BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Sam’s Club next month plans to hold an open house for members and potential new customers to showcase the savings it offers for everyday needs for home and work, and throughout key back-to-school departments, including electronics.

Sam’s Club next month plans to hold an open house for members and potential new customers to showcase the savings it offers for everyday needs for home and work, and throughout key back-to-school departments, including electronics.

The Walmart warehouse club subsidiary also has launched a pharmacy satisfaction program and prescription pickup alerts and plans another round of health screenings this fall.

Sam’s is set to host the open house on the weekend of Aug. 6 to Aug. 8 The retailer said it limits open house events and has only held a few throughout its history, including an event two years ago to celebrate its 25th anniversary. During an open house, nonmembers can shop free and aren’t required to pay the customary 10% service fee if they make a purchase.

"We’re hosting this open house to welcome families with children in school and college to experience how Sam’s Club can simplify their back-to-school shopping," Mike Turner, senior vice president of membership at Sam’s Club, said in a statement.

"This event is also ideal for small business owners to try Sam’s Club and let us show how we can save them both time and money with member benefits like Click ‘n’ Pull and invoice comparisons," Turner added. "This is a great opportunity for our members to bring friends and family to try Sam’s Club risk-free."

In the pharmacy, Sam’s this month began offering a $10 gift card to current members and new pharmacy users in the event they are not completely satisfied with the pharmacy service. The gift card program, which the retailer said is part of its 100% member satisfaction guarantee, runs through Sept. 30.

"We are trying to build greater awareness among our members that we offer pharmacy services. By offering the gift card, we are trying to encourage people to move their prescriptions to us or at least try our pharmacy," spokeswoman Susan Koehler said. "We want to offer them some additional incentive."

Sam’s Club noted that it got high marks in customer satisfaction among chain drug retailers in J.D. Power & Associates’ 2009 National Pharmacy Study. In the mass merchandiser segment, the only retailers to score higher than Sam’s Club in pharmacy customer satisfaction were Target and Costco.

At the start of July, Sam’s Club also officially launched its Ready Reminders prescription alert service, Koehler said. Under the program, pharmacy customers are notified by text and phone when their prescription is ready to be picked up. Customers also are alerted at three and seven days after the prescription is filled, and they can request that prescriptions be automatically refilled.

And in October, Sam’s Club plans to host free health screenings in more than 400 of its locations nationwide, according to the spokeswoman. Tests slated to be offered include bone density, cholesterol, glucose, blood pressure and body mass index. The tests are intended for adults 18 years or older and are valued at more than $150, said the retailer, which offered a round of health screenings earlier this month.