Heroes in Bulk

As you probably know, there was a nasty train wreck in Los Angeles the other day. I've never ridden an L.A. Metrolink train but I have friends who do ride them. Maybe that's why I find myself uncommonly chilled and saddened by the news reports, especially by the fact that it was the result of one man's thoughtless stupidity. The events of 9/11 were more horrifying than if the same amount of death and destruction had been caused by a hurricane because they weren't "Acts of God." Somebody actually caused that to happen. To make matters even worse, there are reports that the victims of the train accident may not be able to obtain compensation for their pain and medical expenses. The transit company might not be deemed at fault, and the party that was at fault has no money.

I wrote about the villain of this episode here. Now, I want to write about some heroes. The train wreck occurred right near a Costco store and the other day, The Los Angeles Times said this in an editorial…

Costco workers were the very first responders to the predawn tragedy on their doorstep. They rushed out in the dark and rain, toward flaming, smoking rubble.

I was joking about Costco here the other day but for some reason, I really like those stores. I feel demeaned when I visit my local K-Mart; like they figure I've got to be low class or I wouldn't be there. The two times I've ventured into a Walmart, I felt a mood of "Buy something chintzy and get out!" I've been to a nearby Target store about five times and never bought anything because I could never find the item I wanted, nor could I find someone who could help me locate it. And when I go to a Best Buy, which I did just the other day, I have the sense that every piece of merchandise I look at has been sold to someone else, returned, repackaged and put back on sale. Most of all — and perhaps the primary cause of all these other negative feelings — is that the employees of these other chains seem generally unhappy to be working where they're working. I don't know how pay scales run but the workers at Costco at least act like they're proud of their jobs and have some stake in the operation, whereas the employees at K-Mart act like they're there because Burger King wasn't hiring.

So I like the mood at Costco and I like the fact that they have things in mass quantities. I don't need (and therefore, don't buy) Kikkoman Soy Sauce in the 10-gallon drums they sell, but I always depart with a few hundred bucks worth of something that makes my life easier.

And I had this thought, which I hope doesn't sound too silly or too frivolous or disrespectful of a disaster. I wish the train wreck hadn't happened…but if it had to happen, and it couldn't happen right outside a hospital or fire station, those passengers were fortunate it happened outside a Costco. According to a TV report I saw, the Costco employees were hauling out cartons of first aid products and water and blankets, as well as tools that could be used to pry open doors and windows. A Costco has all that stuff. Someone rolled out a cart full of fire extinguishers which were quickly put to use. When fire fighters arrived, they used the store's oversized shopping carts to haul away debris and transport the injured, and employed equipment such as fork-lifts that Costco normally uses for moving crates around. It was a messy rescue operation but boy, was it well-supplied.

Here's an article about what the Costco employees did and here's another. And I just realized one reason why their actions made such a big impression on me. As I mentioned in this posting, I was in a Costco (a different one) the other day and I saw a small child injured. The kid's parents proceeded to do absolutely nothing, but a couple of Costco workers rushed over to help the boy and administer care. I was impressed with their swift action, their caring and with the fact that there was no hesitation to grab product off the shelves and use it to deal with an emergency. I don't know what it is about Costco's hiring policies but I think they get some real good people, and it makes me more eager to shop at those stores.