I haven't done one of these in a while because the last few times I've been to Costco, nothing interesting happened. Yesterday afternoon though, it was kind of interesting to be there with the Coronavirus Scare on. On my way in, the lady at the door who checks to make sure you're a member was announcing over and over, a list of items which the store was out of (like hand sanitizer) or rationing (like water and toilet paper).
There was a long line in the back of the store to get the rationed items. It apparently moved slowly because a number of folks didn't just want to put the one package of bottled water in their carts and move on. They wanted to argue they should be allowed to buy as many as they wanted. One woman began yelling because she saw a couple get two so she demanded that she could buy two even after it was explained to her that the couple had two Costco accounts.
I didn't get too near this because, maintaining a well-stocked home, I wasn't seeking anything that was sold out or in limited supply. They had plenty of rotisserie chickens, cases of cat food and other necessities of life. I did though have to fight for that case of cat food.
I picked it up in one corner of the store and placed it in my cart. Ten minutes later, I was over in the opposite corner of the store — about as far from the pet supplies aisle as one could be — and I left my cart for about thirty seconds to grab a few nearby items. When I returned to my cart, a man close to my age was taking the cat food out of it and putting the case into his. I said, "Excuse me. I think that's my cat food."
The guy said very firmly, "It's not yours. You haven't paid for it yet."
I said, "But it's got my name on it."
He looked quizzically at the case and asked, "What's your name?"
I said, "Friskies Paté. But my friends all call me 'Frisk.'" He laughed, put the case back into my cart and said, "I'm sorry." Then he reached out to shake hands and I extended my fist so we bumped knuckles. Until this scare is over, I'm not shaking hands with anyone except people who have been tested and Howie Mandel. The Friskies Thief said, "I just didn't want to walk all the way over to the other side of the store."
I said, "Get in the baby seat and I'll push you over there." He laughed again and that was the end of that.
I was expecting to see people shopping with masks on but I didn't. The most noticeable sign of virus concern at Costco apart from the line for certain supplies was that they've eliminated the free samples. Folks seemed disappointed but they understood. I heard a woman in a Bernie Sanders t-shirt say, "They could at least give out free samples of hand sanitizer" and I told her, "…a product that is in no need of special promotion these days."
On the way home, I stopped at a Von's Market for a few things they either don't stock at Costco or they stock them in bundles too large for me to deal with. Again, items were being rationed. Here's a photo that I took of a sign that was at all the checkout counters…
I read the rationed items out loud: "Liquid anti-bacterial soap…liquid hand sanitizer…gloves…face masks." The cashier said, "I don't know why we need that sign up. We've been smack out of all those things since the middle of last week."
The woman behind me in line said, "We just ordered hand sanitizer online. They wanted $20 for a container that's usually three dollars."
The cashier said, "Honey, you don't need that. We've still got bar soap on the shelves. Hot water…soap…that'll get the job done."
Just to be silly, I said, "I see you're limiting each customer to five gloves. Shouldn't that be an even number?" Nobody laughed. They all gave me one of those "Can he possibly be that stupid?" looks so I grabbed up my groceries and headed for the car. On the way out, I saw they had a little stand with a Purell® dispenser next to where you select your shopping cart. I briefly considered stealing it but decided not to. Someone else will…probably that lady in the Bernie Sanders t-shirt.