Shopping with your kids at COSTCO...

I work a lot of small scale community events in the Marketing department here at the old SBX. I recently had an event at a COSTCO that benefited the Children's Miracle Network. It's an annual trade show and for most businesses, even if you don't get 1,000 leads, the $500 you pay for the spot goes to a good cause so you're kind of a douche if you don't participate. My boss and I head over to the local COSTCO at 8am a few Saturdays ago and get set-up and then proceed to enjoy some muffins and juice, another perk of participating, and get ready for the executive members to be let in at 9am.

Executive members - thanks for being executive. I mean - you guys know what you want, it's like get in and get out before the circus begins. If I had to actually pay for my COSTCO membership (I have one through work, executive in fact) I would splurge for the executive just to beat the rush of the crazies.

OK, so I digress. When the floodgates open for the "regular people" all hell breaks loose. Now, here is my question. Why bring your kids to COSTCO with you?

In like 2 minutes, they are over the thrill of riding in the cart and they want to explore and so you think, OK, I will let them carry my economy sized pack of 36 jars of dill pickles and you know what happens next. Frickin' pickles everywhere. How do you explain to little Johnny that he cannot just run around the store even though it's a warehouse and that it's not OK to throw yourself on the floor in a violent rage of what looks like an epileptic seizure to other shoppers?

This happened the WHOLE time we were there and thank God for my little 4-foot table protecting me from the madness of the Saturday shopper's kids.

Now, I don't have kids, but when I do, they aren't coming to COSTCO with me. In fact, kids shouldn't really be anywhere outside of their homes until they don't crap their pants anymore.

Just my two cents.