Recently I have taken a side job at Costco in Regina, Sask. This is what I have learned:
At the end of the month
The store will be 30,000 Sq.ft. bigger than the current store
It will have wider isles
It will have more checkouts and more gas bar lanes
It will be adding 300 new items
The food courts will have chicken wings
There will be no alcohol sold
There’s bigger carts
The new Costco is one of the bigger stores in North America
Costco has only done one other move
YES, there will be more parking!
UPDATE:
The New Costco is open today November 2nd!
We started out with speeches and clapping the first customers through the doors.
The gentleman who opened the Costco warehouse (520) 25 years ago was there to shut it down! Emotions were high. There were people who have been in that building for most of their lives.
The staff had no idea what to expect Nov.1. We had no Idea floor models would be put on sale. We had heard a rumour maybe meat and produce would be put on sale at about 3ish. Head office came in. Not even supervisors knew the whole plans for the day. They Started slashing prices at 2:30 and it was pandemonium. It was like Black Friday in the U.S.
Costco Facts for Regina:
– The Costco flowers come from Winnipeg and Columbia.
– Employees don’t get a discount
– When the store it closed employees have to wear safety vests because the forklifts have the right of way.
– The old Costco was the only Costco with a basement.
– If you see your cashier “doing a drop” it means the till has locked them out until they complete a transfer of money to the vault. *cool fact* The old store did its drops via a pneumatic tube system
– Our Costco donates “food waste” (food that’s not pretty enough, is missing an item, has 1 in a package that has gone bad etc.) to the food bank.
– When our location is “busy” it is a million dollar day.
– People come in at 4 a.m. to prepare for a day of shoppers. During the holidays, it’s running 24/7.
– Regina has 421 Staff members.
– The reason why we ask for your membership card way in advance is that most people have to look for their card and by the time it’s your turn to go through the check out we need your card to start. The cashiers are timed on their items per transaction. So they need the cards to make sure the lines are moving fast.
– If an employee can’t tell you exactly where something is, it’s because pallets are moved nightly. We might not know exactly what we have on the floor as it is easy to sell out of an item in a day.
Regina sells the most pumpkin pies out of all the Costcos. This year (2018) Costco sold over 11,000 in Thanksgiving week. The record for this store 12,500 on this week. The bakery for this week runs 24/7 with all the staff it can fit into the kitchen and will still sell out up to 3 times a day.
Coming from the Vanbelle Nursery in Abbotsford, Regina location is the #1 seller of fruit-bearing shrubs in western provinces (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, haskaps)
Our top sellers are chicken and beef.
What you’re not told:
– The people giving out samples don’t actually work for Costco.
– Bag your meat! There has been a lot of bloody accidents, literally. Save the back seat of your vehicle, the cashier and the bagger from getting covered in blood from the leaky meat.
– Pick up a box- Often times cashiers have no boxes because none have been delivered to the front. So if you’re shopping and you see one you like, grab it.
– Reusable bags drive us nuts- If you’re going to use them have them clean and ready, you wouldn’t believe the things we have found in them.
– Bag the Rotisserie chickens too. The condensate and spill chicken water everywhere in your vehicle. SAVE YOURSELF, GET A BAG!
– Leave the heavy things in the cart, you don’t want to lift them, neither do we.
Weird Facts:
– There are geese that nest every year in the old parking lot. They are mean, will chase members, and stop traffic. They are the Costco geese. They are usually by the tire centre. The seagulls aren’t much better.
– Costco said it sold 87 million rotisserie chickens last year. Thus, they have their own chicken farm. The plant processes about 100 million birds per year, or about a quarter of Costco’s annual appetite.
– Costco has a poultry farm that produces one-third of all its chickens, raw or otherwise. Costco sells roughly 80 million on average of its rotisserie chickens per year.
Organic:
Costco has already made investments in the organic food space in the hopes of ensuring greater organic food supply in the future, according to the Seattle Times.
Gluten-free:
See some of the gluten-free items
Visit their:
or website– Note** The store doesn’t carry everything that is online and online doesn’t carry everything in the store. The sales are often different as well.
For other gluten free options see our family restaurants, 19+, Fine Dining, Coffee & Desserts or our Fast Food listings, or maybe you’re looking for a food truck.
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