If you’ve been reading my blog for the last couple of years, you might have caught my previous post about the Costco UK website.  It wasn’t very complimentary.  Of course, the website deserved it since there wasn’t enough information about anything useful and their location finding “tool” was just a list of UK locations.  Luckily though, that’s changed with their new website which they rolled out a couple of months ago.

New look for Costco.co.uk!

Right from the start you can tell that the website is better now.  The less than stellar design, the actual look and feel, has gotten a bit of a face lift and no longer looks like it was created in 1995.  So, that’s a big improvement.  But even more importantly, the information contained on the site has been enhanced to make the website actually have a useful purpose of imparting useful knowledge to readers.  They have a full set of pages dedicated to informing visitors to the site all about Costco with a page about the company, what departments are available in the store, a Costco FAQ, as well as a page dedicated to talking about the Kirkland Signature brand.  Though not in this same area (though I think it should be), there are also pages for information on how to become a vendor and how to get a job at Costco UK.  For the vendor and career information, you need to look at the bottom of the pages for the small little links to those pages.  If it were my site, I would have bumped those up to be pages linked from the About Costco main menu item.  Also, the link to get to the Costco Connection magazine is under the About Costco section.  I think this should be placed more prominently on the site instead of buried here where it is hard to find and won’t garner as many readers.  Also, this is the UK version of the Connection magazine.   But overall, I’m very pleased with the changes that they have made so I won’t harp too much on that little information architecture problem.

Finally a useful membership page...

One of my biggest gripes with the previous site was how lousy the membership information was on the site and how little of it there really was too.  They didn’t even talk about the different kinds of memberships, like no mention of an individual membership at all.  I could only tell that they had one because there was a notation about different hours for individual members on the hours for the locations.  Now though, they very clearly show all types of memberships and provide full information and details for the various types of membership.  This section also includes information on the newly offered American Express TrueEarnings credit card for UK members.  This is such an improvement!  But wait, it gets better:  you can now apply for membership right online!  To get a membership, you’ll need to provide them with proof that you fit their employer requirements, which are now listed on the site for each type of membership, but at least you can get it done online now with a bit of follow up at the warehouse of your choice.  This is the kind of information that people would want, and expect, when visiting Costco.co.uk.  So, I’m glad that they finally got on the ball and are providing this now.

My other complaint was the location finding ‘tool’ that they had on the site.  It was a drop down list that was labeled as a way to find your closest Costco location.  It was totally worthless, unless you already knew which location was closest to you.  And they provided you with lame, non-interactive, map squares that only helped if you knew where you were going.  Sad.  The locations were the reason that I went to the Costco UK website in the first place, and I ended up needing to go to the Costco US website to actually complete that task.  Sending users away without the information they were seeking is not usually what you want to do with your website.  So, I am very happy to see that they have corrected this glaring problem with the site.  Now they have two ways that you can find UK locations:  you can look through the list or you can put in your town or post code and find the location that really is nearest to you.  If you carry out a search, they’ll list the locations and the distance from your post code or town, plus you can see them on a Google map that you can zoom in and out of and move around too.  When you drill down to the warehouse details you can find address and hours for that particular warehouse, as well as directions on how to get there using the bus and the static map square.  So, I was a little sad to see that they still have just static maps on the details page, but at least you can see the more useful Google map on the search area.  My real question is: how many people take the bus to shop at Costco?  I find that kind of odd and really would love to know how many people do that.  I can’t imagine you could buy that much stuff if you’re going to have to drag it around on the bus.  I would like it if they would provide a link to find driving directions using Google maps on these pages.  In any case, I’m sure that all of the people who have been trying to figure out where the Costco locations are in relation to their home will be thrilled to see this change.

The Photo Centre was the only interactive part of the website before, and it is still on the updated website, but in a more usable way.  You just need to pick a location where you’ll pick up your photo products and then you can see all of the different items they have available for photo printing.  Once you have selected which type of photo item you want – calendar, greeting card, prints, etc – you upload your photos and personalize, if appropriate.  It’s not quite the same as the photo center on the Costco US website but it is easy enough to use and shouldn’t make anyone cry in frustration.

I know that having an e-commerce aspect to the Costco UK website, is what all of us in the UK are hoping to see sometime soon.  But that doesn’t seem to be in the Costco game plan right now.  They haven’t rolled out online shopping to any of the locations outside of the US and Canada.  I’m hopeful that someday they’ll decide to make the investment to get online shopping in other non-North American locations but I’m not going to bet on it happening anytime soon.  So until that time, I’ll have to settle for just having a spiffed up, more informative Costco UK website.

Now this is making me wonder if they’ve updated the sites for some of the other countries as well; I’ll have to investigate that.

As I had mentioned in one or two of my recent posts, I spent the last couple of weeks in the US.  Our first stop was in Kansas to see my mom, and her two local Costco warehouses.  And then we went to Austin for a few days where we got the chance to visit our old Austin Costco store.  It was fun to be back in the US since it’s been about a year since we’ve been back.  And it was really kind of surreal almost to be in Austin, everything seemed so familiar yet strange somehow.  That was especially true when we stopped by our old house to visit our renters – their furniture but our huose…crazy.  I also feel like I should apologize for taking a whole week and a couple of days off from posting.  I normally prepare posts ahead of time when we are going out of town but thought I’d have some time to post and wanted to post about being in the US.  Unfortunately, I was way more busy than I thought I would be, and most of it was shopping.  My mom and I spent every day I was visiting her running around and shopping.  I’m so tired this week from all that activity that it’s taken me three days to recover.

Dorot Frozen Garlic & Herb Cubes

Dorot Frozen Garlic & Herb Cubes – This is such a clever idea!  I know you can make these on your own, clearly.  But I’ve known that for years and I’ve never done it.  It could also be a little difficult to get the nice little teaspoon sized cubes like they have done so nicely for you too.  In the pack at Costco you get four different types of cubes: garlic, basil, cilantro, and parsley.  The garlic is crushed but the other herbs are all chopped.  But no matter which one, they are all chopped or crushed then fast frozen when fresh and still fragrant to retain their flavour and nutritional value.  The best part though, is that the herbs and garlic are just like if you prepared them at home from fresh because they have no preservatives, cholesterol, trans fat acids, or food coloring.  They all taste fresh and flavourful too.  The convenience is really great and probably the biggest draw though.  You can keep the little frozen cubes in your freezer for up to 24 months and they’ll taste just as good as when you first purchased them.  All you have to do is pop them out of the little tray when you need a punch of herbs in your favourite recipe and you are good to go; no cutting or chopping and no shopping either. It’s always better to have that fresh herb or garlic taste, instead of dried, and this way you don’t have to worry about buying a big bunch of basil or something that will mostly go to waste in your fridge before you use it all.  These herbs and garlic are great for any recipe from soup to sauces or dressing to just about anything else that you might need an herby punch to make complete.  Oh yeah, they’re Kosher too (to all levels).  I’m really hoping that these find their way to the UK.  And it would even be better if they would start carrying some of the other herb trays like ginger, chilli, dill, and their herb mixes.  If you’ve bought these, or even if you haven’t, you can find some great recipes on the Dorot website.  120 cubes (120 teaspoons) for $7.99 (UK: £5.14).  Item #: 800208.

Marie Morin Crème Brûlée

Marie Morin Crème Brûlée – I really like crème brûlée but I don’t always want to take the time to whip it up.  My mom and I ran across these while we were wandering through one of her Costco locations and decided to try them out.  You get six healthy sized portions in little glass ramekins in the package in the refrigerated section at Costco.  These are portions like you would make at home but hardly ever find in a restaurant, which makes these a great deal too.  These would be a great addition to your dinner party menu though because all you have to do is caramelize the sugar on top and you are ready to serve; very low on the prep and aggravation scale.  But really, I know you all want to know what the taste and texture are like, right?  I’ve had  in a wide variety of restaurants because it is one of my favourites, and I’ve also made my own.  While this might not quite compare with the very, very best I’ve had or made, it far exceeds the quality of most of the crème brûlée that I’ve paid nearly the same price for in a restaurant.  But of course, in a restaurant I wouldn’t get six servings and not even one would be this size.  The texture is very creamy and light and the taste is not too sweet with a very nice vanilla taste.  You also get little packets of sugar to spread on the top and then caramelize.  To do this, they suggest you can use your small blow torch, the broiler in your oven, or in a pinch a microwave.  We used the kitchen torch and got pretty good results.  I don’t think the sugar was as hard and crackingly pleasing as it could have been but that was probably down to how long we used the torch and let it cool and harden.  But really, for crème brûlée that you’ve whipped together in about two minutes, it would be impossible to quibble with the results.  I don’t think that I would suggest using the microwave because I would think that would make the custardy part hot and somewhat runnier and I don’t even know if you would get the right texture to the sugar coating on top.  And hey, once you’re done with the crème brûlée, you’ve got the nice little ramekins left over too, it’s a shame they don’t have lids.  Seriously, you could pay this much for just a set of  six glass ramekins.  6 count for $9.99 (UK: £6.43).  Item #: 473086.

Honeywell CoolMoisture Humidifier

Honeywell CoolMoisture Humidifier – With winter and the cold, dry weather that it brings you might be in need of a little bit of added moisture in the air around your house.  If so, I would definitely suggest this humidifier.  This isn’t like the ones that you used to get that always wanted you to use distilled water and constantly replace the filter.  Not to mention, the old ones were always so loud they could certainly keep you up at night.  This has a whole bunch of features that you can really appreciate if you’ve used a humidifier before.  For one, this has a UV light that keeps the bacteria, viruses, mold, and funguses out of the misted air, so you’re not going to catch anything creepy from your humidifier. This is also what allows you to put in tap water, which is apparently where the bad stuff really comes from.  This UV light treatment kills 99.9% of all the bad things that can be hanging out in the water, that’s what they claim anyway.  Of course, you can also clean the water tank and the tray in your dishwasher so you can keep both of those things very clean with minimal annoyance too.  Since the water is treated with the UV light before it goes through the filter, you don’t seem to have to change the filter as often as you normally would either.  The instruction book doesn’t mention changing it unless you let it get dry.  The tank is 1.1 gallons and should allow you to run the humidifier for at least 24 hours, depending on your dryness and the setting that you choose.  The humidifier has three different settings for its evaporative humidification.  The highest setting is something you probably won’t need to use unless your air is really dry or you have a really big area to humidify.  My mom tried that setting first and ended up with moisture on the inside of her windows; they mention in the instruction manual that if that happens to turn it down.  When she turned it to the normal or everyday setting, she didn’t have that problem anymore and just had all of the benefits of better air quality.  There’s also a third, even lower setting, which I guess would be appropriate if you just need a wee bit of moisture in your air to keep it comfy.  The humidifier is so so quiet on the normal setting that you can hardly tell it is running.  Of course you can tell the difference in the quality of the air.  The little bit of added extra moisture in the air keeps your mucous membranes happy so you won’t have that congested, painful nose thing going on or sore throats from super dry air.  My guess is that it is also better for your skin to not be exposed to such dry air all the time and you might avoid some of that dry, itchy skin this winter with one of these humming away in the corner.  Plus, you won’t have to worry about wearing socks around the house and shocking yourself from all the static electricity either.  $40.99 ($47.99 – $7.00 coupon) (UK: £26.38).  Item #: 420540.

Kirkland Signature Yoga Pants

Kirkland Signature Yoga Pants – I wrote about the Kirkland Signature yoga wear in a previous post after I purchased the crop pants and tank tops.  I really liked them and have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of long workout pants here in the UK since it turned cold.  But they still haven’t gotten them in (maybe they never will), so when we were in the US I decided I should pick up a pair if I ever wanted to try them out.  I had expected them to be pretty much exactly like the crop pants, just longer.  And that is pretty much the case, though the fabric feels slightly different but I can’t figure out if it really is or the crop pants just feels softer because I’ve washed them a lot.  The fabric is thick and a blend of nylon and spandex, so they are stretchy but also maintain their shape after you wear them a while.  Despite the all un-natural fiber make up of the material, the really do have a breathable quality and seem to manage to wick away moisture while you’re working out.  Much like the shorter version they have a wide waistband that had a strip of color to give them a little pizzazz too.  The wideness though makes the pants really comfortable for any type of exercise or even just lounging around.  These are also reversible for those days when you just want plain black pants too.  The bottom of the legs seems really wide since they flare out to be quite a bit wider than the thickest part of the thigh area and that is my only gripe with the pants.  That just makes them really flop around and isn’t my favourite look.  It makes me feel like I look more clumsy or sloppy somehow.  I guess i prefer a straight leg or a slight boot cut leg in my exercise pants.  But I can get over that since these are some of the better exercise pants that I have (my favorites are from Lands’ End).  They fully cover my bum no matter what kind of exercises I’m doing and don’t pull down no matter how much I’m stretching around (I’m looking at you Nike Dri-Fit pants).    However, I love, love the hidden key pocket in the waistband.  I don’t ever put my keys in there, though clearly you could, but it is the perfect size for me to tuck my phone into when I’m running or walking in the park.  I like having my phone there too because it is much more convenient than whipping around in my jackets zip up pockets, plus I don’t have to worry about my keys scratching the face of the phone when it is tucked away in its own little pocket. $19.99 (UK: £12.87).  Item #: 559035.

Jim Sinegal has ended his time as CEO of Costco, but he’s leaving behind a huge legacy of excellent leadership and corporate responsibility.  As a result of this he has ended his time as Costco CEO on a couple of lists touting him as one of the top CEOs.  I’m sure that is an accolade that we can all agree with, right?  After all, he has been a huge part of what makes Costco such a great place to shop at, work at, and own stock in, for decades.  He’s been on my top CEO list for years now.  I just don’t seem to get as much fanfare when I talk about it for some reason, unlike  major business publications; I might need better PR people.

For 2011, Morningstar has named Jim Sinegal as its CEO of the Year.   As a major financial data provider, Morningstar is all about the business side of being a CEO, naturally, but they also want their CEO of the Year to be a little bit more than just good with the numbers they are looking for someone showing exemplary corporate stewardship, independent thinking and lasting value for shareholders, and for leaving a legacy in his or her industry.  Of course, Jim Sinegal more than fits the bill on all counts there.

The Morningstar article is a great read for those of you that appreciate the effort that Jim Sinegal has put in to making Costco such a success with customers, employees, vendors, and investors.  They did a really good job of hitting on all of the high points too.  They mention one of my favourite Costco episodes – when they rebelled against Coca-Cola and said ‘we either get fair pricing or we’ll stop selling your products’.  I loved that they would stand up for themselves and their customers even in the face of one of the biggest drink product manufacturers.  And it worked!  That’s how awesome Jim Sinegal is, everyone!

The Morningstar article ends on a note that is what so many of us associate with Costco too:  employee respect and loyalty.  I’m glad that was the end to their story because it is one of the things that us ‘normal people’ think is really great about Costco, and truly appreciate.  Let’s face it, happy employees make for a better run business, and in retail, better customer interactions.  Costco wouldn’t be the same if the employees were all surly (yes, I know there are a few of them that sneak in) and the stores were dirty because no one cared enough to keep it tidy, would it?  While it might seem pricey to pay employees a decent salary with benefits, in the end the difference in turnover and employee satisfaction makes a huge difference to the bottom line, I’m positive of that.

I think Morningstar could have also mentioned some of the excellent steps that Costco and Jim Sinegal have made in the area of the environment.  This is such a hot topic lately, and is part of being a good corporate citizen that I definitely think it merits a mention.  I think it is great that Costco uses solar panels to capture energy on its stores in places like Hawaii and California.  Why don’t more retailers and corporations do this?  They have all of that roof space just sitting there not producing anything and they could be mitigating their impact on the traditional power grid through the use of solar panels; every little bit helps.   In addition to that, they have pushed for more environmentally friendly packaging instead of those horrible clamshell things.  Those clamshells are horrible for the environment and are also a real hassle to customers.  Did you know that people have actually had to make trips to the emergency room because they’ve sliced their fingers open trying to get to the goods trapped inside?  Costco also carries a pretty respectable array of organic products now too.  There are a few other things that Costco has employed to make their environmental impact a little softer too (like more fuel efficient trucks), so I think it is important to list those achievements as well.

I think it’s a great that Morningstar gave Jim Sinegal the kudos he so richly deserves in his final year as Costco CEO.  I will also note that Jim Sinegal showed up as number 22 on the Barron’s list of 30 Best CEOs from around the world.  Clearly, I think it should have been higher, but at least they were astute enough to have him on the list.

For more information:

• Morningstar.com: Morningstar’s 2011 CEO of the Year Redefined Retail
• Barron’s: 30 Best CEOs

The current Costco UK coupon book starts today, 16 January, and runs through 5 February. That is a really short time span it seems since it is not even a full three weeks.  This coupon book has about £900.00 worth of coupons and seems to have much better items in it than the previous couple of books.  I think I’ve only used a couple of coupons from the last two books, so I’m looking forward to having more coupons that appeal to me.

Costco UK Coupon Book: 16 January - 5 February, 2012

I’ve uploaded the latest Costco UK Coupon Book PDF (or view it in the Google PDF viewer) so you can browse it if you haven’t gotten yours yet.  If you didn’t get your book or never do, you should stop by Customer Service and make sure that they have all of your mailing information correct and that you have allowed them permission to send you things in the mail.  Also, while you’re there, ask them for a copy of the latest book if they didn’t hand you one when you walked in the store.  In the UK I never have to actually give them the coupons, and they don’t seem interested in taking them from people that have cut them out either.  But I still find it useful to have a copy so I know what to look for because I don’t always notice the signs that they’ve posted to let you know what has a coupon.  I usually download a copy of the PDF I post to my iPhone before I go to the store so that I can easily reference it while shopping.

I am thrilled to see a coupon for the rotisserie chickens!  These are the best chickens and the best deal in store.  They are so much bigger and tastier than comparable chickens at other supermarkets.  The coupon is for a £1.00 discount, which makes the price of one of these delicious chickens just £2.99.  I will definitely be taking advantage of this coupon, since I pick up a rotisserie chicken every time I go to Costco.

For anyone with babies, you’ll probably be happy to see the coupon for Huggies Nappies.  You can buy 2 gigapacks (I guess those are really, really big) for £32.00.

There are several electronics coupons this months – cameras, televisions, and printers, oh my.  I would think that most people probably bought this type of stuff right after Christmas at the post-holiday sales.  But if you didn’t and you’re in the market, this might be the time to consider making a purchase.

I was sad to see that there are no coupons for the laundry items that I need to purchase.  Of course, previously they always had those coupons but not when I need them.  Isn’t that the way it always seems to go?  I can’t hold out for the next coupon book either or we’ll be wearing dirty clothes, so that probably means that there will be coupons for all of the items I’ll be buying this month.  There are a couple of coupons for laundry items though, just not for the things that I use.  There’s a coupon for Persil Small & Mighty (£3.50 off), Fairy Non-Bio Tabs (£4.00 off), and 33% off Ariel Stain Remover, Ariel Actilift, and Lenor Infusions fabric conditioner.

I’m in Kansas for the next week, which means that I am woefully unprepared to write my review post this week.  We were supposed to get into Kansas City on Thursday night, of course, thanks to delays in our flight from London we missed our connection in Philadelphia by like 15 minutes and didn’t get into town until mid-day on Friday.  So, as a result I haven’t been able to  make a visit to Costco yet.  I’ve decided to re-post reviews that I’ve written about things that are currently on offer in the Costco US coupon book.  These are some of my favorite things in the current coupon book that I’ve bought before.  Certainly since it is time to start thinking about doing your taxes, I also included TurboTax because it makes doing your taxes so much easier than trying to wade through it all by yourself with IRS forms.

TurboTax Federal & State Returns

Intuit Turbo Tax Home & Business – We have been using TurboTax for years.  We tried something else one year but quickly realized it was a mistake.  The other reason we like using TurboTax is because we also use Quicken and the two work nicely together and that cuts down on some of the time we have to spend entering numbers from one place to the other.  It’s so easy to use though because it asks questions in normal, everyday language instead of IRS speak, so it is very understandable.  I think the interview type format also helps you out by coming up with deductions and other things that you might miss or not even think of on your own.  Of course, if you really like looking at all those forms and line 12B and 23C things, you can go directly to the forms too.  Also, as you are going through the process it keeps a running tally of how much you owe or how much your refund is; so you always see it.  Which could be a good thing but sometimes makes you just want to cry.  The other good thing is that they help you accurately value any charitable donations you might have made (obviously, the non-money donations) so that instead of you thinking that the old jeans were worth $2, they’ll tell you that indeed they are worth $20 (or something similar).  And maybe the greatest thing is that it checks for errors and your likelihood of being audited before it lets you file.  So, the audit risk meter lets you see things that may flag you for an audit and make sure that the information is accurate and correct.  Plus, you get to do your e-filing of your returns for free (up to 5 returns), which used to cost around $10, I think.  The software will work for either Windows or a Mac. The Home and Business edition, includes some extras for self-employment tax filing for consultants, contractors, self-employed, single owner LLCs and sole proprietors.  Obviously, this isn’t the version that the average person would need; the Deluxe version is $29.99 – $39.99 depending on if you need to file state taxes or not and the Premier version is $62.99.  You can also order this software on Costco.com, and get the $10.00 off, though you will need to pay $4.99 for shipping.  $69.99 ($79.99 – $10.00 coupon).  Item #: 474321.  [Original Posting: January 10, 2010]

Sweet Potato Fires

Alexia Sweet Potato Fries -  This is the first time in ages that I’ve seen an actual french fry type product in the freezer section of Costco.  It amazed me so much that I had to buy them.  Well, that and the fact that I like a good sweet potato now and then too.  These are really a nice little fry and make a good companion to just about anything you’d regularly pair a potato with.  Somehow they seem a little bit more acceptable than having regular french fries with something like salmon too.  However, if you want them to be crunchy or even semi-crunchy, you really need to cook them for no less than 20 minutes with a good shaking and flipping in the middle.  Also, we found that they needed a little bit of salt.  So, I have found that if you sprinkle on a little salt when you flip them over that works out the best.  I also like to add a little sprinkle of ground chipotle or cayenne pepper to the mix.  The good news is that they are a bit healthier than normal french fries since they have 3 g of fiber and 100% of your vitamin A in just one 3 ounce 150 calorie serving.  So, perhaps if you’re looking for something a little better for your kids but all they really want is french fries, this might be the perfect thing for you.  4 pounds for $6.59.  [Original Posting: January 4, 2009]

Don Miguel Variety Pack

Don Miguel Cantina Grill Variety Pack – Okay, for fake Mexican food frozen item number two, we have this variety pack from Don Miguel.  These are the same people that make the flautas, empanadas, and mini tacos that you can find in the Costco fridge cases.  We like their stuff, authentic or not, and buy the flautas quite often.  This must be a new item to Costco because I definitely haven’t seen the variety pack before, and this item also had a coupon this month which usually signals something new for things like this.  In the variety pack you get 16 chicken and 2 cheese (Oaxaca and Cotija) empanadas, 12 chipotle chicken and cheese flautas, and 25 shredded steak mini tacos.  The flautas and the empanadas definitely seem smaller to me than the ‘regular’ sized ones that they have in the fridge section, I’m less positive about the mini tacos.  In any case, they are all delicious but my favorite is probably the mini tacos.  And conveniently they all cook at the same temperature for the same amount of time; very easy to put a bunch on a cookie sheet and bake.  53 items (3.4 pounds) for $8.99 ($11.99 – $3.00 coupon).  Item #: 352474. [Original Posting: December 13, 2009]

Bellatoria Pizzas

Bellatoria Garlic Chicken Alfredo Pizzas – These are one of the items in this month’s coupon book – $3.00 off.  These are a really nice thin crust pizza that you can have cooked and ready to go in like 15 minutes (including the time it takes to heat up your oven).  I love the really crunchy thin crust!  But the topping is nice too, especially if you don’t like or just need a change from the regular tomato sauce based pizza.  There’s a whole lot of cheesy taste from the mozzarella, Asiago and creamy garlic Alfredo sauce and then there’s a great oregano and basil spice blend too.  The chicken is even good because it is all white meat chunks that are moist and the perfect match to all the cheese.  The pizzas aren’t big by any means, they’re about a pound each weight wise, so you know that it isn’t like ordering a large pizza from Pizza Hut, for sure.  I think they’re about 11 inches in diameter.  But it does make a good quick meal if you’re not inclined to whip up a meal.  The coupon makes the price fairly reasonable for the three pizzas that you get in the box at Costco. 3, 11″ diameter pizzas for ($12.99 – $3.00 coupon) $9.99.  [Original Posting: January 18, 2009]