New Chargepoint EVSE at Costco

[coolfilmaker]

Drove by our local Costco today and there was a new chargepoint with a yellow out of service hood on it. It's on the opposite side of the building from where the old chargers where, but it's probably because it needed to be near handicapped parking. Hopefully they will actually get it working someday.

 

[RonDawg]

Drove by our local Costco today

And which Costco would this happen to be? Your location field isn't filled in.

 

[coolfilmaker]

Torrance. I was under the assumption that ours was not the very first to get one, but maybe it is.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Good news but I'm sure they wil all soon be far to costly to use now with Ecotality doing the payment for both systems. Clearly this is a last stitch effort to control the competition since their model is in the trash. Now the worst of the EV charging players is now more involved.

 

[RonDawg]

Torrance. I was under the assumption that ours was not the very first to get one, but maybe it is.

I shop at the Burbank, and sometimes Azusa, Costco stores and those don't have them (yet) AFAIK. There are charging stations nearby, but a bit too far to walk, and certainly too far if I have purchases from Costco to bring back to the car.

Good news but I'm sure they wil all soon be far to costly to use now with Ecotality doing the payment for both systems. Clearly this is a last stitch effort to control the competition since their model is in the trash. Now the worst of the EV charging players is now more involved.

Wouldn't these be part of the Blink network and if so wouldn't it just be the $2/hr rate that Blink seems to charge in my area (if not elsewhere)? If you relied on this everyday for primary charging it wouldn't be cheap, but other than having work done at the tire shop, I can't think of a reason why I'd be spending more than an hour at Costco. It would be nice though to get a bit of boost for the car while it waits for me to fill up the trunk with stuff.

 

[abasile]

Wouldn't these be part of the Blink network and if so wouldn't it just be the $2/hr rate that Blink seems to charge in my area (if not elsewhere)?

I'm not sure that the Blink rates would necessarily apply if they're in the ChargePoint network, even with consolidated billing between ChargePoint and Blink.

Of course, if you have a Blink Plus membership, the rate is $1/hr for Blink units, very reasonable with a 6 kW charger and not too bad with 3.3 kW. The main issue with Blink, IMHO, has been reliability.

 

[Luft]

Wouldn't these be part of the Blink network and if so wouldn't it just be the $2/hr rate that Blink seems to charge in my area (if not elsewhere)?

I'm not sure that the Blink rates would necessarily apply if they're in the ChargePoint network, even with consolidated billing between ChargePoint and Blink.

Of course, if you have a Blink Plus membership, the rate is $1/hr for Blink units, very reasonable with a 6 kW charger and not too bad with 3.3 kW. The main issue with Blink, IMHO, has been reliability.

Blink Plus membership costs $30.00 per year does it not? That's not a very good deal unless you are willing to spend a LOT of time and money charging your car at blink stations.

A person would have to charge 5 hours a month at blink stations just to break even with a person who pays $2.00/hour without the membership fee. That means that you're obligated to giving Blink over $400.00 per year just to break even with non-members. I don't see many people using Blink charging stations enough to make paying the $30.00 per year worth while. I certainly won't be plugging in for the 20 - 40 minutes a few times a month that I'll spend in Costco. I will give my business to stores who provide charging as a courtesy rather than just another way to milk me for money.

I won't lie. I don't like Blink. They produce shoddy products and they seem to be more interested in collecting fees than in providing a service.

 

[gaswalla]

Wouldn't these be part of the Blink network and if so wouldn't it just be the $2/hr rate that Blink seems to charge in my area (if not elsewhere)?

I'm not sure that the Blink rates would necessarily apply if they're in the ChargePoint network, even with consolidated billing between ChargePoint and Blink.

Of course, if you have a Blink Plus membership, the rate is $1/hr for Blink units, very reasonable with a 6 kW charger and not too bad with 3.3 kW. The main issue with Blink, IMHO, has been reliability.

Blink Plus membership costs $30.00 per year does it not? That's not a very good deal unless you are willing to spend a LOT of time and money charging your car at blink stations.

A person would have to charge 5 hours a month at blink stations just to break even with a person who pays $2.00/hour without the membership fee. That means that you're obligated to giving Blink over $400.00 per year just to break even with non-members. I don't see many people using Blink charging stations enough to make paying the $30.00 per year worth while. I certainly won't be plugging in for the 20 - 40 minutes a few times a month that I'll spend in Costco. I will give my business to stores who provide charging as a courtesy rather than just another way to milk me for money.

I won't lie. I don't like Blink. They produce shoddy products and they seem to be more interested in collecting fees than in providing a service.

There are many people who agree with the above statement.
Ecotality stock once traded near $120.. it is now 95 CENTS

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=ECTY+Interactive#symbol=ecty;range=my;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[EVDRIVER]

Just watch what they do next, I believe they will use any tactic to save their sad model and poor product and grub as much money as they can. I think they could care less about offering a smart solution and I refuse to use their stations even it they were $.50 an hour. I wonder who came up with the idea of the 50" plasma above the L3 stations that burns 500 watts of power 24/7 ? Perhaps the person that thought they would pump ads to the 7" screens in homes. This is taxpayer money wasted for sure.

 

[TurboFroggy]

Costco actually installed Avcon and SPI EVSEs and chargers in the late 90s when the first round of modern production EVs came out. Then when faced with free upgrades to current J1772 standards offered by California, promptly ripped them all out and cemented over the conduit so they could not be reinstalled.
I will never own another Costco card or purchase anything at any Costco again, they are dead to me and I recommend that no one shop there.
If you care at all about the EV movement, cancel your Costco card immediately and let them know why.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news...he-plug-on-electric-vehicle-charging-stations
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/08/16/is-costco-really-removing-plug-in-vehicle-charging-statio/
http://www.examiner.com/article/costco-taken-to-task-for-removing-electric-vehicle-charging-stations
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/consumer&id=8318909
http://www.greenretaildecisions.com...o-urged-to-stop-removing-ev-charging-stations

 

[abasile]

Don't get me wrong - I'm no fan of Blink's shoddy equipment, overkill plasma screens, questionable business model, and excessive use of taxpayer funds. I do hope their EVSEs continue to be available, though. Of course it doesn't make sense to buy a Blink Plus membership unless you have a regular, predictable need to use their charging stations. My LEAF spends well in excess of five hours per month at public EVSEs, though mostly not Blinks.

 

[RonDawg]

Blink Plus membership costs $30.00 per year does it not? That's not a very good deal unless you are willing to spend a LOT of time and money charging your car at blink stations.

A person would have to charge 5 hours a month at blink stations just to break even with a person who pays $2.00/hour without the membership fee. That means that you're obligated to giving Blink over $400.00 per year just to break even with non-members. I don't see many people using Blink charging stations enough to make paying the $30.00 per year worth while. I certainly won't be plugging in for the 20 - 40 minutes a few times a month that I'll spend in Costco. I will give my business to stores who provide charging as a courtesy rather than just another way to milk me for money.

I won't lie. I don't like Blink. They produce shoddy products and they seem to be more interested in collecting fees than in providing a service.

Blink is not charging for Plus membership through at least 2013. I understand they also did not charge (in more ways than just cost) in 2012 either. Of course 2014 may be a different story.

A regular Blink membership I believe is $1.50/hour, no membership fee at all. It's the Guest Membership that costs $2/hour. Again I don't plan on using this as a regular charging station.

Because Blink (unlike ChargePoint) charges you for the full hour, if I'm plugging in it's going to be for an hour, even if I have to use the timer on my iPhone to remind me to run out there and unplug it. However I'm not against reasonable charges for charging...for one thing it will help keep the spaces empty unless actually in use. With free chargers, what's to stop someone from just leaving their car plugged in to prevent being cited under California Vehicle Code section 22511?

I've read many complaints about Blink here, but the few I've used in the wild have all worked perfectly for me.

 

[RonDawg]

[Of course, if you have a Blink Plus membership, the rate is $1/hr for Blink units, very reasonable with a 6 kW charger and not too bad with 3.3 kW. The main issue with Blink, IMHO, has been reliability.

Yes I forgot to mention that as a Plus member, I get "half off." Then again I can count on one hand how often I've used a Blink charger; ChargePoint seems to be more prevalent in the areas I frequent.

 

[timhebb]

Costco actually installed Avcon and SPI EVSEs and chargers in the late 90s when the first round of modern production EVs came out. Then when faced with free upgrades to current J1772 standards offered by California, promptly ripped them all out and cemented over the conduit so they could not be reinstalled.
I will never own another Costco card or purchase anything at any Costco again, they are dead to me and I recommend that no one shop there.
If you care at all about the EV movement, cancel your Costco card immediately and let them know why.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news...he-plug-on-electric-vehicle-charging-stations
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/08/16/is-costco-really-removing-plug-in-vehicle-charging-statio/
http://www.examiner.com/article/costco-taken-to-task-for-removing-electric-vehicle-charging-stations
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/consumer&id=8318909
http://www.greenretaildecisions.com...o-urged-to-stop-removing-ev-charging-stations

So, does this appearance of updated EVSE at the Torrance, CA Costco represent a company-wide change in policy for Costco, and herald EVSE upgrades at many more of thir locations?

Or is this a one-off, or a trial experiment to gauge demand? Either way, I'm not thrilled if Costco is partnering with ChargePoint, rather than choosing to install their own network of subsidized (free) charging stations for customers to use while shopping. Still, it's a welcome move, since Costco abandoned their commitment to EV drivers years ago. At least they may be recognizing us again, and responding to a need.

 

[davewill]

... I will never own another Costco card or purchase anything at any Costco again, they are dead to me and I recommend that no one shop there.
If you care at all about the EV movement, cancel your Costco card immediately and let them know why. ...

Either way, I'm not thrilled if Costco is partnering with ChargePoint, rather than choosing to install their own network of subsidized (free) charging stations for customers to use while shopping. Still, it's a welcome move, since Costco abandoned their commitment to EV drivers years ago. At least they may be recognizing us again, and responding to a need.

Costco does so much right in terms of customer service and how they treat their employees, that I'm not about to get on their case over balking on EV charging...especially since their first effort was made obsolete by an industry that couldn't figure out how to create a proper standard and stick to it. Let's face it, those chargers have been sitting there collecting dust for the most part for a long time. Little wonder they didn't want to sign up for another round. If they are now going to partner up with Chargepoint, I say bully for them.

 

[TomT]

Probably the only thing that WILL make charge stations cost effective IS advertisement dollars...

I wonder who came up with the idea of the 50" plasma above the L3 stations that burns 500 watts of power 24/7 ? Perhaps the person that thought they would pump ads to the 7" screens in homes.

 

[TomT]

Sorry, but there are other things that are equally important to me. Things such as paying your workers a decent wage and offering them good benefits, things such as excellent customer service and good prices, things such as giving back to the community. On these points and more, Costco excels and exceeds when compared to just about any other retailer. Thus, I have always and will continue to support them as one of my primary shopping destinations.

I will never own another Costco card or purchase anything at any Costco again, they are dead to me and I recommend that no one shop there.
If you care at all about the EV movement, cancel your Costco card immediately and let them know why.

 

[davewill]

Probably the only thing that WILL make charge stations cost effective IS advertisement dollars...

I wonder who came up with the idea of the 50" plasma above the L3 stations that burns 500 watts of power 24/7 ? Perhaps the person that thought they would pump ads to the 7" screens in homes.

Absolutely. Plus, they made it clear early on that the ads were never intended to go to home units, just the commercial installs that use the same basic design. I always figured that if the home market ever took off, that Blink would probably change that home design to something more economical (or contract out for someone else's).

But if EVDRIVER wasn't bagging on EVSE manufacturers, what meaning would his life have?

 

[gsleaf]

Well said. I completely agree.

Sorry, but there are other things that are equally important to me. Things such as paying your workers a decent wage and offering them good benefits, things such as excellent customer service and good prices, things such as giving back to the community. On these points and more, Costco excels and exceeds when compared to just about any other retailer. Thus, I have always and will continue to support them as one of my primary shopping destinations.

 

[smkettner]

Costco does so much right in terms of customer service and how they treat their employees, that I'm not about to get on their case over balking on EV charging...especially since their first effort was made obsolete by an industry that couldn't figure out how to create a proper standard and stick to it. Let's face it, those chargers have been sitting there collecting dust for the most part for a long time. Little wonder they didn't want to sign up for another round. If they are now going to partner up with Chargepoint, I say bully for them.

Considering Costco is the low price leader for local gasoline.... I sure hope they make an effort to be the low cost supplier of electric charging.
I would like to see Costco hold the electric profit margin in line with gasoline.