James Sinegal Quotes

We always strive to be the best in the wage package.

In the final analysis, you get what you pay for.

Paying your employees well is not only the right thing to do but it makes for good business.

One of the strengths of our nation has always been a strong middle class who could afford their own homes and send their children to school.

If you're going to say to all the people that you're working with, 'We want you to treat the customers honestly; don't lie and don't cheat,' it is somewhat hypocritical if you're not following the same rules.

I think that most of the people running companies today are motivated and pay is a small portion of the motivation.

Driving stock up from one day to the next is not what we are about. We are about building a good company and performing for the long term. I know everyone says that, that sounds trite when I repeat it that way, but that is and has always been our attitude about our business. If we do the right things, the stock price will take care of itself, and our shareholders will be rewarded.

Our attitude is that if you hire good people and pay them a fair wage, then good things will happen for the company.

We want to turn our inventory faster than our people.

Our attitude has always been that if you hire good people and provide good wages and good jobs and more than that - if you provide careers - that good things will happen to your company. I think we can say that that has been proved by the quality of people that we have and how they have built our organization.

We would rather have our employees running our business.

When employees are happy, they are your very best ambassadors.

You just can't get too focused on worrying about what's going to happen in the next quarter. You have to worry about where the business is headed long-term.

You destroy the initiative of the working people if they don't feel they have a fighting chance to be a part of the American Dream.

We are a company that promotes 100% within the company.

There was a proposal in California that would keep out Wal-Mart but allow Costco. You opposed it. Are you nuts? That's true: I always oppose these kinds of things. Competition makes us better. Some of our best stores have a Sam's Club next door.

If somehow a proclamation were made that C.E.O.'s could only make a maximum of $300,000 a year, you would not have any shortage of very qualified men and women seeking the jobs.

It doesn't do Costco any good if nobody can afford to buy anything.

If you hire good people, give them good jobs, and pay them good wages, generally something good is going to happen.