Working at COSTCO...?

[Blue_Roses]

Does anyone here work there or know someone who does and are they a good company to work for? I know they are a "blue" company, but how do they treat their employees?

[mondo joe]

1. They are reputed to be a GREAT company to work for. A couple years ago they were

roundly criticized for being TOO good an employer.

[Blue_Roses]

4. that's crazy...

had to be coming from SAMS...

[globalvillage]

5. I remember that.

But not everyone is happy with Costco's business strategy. Some Wall Street analysts assert that Mr. Sinegal is overly generous not only to Costco's customers but to its workers as well.

Costco's average pay, for example, is $17 an hour, 42 percent higher than its fiercest rival, Sam's Club. And Costco's health plan makes those at many other retailers look Scroogish. One analyst, Bill Dreher of Deutsche Bank, complained last year that at Costco "it's better to be an employee or a customer than a shareholder."

Mr. Sinegal begs to differ. He rejects Wall Street's assumption that to succeed in discount retailing, companies must pay poorly and skimp on benefits, or must ratchet up prices to meet Wall Street's profit demands.

Good wages and benefits are why Costco has extremely low rates of turnover and theft by employees, he said. And Costco's customers, who are more affluent than other warehouse store shoppers, stay loyal because they like that low prices do not come at the workers' expense. "This is not altruistic," he said. "This is good business."

http://www.thinkequity.com/about/articles/nyt_071705.html

[Blue_Roses]

6. wow...

:applause:

[senseandsensibility]

14. I give all my rightwing relatives costco

giftcards for Christmas (although they all think I'm busy waging war on Christmas--whatever, we don't talk politics). Little do they know that they are then supporting this "far-left" ideology of treating American workers well. Gak! Anything but that, right?

[globalvillage]

17. Hehe, thanks for the tip!

That's going to make shopping a whole lot easier this year.

[senseandsensibility]

21. It'll be our little secret!

Hehe...:rofl:

[Bitwit1234]

23. That's the trouble with a lot of companies today

people see that if a company looks out for it's employees, than you can be sure that it will look out for the customers.

If they are cheap with employees and give to managers and CEO's people are suspect that they are cheap with goods and services.

[NMMNG]

8. Is it possible to be TOO good an employer?

Particularly in the retail field?

[globalvillage]

11. They seem to be doing just fine

My stocks aren't faring quite as well.

Hmmm...

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83830&p=irol-stockchart

[lame54]

13. it is if you are making the other guys look bad...

we can't have all employees expecting to be treated with respect
where would that lead?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5561565665179751904

[mondo joe]

15. Not IMO -- but right wingy types felt so - despite the fact that Costc was and is

VERY successful.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. so I hear, very well.

I'd be curious to hear some real-life experiences too.

I also heard you can get 5lb. tubs of Golfish crackers there! :bounce:

[AlCzervik]

3. one of my friends husbands works for Costco, he started there about 8 years

ago and now he's the manager of the one near me, he likes it, the benefits are good and the pay is also good.

[tridim]

7. I don't know anyone, but the Costco I shop at has had the same group of employees

since they opened about 7 years ago. They have to be doing something right.

[earth mom]

9. Go for it. I've only heard good things like they treat their employees fairly & pay well.

A rarity in todays world.

[Pab Sungenis]

10. Costco is excellent both to their employees and to the community.

I wish they'd build a Costco somewhere near us. I'd give up my BJ's membership in a minute and only shop there.

[Name removed]

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[lame54]

12. i have never worked for them - but...

several years ago in California we had the big grocery strike (i worked for Vons at the time) and there were several articles comparing Costco to the other grocery stores and they sounded like a very reputable company
i eventually quit Vons and have moved on to a much better company
here is where i work now
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5561565665179751904

[China_cat]

16. One of my former Girl Scouts

is the manager of food services (she handles those food carts that block the aisles and make shopping at noon so much fun)at the Costco here in Charleston. She started when they first opened up several years ago at $10/hr and has gotten regular merit raises with the promotion to manager almost 2 years ago. She has sick leave, health insurance (with an optional dental policy), vacation time, overtime pay and life insurance and she has had those from the beginning...well, after the first 90 days. She loves her job and tells me that she doesn't know how she'd have managed as a single mother without it.

[Omaha Steve]

19. Omaha's first store opened a couple of weeks ago

We live in Bellevue. It is about 40 miles round trip. We plan on joining and going a couple times a month. We too hear it is a great work place with good pay and benefits.

[NC_Nurse]

20. Great place. They can probably afford to pay more

because the CEO capped his salary to a certain percentage more than the lowest paid employee.
They're not paying him hundreds of millions like the heads of the other companies get. I think he
gets 3-4 million or something, poor guy. ;)

What a concept. Not screwing the lower level employees so you can rob them and the customers to give yourself a huge salary and please greedy stockholders.
Practically unheard of these days in Amurika.

[madrchsod]

22. costco returns more dollars per sq ft than sams club

[Rosemary2205]

24. My neice works for them.

She makes enough to support herself, including healthcare, and save some money too.

[Skarbrowe]

25. I'm about a mile away from our Costco. Gettin fat on their pizza and

polish sausage. Yes, I am going to stop eating that dangerous stuff. This Costco is always uncomfortably crowded, so I know it's doing darn good. I get one particular medication there that I can't get through the VA and it is costs about a third of what I was paying at Walgreens.

I love Costco and the employees are hard-working AND courteous. So happy it's a blue company.