The Awkward Tension When Standing around with Other People Waiting for Roast Chickens at Costco

AustriaBargain on 24/03/2023 - 18:09
Last edited 24/03/2023 - 18:25 by 1 other user

So they roast plenty of chickens at once, most times there's enough for everyone waiting, unless it's rush hour. But I still feel this weird tension, like dogs getting ready to fight over their food at meal time. Like I might have to fight someone for the chickens or else I'll miss out.

And the guy roasting the chickens, he must feel some of the weird tension too, working all day with people constantly wanting what he's got, milling about waiting for his chickens. The guy making the chickens must feel the same I do when I'm opening the cans to feed my dogs.

Food & Grocery Costco Roast Chicken

Related Stores

Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale

Comments

  • CrispyChrispy on 24/03/2023 - 18:11
    +118

    … Slow evening on OzB Forums

    • toristo on 24/03/2023 - 18:34
      +74

      Only because everyone's waiting for their (profanity) chickens….

      • spackbace on 24/03/2023 - 19:01
        +24

        It's a cockfight

      • HairyChickens on 24/03/2023 - 23:48

        I'll let HR know that we need to do another round of recruitment

    • Skramit on 27/03/2023 - 09:18
      +1

      Username checks out.

    • TheOtherLeft on 27/03/2023 - 14:01
      +1

      I just gave you the 100th upvote.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 24/03/2023 - 18:13
    +61

    the guy roasting the chickens,

    Thinking to himself: I am a generous God.

    • johnfuller on 27/03/2023 - 12:15

      πŸ€£πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

  • PensionerXXL on 24/03/2023 - 18:20
    +29

    yeah i bet its akin to the people waiting for a methadone clinic to open or a bottleshop in SA

    • altomic on 24/03/2023 - 18:29
      +15

      Or a childcare centre near the vatican

      • iDroid on 24/03/2023 - 22:23
        +3

        You spelled pokies wrong.

    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 24/03/2023 - 19:25
      +6

      Or a rental viewing in Sydney.

    • pegaxs on 24/03/2023 - 22:11

      Or a meth house in Cessnock

      • [Deactivated] on 26/03/2023 - 05:56
        +1

        You mean Nehtnock.

  • brendanm on 24/03/2023 - 18:27
    +39

    Do you think the chicken roaster sometimes roasts fewer chickens, just to try to get people to fight over them? I can't wait to experience this chicken tension once they finish the local Costco.

    • Drakesy on 24/03/2023 - 18:33
      +6

      I definitely would
      It'd be one of the few things that would bring joy to my day.

    • toristo on 24/03/2023 - 18:35
      +8

      I look forward to the Costco Chicken Roaster AMA coming up next week

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 24/03/2023 - 19:39
      +5

      Me only doing a half run on chickens:

      announcing to crowd

      May the odds be ever in your favour!

  • burningrage on 24/03/2023 - 18:34
    +3

    It's not exactly new for Costco.

    Every Saturday they would open up stalls for food tastings and this sort of frenzy thing happens all the time.

    You must be a new member.

    • AustriaBargain on 24/03/2023 - 18:42
      +2

      I'm not a member, I've been getting friends to buy me gift cards to shop there. Costco is fairly far away from me and am waiting for one to open on the other side of the city to share a membership with family. Membership isn't so expensive, but you need to spend a certain amount per year on member discounted items to make it "worth it". I think I'd need to buy a second freezer to get the most value out of a membership.

      • simplystu on 24/03/2023 - 21:27
        +2

        You'd be surprised.
        Soo easy to rack up the $$$ when shopping at Costco - $350+ bill == easy.

        Don't even have to buy frozen food.

        TP + paper towel + other items you need every now and then.
        Then there's the oversized chips packets (twisties is like 4x size of what I'm used to).
        + heaps of other items … all of which are "huge" if you are used to shopping at a normal store.

        My GF has had a membership for 3 years now (she also buys for family live remote WA - 100's of KM away).
        I'm yet to buy any of their electrical goods/etc … but we have bought some odd dog items from Costo.

        • loropy9 on 25/03/2023 - 21:22
          +1

          Ive never been to Costco, but based on what you say it sounds like so many of Costco's member must be overweight several years into their memberships.

        • Slinky0111 on 26/03/2023 - 10:39

          Gippsland 2kg tub of vanilla yoghurt. $9.99 at costco, $16 at woolie. We buy atleast 1 a fortnight

      • burningrage on 24/03/2023 - 23:11
        +2

        Pretty sure there is another thread about what people buy at Costco but $60 is easily recoverable if you
        1. Buy their hotdogs and colas for $1.99 (Easily would have been $11.99)
        2. Buy their Kirkland Paper towels which can be broken via perforation into smaller paper size meaning double the length of an already super large paper towel size
        3. Buy their toilet papers (I prefer Quilton but YMMV)
        4. Participates in their food tasting every Saturday and Sunday.
        5. As mentioned above, things like roast chickens / black forest cakes / Bulgolgis
        6. For me, their 22.7kgs Hom Mali Thailand rice is cheap but only at $42.99 (they raised the price to nearly $50 but could sometimes have discounts at $42.99)
        7. And if you are lucky, free to play some arcade games which last time I did (TMNT, The Simpsons, etc).
        8. Free parking. At my place, it's to have free parking next to an outdoor shopping mall that charges $12 for weekend parking when it can be free for 2-3 hours AND even better during the day.

      • jacross on 25/03/2023 - 09:00
        +3

        Funnily enough we bought a second freezer from Costco, partly to deal with the bulkiness of Costco wares.

        • bdl on 25/03/2023 - 19:16
          +5

          Costcoception

      • TrustNoBody on 25/03/2023 - 20:44

        so you can shop there without being a member as long as you have a giftcard ?

        • AustriaBargain on 25/03/2023 - 20:49

          Yup. But only members can buy gift cards. Also you can shop there if you're with a member and the member has their card scanned at the checkout. Sometimes they do visitor days too where you can shop without a membership or after donating to a charity.

          Also you can cancel your membership whenever you wanted, so you could get a membership for six months risk free and refund it if you change your mind.

          • TrustNoBody on 25/03/2023 - 20:59

            @AustriaBargain: oh good to know ..so if you buy a trolley load of things can you pay cash for the rest of you haven’t got enough giftcard or you just actually need the giftcard to be able to get into the doors ? ..my brother is a member so i can get him to buy me the giftcards ..i used to have a membership but only went 1-2 times in the year

    • Breno785au on 25/03/2023 - 21:15
      +4

      Some of those seagulls behave like they haven't eaten for weeks at those tasting stalls

    • Nedward on 27/03/2023 - 16:02

      Does it need to be a new idea to make a post about it?

  • tallkid123 on 24/03/2023 - 18:39
    +3

    This post reminds me that I need to go and eat some Costco pizza again one day.

  • CyberMurning on 24/03/2023 - 18:43
    +3

    How about what the chickens feel?

    • orangetrain on 24/03/2023 - 19:14
      +17

      They feel delicious.

  • CyberMurning on 24/03/2023 - 18:45
    +2

    Well how about all the parent and their 5 children waiting for the demo tasting staffs to finish cook their products? One day there will be a fight there

    • AustriaBargain on 24/03/2023 - 18:46
      +1

      It was visitor day with a $5 donation to children's hospital last time I went and they didn't have any sample stalls setup. You'd think during visitor days they would want to set up as many sample stalls as possible.

  • lostgoat on 24/03/2023 - 18:45
    +2

    I'm curious that their chickens are so fat can they walk in real life ?

  • Brick Tamland on 24/03/2023 - 19:12

    Would you be willing to fight over the last bird? How far would you go?

    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 24/03/2023 - 19:29
      +2

      Got to avoid being at bottom of the pecking order.

    • [Deactivated] on 26/03/2023 - 05:49
      -1

      Depends if she was once a man or not.

  • Ocker on 24/03/2023 - 19:16
    +2

    Yet another boring first world problem, like - who cares!!

  • Melencir on 24/03/2023 - 19:39

    I've seen family load their cart up with only the chickens. Always wondered what they'd use it for

    • elgrande on 24/03/2023 - 21:48

      They drive them up to Newcastle or the central coast, can't remember what for.

      • BewareOfThe Dog on 28/03/2023 - 10:58

        Newcastle have had one for 18 months.

    • ozwog05 on 25/03/2023 - 14:08
      +5

      Set them free back into the wild.

    • [Deactivated] on 26/03/2023 - 05:49

      Restaurant/takeaway. It costs them more than doing it themselves, but the time saved, less oven cleaning, etc.

  • xtremehell on 24/03/2023 - 19:41
    +4

    Did you ever see those comics about waiting for markdowns. Pretty awkward situation as well:
    https://i.imgur.com/q3Jg8tc.png
    https://i.imgur.com/GeZ3AuP.jpg

  • nfr on 24/03/2023 - 20:23
    +1

    Why do people wait around? What's so special about Costco's chickens?

    • JimmyF on 24/03/2023 - 20:26
      +2

      cheap and large….. Like $7 for a chicken that is twice the size of woolies one.

      • simplystu on 24/03/2023 - 21:43
        +4

        +1 to the first 2 points.
        sadly where Costco BBQ chicken loses it for me …

        Extremely salty - due to brine … the taste is a hard one to get used to.
        But as said elsewhere in this topic - if using these chickens for a meal, then can hide taste with sauces/etc.

        For those health conscious … if look at sodium content - it is huge.
        Another point to be aware of.

        • JimmyF on 24/03/2023 - 21:55
          +1

          Have you tried them recently? A year or so ago they changed the roast chicken product. Used to hate them with the crap pumped into them, but the current ones are 'ok' and about equal to a Colesworth chicken.

          • simplystu on 24/03/2023 - 22:03
            +1

            @JimmyF: Yes.
            This was roughly 5-6 weeks ago - WA Costco - she bought a BBQ chook for me, by mistake.

            Certainly doesn't work for me (too salty) … to be used in a sandwich. It's an acquired taste.
            But for a meal (with sauce/etc) - I reckon it would work.

            As said - my GF has a membership … and we both go there regularly - every month (shop both for herself + her extended family living remote WA).

        • WT on 29/03/2023 - 12:27

          They dropped the brine, its now pretty bland.

          They could have split the difference but now its like they dont have any salt

      • Pinchy on 26/03/2023 - 21:51

        They aren’t twice the size..

        • JimmyF on 26/03/2023 - 22:01

          Have you tried a woolies one recently? Costcos are twice the size of the one I got last week.

          • neosin on 27/03/2023 - 14:54

            @JimmyF: with twice as much hormones and antibiotics? πŸ˜‚

    • AustriaBargain on 24/03/2023 - 21:47
      +1

      The chickens are only $7 each and they are twice as big as Colesworth chickens. They aren't the most flavourful chickens but neither are Colesworth roast chickens. The Costco ones are juicier though.

      • Hangryuman on 25/03/2023 - 17:39

        so doing the math - how many $7 Costco chickens do you need to stand around and fight for - before you've saved back your $80 annual membership fee (or whatever it is now) ?

        • JimmyF on 26/03/2023 - 22:03

          Its $60/year and I've only ever stood around once for chickens and that was a few days before Christmas.

          So basically 9 chickens to break even assuming you don't save any more elsewhere over the year.

  • JimmyF on 24/03/2023 - 20:26
    +1

    The Awkward Tension When Standing around with Other People Waiting for Roast Chickens at Costco

    I was in this queue at xmas. Don't be that one guy at the front that filled his trolley up with chickens. Guy had 10 loaded up, until someone basically pushed him out of the road telling him he had enough and to share the rest with the queue.

  • elgrande on 24/03/2023 - 20:51
    +1

    I'm the guy that checks the BBQ cooker timer and if its anything less than 30 mins I'm waiting for a fresh chicken, and yep, I hover strategically, ready to pounce..

    • AustriaBargain on 26/03/2023 - 22:56

      Ooo, there's a pro tip. What if you lose your place in the queue though? I guess you can come back for the next batch.

  • simplystu on 24/03/2023 - 21:16
    +1

    2 weekends ago - I was at costco WA …

    There was a lady loading up a trolley with BBQ chickens.
    In the end, I counted 28 BBQ chickens in her trolley … (which left very slim total of 3 still in warmer - which we took 1).

    Either she has a very very large family to cater for … or she was buying them to use for business purposes.

    Personally, I don't like Costco chickens (cooked in brine) - would much prefer Coles/Worth for even $2 more.
    the taste differences are huge … esp if using the chicken on a sandwich … but my GF prefers Costco chickens for meals.

    But if using Costo chicken in a meal (with lots of other sauces/etc) … it could work.

    • AustriaBargain on 24/03/2023 - 21:49

      Costco do call themselves wholesalers and they sell like 2kg custard tarts and packs of 100 bread rolls, so nothing wrong with buying the chickens for business purposes. They even have a $5 discount if you get a membership as a business.

      • JimmyF on 24/03/2023 - 21:56
        +2

        so nothing wrong with buying the chickens for business purposes

        There is when they take all the chickens and the people in the queue are left with none because a 'business' user doesn't know how to order ahead.

        • AustriaBargain on 24/03/2023 - 21:57

          Does Costco let you order a head?

          • JimmyF on 24/03/2023 - 22:08
            +2

            @AustriaBargain: Yes, as a business 'customer' you can place an order for pickup or even delivery in certain areas.

            While they sell in bulk, they don't always like someone coming in and taking 28 chickens at once, or clearing out the sandwiches leaving none for the 'normal' customers.

            The chickens (and $2 hotdogs) are a loss leader product, gets the mums and dads in the door for a 'cheap' chicken, and they exit with a trolley load of other stuff. So having a business buying all the chickens so the everyday 'customers' is left without one, isn't good for business as they might not drop back in for a cheap chicken err trolley load of food next time.

            • AustriaBargain on 24/03/2023 - 22:37

              @JimmyF: I don't think they are actually loss leaders, I don't think they are sold at a loss. I think they are just sold for as not as much profit per unit as they could if they priced them higher. You're right though that most other things at Costco aren't exactly cheap and a lot of stuff is actually pretty expensive, and it's the cheap chickens and giant 90 cent muffins that get people in the door.

          • Pudina Chutney on 25/03/2023 - 15:41

            @AustriaBargain: A head or ahead? (⁠っ⁠.⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)⁠っ

  • MeesusEff on 24/03/2023 - 21:56

    I remember during Christmas time the chickens were reduced to $5 for a few days and the queues were insane. Some people were taking 6+ in one go.

    There was a video posted in the Facebook group of how 1 older lady managed to get 1 chicken, while this other middle aged lady (who already had multiple chickens in her trolley) smirked at her and GRABBED it out of her hands and said too bad. There was a minor scuffle. Too bad I missed the video before it got taken down. People can be worse than animals…

  • nubzy on 24/03/2023 - 23:09

    Lol. Feel the same during 90% markdown time at ColesWorths. Don't want to look like some greedy or impatient a-hole, but at the same time don't want someone to jump in and nab the lot, especially the ones that block the fridge doors. I only take one item and always leave some for others, but there is a very awkward tension in the air particularly amongst the regulars who are there every night without fail and will follow the staff member around for an hour making small talk and trying to get everything for themselves. Attracts some real characters I tell you what..

    • oswade on 26/03/2023 - 17:03

      What time do they usually mark down for you? It seems do vary store by store

      • nubzy on 27/03/2023 - 11:49

        Yeah, it varies. Most around 4.30-5pm but Coles seems to be later around 6.30-7pm. They do markdown throughout the day, but I only buy when things are 90% or more off.

  • Seeyounexttuesday on 25/03/2023 - 00:04

    Do the chickens come with rear legs only? Don't want front legs on my chicken!

  • Some Human on 25/03/2023 - 00:07
    +2

    Anyone else not know this was a thing?

    • Ghost47 on 26/03/2023 - 12:43
      +2

      Yep. I have no idea how waiting for a chicken in Costco is awkward.

  • franco cozzo on 25/03/2023 - 08:02
    +1

    very much a 1st world problem this one…..

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 25/03/2023 - 10:23
    +2

    Another reason to just go to a butcher and not waste part of your life pushing around an oversized trolley.

  • Andrew0415 on 25/03/2023 - 10:48
    +5

    I can't stand waiting for the chickens at Costco because I always start thinking about the decisions I made in my life that brought me to this place and then I end up depression eating the whole chicken like it's a giant apple in my car in the parking lot.

    Anyone else experience this?

    • tanguyen on 25/03/2023 - 15:12
      +6

      If the simple act of buying mass produced cheap rotisserie chicken is becoming a task that triggers an existential crisis, then I think we will become good friends.

  • 2esc on 25/03/2023 - 11:10
    +1

    I value my time im not going to wait more than a minute I'll find something else.

  • Coppermelt on 25/03/2023 - 11:38
    -1

    Those were my toughest times, buying a few Costco chicken that don't taste good and are super fatty. Go home, clean up all the chicken from the fat and skin, and meal prep this to cover a week of lunches for work and some dinner meals. what actually sucks? We arabs make much better and tastier chicken and I never got used to eating this, even Coles chicken taste horrible if you grew up eating AlJanna chicken level every few days. but since I couldn't cook at home cause I was working as much hours as I can, didnt get to choose.
    Once I got a better paying job, I never went back to those chickens, hopefully ever again .. did go back for the cooked pizza outside which FYI don't need membership in some stores - May you all get rich and shop at Costco because you want to

    • Ghost47 on 25/03/2023 - 12:54
      +4

      Al Jannah is overrated.

      • pencilman on 25/03/2023 - 14:09
        +2

        Have to agree. Found the chicken rather dry.

        • Ghost47 on 25/03/2023 - 14:41
          +1

          Yeah, pretty much any other stock standard charcoal chicken store I’ve been to has nicer chicken. Never understood the hype.

          • AustriaBargain on 25/03/2023 - 16:01

            @Ghost47: A stock standard charcoal chicken would charge like $30 for a chook that size.

          • quikchip on 25/03/2023 - 16:37
            +2

            @Ghost47: It's their garlic sauce everyone loves, not the chicken.

            • WT on 29/03/2023 - 12:31

              @quikchip: sometimes costco has the 1kg tub of that sauce, I think it was $10 last time!

              Its good but you will reek of garlic for the duration

          • [Deactivated] on 26/03/2023 - 05:38

            @Ghost47: Different people like different things. I tried charcoal chickens several times but hate the flavour. It's like a steak or sausage has fallen into the ashes when camping. I used to live near a chicken place that was always full of customers from 5pm. The shop was sold, changed to selling charcoal chickens, and there were ten times less customers until they went broke and closed.

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