Last night, Carin and I went out to dinner and went shopping for the kids Christmas. It was very fun to have adult conversation over dinner and during he drive. It's been a while.
I have been frequenting the fine establishment of Costco and have come to a few conclusions. I have coined the phrase "Costco Mom." If someone else has coined this they have not yet trademarked it so I am claiming it as my own. Costco members are different. You never go into Costco and run into "the scary crowd" like you do at Walmart in Harrisville at midnight. Perhaps it is the lack of drug trafficking and meth labs in close proximity to Costco that tends not to draw as much riffraf.
The term Costco Mom can be used interchangeably with Escalade Mom. The nicely "done up"-I-just-dropped-by-on-my-way-home-from-the-gym (and I'm fabulous) look. Perhaps it is the yearly membership that draws a more "sophisticated" shopping crowd but there's not many other places that you could ask your wife to pick up some Brazilian mangoes, wine in a box, Tillamook cheese and while she's at it, buy a set of Michelins and a 65" plasma screen. I'm not stereotyping every mom that shops at Costco as a spoiled money-spender "Costco Mom" but I think you know what I mean-at least you should if you've ever shopped there. I personally think Costco should sponsor a Costco Mom Beauty pageant. I know I'd buy a ticket. The Costco Queen could have her picture on all the flat screens as you walk in! Oh the prestige!
I have also noticed that most everyone at Costco is quite friendly and courteous...that is until it comes to standing in line at the refreshment stand for the last churro or slice of pizza. Hunger will turn the nicest person into a ravenous wolf.
As a stark contrast to our first stop of the evening, we stopped by Shopko on 12th and Washington on our way home. Shopko is the only store that blatantly and flagrantly offends my intelligence on purpose. We were looking for a plastic storage bin. We found exactly what we needed. The only problem was the price for a small plastic container was $34.99. Lucky for us though, Shopko was having a generous 50% off sale that graciously reduced the price to $17.50 for a bin worth no more than $6.00. Thanks Shopko. I wouldn't recommend Shopko at 10 pm anyway. But, they are always having killer 50% off sales!
Please leave a comment if you are a Costco mom who has taken offense to this post.
5 comments:
Kirk, I'm not "ritzy" enough :P hahaha
This comment isn't because I'm a "costco mom", but because I've seen the craziness in the food line. The last time I was there, the line was very very long, and I'd been in it for a while (so I knew who I was standing behind). Some lady told her kids to get in line in front of me. I corrected her mistake trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she immediately got so upset and offended, that she must have done it on purpose. I can't believe people are teaching this to their kids...it's just a line for some rather mediocre food.
I've heard that Costco takes their image very seriously. The average income of those who shop at Costco is between $70-80,000 I believe and they take a lot of pride in offering really high quality stuff. I heart Costco. It just feels better than Sams Club.
Carlee, I had no idea that you knew so much about the marketing demographics of Costco. I should have checked with you first. I did know of your extensive knowledge of premiere sampling timeslots. Sam's Club is an extension of Wal Mart. You're right, you just feel inferior when you go there. Almost dirty really.
Hey, now . . . I like Sam's Club. It complements my Costco membership, and . . . well, I just don't like not being able to go in a store so I keep my Sam's membership current.
And except for the facts that Carlee never buys anything in Costco and she's not an 'Escaladie', she is a Costco mom at heart. She dresses up for 'sample day' just as the bona fide CMs do.
I've actually been wanting to write a post of this topic for a while, but you did it better justice than I would have.
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