I did not take a cart. Despite a new corporate policy to confirm active membership, the door greeter accepted a quick flash of my card's COSTCO in bold red letters, waving me in without scanning any bar codes. I had no intention of buying anything other than maybe a soft ice cream sundae at the snack bar on the way out. With their kiosk ordering, I would not need confirmation of membership maintenance for that either.
On a mid-week mid-afternoon, few shoppers crowded the aisles. My intent for going at all was to secure a quiet hour away from the distractions, or maybe allures, of My Space with its abundant neglected projects. Nothing that I needed. Costco's immense success, however, depends on a network of psychology grads who understand how to create want that transforms to need. Bling in its most glittering forms greets shoppers at the entrance. TVs with the biggest screens on display. They were not set to broadcast Fox News or ESPN, but they all had brightly colored images on their flat screens. Beneath the displays with prices in bold black numerals, shoppers could eye small stacks of very big boxes far too bulky to fit in a cart, which I opted not to take for myself this visit. Much smaller, encased in thief-proof glass that sparkles from periodic Windex rounds, people could ponder how to display their material success with baubles that reflect ceiling LED light in the most dazzling way in the store and God's light when worn outside. Cell phone displays were muted. So was a section with eyeglass frames lining a wall next to a counter where experienced opticians will offer the best deals in bifocals. I keep my membership exclusively for this benefit.
Continuing the main aisle. Appliances to enable the homemaker's leisure. Washing machines, refrigerators. All better than what we likely have at home right now. Hectic work schedules and smaller houses and condos have changed what we do in our homes. We prepare food, we entertain ourselves, sometimes we work. As kitchens become the hub for families and empty nesters, aisles of enhancements challenge one's credit card restraint. Cookware, countertop appliances, display baskets, storage of the most attractive design. Our square footage, or maybe even a whole room, allotted to our side hustles require soft chairs with high backs that swivel us from our desks to our shelves, then glide us across the room on casters. Writing implements in colors. Shredders. Papers to remind us of our failures to go paperless.
Bling attracts the eye. Pampering soothes the other body parts. Bedroom decor, new lighting for the bathroom, made more sybaritic by other products awaiting us on their shelves.
Turning right brings me to clothing, men's for me. Long pants as autumn approaches. Light jackets. Sweatshirts in green with an Eagle on the front. Shirts in piles, some needing ironing, others in easy care synthetics.
One must traverse half a warehouse of stuff to arrive at what most people place in their carts. Food. Lots of food. And mostly beyond Family Size. For this tour sans my own basket, I started with the freezers. At previous membership intervals, I could not pass up Kosher-certified tiramisu, my wife's favorite dessert, though modified with whipped cream where the mascarpone should be. Not in the current frozen collection. Neither was anything else, except for some packages of Beyond Burger which would be a challenge to stuff into my already occupied home freezer. I like things I would not buy at Shop-Rite. Best buy on lox slices. I still have one chunk of homemade gravlax at home. And cheeses with at least a Tablet-K. Those are hard to find, so while my membership remains active, I'll have to return. Big boxes of snacks that I don't need. Did not enter the cosmetics, pharmacy, or bakery this time. By now mid-afternoon. A snack maybe. Too late for pizza. Not hungry enough for a sundae. Just head home. No money spent.
I'll be back. Having scouted the place out, there are more wants than needs, by a significant multiple. Eventually my gravlax will need replacement by commercially smoked and sliced lox. Not had some of those cheeses in a long time. Maybe tiramisu will return to the freezer. And maybe my kitchen experience will get its next enhancement. And depending on the time, pizza for lunch or sundae on the way out.
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