Big Box Store
20 June 2007I love Costco. If I could do all my shopping there I would. There is a strange sense of security that goes along with having unlimited toilet paper, cases of soup or a plethora of toothpaste at my disposal. I’m often reminded of visiting my grandma, who was housemother in a Berkeley sorority for 20+ years. Back in the 70’s and 80’s you didn’t see gallon size jars of mayonnaise or beans unless you were in food service. The ‘big house’ kitchen was filled with such wonders.
Costco is big in every way: from the open concept warehouse to the super-sized items overflowing the shelves and aisles. Somewhere there must be compromise in order to stock such merchandise, and it usually comes at the cost of choices.
Finding my regular deodorant absent from the shelves one day forced me to look elsewhere for my smell goods. Deodorant options have changed considerably over the past 8 years. The grocery store mass stocks deodorant too - but in every color and scent known to modern day man. I was a bit overwhelmed and didn’t even know where to start. I managed to choose something that didn’t leave me smelling like a street prowler in the red light district and made my way home.
Too many years of shopping at Costco has me locked into the big box mentality. I forget that I don’t have to get Diet Pepsi because they don’t carry Coke Zero, or that I don’t have to go without new tumblers because I don’t like the ones in stock. Yet, these are choices that I make all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I shop at the grocery store regularly for things that Costco doesn’t carry. However, if it’s cheaper at Costco I’ll always get it there even if it’s not exactly what I wanted.