Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Used to have a Costco Card/Membership, used to sample the food court offerings; meh.
I left the "Church of Costco" years ago. I don't get the near fanatical worship as some sort of Holy of Holies for shopping.
Like everything else in the world, Costco isn't for everyone, but it must be for a bunch of people because the parking lot is always jam packed, cars waiting for a spot to park, and the checkout lines are always full.
The only downside for me is, you have to buy everything in huge quantities, and storing them is sometimes an issue. When I come home with Bounty paper towels, toilet tissue, and dinner napkins, we have to move things around to make room for the huge packages of each. But that is the only downside for me.
Also, their prescription drug prices are super low. I have one prescription that I was going to be charged $104.00 for at Walgreens, and I got it at Costco for $19.00 ! Same with eyeglasses, I paid $1,000 for my one pair at a local eyeglass place, and then I went to Costco and bought 2 backup pairs later on, and paid $180 each.
The items I buy the most are their ready to cook dinner packages, like stuffed peppers, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, etc, or their $4.99 ready to eat rotisserie chicken. Also, their huge bags of frozen vegetables come in handy to keep in the freezer for a quick side dish.
Overall, Costco is a good deal, and the people who run it know how to do it the right way. Their checkout people are efficient and quick, they keep the stores clean and they are continually getting shopping carts removed from the parking lot, and their staff will help you in a very courteous way every time. Did I mention I like Costco ?
I figured checking membership at the food court would slow things down, but I didn't dawn on me that the nonmembers are the ones crowding and slowing things down!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trekker99
Used to have a Costco Card/Membership, used to sample the food court offerings; meh.
I left the "Church of Costco" years ago. I don't get the near fanatical worship as some sort of Holy of Holies for shopping.
If I _had to_ pick a church, Costco wouldn't be too shabby!
Seems like a bad strategy. They should move the food courts outside of the store entrance (they do at the one I go to). It'd encourage more memberships. You stop in for a hotdog, but see those TVs inside. You get curious, see the prices, and get sucked in to getting a membership.
They don't need to anymore, I think just about every family has someone who is a member and can share the membership. The food used to be an incentive to get people to sign up but nowadays with most Costco being so crowded.
In many big cities such as NYC, NJ Costco is more crowded on weekends than the supermarkets.
I’ve been a Costco member for years, but I rarely eat at the food court. I don’t think the food is very good and other than the hot dog/soda, not a super bargain either.
A few years ago, there was a program on one of the news stations titled "The Costco Craze", and they went in-depth about how Costco thinks and operates. They interviewed the then CEO of Costco, and he said "Most companies would think, how can I get more money out of this hot dog and coke, and our philosophy is, how can we get the price down even more."
I'm a member now, but before that, I did duck into their food court on a couple of occasions to check out their food items there. Cheap, "delicious enough" (given the price. I wasn't expecting the Ritz), and unless you're at a popular location during meal times, the lines and wait time were on the level. This was also far back enough that they were cash only (I'm sure before they introduced their own Visa card), citing most of their transactions were below $5, and the credit card fees were killing them.
Now, I don't really bother with the food court. Especially since they took away the beef brisket sandwich ($5), their mocha freeze is delicious but far too sugary, and they haven't seemed to introduce anything new. I may go back for a chicken bake ($3) or turkey provolone sandwich ($4), but your typical Costco is in an affluent enough area of town that I'll have plenty of better eating options (mind you, definitely NOT cheaper).
I'm sure that the Pharmacy and Optometrist depts., will catch up and rightly so IMHO.
The food court is no issue with me because I normally pay with my Costco Credit Card which doubles for my membership card plus I add voucher $ doing so.
They have a good salad that includes strips of chicken, cherry tomatoes, some shredded parm cheese, the dressing which could be good for 2 servings - when I order that I normally bring half of it through the exit. The Chicken Bake which (hit and miss) one may find in the frozen dept and I've had the Hot Dogs and Turkey Provolone sandwich =
My experience with the pharmacy and optical centers have not been as good as others. When I switched my prescriptions to Costco from Walmart, the prices were about 20% MORE. I ended up switching them back.
As for the glasses, I found VisionWorks with their AARP discount to be lower and they had a better selection of frames.
Like everything else in the world, Costco isn't for everyone, but it must be for a bunch of people because the parking lot is always jam packed, cars waiting for a spot to park, and the checkout lines are always full.
The only downside for me is, you have to buy everything in huge quantities, and storing them is sometimes an issue. When I come home with Bounty paper towels, toilet tissue, and dinner napkins, we have to move things around to make room for the huge packages of each. But that is the only downside for me.
Also, their prescription drug prices are super low. I have one prescription that I was going to be charged $104.00 for at Walgreens, and I got it at Costco for $19.00 ! Same with eyeglasses, I paid $1,000 for my one pair at a local eyeglass place, and then I went to Costco and bought 2 backup pairs later on, and paid $180 each.
The items I buy the most are their ready to cook dinner packages, like stuffed peppers, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, etc, or their $4.99 ready to eat rotisserie chicken. Also, their huge bags of frozen vegetables come in handy to keep in the freezer for a quick side dish.
Overall, Costco is a good deal, and the people who run it know how to do it the right way. Their checkout people are efficient and quick, they keep the stores clean and they are continually getting shopping carts removed from the parking lot, and their staff will help you in a very courteous way every time. Did I mention I like Costco ?
That is the only time I've ever been in a Costco--I went with a friend who was getting glasses there and I took her to pick them up. The woman at the door asked me about a membership card, so I told her I was only there with my friend. While she was getting her glasses, I wandered nearby to where there were televisions on sale and started to look at one. The guard-woman came over closer and I realized she was watching me. It was kind of weird and creepy. I've never been back since.
I know people who like it (for some reason the thing that EVERYONE seems to rave about are the cakes--I don't buy cakes, so I'll take their word for it) but I have no reason to go there. I don't buy in bulk and have no place to store it if I did, and I can get everything they sell at stores much closer to home. I am a single older person, though. If I had a big family or something, I could see where it would be worth it.
Never knew there was a food court, but again, what could they possibly have that I would want to drive 20 minutes past 100 other places to get.
My friend did get a really good deal on two pair of glasses, though.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
