Whole Foods Removes EV Charging Stations

[mwagner]

I stopped at a Whole Foods in Northbrook, IL last night because I was nervous about making it home. They do have 1 Level 3 charger and 2 Level 2 chargers. One L2 was in use and the other was broken, so I was unable to charge. Most interesting was a sign posted on the chargers that they would be removed by February 3, 2014. I called today to get more information. I was told that many (maybe all?) Chicagoland Whole Foods will remove the EV chargers because they are run by a third party, often have problems, and customers blame Whole Foods, causing ill will. This seems like a bad omen. Whole Foods cares a lot about their eco-friendly image, and yet they are still taking this step. It may be evidence that public charging for limited range vehicles makes little sense in cold weather climates like Chicago.

 

[adric22]

I stopped at a Whole Foods in Northbrook, IL last night because I was nervous about making it home. They do have 1 Level 3 charger and 2 Level 2 chargers. One L2 was in use and the other was broken, so I was unable to charge. Most interesting was a sign posted on the chargers that they would be removed by February 3, 2014. I called today to get more information.

Which company do they use?

 

[mwagner]

I think they were ChargePoint chargers.

 

[r1234567]

The Whole Foods in Schaumburg is run by 350 Green. The WF in Kildeer already removed their EVSE.

 

[jsongster]

From what I've heard... Whole Foods is a right wing run company. If they don't gain enough greenwash from installing them, maybe they abandon at first sign of trouble. I used one here is Sunny Lafayette CA... worked fine... no problem. Haven't heard anyone say they are pulling these. Hopefully this isn't a trend cause we need more not less of the EVSE.

Make some noise about them removing them on local news... maybe they will stop and fix them... or contact EvGo or one of the other co's to see if they can replace with more reliable ones.

Sorry to hear it.

 

[mbender]

It would be a shame and a bad trend if Whole Paycheck continues to do this. ( Much as I liked their "mission" as first, from what I've heard and actions they've taken, they do seem to be a right-wing, bottom-line-is-#1-concern company. The CEO is a bit of an odd ball, to put it mildly and vaguely. )

That being said, there are at least three Whole Foods in the Bay Area that have had or will have DCFCs installed on their property, and I'm glad about that! Alas, these units (in SF, Berkeley and Fremont) are made by EVGo, another company I and others here "have issues with".

 

[uwskier20]

From what I've heard... Whole Foods is a right wing run company.

I've heard the same thing about them myself. The one down the street just installed two ABB DCFCs, but the parking garage is owned by Vulcan, so Whole Foods didn't have any hand in it. Seems like the greenwashing theory is a likely one. Aside from their stellar assortment of organic bacon, I usually take my business elsewhere. :twisted:

 

[biggsy]

From what I've heard... Whole Foods is a right wing run company

Much as I liked their "mission" as first, from what I've heard and actions they've taken, they do seem to be a right-wing, bottom-line-is-#1-concern company.

You guys crack me up, "Right Wing run Company" "Bottom-line-is-#1-concern company" either you guys have never run a business or you are so far out in left field you cannot see home plate. Any company that is not looking first at bottom line will not survive long enough to succeed unless the founder is rich chasing ideology. The left wing companies are looking first at bottom line also, profit is the ONLY thing that will keep a company going (except a government or government handout).

It appears whole foods was trying to meet a customer demand that was causing more bad PR than was receiving good PR thus you stop the bleeding. Because they tried and it didn't work you are going to give them more grief than if they never bothered to try. That will really encourage other companies to give it a chance.

You have to admit there is probably not a lot of EVs in the midwest, real demand for L2 charging was probably very low but they wanted to be a leader in the area. Because it caused bad PR with the non-EV people and drew in very few new EV people why should they keep beating their head against a wall?

 

[Stoaty]

It would be a shame and a bad trend if Whole Paycheck continues to do this. ( Much as I liked their "mission" as first, from what I've heard and actions they've taken, they do seem to be a right-wing, bottom-line-is-#1-concern company. The CEO is a bit of an odd ball, to put it mildly and vaguely. )

Unfortunately, even the companies that start out with high moral purpose sink to the lowest common denominator when they get larger. Example:

"Don't be evil" Google funding global warming denier Inhofe:

http://www.salon.com/2013/08/01/google_scientists_tell_google_to_stop_fundraising_for_inhofe/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's pretty sad.

 

[uwskier20]

Example:

"Don't be evil" Google funding global warming denier Inhofe:

http://www.salon.com/2013/08/01/google_scientists_tell_google_to_stop_fundraising_for_inhofe/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's pretty sad.

That's awful. Sorry this is the first I've heard of this, as I'm a pretty strong Google supporter. Definitely goes to your point about starting high and sinking over time.

 

[GRA]

Example:

"Don't be evil" Google funding global warming denier Inhofe:

http://www.salon.com/2013/08/01/google_scientists_tell_google_to_stop_fundraising_for_inhofe/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's pretty sad.

That's awful. Sorry this is the first I've heard of this, as I'm a pretty strong Google supporter. Definitely goes to your point about starting high and sinking over time.

FYI: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304856504579339031332776594" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[smkettner]

If WF wants some happy points they just need to use the power connection to install a few non-networked EVSEs.
Doubt the accountant would even notice the electric bill.

 

[davewill]

I can't say I blame them. Little point to having them if they can't be relied on. Perhaps the local EV community could come forward with some encouragement to have them put some other solution in? The hard, expensive part is running the wires.

 

[Nubo]

...Because it caused bad PR with the non-EV people...

I don't think that was asserted.

 

[mbender]

You guys crack me up, "Right Wing run Company" "Bottom-line-is-#1-concern company" either you guys have never run a business or you are so far out in left field you cannot see home plate. Any company that is not looking first at bottom line will not survive long enough to succeed unless the founder is rich chasing ideology. The left wing companies are looking first at bottom line also, profit is the ONLY thing that will keep a company going (except a government or government handout).

Bull-oney. Profit maybe, but "maximizing profit" and "share-holder value", let alone short-term/quarterly profit, is a bunch of lemonade that Wall Street, Greenspan, and the investing-only class want(ed) you and everyone to drink. And many, including -- it sounds like -- yourself, have drunk it (along with stashing money into 401Ks, but that's another story).

Many companies put employees, customer satisfaction &or health, quality of product, environmental stewardship, etc. waay ahead of maximizing profit and do just fine. Tesla would be a perfect example, and they might fall into the "etc." category. Costco, Interface, and many other big companies move forward just fine without making the bottom line the most important thing.

As for Google, I always thought that "Don't Be Evil" was suspect, besides setting a pretty low bar.

 

[greengate]

I stopped at a Whole Foods in Northbrook, IL last night because I was nervous about making it home. They do have 1 Level 3 charger and 2 Level 2 chargers. One L2 was in use and the other was broken, so I was unable to charge. Most interesting was a sign posted on the chargers that they would be removed by February 3, 2014. I called today to get more information. I was told that many (maybe all?) Chicagoland Whole Foods will remove the EV chargers because they are run by a third party, often have problems, and customers blame Whole Foods, causing ill will. This seems like a bad omen. Whole Foods cares a lot about their eco-friendly image, and yet they are still taking this step. It may be evidence that public charging for limited range vehicles makes little sense in cold weather climates like Chicago.

Very sad to hear of this.

Times have changed...and...not for the better.

 

[greengate]

Get the picture?

If birds were roosting on the top of these stations, I could understand their desire to "clean up the environment."

But lacking any evidence of this, why would "environmentally conscious" Whole Foods remove these stations?

 

[NYLEAF]

Those Level 3 stations never really worked for most people. They were installed by 350Green (the same ones who installed the QC at the Stanford Shopping Center in CA). 350Green was investigated by the FBI, and I don't know the whole story, but 350Green's assets were apparently sold/promised to two different companies, Car Charging Group (the same ones who own Blink now) and a company from Chicago that apparently did most of (all of?) the Chicago-area installations for 350Green. There was a lawsuit to determine who actually owned and operated the stations. Bottom line is, unless you happened to have a CharJit card with money on it, these QC stations were never going to work for you. My guess is that Whole Foods got sick of hearing EV drivers complain about the "broken" charging stations and decided to rip them all out, even the working Level 2 stations.

 

[greengate]

Those Level 3 stations never really worked for most people. They were installed by 350Green (the same ones who installed the QC at the Stanford Shopping Center in CA). 350Green was investigated by the FBI, and I don't know the whole story, but 350Green's assets were apparently sold/promised to two different companies, Car Charging Group (the same ones who own Blink now) and a company from Chicago that apparently did most of (all of?) the Chicago-area installations for 350Green. There was a lawsuit to determine who actually owned and operated the stations. Bottom line is, unless you happened to have a CharJit card with money on it, these QC stations were never going to work for you. My guess is that Whole Foods got sick of hearing EV drivers complain about the "broken" charging stations and decided to rip them all out, even the working Level 2 stations.

Probably correct, yet if I had tooth that "wasn't working," I wouldn't yank all of them out..or an arm.. or a leg..or an eye...or a kidney..or an ear..or a leg..or an arm, unless I was crazy.

 

[cgaydos]

It's doesn't take much web searching to learn about the views of the Whole Foods CEO. He thinks climate change is happening, but it's natural and won't cause harm. He compared Obamacare to Fascism because, he says, the dictionary definition of Fascism is the government controlling the means of production. Whatever you think of Obamacare that statement is wrong - he's confusing Fascism with (apparently) Communism. He's said some other interesting stuff - research and judge for yourself.