…posted one of my Facebook friends after she shared this link: How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-mart.
Cool beans, Costco. However, commendable, good corporate business practices are just the cherry on top for the average shopper (although the cherry is one of the best parts! Nice work, Jim Sinegal! It’s just hard to notice your savvy management when faced with low prices on wine, chocolate truffles, and 30-packs of toilet paper) – most of us go for the great prices on good stuff.
There is lots to love at Costco, and Alaskans REALLY love it. This is not a fickle love, this is a deep, deep dedication to Costco in all its concrete, fluorescent-lighted glory.
Because where else can you get not one, not two, but SIX gorgeous pomegranates for the same price as one at other stores? Not to mention, bags of pecans, gorgeous orange/yellow/red bell peppers, substantial pork roasts, sparkly Swarovski snowflakes, cozy sheep skins, big bottles of grape seed oil, and generously sized packs of lint rollers (crucial when you love a little white dog).
Do other people around the country love Costco as much as we do?
I’m curious about this, because when I lived in D.C., I just didn’t feel that there was love for Costco the way there is in Anchorage. I mean, some people (ahem, me) have been known plan their shopping expedition around when the tasty samples are available for grazing (who doesn’t love the samples?! My favorite was fish oil that tasted like lemons – it should have been disgusting but it was like dessert!) or rush out the door when they hear a limited edition item has made its appearance. Others use Costco as a social gathering place, where they catch up on the latest gossip with whichever random friends or neighbors they happen to run into.
I’m sure people in other states do this too, but is it with the same verve? The same drive, the same unquestioning loyalty? The same ability to look at a dish (my Thanksgiving salad, perhaps? Asian pears, pomegranates, sweet mini peppers, avocado, and arugula – it was delicious) and know instantly not only which ingredients are from Costco, but which aisles they are located on and how much they cost? Are we all just Saturday Night Live’s Target lady, but Costco-style? And what does this say about us?
While I ponder these burning questions, I leave you with this: I freakin’ love Costco too.
I too love Costco even though it’s a 50 minute drive from our house (past Warrenton on the Oregon side of the Columbia). One big plus besides things like toilet paper, grapes and spinach is that Oregon has no sales tax. And Costco’s gas prices are many cents cheaper than ours in Ocean Park. So we time our Costco trips to when the gas tank is approaching empty – and to the time of day (lunch time, of course!)