Why I’m a True Costconian

 My first experience with big box stores took place growing up in the sixties in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  A store opened up that featured exclusive membership for government employees. In fact, it was called GEX for government exchange. For a small annual fee my parents, one a federal employee working as a dietician at the VA and the other a municipal employee working for as a firefighter for MFD, became members. I don’t remember much about it, except it was immense. In an era before compact cars and pocket size phones, bigger was always better.

Get 3 times as much for $4.99
and it tastes as good or better than the others.

To compete J.C. Penney and Dayton-Hudson opened Treasure Island and Target, large stores without a membership fee and open to everyone. Even Kohl’s, at the time the largest grocery chain in Milwaukee, got into the big box business. Along came the Marts: K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Stein-Mart, Tall-Mart, Short-Mart, Smart-Mart, Not-So-Smart-Mart, and the race was on.

When my parents retired to California, they kept talking about a store called Price Club.  By the time we moved to California, Costco bought Price Club. My parents took us through the place they continued to call Price Club and we became members of Costco.

Now, there are several reasons I am a bona fide Costco consumer. First, their employees are truly friendly and helpful. If you can’t locate what you’re looking for, or want to exchange something for the one with the other ingredient or checks rather than stripes, they don’t just tell you where to find it, they hustle over to the spot and grab it for you. They even return the item you grabbed by mistake, and they do it with a smile. Not one of those phony, “my-boss-told-me-I-always-have-to-wear-a-smile-or-get-fired” smiles, but the same one they wear whenever they’re happy. I think it has something to do with the fact they are paid a living wage, but that’s a discussion for another time.

Brands we trust--3 lbs for the price of 1 or 2.

Second, they put quality first. A bargain is not a bargain if the product is going to fall apart the second or third time you use or wear it, or if it is going to spoil before you get it home. For this reason, Costco has always chosen to carry top of the line merchandise. Whether it’s names like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, Jack Daniels and Gray Goose, or Ocean Spray and M&M, they are always brands people trust to give them value for their hard earned dollars.

True Blue--jeans with double stitching, brass brads,
seven belt loops and long lasting denim.

Third, they created their own brand that carries the highest standard in the retail industry. So, I know when I buy Kirkland Signature Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Potato Chips with Sea Salt they are every bit as crunchy and tasty as the major brands that sell a package a third the size for the same price. This quality extends to the denim and stitching of their five pocket jeans that at fourteen dollars cost half to a third as much as Levi’s, Lee or Wrangler, and the never need ironing seven button dress shirts that I’d never consider purchasing at seventy dollars from Arrow, Gant or Van Heusen but own several at $17.99 bearing the Kirkland Signature tag.

Finally, while there have been times when I have found I might have saved a few pennies at a competitor, at least 8, if not 9 times out of 10, Costco has the best price. A couple times the per pound cost of a produce item was less elsewhere, but whether it would have tasted as good is definitely in question. Still, in the rare instance when I have spent more than I might have somewhere else I remain a true Costconian because their promise of high quality makes me believe I am getting the best bang for my buck.