member connection
Flying in bulk: Air Tahiti Nui flight attendants stock up at Costco’s Hawthorne, California, warehouse.
GLENN MARZANO
Air Costco
DVDs, chocolate, cereal, beverages and clothing, and transport them back to their homes in Tahiti on their return flight. “We get incredible deals on the products we purchase at Big-box cat
WHEN FLIGHT ATTENDANTS for Air Tahiti Nui touch down at Los
Angeles International Airport after an eight-hour flight from Tahiti or a 12-hour flight from Paris, the first thought on their minds is sleep.
DOROTH Y REMSN YDER
But after they get their 40 winks, a trip to Costco is usually part of their to-do list.
When it’s time to shop, the flight attendants pile into a hotel van they call the “Costcomobile.” They purchase items at Costco such as
Costco,” says Moea, a flight attendant at Air Tahiti Nui for six years. COSTCO MEMBER Dorothy
“Their prices also beat many of the other stores in Los Angeles Remsnyder of Polk City, as well.” Florida, gets the cold shoulder
Moea says many of her friends are hoping a Costco warehouse from Sylvester, her 11-year- will someday be built in Tahiti. Until then, she’ll have to settle for old, long-haired c at, if transporting items through the friendly skies. she comes home
PHOTODISC
“Everybody knows about Costco in Tahiti,” Moea says. “Even our from Costco
Tahitian passengers. It has become a favorite ritual to go to Costco.” without a card-
—Mark E. Stroder board box. “We have tried buying him fancy, padded Adam@Home by Brian Basset cat beds,” says Remsnyder, “but the only ‘bed’ he will sleep in is a Costco box.”
SPECIAL TO THE CONNECTION. ADAM IS © B Y BRIAN BASSE T, UNIVERSAL PRESS S YNDICATE
A LITTLE BIT of luck never hurt any small business. Howard Schwartz’s business is boosted by the luck of the draw, the point spread and the finish line. Schwartz, a Costco member, owns Gambler’s Book Shop, in Las Vegas.
“My job is unique because I meet a microcosm of the world,” Schwartz explains. “Doctors, lawyers, writers, actors, Damon Runyon–type characters— they all shop with us.”
Gambler’s Book Shop is crammed with gambling books, videotapes and software on subjects ranging from blackjack to horse racing to professional sports betting. Customers can also visit the Web site
( www.gamblersbook.com) and order online from the extensive library.
Schwartz, who has been the marketing director for Gambler’s Book Shop since 1979, has edited more than 100 books published by GBC (Gambler’s Book Club) Press and writes weekly reviews of gambling books for several gaming-indus-try publications.
“It’s never boring,” he says of his business.
“New [gambling]
books are
there to be
discovered;
unknown writ-
ers are waiting
to be helped
with their
ideas…. I
never know
who I am
going to meet.”
—Bill Urlevich
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IF YOU HAVE a note, photo or story to share (it should be about Costco or Costco members in some way), you can send it to “The Member Connection,” The Costco Connection, P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088, or e-mail to connection@costco.com with “The Member Connection” in the subject line. Submissions cannot be acknowledged or returned.
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