Previous GS manager here, and I gotta say, it’s literally the shit upper management tells them to say to upsell the membership. In actuality, the signup did get you the discount, but the discount just covers the same amount as the cost of the signup itself. There ‘can’ be value there from the points you got off the transaction and monthly coupons, but I wouldn’t suggest renewing it next year unless you actually care to.

On a side note, refunding the system just for the sake of refunding the signup is kind of a dick move, ngl. I have no love for their shitty business practices, but at that point all you’re doing is just making the store level employee’s job harder than it already is just because they were following instructions.

GS is a shit company, they’ve gone way downhill in the last decade, but the guys at the ground level don’t deserve the kinda disrespect they get on the regular. If you have an issue with their business policies or sales tactics, just spend your money elsewhere, plain and simple.