will be in big trouble if they ever get busy.
Not a deal breaker, but I do not like the fact that they have plastic covers over all of their magazine racks in deference to the large Hasidic population in Lakewood. I do not like that at all.
The gas station is jammed in at the south end of their location and it is difficult, at times, to line up for gas. They usually only have 2 people on duty which slows down the whole process. The price is usually very good, however.
I bought tires here, instead of at Costco, because of a special sale over the Thanksgiving. I had them installed today and I am a little concerned over the lack of business I saw. There was no one else getting tires. This is something you never see at Costco. They even have the tire employees responsible for filling propane gas tanks.
I can only assume that BJ’s is hoping that more people discover their new location.

I much prefer Costco, though BJs does have good deli prices. The cost at both stores are similar, but the service at Costco is far superior. At BJs, they have 12 gas lines and typivally less than half of them are open during peak times, resulting in excessive wait times, Also, the staff in the store is just okay. They don’t appear to have any sense off urgency and although not rude, they aren’t particularly friendly.

I rather go here then Costco.
Deli meat prices are spot on and the wait is whatever it is and depends on how lazy I am when I show up– show up early beat the crowd, show up late your #99 and they are #40! Oh and the Deli is staff is awesome super nice and funny, they make it a great experience.
Parking is right out front and easy — however the «minivan drivers» well — they need to SLOW the hell down! okay it’s a parking lot be mindful of people walking.
Apple Turnovers are great– they have delish lobster ravioli and the asian or southwestern 1 – 2 serving kit is far cheaper than any store around! they have a really nice spice section and the frozen section is pretty reasonable– I wish the frozen seafood was a but more reasonable but ya know –its not bad if I budget.
The check out counters are right where member services and food is– so REALLY bad planning on that! it gets backed up and traffic jam with carts and all.
Am I annoyed they cover the magazines YES! never seen anything like this and I am from CA the land of «never offend anyone roll over and let them walk all over you» so i rarely buy magazines here because I don’t have time to KEEP MOVING THE BLACK COVER AWAY to look the magazine covers! ANNOYING AS ALL HELL– Management though I am sensitive to others preferences — I can’t seem to see what is offensive with a watermelon fruit bowl recipe and how to plan your garden for summer.
But they play 1980’s music so that’s about as non-​offensive as you can get– I mean really its the Thompson Twins okay?!
Gas prices are cheap and its not huge in islands but no complaints.
All in all– I am glad they are here and will continue to shop.

I had a coupon that I was going to use to sign up for a membership there, but I have completely changed my mind after hearing about the censorship of magazines at this location. The store is catering to the hasidic community in censoring the magazines, which ignores the desires of the majority of the customers. As a new store, this was the completely wrong thing to do. They have angered so many people and others, like me, will not be giving them any money. It seems like they opened in this location solely for the business of the hasidic community, which makes the rest of us feel unwelcome. I am completely disgusted by the whole thing, and anyone who reads through the comment section here will feel the same:

Bjs of Howell censors the media in their store. It’s appalling that this corporation is manipulating the First Amendment. What is happening in America?

BJ’s covers the magazines at their check-​out lines, in a effort to appease the «morality «standards of the local Orthodox Jewish Community. They play «Non Vocal «music as to not offend the same community. In an effort to protect their members «sensitivities «they have trampled you rights of expression and a free press. I won’t go back. Also, the package sizes on their produce was a little small. Costco is FAR superior in the produce section, and the Kirkland brand is WAY better than BJ’s.

I used to be a member of BJ’s until they began censoring content, specifically by placing ‘blinders’ on widely available published magazines, to become ‘community friendly’. This subjective sentiment, along with the subsequent action taken by BJ’s has resulted in the loss of this customer. I will remain a customer of Costco as they prefer to honor the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States rather than the special interests of a small percentage of their overall customer base.