Seven Costco Commandments

Tips for bountiful sample seeking:

1. Remember that the less-spectacular samples are usually at the front of the store, including frequently offered soup. Hit this first and keep the spork for the good stuff to follow. Times are tough and Costco, understandably, just can’t hand out sporks at every sample stop. Eating mushroom quiche or a cheese tamale can get ugly.

2. Don’t arrive too early or too late, and linger through the lunch hour, when many interim sample handlers fill in for their dining brethren. It’s okay to return for seconds if a new server shows up. Arriving around 1 or 1:30 is about right. Plan to stay at least an hour and a half.

3. Weekdays are clearly best, and more samples are offered the closer Friday gets.

4. Always make at least two trips in the week or so before major holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year can be absolutely spectacular seasons for free samples. Arrive hungry and leave full.

5. If you like a sample, buy it. The sample server gets credit, you help the economy and take home a newly discovered delicacy. Our freezer and shelves are consistently stuffed with items we originally discovered via a Costco sample: Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, excellent scampi, low-sodium Progresso soup, Kirkland canned chicken (which can be used for everything from salads to enchiladas).

6. When is it okay to return for a bonus second sample? When you’re going to buy it anyway, or need one last taste if you’re on the fence. Special dispensation: if a server is stuck with a booming grid of several uneaten samples and is getting no action whatsoever. Can’t let it spoil and go to waste!

7. The majority of free samples are, of course, served along the busiest aisles of the food section. But don’t overlook the low-traffic areas, off the beaten Costco path, up against the rear walls. Forlorn sample-servers can be found with ample inventory and hardly any takers. We found especially tasty hot dogs in pastry that we ended up buying. And at the far end of the liquor/wine section, partially hidden, we regularly get cups of Doritos and other forms of chips at the Los Feliz store in Glendale. Makes a nice appetizer or palate cleanser between entrees