I didn’t consider myself an angry person, but I found myself discovering a whole new rage recently.
I am calling it Costco rage!
This is not anti-Costco.
Costco has great products, good prices and is clean and organized. Most everyone loves it.
I just cannot handle the chaos.
Maybe I needed a rule book on how to navigate the rows and rows of stuff and people.
Admittedly, it was completely my fault for visiting on a long holiday weekend. The regulars would know better.
I am not a member so was going as a guest. That means I don’t know the ropes to proper warehouse shopping.
These impressions come from a newbie.
Follow me on a trip that begins with a torrential rain storm and ends with a snack.
It was the Saturday of an Easter weekend and I was out of town.
There is no close parking at Costco because everyone got there ahead of you. You are wet. Your umbrella went inside out.
The carts are heavy. Everything at Costco is heavy.
There are no marked traffic areas inside. It's worse than a roundabout. Everyone just drives the over-sized carts all willy-nilly. I must’ve apologized at least 25 times, but that felt natural since I am Canadian.
Not only that, but half the people are trying to navigate the unruly carts while balancing their phones. Multi-tasking is OK, I guess, but really grocery shopping needs absolute concentration.
I noticed many men snapping pictures of products to send home to their wife to see if that was the correct size and brand. Really? Isn’t that what shopping lists are for. You know the ones you leave at home on the counter?
I would just take a risk and buy it, without checking first. I’m a rebel like that. Living on the edge.
I truly enjoyed the mom shopping with her husband and teenage children. She directed each one in a booming voice: "Go find the laundry soap. Might be in the next aisle. Brian, go help your sister find it. It might be a yellow box. Which aisle are you in? No, try the next one. Where's your father?"
I wanted to say to her “Inside voice, please,” but I was afraid she would yell at me, too.
It didn’t take me long to figure out it was safest to avoid the end of the aisles in the grocery section.
People of all sizes and ages will adopt a mob mentality to get to the dollop of free yogurt. It is every person for themselves if there is a cookie up for grabs.
The sample lady serving sausage was nearly crushed by the invasion of hangry customers.
Have you ever questioned what folks will do for a Klondike Bar? Watch what they’ll do for a hunk of free cheese.
Those checkout line-ups are insane. The cart goes one way while you go another. It's mass confusion. At least they didn’t make me self-checkout. There would be bloodshed.
I was at my wit's end until I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
There it was. I could see it glowing in the distance.
The hotdog stand. The giant hotdog and pop deal. It is a must.
That glorious treat almost made it all worth it...almost!
