I *heart* Costco

I *heart* Costco

I really really like Costco, not so much because of its products but more because of the value it gives to its customers.
Of course, the products they have are wonderful. It is worth it for a household such as mine with 4 kids and 4 adults. Over the years, I've learned what to buy and not to buy at Costco. I usually do not buy fresh produce from there because we just cannot consume that much before the whole batch goes bad. Fresh produce I buy from there are the romaine hearts and mangos (when in season).
They have an awesome array of products, from food to clothes, computers and even engagement rings. But as I said, it isn't so much the products that brings me back to Costco but their customer service. When a product does not live up to your expectations, you can bring it back, no questions asked, even when it's been used!
Once, I bought a steam mop there which I really was excited about. I was hoping it would clean my wood floors nicely without chemicals. I figured the steam mop would do really well particularly in cleaning up my kids' messes which can get quite sticky. The mop failed miserably to live up to my expectations. I was just glad that I had bought it from Costco because at least I could return it instead of my purchase going to waste. Just for this "100% satisfaction guaranteed" idea they promote, I trust Costco.
My kids love Costco too because of the samples. Even little DD3 knows that yummy food awaits when she sees the sample tables around the warehouse. And the staff manning the sample tables are usually really nice and pleasant. When they're not too busy, they would even strike up a conversation. Just this morning while we were there, there was this lady who was giving out samples of crackers topped with a mixture of salmon & ranch dressing. When she heard DD2 say that she did not like the topping, she offered DD2 and DD3 just the crackers. I think that was going above and beyond what the job entailed. Because of that, I really felt the need to commend her to her bosses. I hope her boss mentions to her that someone appreciated her kindness.
In these sour times, I really appreciate people who try to make life a little bit sweeter.