Costco is known for many things—their employee satisfaction and retention, their amazing Kirkland Signature generic brand, their massive (and addictive) $4.99 rotisserie chickens, their never-going-to-raise-the-price $1.50 hot dog and soda meal and more.
But one favorite Costco feature that might just top them all? The Costco cake.
Costco cakes are legendary. If you’ve never had a Costco cake, I’m so sorry. If you have, then you know. They are the trifecta of awesome—huge, cheap and utterly delicious. I don’t even like cake that much and I can’t stop eating a Costco cake. Like, if you ordered a fancy cake from a fancy patisserie and it tasted like a Costco cake, you’d say, “Oh yeah, that was worth the $ I just paid.” Only at Costco, you’d get that delicious of a cake that would feed a thousand people for just $25. (Okay, 50 people, but still—cake for days.)
This is why people have a serious loyalty to Costco cakes, which writer Lucy Huber discovered when she dared to question the Costco cake ordering process on Twitter.
Huber took to the social media platform to share her anxiety over the antiquated way you have to order a Costco cake. You can’t call it in. You can’t order it online. You have to physically go to the Costco bakery, fill out a paper form at an unmanned cake ordering kiosk, drop your form in the drop box without speaking to a single human being, and then trust that your cake will be there when you return at your requested time.
It was the last part Huber poked fun of when she wrote, “Ordered a cake from Costco and their system is from the 1800s, you write what you want on a piece of paper & put it in a box then nobody follows up and you just show up and hope they made it? I tried to call to confirm & they were like ‘if you put it in the box, it will be there.’”
u201cOrdered a cake from Costco and their system is from the 1800s, you write what you want on a piece of paper & put it in a box then nobody follows up and you just show up and hope they made it? I tried to call to confirm & they were like u201cif you put it in the box, it will be thereu201du201d— Lucy Huber (@Lucy Huber)
1683827354
“Oh also,” she added, “when I called I had to call the main office bc there was no number listed for the bakery and they told me ‘the bakery has no phone’. Truly living in 1802 right now.”
Everything she wrote is true. But as she quickly learned, one does not question the Costco cake ordering system, as the Costco cake brigade demonstrated with a deluge of “Trust the system!” and “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” sentiments.
Multiple people said they’d ordered more than 50 cakes from Costco with their dropbox system and had never had a problem. And any slight anxiety that might cause is worth it for cakes that are that cheap and that delicious. (As one person wrote after their first Costco cake experience, “100/10.”)
u201c@jonathangraf @clhubes Hahahaha Iu2019ve ordered many cakes from Costco this way and have only had one problem: one time I tripped walking out of the store and it fell upside downud83dude01. Manager came out and gave me one to replace it. It wasnu2019t decorated but it was a cake. Thanks Costco!!!u201d— Lucy Huber (@Lucy Huber)
1683827354
People who love Costco really love Costco.
They won us over with the 5 dollar chicken, cheaper gas and 1.50 hotdog plus drink. If the ceo of Costco was a murderer I’d need to see court documents from the trial before saying anything negative, let alone dissing the 1802 box
— John (@John64647689) May 11, 2023
Only the Costco fanbase is built on a solid foundation of awesome business practices, fabulous food and great deals.
u201c@SlackfulCyclops @clhubes They do make dough and love working there. 20 workers at my local Costco won a $200 million lotto jackpot, and half of them stayed on after they were paid out. Like the door greeter has several mill in the bank and still as cheerful as ever.u201d— Lucy Huber (@Lucy Huber)
1683827354
Even some Costco bakery employees chimed in with some humor and support.
as a costco bakery employee we have to burn your paper with the sacred flame and hope that He brings the cake
— tyler (@tylergotchi1) May 11, 2023
For the uninitiated, someone shared a photo of the magic cake kiosk where you make your choices, hope for the best and are never disappointed.
u201c@clhubes This is so funny. For those who havenu2019t done it before, heres a pic of the flawless order form.u201d— Lucy Huber (@Lucy Huber)
1683827354
Huber got a kick out of the response, sharing that she’s never had a tweet go viral that fast and she was no longer worried about the box system.
u201cThis is the fastest one of my tweets has gone viral. The people LOVE Costco ud83dude02 Excited to get my cake and no longer nervous!!!! I believe the box system works!u201d— Lucy Huber (@Lucy Huber)
1683827354
As of this writing, she has not shared whether she received her cake as ordered or whether it was as scrumptious as the Costco cake lovers promised.
This article originally appeared on 5.12.23