COSTCO not planning EV chargers upgrade...unless we request

[TomT]

Yep, we both love Costco too! We usually go to the Northridge location...

My wife and I love Costco.

 

[planet4ever]

what is the point of charging while at Costco for 30 minutes or even an hour?

Our nearest Costco is 14 miles away. A couple of days ago my wife wanted to go down there one evening, and I hesitated, knowing I only had three bars left. I almost suggested taking the Prius, but figured the LEAF would make it, and it did, with cautious driving. We were only there for a little more than half an hour, but an extra 5-10 mile buffer sure would have been nice.

Ray

 

[thankyouOB]

As I said, J'dreams won me over.

But if you want to promote EV use, the real impacts will result from getting EVSEs at workplaces so your colleagues who live 40+ miles away can really consider buying EVs. And because they commute so far, it will be a really huge savings on monthly travel costs.

That is where the bang for effort is, and that is what I am working on with my employer.
I started on this 6+ months ago. We have had meetings with Ecotality and AV, and are very close to making a decision. I hope it goes forward.

 

[rainnw]

Coming from someone with an 80 mile commute, half an hour actually gives you quite a bit of a range boost. I usually spend an hour in the store though.

Just like the costco gas station, locating refueling in combination with time/money sinks is great business. You can easily profit off of range anxiety.

Oh, and I suspect the gas station cost a little bit more than a free AVCON swap out.

 

[sdbonez]

Costco told me that the refurbished Costco (they tore down the old one, bought the lot next door, and are building a new bigger/better one) in San Marcos, CA will not be outfitted with EV chargers. Guess that means the old ones are getting trashed.

There was no option to request one.

 

[EVDRIVER]

If there is one thing that burns me about the LEAF is the pathetic charger, that the thing in the car not on the wall Because of the small charger, wine country is not feasible, Santa Cruise is just out of reach, etc.

Just paying for stuff takes at least 30 minutes with the long lines, I dont see how you could get out in under one hour... and the cheap lunch is the best part

Do you think Nissan intentionally made the size of the charger small to limit mileage?.. and thus prolong battery life?

Industry rumors say they chose a bad vendor that could not make the 6.6kw charger operate without noise, they even have issues on the 3.3 and that is not hard to avoid, I think they don't listen. Regardless it's a blunder they were warned against and the original specs at one point indicated a 6.6kw charger. I fully expect the marketing fools at Nissan to revert back to every recommendation that was made to them in Japan and elsewhere by the EV folks they sought for help but ignored out of ignorance. Perhaps the ECO package person was fired by now.

 

[DTB]

Yep, we both love Costco too! We usually go to the Northridge location...

My wife and I love Costco.

The Canoga Park location lease is almost up so I doubt they would upgrade the chargers there. They are going to build a new store in Woodland Hills. I'd hope a brand new site would include new chargers, although it's going to be part of a Westflied Shopping Center and so far they haven't shown any interest. I did email Westfield but did not get any sort of response back from them.

 

[KeiJidosha]

Yep, we both love Costco too! We usually go to the Northridge location...

My wife and I love Costco.

The Canoga Park location lease is almost up so I doubt they would upgrade the chargers there. They are going to build a new store in Woodland Hills. I'd hope a brand new site would include new chargers, although it's going to be part of a Westflied Shopping Center and so far they haven't shown any interest. I did email Westfield but did not get any sort of response back from them.

Westfield involvement is a good sign. They own Mainplace and Century City Malls. Both have charging. Very big on LEED certfication.

 

[HighDesertDriver]

Was surprised to find this thread today after speaking with the Palmdale Costco management yesterday. The manager told me that the best bet for getting new J1772 hookups would be to contact corporate, which I will be doing after this post. Here, as with most Costco locations I have visited, the EV charging spots are frequently used as parking for the tire shop or hybrids. Only once have I seen a RAV4-EV (a SoCal Edison vehicle) charging, although from the RAV4-EV Owners Forum it is clear that out-of-town owners stop by once in a while. Added spaces would be best so as not to disenfranchise these folks who have paved the way for the new crop of EV owners.

As for corporate image, it seems that a few chargers would complement their ongoing efforts to add PV when practical. The local Palmdale store added >680,000W of panels on their roof a couple years ago as the corporate prototype. I have also suggested to the local Nissan dealer that they contact Costco about "sponsoring" a couple charging stations. Who knows, perhaps there could be a friendly competition between Nissan, GM, and Ford to put "Sponsored by your XYZ Car Dealer" in various locations and all the Leaf, Volt, and (soon to arrive?) E-Focus drivers would benefit.

As for me, I would not miss an opportunity to charge for even an hour while shopping, grazing on free samples, and topping off my own tank with a Polish Combo or Chicken Bake.

 

[EricH]

The manager told me that the best bet for getting new J1772 hookups would be to contact corporate, which I will be doing after this post.

Please post contact info (email/phone?) so other interested Costco members/EV drivers can follow up.

Here, as with most Costco locations I have visited, the EV charging spots are frequently used as parking for the tire shop or hybrids.

There is an old Avcon charger at the Puente Hills location, but it is (at least it was) also marked as a Handicapped space, and as the nearest such space to the store entrance, it was reliably filled with ICE vehicles displaying handicapped placards. So getting Costco to modernize its existing 240v infrastructure may only be part of the battle....

 

[Glenn57]

CASF,

The unit managers all direct their input on facilities issues to Craig Peal. I would recommend calling your store managers first.

I have had a couple of conversations and e-mails and his response has been favorable and open-minded.

As he recently told me, the members inquiries have come mainly from California, and surprisingly, none from WA state.

I'll keep you posted if I can share additional info.

Cheers !!

Glenn57

 

[DaveL]

As he recently told me, the members inquiries have come mainly from California, and surprisingly, none from WA state.

Not true!

I have made requests to both store managers at two different stores as well as sending a general inquiry to corporate. We mostly shop at the Issaquah store, which is right across the street from the corporate offices. Maybe I should try the front desk of the corporate office! Or maybe a number of Leaf owners in the Seattle area should request a meeting with Craig and park our cars together in the parking lot to help get his attention!

Personally I'd be willing to use my modified Nissan EVSE, so all they really need to do is provide both 120V and 220V - 20 amp outlets and most folks would be good to go! That would be a lot less expensive than providing full EVSEs.

Would you be willing to share Craig Peal's email address?

Dave

 

[GeekEV]

Would you be willing to share Craig Peal's email address?

Check the third post of this thread. It's there in de-spamified form...

 

[BudRaymond]

I would like to reiterate what a previous post stated regarding outlets vs. j1772. We should not confuse the issue by requesting varying forms of charging infrastructure. Even though 110/220 outlets are cheaper, I do not believe the cost is going to be an obstacle with Costco. They will decide they do or do not want to participate on other factors, presumably member benefit, corporate image, and liability exposure.


Please do not fracture our message.

 

[eMaS]

Dealt with Craig Peal in 2007 when a new Costco in Woodland, CA (near Sacramento) was being built. No support - I guess he drives a big fat pickup and has the job to make sure that the Costco gas station doesn't have too much competition.
We had great support when an ev driver, Ed Fitzgerald was high up in management but he retired.
I guess we have to be grateful if we can keep the Costco charging stations that exist. I will personally go to to my local location with ev chargers and give them the paperwork for the free upgrade.
If someone else wants to get a copy of the paperwork - send me a quick note; but you will have to personally take it to your Costco manager and give feedback to our group

 

[Glenn57]

Good morning,

DaveL - I talked with Craig. That was verbatim.

Bud - You are correct.

emas - Craig has been at Costco in his current position for 11+ years that I know of. He's taking a increased look at these stations. It's very expensive and a long term commitment. Think of all the infrastructure that has to happen to put these in. The price of the charging unit is a very small part of this commitment.

Just my $0.02.

Glenn57

 

[GeekEV]

Craig has been at Costco in his current position for 11+ years that I know of. He's taking a increased look at these stations. It's very expensive and a long term commitment. Think of all the infrastructure that has to happen to put these in. The price of the charging unit is a very small part of this commitment.

A number of Costco's in California already have them, just the older style. ClipperCreek will upgrade those for free if they just sign the paperwork. Seems like a no-brainer to do that, at least...

 

[davewill]

A number of Costco's in California already have them, just the older style. ClipperCreek will upgrade those for free if they just sign the paperwork. Seems like a no-brainer to do that, at least...

Unless they consider them an waste of valuable space...which is what this thread is all about. A company like Costco isn't looking at the price tag of the hardware...at least not very much. It's more about whether they want to spend time and space on them.

That's what the people asking for NEMA connectors don't get. If a venue like Costco can't put in one type of EVSE and be confident that everyone can use it, very safely, they likely won't do it at all.

 

[GeekEV]

Unless they consider them an waste of valuable space...which is what this thread is all about. A company like Costco isn't looking at the price tag of the hardware...at least not very much. It's more about whether they want to spend time and space on them.

My point is that the space is already wasted and the upgrades are free. No harm, no foul. Now, if they were actively contemplating REMOVING the existing EV spaces - fine, so be it.

 

[drmanny3]

Victoria and I visited the Costco at Technology Center in Irvine. We asked to speak with the GM and related our interest in their upgrading the existing charging units. He said that he would contact headquarters and let them know that there is an interest in using the chargers. We make a point of asking every time we visit a Costco facility. Yes We Can.
Manny