6 Secrets I Learned While Working at Costco

Costco is a great place to shop, but it's also a great place to work. Here's what I learned while working there in 2015.

Costco made headlines for bumping up its minimum wage to at least $15 an hour in 2019. That’s great news for its 130,000 hourly workers, even if it’s not a huge surprise. The warehouse store has a reputation for treating its workers generously, a policy I observed while working there in 2015.

In many ways, it’s as enjoyable a place to work as it is to shop. Here are a few of the things I learned on my journey:

1. Employees enjoy plenty of benefits.

Costco set its minimum wage for hourly employees at $15 an hour in 2019. That’s in addition to offering benefits like healthcare for all employees, regardless of part-time vs. full-time status. While I was at Costco, they gave employees complimentary memberships to the store. Each employee also got a free turkey to enjoy with their families on Thanksgiving. And to top things off, Costco paid employees time and a half just for working on Sundays.

2. Costco is a great destination for health food.

People who haven’t shopped at warehouse clubs might expect the “buy in bulk” mentality to mean the aisles are lined with junk food. While Costco does sell things like cookies and candy bars, there are plenty of healthy options, if that’s what you’re looking for. Greek yogurt, coconut water, protein powder, and lean meats are just some of the things that line the shelves at Costco. And the produce section is filled with delicious apples, bananas, berries, salads and more, making it a hot-spot where nutritionists food shop. Don’t miss these 10 things at Costco you can’t buy anywhere else.

3. It’s not just for big families, either.

When I tell friends I still shop at Costco, they don’t understand what my husband and I buy there, since we don’t have kids and live in a small New York apartment. But there are plenty of options for any family size, and it doesn’t mean you have to keep ten spare jars of tomato sauce in your pantry. Things like Kirkland Signature protein bars and olive oil are shelf stable for our small household. Cleaning supplies like kitchen sponges are sold in reasonably sized packages, too. It just depends what you’re looking for—but there’s no one demographic that’s more suited to shop there. Wonder why Costco’s rotisserie chickens are the best? Here’s your answer.

4. Costco’s pizza is the real deal.

If you find yourself eating at Costco’s food court, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised by how great the food is. The pizzas are baked fresh in store with Kirkland Signature ingredients, and they don’t skimp on cheese and other toppings. The hot dog combo—just $1.50 for a hot dog and a soda—is also superb. The food court even offers fresh diced onions, in addition to mustard and ketchup, to top your dog.

5. People really do buy that famous giant bear.

The giant teddy may seem like an Internet novelty, and plenty of people (myself included) have stopped to take photos with the 8-foot-tall friend. But I saw more than one person buy the giant stuffed animal—usually grandparents purchasing it as a gift for their grandkids. (I do wonder how they stuffed it into a car/cab to get home.) It’s actually one of the 15 most expensive things you can buy at Costco.

6. You can go to the pharmacy as a non-member.

If you live near Costco and want to pick up your prescriptions there, you can do so without buying an annual membership to the club. But don’t think you can pull a fast one on the employee checking membership cards at the entrance—you can’t check out at Costco without a membership in your name. Next, check out what Costco looked like when it first opened.

Taste of Home
Originally Published on Taste of Home