Tuesday, November 21, 2006

COSTCO--The Great Alternative

If you haven't heard of Costco maybe you should. Besides keeping costs down and competitive with Wal-Mart and Sam's Club Price Club pledges they will not raise ANY item above a 15% mark up. Costco also treats it's employees well...A cashier at the store after four years makes over 4ok a year and employees with a 26 hour or more work week can sign up for insurance benefits.

Wall Street criticizes Costco Management for granting generous employee benefits and Costco's refusal to never charge a consumer more than a 15% mark up on any item. (15% is the maximum mark up Costco will charge and items are often priced less than the 15%) Costco's largest competeitor--the Wal-Mart/Sam's Club Gang--are famous for pricing some items very low and then making a profit with extravagant mark ups on other items in the store. Costco holds firm to their business ethics. They are rewarded with very loyal customers. They don't spend billions on advertising and these savings are passed onto their customers. Amazingly, Costco stock is doing well while Wal-Mart is plummetting.

I don't like to shop. But I always have a good experience to shopping at Costco. I am willing to drive 30 minutes to shop there. The employees are great and give great customer service unlike Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.

Goes to show...if you treat your employees with respect and dignity they will do the same with the customers.

So if you must shop why not shop somewhere where your money supports other folks in your community instead of some rich heir/heiress living halfway across the country?

You may learn to enjoy shopping when you "like" the folks you are handing your money over too.

Vote with your dollar and support good business ethics.

1 comment:

Mosquito said...

It's necessary to get accurate information out into the community (something that America's infamous "free" press is no longer doing) so that Citizens can make their own choices on where to shop,

When a newspaper runs a story telling you where the deals are for generic drugs and leaves "the best deal" out of the story this is wrong. That's why I wanted to "feature" Costco. And since I don't depend on "advertising" dollars it's an easy choice to make...Tell the truth...No one is paying me to do otherwise.

"Personally" I prefer to shop at locally owned business instead of the syndicated chains b/c my community becomes healthier...more of my money will stay in my local community.

In the case of chains like Wal-Mart that don't take care of their workers...It's been estimated that EVERY Wal-Mart store ends up with 500,000 to 1 Million dollars of state and local tax payer dollars b/c of employees needing to be subsideized and not having health care. Costco is not taking anything from local tax payers since they pay great wages and offer great benefits.

My father taught me all about "buyer beware" so I like it when I find a business I like, trust and feel "good" about them being the recipients of my money.

It's a sign of the times that parents today need to teach their children of "Local News Beware" and "Corporate News Beware."

Buzz...Buzz...