Costco

I have had a good impression of Costco for quite some time. Its not because we go there routinely -- the closest one is about thirty minutes from our home. Instead, it stems from comments made by their CEO to the effect that he pays decent wages so that he can get decent people. I like that. My wife and I don't tend to shop at Wal-Mart. We're not opposed to it -- last year, we darted to one three days before Christmas when our tree stand flat gave up the ghost -- but we don't like what we hear about their salary policies. I understand that their image is taking a beating over that, and they're trying to fix it. Not by increasing salaries, but by clever PR. Thats not right, in our book.

But the thing that nailed my image of Costco was food. A holiday party at my office, where a person brought in a rich four layer eight inch high dark chocolate cake. We were agog over it, wondering which of the local high end bakeries had made it. "Costco", the supplier said, grinning.

If they can deliver that level of quality in a cake ....