Of the 3 major wholesale clubs, BJ's is my second choice after Costco. This particular branch is…read morepretty solid. It's very clean, parking is a breeze and the staff is really nice. I've even had 2 of them refuse tips when helping me load up an over-sized item. Three times, "here this is for you", and they simply don't want it. Must be something about the PA water. In NYC, that tip would be gone...so gone. Some of the upsides here are the cheap and delicious rotisserie chickens for $5, the big and heavily discounted selection of name brand kids clothing, the convenient gas station close by (not the cheapest around, but pretty cheap), and the burgeoning selection of organic foods. As for negatives, Im getting a bit steamed about the Made in China food items which are popping up at BJ's (and in wholesale stores in general) more and more. The branding is also making it quite hard to spot at a glance. For example, I recently bought a USDA Organic bag of pine nuts from the Belle Sole company. I figured Made in the USA, maybe Italy or Mexico. Nope. China. And they tasted horrendous. So bad, that I actually had to return it. It's also not just the pine nuts. I've also seen frozen fish, noodles, Asian dry goods, Asian frozen dinners, and soybeans, all from China. I don't mind food from Asia or overseas, but it really is controversial to stock food from China given their legacy of worker exploitation, pollution concerns, criticisms about the quality of organics sourced there, and scandals with food contamination. Further, what the hell, how is it cheaper to import noodles from China than to make them here at home? It's basically flour and eggs in a plastic bag. BJ's can't find an American company to do that? I don't know, there's something very wrong with that scenario. It certainly feels shortsighted and greedy for companies like BJ's to import food from China. However, since my hardline stance is outweighed by my kids love their Frigo cheese sticks, I'll almost certainly be back (unless they start to make them in China, I guess).

I recently felt ill after shopping in the store. The lady on checkout was extremely compassionate…read moreand helpful. This was followed by similar treatment by Tracy in the eye glasses department who looked after me until my family my family came to get me. I am eternally grateful to both people who demonstrated exceptional customer service and compassion.