February 3, 2005

Company for the People

This is one of those stories that amuse me. It's toward the end of an article on Costco, which I happened to come across this afternoon. [Note: I have no vested interest in Costco, so this story isn't a pitch for you to go buy there. Although, if you want to shop there, go ahead. I ain't stoppin' ya. ;) ]


"In the Issaquah store, I watch a customer eye a display of men's cashmere sport coats selling for $299.99. He fingers the material, then tries one on.

"'These really are an incredibly good buy,' the customer, a trim, 40ish man with an authoritative air, tells a clerk who's standing nearby.

"She murmurs assent. 'They sell for $500 at Nordstrom.'

"'Are you kidding?' he replies, perhaps more acquainted with cashmere than the clerk, who couldn't afford a Costco card of her own until she got one free by working there. 'They start in the 800s.'

"Ten minutes after walking up to the display, he's got a $300 item slung over his shoulder."