Definitely am very thankful for costco to have another location in Markham. This location is much closer to home and is much less crowded (it's still busy though)
Christmas time is slowly creeping up on us so everyone scurries to Costco to get their shopping done! I went yesterday (DEC 4TH) to get some prescriptions from the pharmacy as well as chocolates for presents.
The line up for the pharmacy was SUPER long. I personally don't blame them because their fees are super cheap. Approx (if not less) $4. Other pharmacies charge over $10. I couldn't get my prescription the same day, I was given a slip with a time for the next day to pick it up.
There are free samples all around the store which is probably one of the main reasons why I go to Costco, even if I'm not looking for something in particular. Now there are a few things that I would like to address about the free sample stations. Mainly because this is food and I do not look lightly on the way food is prepared and handled.
I have probably witnessed 2 scenarios, perhaps more that aren't as big of a deal, within the past few visits of mine.
#1 - A lady dealing with fish. Now this isn't frozen fish, this is actually fresh RAW fish. She removes the cooked ones off the pan and places the raw ones onto it. No big deal. But now she's using the same gloves and touches the cooked ones that she is now ready to distribute to the customers for samples. Seriously? That's RAW fish you just touched. Did it not cross her mind to at least switch gloves?
#2 - A lady dealing with smoked salmon+cheese crackers.Beautiful combination and I was so eager to try it. Not only did she take her sweet ass time cutting the WHOLE pack of smoked salmon, which probably took her 15 minutes, she was probably the most UNENTHUSIASTIC person I've ever met. Now why do I say this? Some lady walked by and asked her what she was serving and she just said salmon and cheese. Didn't make eye contact, didn't smile. Nothing. I failed to also mention that she said "Oh but I'm not ready yet" Well no shit, we can all see that you're not even half way done cutting your smoked salmon. Have you never used a knife before? Seriously by the time she finished cutting the fish it was warm (Even though she stuck a thermometer in the bowl of cut of smoked salmon). Now the next part was really what drived me crazy. She just changed her gloves, probably ready to serve her food now, and I see her fixing her hair, fixing her cap, pushing her hair back in. Now that is fucking disgusting. Excuse my language but I did not want that food whatsoever at that point and I feel bad for anyone who ate it.
BUT! At least my trip to costco ended off with a bang. I put everything into my trunk I was about to push my cart back to the designated location and the cart guy offered to push my cart back for me :D yay! hero of the day.