To Love Costco or to Hate Costco... that is the question

Hey London.  As promised on my Facebook page, I will be posting weekly deals on North London Costco products (as much as I can, anyway!).  This is mainly because sometimes the deals at my beloved store are way too good to keep to myself.  Although the deals do go fast, I must say.

That being said, I thought I would write a blog post to coincide with my weekly Costco deal ventures and rant and rave about my nemesis/my kryptonite: COSTCO.

Let's start with the things that I love about Costco.  SO. MANY. THINGS. But first, may I just comment on how nice and wide the parking spots are? This is a big deal for a mom of two that has a giant car.  There is enough space for me to open my door, get my littles out of the car seat, and close the door, all while not tapping any vehicle to my left or right. Bliss. 

(SAID NO ONE EVER)

Getting into Costco and grabbing the flyer only to see that diapers AND wipes are on sale AT THE SAME TIME.  Rarely does this happen, but when multiple things that I buy regularly go on sale, it's like someone fused with my brain and gave me a break on the already good deals for my regular buys. Why, yes, I think I WILL take three boxes of Huggies and three boxes of wipes today (that's a two-cart purchase for sure. So bring a sympathetic friend). And Costco is notorious for having great things go on sale. All. The. Time (my Costco warehouse has THE best chicken deals... on sale now so GO!).

Knowing you're saving $$$ when you buy the giant rolls of toilet paper and paper towels.  Let's face it, Costco has the best deals for these.  Yes, you can go on the "Flipp" app and get a good price, especially if you price match, but if you're like me and you're a one or two store shopper, this is by far a great deal.  And honestly, I find the Kirkland brand much better than the leading brands they sell there.  Plus the rolls are HUGE. And again, when they go on sale, I feel like I've hit the jackpot. 

That being said, my basic staple foods like milk, bread and eggs I buy here and find I get the best deal, and best quality.  I usually stick to basic brands, but if I'm feeling fancy, I'll reach for the filtered, pure milk (with blue bags people...fancy!) because it's only a few cents more than the regular milk I buy.  And they often have deals on chocolate milk there too.  This is definitely just a treat in my home, but when it's on sale, I tend to multi-buy these and bake with them as well (double chocolate cake goodness!). 

Can we just talk about their clothes and books for a sec? I've read on many sites already that Costco pj's for kids are hands-down the best price and quality. I tend to agree.  Sleepers are super cheap, and if you want to go organic, they have organic cotton pj's that come out every season.  Staples, like socks, I tend to get here too.  You get tons, and they last forever.  I buy my jeans here, I buy tops here, and if I wait long enough, they do get reduced.  And books? I always buy books here.  Especially curriculum-based ones for my kiddos.  We do summer curriculum stuff and this is the place to buy workbooks.  Can't beat the price or the quality of these. 

The check out:  Yes, there are always lines at Costco, but MAN are they ever efficient.  Especially if you get a cart helper.  Those people are great.  They unload and load your cart fast, entertain your kids while they're doing it and make life easy for you to get in and out. 

The hotdogs and fries.  Can't beat 'em.  If you've had them you know what I'm talking about.  Costco fast food is yummy, cheap, filling and the way to go if you're hungry after shopping for all those diapers and wipes.  Make sure to bring cash though, they don't accept anything but.  A mistake I've made too many times to count.

Now, instead of focusing on the hate part of my Costco relationship, I'll drop a few "tips and hints" here (in my polite Canadian way) of how to shop Costco so you don't end up ranting or seething at the end of your shopping excursion. 

If you can, avoid peak times AT ALL COST! Peak times are usually 10:30 am on any given weekday, any time after 3:30pm, Saturdays and Sundays.  Try to aim to get to Costco 10 minutes earlier than when they open.  You'll be guaranteed a good parking spot, and they usually do open early.  Late is great too.  If you can go a half hour or 45 mins before closing time, it's generally not too busy. 

Park anywhere - if you're ok with walking an extra 2 minutes, park anywhere, especially if you can get close to a shopping cart stall.  Don't bother to drive around and wait for the ideal spot (parking spot sharks.. you know who you are), especially during peak hours. If it's decent outside, trust me and park further away.  It makes for less stress, and avoids you getting yelled at by angry park sharks (I almost cried once, someone made me feel so bad about waiting for a spot!).

Have your card ready before you go in, and be courteous to the elderly.  We all know those people who are shuffling through their purses or wallets to find their Costco card to show to the greeter at the door - my advice is to just have the card ready to avoid those obvious sighs and grunts that are probably directed at that person.  Grab your card while you're still in your car, tuck it in your pocket for easy access.  Trust me. It'll save the sighs.  That being said, let's be patient with our elderly friends. Yes, they take more time to do things.  Yes, they hog aisles. Yes, they take forever to decide what cheese to buy.  But they also deserve the respect that any other human gets.  Many (not all, I realize...we have all encountered that one nasty older lady or gentleman) know they are slower, and feel stressed out by the looks and sighs they get.  If you're in that much of a rush, try another route (go to the back of the aisles along the sides, no one is ever there! Makes for a quick dash to the bread in the back).  

Speaking of aisles... what is up with the disaster that is known as the dairy cooler? Costco needs to rethink that situation.  It's hard to get two carts in there at the same time, let along EVERYONE.  My advice for this section is to start along the eggs on your right, and scoot around the perimeter to grab whatever it is you need.  Try not to leave your cart in the middle of the cooler - this helps no one. And milk bags do need to be checked for expiry, but for the sake of others, try not to rift through the whole milk cart. 

There are no "set" rules as to how to navigate Costco, but you can generally feel the flow of traffic, so try to go along with this flow.  Forgot something in an aisle that's two aisles up from where you are? Don't do a 180 and jam your cart against those behind you... swiftly move into the aisle closest to you and go up the outer sides (guys, seriously, they aren't that busy!) back to where you need to go.  Want to stop for a chicken dumpling sample? Don't leave your cart hanging in the middle of the aisle... tuck it to the side and go and grab that dumpling.  Oh, and maybe move aside for others once you've tried the sample - lots of people want to try a chicken dumpling. Especially around lunchtime.

When it comes down to paying for your purchases, most lines seem daunting so we all play the "pick the fastest line" game, but when it boils down to it, just pick a line that seems to even out the others.  They are all pretty fast.  Plus everyone wants to get out....as much as we love our customer service reps, we really just want to get home!

So next time you're at Costco, heed my likes and "tips" and make your experience all that more magical.   Got any more you'd like to share with me? Post on my Facebook page or comment below.

Have a great day, London