The only thing I really buy there is the K cup coffee pods because they have the 100 count boxes. I’d usually get two boxes at a time. But I’m in and out of there in 15 minutes. Since March though I just order it from them on line instead of going there. So my car is in the garage and I only have to worry about my wife banging the door into it, but she’s careful. Having access to some of the commercial products though like small bags of chips and other items was nice when we helped host large gatherings. Just can’t get the commercial stuff otherwise. Of course there has been none of that this year either.
Around here Wal Mart is it. If one needs a new TV there are only 3 options. Wal Mart, order online sight unseen, or make a minimum 130 miles round trip to Option 2; Best Buy.
As for Wal Mart parking it’s not the parking. It’s the entrance and exit. The original WM was difficult but when the Supercenter opened it went from bad to much worse. Too convoluted to explain but it’s a mess; and they had years to figure it out. Think slalom course.
There is a third big box discounter here in the northeast: BJ’S Wholesale club. I’m not picky about parking lots, so I can’t comment on the quality of BJ’s.
Trader Joe’s seems to seek out locations with the worst parking lots, the one across the street from work is tight in a compact car, i don’t want to know how you get a full size suv in one of those spots. The Costco that my parents normally go is part of a larger shopping center so the spaces aren’t any larger than normal.
Agree. If you want bread or some food item and tooth paste, it’s 100 yard dash from one side to the other and back again. I understand why they do it but still it is irritating. Soft goods should be on one side of the building instead in the center so if you don’t want a dress or socks, you don’t have to go through the major section. Who buys that stuff anyway?
I just found out yesterday that Costco waives their delivery fee if your grocery order totals $75 or more. They use UPS, and claim that they will deliver w/in 2 days.
More people then you might think . Depending on a persons location WalMart might be the best and most convenient shopping place.
I have in the past when I was away from home and needed to replace a ruined pair of khakis.
Did you have any trouble with parking when you picked up that new phone? Was it a pleasant experience?
Which one did you choose. I need a go-to person when I have questions (I don’t do cell phones well) I went with the basic S21 because I needed a smaller size to fit my bicycle carrier bag and golf bag.
CSA
Have you seen the average person that shops at WalMart. They could use the dash back and forth. Maybe even loose a couple hundred pounds.
I avoid our Walmart when I can. But sometimes it’s the only option. Their parking spots are good and wide though. But far too many people who shop at this Walmart are too damn lazy to put their shopping cart away. They can’t even walk 20’. So Sad.
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This guy appreciates the extra wide spots, too. Still needs two of them though.
The COSTCO closest to me doesn’t have large spots. They are in a shopping center, and while they have a lot of parking spaces, none are plus-sized. Their gas station is across the street from the parking lot, and traffic for the gas station is often in the way of people trying to get to the stores surrounding the gas station. I just drive around the traffic and go into the lot at a different entrance.
It’s all in one’s point of view. My wife and I aren’t troubled by parking out away from stores (it’s usually better) and we don’t mind “dashing” around. We both look at it as “exercise opportunities.”
Also as folks age I believe in the use or lose it style of mobility.
I played golf today on two different leagues and often have to assist other people my age (taking balls out of the cup, retrieving balls from steep embankment hazards, etcetera) because they are not as agile as I am, won’t make the effort and would hold up the game. We are soon leaving for the beach for a littl eswim, a looong walk, and sunset viewing.
I’m a member at 2 golf course, one north, one south. It turns out that I’m known as “The Guy who runs” in both locations, as I’m spotted running with my clubs from one shot to the next. I beat people in riding carts.
A bigger epidemic than Covid right now in this country is obesity and overweight and it’s a huge contributor to Covid deaths, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etcetera.
Put down that fork and nobody gets hurt. When this pandemic fades away, we’ll see attention drawn to a national program going after obesity.
So, back to parking and parking lots. Mike’s got it right. Accept those dashes as “exercise opportunities.” Listen to the man.
Sorry about my little public service announcement rant.
CSA
No you are not .
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I remember JFK promoting the 50 mile hikes for kids to get in shape. Never did it myself but knew someone who did. We did a 50 mike bike hike but a walking hike would be tough.
People are too fat and lazy to park a little further away and walk
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Not all, but definitely most.
CSA
Spoken by someone that doesn’t experience 15 below temps very often or sends his wife out for groceries. God save the Queen. 
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I do like the larger parking spaces as my wife needs a rolator for walking and it is nice to have enough space for her to be able to use the rolator when exiting and entering the vehicle. She has a handicap placard but the Costco handicap spaces are always full, they do not have enough of them.
As for the comment that Costco is not for impulse shoppers, their business plan is built on impulse shopping. Products are moved around the store for time too time so you have to go looking for them. Isles are not identified like in other stores, again to make you go looking for them. This is so you see other products and hopefully buy them on impulse.
As for Walmart, when not taking my wife with me, I park way out at the outer fringes of the parking lot in hopes that no one will park next to me. Somehow when I return to the car or truck, there is a cluster of vehicles parked all around me, even when there are plenty of open spaces much closer to the store. Can’t figure out why that happens.
… and those impulses are often necessary because many of their items appear for only a brief time, and are never seen again–or may not return for another year or so. When I first began to shop at Costco, I sometimes told myself “oh, I’ll get that item next time”, only to find that it was later sold-out and not restocked.
[quote="keith, , there is a cluster of vehicles parked all around me, even when there are plenty of open spaces much closer to the store. Can’t figure out why that happens.
[/quote]
I don’t know why it happens either but I have seen it many times over the years I remember one time years back a driver for one reason or another dropped a trailer in a store parking lot I was told to go get pick it up { this store had a large parking lot } when I got there there was a least 30 to 35 empty spaces around it but some idiot parked right under the nose of the trailer.