Season 6 Episode 2
Working Seasonal At Costco And Shopper's Guide
Hey everyone, Tyler here! As this episode comes out, I have just finished my seasonal job at Costco. Although it was only about a month or so, I feel like I learned so much! We all know and love Costco for their bulk items, affordable food court options, and ever-changing items, but what about what it’s like on the back end?
Working Seasonal At Costco
First off, I have nothing bad to say about working for Costco. In the midst of a pandemic and high unemployment rates, I was glad that a company saw value in what I could do - even if it was their entry level position where I had to collect shopping carts, box up people’s Costco hauls, and handle hundreds of pounds of card board (if not thousands). As many of you may already know, Costco is known for their generous benefits for their full time employees and I believe they should be a leading model for how all big retailers and corporations should value their employees. Believe it or not, the majority of Costco’s revenue comes from membership dues, which allows them to sell your favorite items in bulk for less. It’s a win-win situation!
If you’re curious about working for Costco, be prepared to work. You’ll be on your feet all day, so comfortable shoes are a must. At my warehouse, they let us wear jeans, but our tops must have collars (so polos, flannels, and button up/downs are okay). A can-do attitude is how you should approach every shift since you never know exactly what you’ll do in given day since it varies on business needs. I have spent whole, 8 hour days pushing carts and days where I’ve done 3-5 different tasks. As a seasonal, the goal is to make a great impression and show that you are worth keeping. In the case that you don’t get immediately brought on after your seasonal period, there are chances where you might be called back and hired on later or maybe even noticed by another warehouse in the area. Do the best job you can and try to make the most of the opportunity.
Things To Look Out For
The age old question of “what’s good to buy at Costco?” is one I never get tired of talking about. The best part of Costco (in my opinion) is you never know what will come into the warehouse. For Bay Area warehouses, certain ones will carry tons of great Asian offerings from Asian meat jerkies to even dried sea cucumber for the lunar new years. Another item to look out for would be the interesting seafood options that come in from time to time. If you’re lucky, you can score a bag of live manilla clams for 3.99/lb or even whole black cod (with guts and head removed) for a velvety, premium fish experience.
Black Cod, 9.99/lb
Asian Items
My current favorites are the hot pot meats! Yes, you heard me right - some of the warehouses carry pre-sliced, Costco quality, hot pot/shabu meat. From what I’ve seen, the cheaper option is usually a new york steak sliced into thin shabu slices. There is also a more premium option where they slice rib eye steaks up for shabu, but it really depends on the warehouse you shop at. If you are going to hot pot with at least 3-4 people, this can be a great economical option as the NY steak cuts are usually at 7.99/lb and the rib eye steak cuts are around 13.99/lb. On average, 1 pack is about 4lbs.
Another one of my favorite Asian items from Costco are the bulk snacks they carry from time to time. I was lucky enough to have scored a bag of the boba mochis but haven’t seen them since we got one shipment in. Usually they have hello pandas and shrimp chips on hand! Keep an eye out for potentially new instant noodle options as well! I’ve been a really big fan of the Asha noodle brand from Taiwan and they came out with a few new flavors.
A-Sha Hakka Thick Cut Mala Noodles, 8.99/case. 12 pack/case
Groceries
As someone who lives on his own with some housemates, there are things I am weary of buying as it might be too big in bulk. However, a shareable that is incomparably priced would be eggs! We generally prefer our eggs to be organic, and you really can’t be 18 eggs at 6.99. If you’re not as picky on eggs, you can always buy the regular white eggs for an even lower cost!
As always, listen to the full episode to hear in-depth explanations and discussions!