Twenty dollars and eighty nine cents

[Stinky The Clown]

That is the average hourly wage of Costco employees.

85% of them participate in the company's health plan.

They labor turnover is an astonishingly low 5% nationally.

Their sale prices represent only a 15% mark-up over cost.

They are very profitable.





They just did a segment on the CBS morning show about the company, holding it up as an example of a well run company that gets it profit by keeping its employees loyal, happy, and pro company.

[In_The_Wind]

1. Love shopping there. Nice 59.9 mile drive from my home.

[aggiesal]

14. In 59.9 miles . . .

I pass 5 Costco's and 3 with gas stations.
1 Sam's Club (which I've never been in)

My daughter counted them once and was amazed
at how many Costco's there were.

[Hissyspit]

33. The closest one to me is over an hour and a half.

[emmadoggy]

37. Closest one to me is 95 miles.

[chervilant]

36. I'd drive that far

to support such a business model, where employees are respected and well-paid.

[Plucketeer]

2. And you can tell

that the folks working there are confident and content in their jobs. Further, I feel good about the savings I get in shopping there as well.

[wercal]

3. Here is a map showing a timeline of their growth

http://projects.flowingdata.com/costco/

[Orrex]

4. What's the starting wage for an entry-level stock worker?

Not trying to be petty, but if they start at more than $15/hour locally, then I have a bunch of friends who might be submitting applications.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. I dunno. I didn't hear that stat on the show this morning

I bet the google machine knows.

[jtuck004]

17. I think it's about $12, with the first raise coming at 10 weeks, then incremental ones

after that.

That's roughly what I recall from the worker I talked with...

[Orrex]

18. Thanks!

[hootinholler]

5. It's hard to get on there as well

It took my daughter about a year after working a holiday season.

[malaise]

6. Bet they have the lowest level of theft by workers

It's just common cents.

[Earth_First]

7. I fully plan on applying and considering leaving my job of ten years when they come to Rochester, NY

It's less physical labor than what I do now (landscaping) equal pay to start (no loss of wages to switch jobs) and the potential for healthcare (currently have none) and advancement (currently topped out) are all reasons beyond the why Costco may be a reason to jump ship...

[daleanime]

8. Tell me when they open....

I'll be up once or twice a month.

[MattBaggins]

12. Will they finally be opening in Syracuse?

[mountain grammy]

9. Love Costco, always have.

When, for a second, I though Rmoney would win the presidency, I told my husband we were leaving the country. He said "ok, as long as there's a Costco where we're going."
Found one in Halifax, Nova Scotia, my first choice.

[Aviation Pro]

11. One point....

....look at an average employee at Costco (not the sweet, senior ladies handing out freebies); note their level of physical fitness, in the Denver area stores nearly every one looks like they could run a marathon, do a half-Ironman and join a Tough Mudder all in one day.

I think Costco has a pretty well-defined selection process that allows them to choose the best applicants based on the demands of the job.

[HubertHeaver]

19. Working in a big store will do that to you.

Survive the first 10 weeks, you will be in great physical condition.

[intheflow]

43. To be fair, Colorado is one of the fittest states in the union.

Almost every store in the Denver area has at least several employees who look like they could run marathons.

[DirtyDawg]

13. For years...

...I tried to tell my company's leaders that pride and loyalty - both ways - was the key to delivering the 'Spirit of Service' that we claimed we embodied...but in the end 'Shareholder Value' became the mantra, and along with it quarterly EPS and its concomitant short-term thinking and decisions, turned it all to shit. Thank goodness Costco seems to have remembered it.

[itsrobert]

15. And now that they replaced the gawd awful coke machines

with Pepsi products they are even better.

[aggiesal]

16. I want to know . . .

when are they going to have the
free wine samples?

[Angelonthesidelines]

20. This is comfortably within a middle class income

$20/hr x 40 hrs/week x 50 weeks/year = $40K a tidy sum for many Americans who wish they could make more than $25K.

[thesquanderer]

21. 15% markup, but also a $55 annual fee

At 15% markup, that's about as much profit as each member spending an extra $400 a year at the store. It's a big part of their profit, and prevents an apples-to-apples comparison of markups with other stores that don't charge annual fees.

[Stinky The Clown]

23. They said on the show that annual fees were a *very* important part of their profits

I forgot to mention that earlier.

[dbackjon]

24. I make the fee back with one shopping trip

Costco fortunately carries a number of my favorite toiletry and OTC medicine brands. Savings on those alone = net savings for me, including the yearly fee.

Heck, if you take Zyrtec, you will save more than $55 just buying their generic $365 tablets for $16

[aquart]

25. Uh, what do you believe retail markup usually is?

An EXTRA $400? What do you mean "extra"?

[thesquanderer]

30. Retail markup varies, so "usually" can vary a lot

In some cases retail markup can be 100% (double cost) or more. 15% is not a high markup.

And by "extra" I mean that, if Costco did not have their $55 fee, each member would have to spend about $400 more in purchases over the year for Costco to instead generate that $55 additional revenue per member from sales alone.

Operating on a 15% markup basis, a $400 sale generates about $52 of profit. So if Costco had no membership fee, each member would have to spend about $400 more in the store each year for Costco to have the same profit it has now.

[AikidoSoul]

32. If you get the Executive Member card for $110 per yr you will get a check for 2% of your annual

purchase total at the end of the year. Our check will be for about $94 projected based on what we've spent as an average per month thus far which means we'll only have to pay about $16.00.

I just got off the phone with COSTCO's administrative office and spoke to a 52 year old woman who has worked there for over ten years. She said she LOVES COSTCO because "they really take good care of their employees." She said she is a cancer survivor and COSTCO's health insurance paid for her treatments. She said they let her take a year off to recover. She says she doesn't not of any other company that does that for its employees.:

I love COSTCO!

loveya:

[mopinko]

41. our fees are also almost always a wash, especially

now that they are selling gas.

[Triana]

22. CEO is a Dem. n/t

[Auntie Bush]

27. That's why the are doing so good...Dems know how to treat workers.

Their CEO is not a greedy pig like most are.

[maddezmom]

26. So glad you posted this

I hadn't thought about shopping here since last time I looked the closest one was an hour away. Houston hit the website and there is one 16 miles from my house. Will be joining once again!

[Fantastic Anarchist]

28. Proud to be the 100th Rec

Thanks for the post, Stinky.

[sulphurdunn]

29. And they don't sell junk neither.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

31. This is a no-brainier, but

the higher wage a person is paid the better off the economy does, more goods and services are purchased, more employment created.
I am old enough to remember the fifties, lots of union jobs and many one income families.

[Laelth]

34. k&r for sane business practices.

Proves, once again, that business-owners who treat their employees well benefit us all (including themselves, a point they seem to forget).

-Laelth

[world wide wally]

35. I have a friend who desperately wants to work at Costco. Does anyone have any tips for her to get

hired there?

[badtoworse]

38. Their meat is great. If I'm grilling for a crowd, I always shop there.

[Javaman]

39. Does that include the managers wages or just the floor employees? nt

[uponit7771]

40. "Their sale prices represent only a 15% mark-up over cost." I'd like to see the numbers on this...

...unless the CVD levels take NO salary how are they affording to pay a fully burdened 20usd an hour avg

[Iliyah]

42. Costco is a great place

to shop. Refuse to step into a Walmart tho.

[Ferretherder]

44. Closest one to me is 228 miles away!