The Costco Experience

Shopping at Costco is a necessary evil.  I love purchasing large quantities of items that I use often, but hate fighting the crowds just to do grocery shopping.  Although I live less than three miles from the Iwilei Costco location, I will sometimes drive to Hawaii Kai just to avoid the craziness.  My feelings about this location were confirmed by a relative who works on the corporate side of Costco.  He told me that the Iwilei location is one of the busiest out of all locations. 

Regardless, sometimes I have no choice but to do my shopping with the masses.  This past Sunday was one of those times.  My boyfriend and I put our game faces on and headed into what I knew would be a stressful situation.  Our reward, we decided, would be a cheap dinner at their food counter. 

Arrival
We pulled into the parking lot at around 4:45 pm, roughly an hour before closing time.  As soon as we got there, I knew that it was going to be a battle.  We finally found a spot on the far side of the lot and headed into the warehouse.  

Experience
After showing our Costco card to the employee at the front, we headed inside.  We immediately saw people pushing carts in haphazard ways and grabbing items.  One customer had close to 50 pineapples stacked in their cart. 

We headed to the snacks in the middle, where my boyfriend guided the cart through the aisle as I found what we needed.  We continued this system, particularly when in the refrigerated foods section.  I noticed a crowd of nearly 40 people gathered around the rotisserie chickens, waiting for the last batch to finish. 

As usual, several items not included on our list ended up in the cart.  Our best deal- a set of eight ceramic bowls for only $14.99!  Another favorite of ours is the shredded Korean nori that comes in a big bag- it's the best on popcorn!  I stocked up on that during this trip.

Post-Experience
Although we waited in a long line to check out, we had pleasant conversation with the person who rang us up.  He mentioned that the bowls were one of their best deals right now.  After paying, we headed out to our car.   

We quickly loaded up our purchases, then headed to the food counter for dinner.  My new favorite is the barbecue beef sandwich with coleslaw- yum!  Of course, the $1.50 hot dog is also a favorite.

Because of my experience with Costco and the stress it brings, I thought this rare trip to the busiest one deserved a dedicated blog post.  Does anyone else experience the same anxiety when going to Costco?  Any tips for making it less traumatic?  :)