Costco.co.uk: it could be better

Okay, that might actually be sugar coating it…quite a bit. If you aren’t in the UK, then you’ve probably never looked at the website for Costco in the UK, but go ahead and do it. I’ll wait. Pathetic, isn’t it? And you know, the websites for Costco Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Australia are similarly unfinished, it seems. There is some information on all the websites, obviously, but the thoroughness does not compare to what you find on the websites for the United States or Canada. And there definitely isn’t even a thought about ordering online. The websites don’t even have a good location finding tool.  I believe that the biggest reason people probably go to these websites is to find a location and some information, so why do they make it so hard for their customers and potential customers?

I’ll start with the worst part, the most unhelpful part: the location finding ‘tool’.  In all honesty, it’s not so much a tool as it is a list of locations around the UK.  So, if you don’t actually know which one is closest to you, most likely you still won’t even after looking at this list.  And they actually label the drop down: “Find your nearest warehouse”.  To me that is totally and completely misleading.  Finding my nearest location is actually what made me visit Costco.co.uk in the first place.  But I was really none the wiser after my visit.  I actually had to go to Costco.com to use their location finding tool to determine which UK location was indeed closest to me.  And I really don’t understand this.  Why don’t they use the same tool on all of the sites?  The tool on the main Costco.com can obviously handle finding the foreign addresses and determining distances for locations worldwide.  Other than that, I can’t imagine what the difficulty would be in using this same, useful, tool on all of the websites for other countries.  Because yes, they have the same issue on the Japan, Taiwan, and Korea websites too.  They have a list and for each location show the little map square (that you can’t zoom in or out on) that possibly, if you knew the area really well, you might be able to determine how close that is to you.  On the UK site they still have the list but the map you have to download!  The annoyance level of that is not even worth thinking about downloading the map.  Though, I am sure far more people would just use Google Maps, because I know I did.  Of course, with that method you have to look up each one and get directions to the chosen Costco location to find out how far it is from you.  And that is making people work just too hard to come visit your store.  In the end, it is best to just go to Costco.com (right from the start since you’ve read this).  At least the sites for the Asian Costco stores don’t claim this list will help you find your closest location.  And of course, Australia doesn’t suffer from this issue at all since they currently have the single location.

And at first I thought that maybe all of the sites were designed kind of independently, but after looking through them, I don’t actually think that’s true.  All of the Asian websites have the same exact look and feel, as well as the same types of information.  And while the UK website looks a little different, it does have the same basic information on its site; though far less of it for some reason.  Information, and certainly really in-depth or useful information, is kind of thin on the UK site; only slightly better on the Asian sites.  The UK site has a F.A.Q but it answers just 4 questions!  The F.A.Q. covers how many Costco locations there are, why they charge a membership fee, methods of payment, and whether or not your friends can use your card.  They don’t even mention the return or refund policy, for instance.   So, now I’m wondering, is it the same or different from the really great policies in the US.  Do they have a separate return policy for electronics here?  Don’t know.  From one of the homepage graphics I guess it is the same electronics return policy as in the US, and they also appear to offer the extended warranty and the technical help concierge line.  But to find out what these are really about you have to download a document.  Why don’t they just cover that in the F.A.Q?  Or maybe they could do it in both places.  For what it is worth, all of the other website have much larger F.A.Q.s  that all cover the same information and some of the good stuff you want to know, like why you have to show your receipt when you leave, hours of operation, and whether you can bring a friend with you when you shop or not.  And yes, there are NO customer support pages on this website (or any of the Asian or Australian sites either), not even a single link where you could pose a question that isn’t covered in the pitifully brief F.A.Q.

There’s also surprisingly little about membership, and you certainly aren’t buying or renewing it online.  Strangely, the UK seems to be the only bunch of Costco locations that does not offer a Gold Star Membership (for individuals – I’m thinking I’ll cover this in a totally separate post though), though I think they do but they just don’t talk about it on the website perhaps.  Their main demographic must be trades people though, since those are the only memberships they mention specifically.   Here at least they do tell you what documents you’ll need to supply to prove your business owner status, as well as a PDF of the application.  And shockingly, you can apparently email them to upgrade to an Executive Membership; though they probably just tell you to handle that at your local warehouse is my guess.  The only reason I think they have individual membership is because they talk about different opening hours for individuals.  Perhaps they could hide that more because it isn’t hard enough to figure out now.  And does the UK really not have a Costco co-branded credit card for use in their stores?  It seems that all of the other countries, except Australia, offer this so it seems odd that neither of these locations do.  Of course, Costco in Australia is new, but there are 21 locations here in the UK, so I’d have expected them to iron this out by now (especially since every other grocery store and retail store here seems to have a branded credit card).

And there are plenty of other areas where the UK site falls down: no information about what will be new in the warehouses this month, no new location information, no product notices or recalls listed, no information about upcoming holidays and holiday hours, no links to the Costco Connection (though this might be because it is so tailored to the US or Canada, I imagine), no rebate information, no links to the information about the photo contest, nothing about special events or roadshows (do they not do that here), no information on Costco stock, and no online employment application process for their stores.  However, all of the websites do seem to offer some level of online photo ordering.  I’ll have to take a longer look at the photo center websites to see if they are as full featured as they are in the US.

I realize that this is a bit of a rant, and kind of out of character for me with regards to my usual adoring posts about Costco.  But seriously, this is a problem that could easily be overcome with just a little bit of thought.  I realize that things like Customer Support email forms require someone on the back end to actually answer these questions, but it doesn’t have to be a whole fleet of people, just a few would make this a useful addition to these Costco websites.  And the location finding is almost laughable, in that ‘jokes on you’ kind of way, because there is certainly no need to have a problem in this area.  Costco has already put together the tool to find locations, all around the world, they just need to roll it out to these other Costco websites.  That has got to be the easiest fix of all the poor design and information decisions, really.  Most of the other holes are simply about presenting information that I assume they have, or have access to at least, but for some reason they just don’t convey to visitors to their sites.  They shouldn’t make it so difficult for customers and potential customers to find information.  I’m really surprised by this because it seems so counter to the usual way that Costco operates, I mean, they are all about outstanding customer service.  These websites are just letting them down.

Usually I can find a cohesive theme for the news stories about Costco, however, this time I’ve got a bunch of stuff that doesn’t really flow together.  There’s some news about new locations, American Express in Canada, and a new green (as in environmental, not color) product.  So, just a whole lot of stuff that isn’t enough for a post but still deserves a mention, I think.

Locations: First off, I’ll talk about the stuff that you all really, really care about: where new Costco locations are being built.  Unfortunately, there’s no news for some of the places you have been asking for one (like, Florida) but there’s news for the Fort Oglethorpe, GA / Chattanooga, TN area and Mettawa, IL.

Georgia & Tennessee:  Costco will be coming to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, a short drive from Chattanooga.  This means that the people in that area will have their first big competitor to Sam’s Club, finally.   Of course, for years it’s just been Sam’s Club, so I’m wondering if Costco will have any problem getting traction there initially.  But I think that having another shopping option will be good for the area because there are definitely far different products offered at Costco, things you’d never get at Sam’s Club.  Apparently, Costco has been in negotiations with Fort Oglethorpe for more than a year to open a new location to Cloud Springs Road, off of I-75.  The county will buy the land slated for the new Costco for $4.8 million, do approximately $4.5 million in necessary improvements, and then sell it to Costco for $4.8 million.  So, basically the city has spent $4.5 million to lure Costco to the area.  So there is a bit of controversy about property taxes and sales taxes and how it will affect residents in the area.  However, the county feels very strongly that any rise in property taxes will be completely offset by the increase in sales tax collected due to the new Costco.  They believe Costco will bring in enough sales tax revenue to pay off the county debt for improvements in 5 years.  But there are some that feel like this is just moving the cost that county residents will pay from property taxes to sales taxes, since they believe that it will mostly be in-county shoppers at the Costco location.  However, I’m pretty sure that people will drive from al over the area to shop there.  Costco says that a location can draw shoppers from as far away as 30 or 40 miles away.  Or, even farther as many people on here can attest to.  And they also don’t mention that there will be lots of jobs created in the county by opening this new Costco location, and surely that will be a great thing for the area.  So, I think this is great news for the surrounding area, including Chattanooga, TN.  Since there seem to be such a small number of Costco’s in that area, I’m sure that this will turn out to be a very good thing.  The county will work on site prep until sometime in late May, with Costco’s plans to complete the new warehouse in about 110 days, that means that the new location should be open around mid to late August 2010.

• Chattanooga Times Free Press:  ’Hilltop’ Revealed: Costco
• Chattanooga Times Free Press:  Costco Challenges Local Sam’s Club For Customers
• News Channel 9, Chattanooga TN:  How Does Costco Club Work?
• Chattanooga Times Free Press: County Balances Cost of Costco

Mettawa / Lake Forest, IL:  So, this bunch of stories caught my attention because they’re talking about Costco, of course, but also because it involves the town where I went to college, Lake Forest.  Lake Forest is a beautiful town right on the shore of Lake Michigan, lots of trees, lots of gorgeous houses, and lots and lots of money (sadly, I didn’t have any when I was there but the residents sure did).  It’s the money that makes them a little over the top in their building requirements.  It was over 6 months before I realized there was a Burger King in town because they could only have this little tiny sign on their door; beyond low key.  In any case, it came as no shock to me when I saw that there was a big, big uproar when Costco was thinking of coming to town.  It almost makes me laugh to even think about that happening.  This whole debate started in late 2004 when a developer submitted plans to the city of Lake Forest for development of 40 acres near I-94 and listed Costco as a potential buyer.  But instead of allowing the Costco to move in, the city bought some of the land for their new municipal services building, and some of it was sold to others.  So, despite the huge potential increase in sales tax revenue for the Lake Forest, it will now be in Mettawa, on the southeast corner of Route 60 and Riverwoods Road, just slightly southwest of where the Lake Forest site was to be located.  But there was plenty of drama regarding the building of a Costco in Mettawa too, including two lawsuits and two years of discussion and debate.  One lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice by Judge Mitchell Hoffman and was not appealed; the other was settled recently by all parties, including the Village.  After a two year debate about to build or not to build, Mettawa has finally agreed to let the new Costco build in the village.  The new Costco should be open in November 2010.  But of course, Lake Forest is still a little disgusted and wants to make sure that everyone there shops locally at the various small retailers, instead of going to the new Costco.

• LakeForester.com: Lawsuits Settled, Costco Slated to Open in Mettawa in November
• LakeForester.com: Local retailers shrug off threat of Costco store off Route 60

American Express Canada:  American Express Canada and Costco are rolling out the TrueEarnings card so that Costco shoppers there can take advantage of the great program that has been available in the US for a number of years.  It has the same basic benefits as the US card:  earn a full 3% cash back at eligible restaurants, 2% cash back at eligible gas stations up to$3,000 annually and 1% thereafter and up to 1% cash back on daily purchases such as groceries. Cardmembers can then easily use their annual rebate toward goods, services or cash at Costco.  This is great since American Express is the only card accepted at Costco’s 77 Canadian locations.   If you’ve got an American Express Costco Cash Rebate card, it will still be accepted, but you do have the option of switching to the new TrueEarnings card.  If you’d like to apply for the TrueEarnings card, you can get more information at your local Costco or you can apply online at AmericanExpress.ca/TrueEarnings.

• Newswire.ca: American Express and Costco Wholesale Unveil New TrueEarnings Card

Environmentally Friendly GoECOlife™ SOHO 8-Sheet ULTRA-QUIET™ Paper Shredder: I had to write about this, mostly so that I would understand how a paper shredder can be carbon free.  Apparently, at Costco.com you can now buy the world’s first CarbonFree® Certified carbon neutral paper shredder.  Who knew?  The paper shredder has earned Carbonfund.org’s CarbonFree® Certified Label, the world‘s leading carbon neutral product label and the first in the U.S.  So, yeah, what the heck does that mean?  To earn the CarbonFree Product Certification, the GoECOlife SOHO 8-Sheet ULTRA-QUIET Paper Shredder underwent a rigorous product life-cycle assessment performed by WSP Group to determine the carbon footprint. In addition to using energy-saving technology, GoECOlife reduced the remaining carbon footprint through support of Carbonfund.org’s third-party validated renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects.  The personal or home office type shredder utilizes an energy-saving technology that prevents vampire energy waste when the shredder is not in use and plugged in. The shredder is manufactured with materials that meet Restriction of Hazardous Substances standards (RoHS-compliant) and is packaged with recycled, partially recycled and/or biodegradable materials.  You can currently buy the shredder at Costco.com for $59.99 (including shipping).  For that price you get the shredder, plus a 12-pack of GoECOlife Lubricant Sheets, an ENVY GREEN Reusable Canvas Tote and a “Green Facts” Mouse Pad.  So, go forth and shred in an environmentally friendly fashion!

• PRNewswire.com: Costco.com Now Offering World’s First CarbonFree Certified Paper Shredder
• Costco.com: GoECOlife SOHO Paper Shredder, $59.99
• Carbonfund.org: CarbonFree Product Certification

I had a discussion recently with someone that was asking me about Costco’s store brand, Kirkland Signature.  They wanted to know how I thought it compared to name brands, as well as to other store brands.  I thought it was an interesting question, interesting enough that I wanted to get everyone else’s take on it too.  Personally, I feel really good about buying anything under the Kirkland Signature brand because I know it will be of high quality and offer me a tremendous value.  But this isn’t the case with all, or even most, store brands.  Honestly, I can’t think of many other stores that produce their own goods that I have found to be as good or better than the name brands.  But why is that?  Is it because Costco puts more time into making their store branded items than other retailers? Or, is it just more proof of how Costco strives to offer exceptional value to its consumers?

Kirkland Signature: It's All About the Quality

We’ve all read some of the many, many articles in the Costco Connection about various Kirkland Signature items, I’m sure.  But there was one not too long ago, in the October 2009 issue that talks all about the Kirkland Signature brand and why they started it 15 years ago, and how they keep it so great no matter what the product.  The big thing is that the Kirkland Signature products must be equal to or higher quality than the name brands, while still offering a savings to Costco members.  They originally created the brand, according to Jim Sinegal, to have some control over the marketplace with regards to quality and pricing, as well as increase the sales volume in their stores by offering items with a wide appeal.  Having their own brand also lets them control packaging and achieve what he terms pallet efficiencies.  For instance, changing the shape of the cashew nut container from round to square meant that they could fit 432 jars on a pallet, instead of 288, which saves over 600 truckloads per year.  From nuts to men’s dress shirts to cookware or laundry detergent, they put a lot of time, effort, and research into getting the right components and processes to make their products the best they can be, while still providing an amazing deal for shoppers.

My favorite Kirkland Signature product is probably the men’s dress shirts; Dave has several of these.  They are most definitely of the same high quality as the shirts you’d find in a Nordstrom (pardon me for my shocking misspelling and calling it ‘Nordstrom’s’) from designers, only they don’t have the $70.00 or $80.00 price tag.  I think the last time we bought one it was under $20.00.  And these are really nice shirts!  They have a nice weight to them (the white shirt isn’t practically see-through like a lot of cheap dress shirts), they have unbreakable buttons that are well stitched to the shirt so that they don’t fall off in the wash, they are stain resistant so most things just bead up and are repelled, plus they are wrinkle resistant (yes, NO IRONING) for a crisp look all day long.  The wrinkle and stain resistance isn’t something you always find in a designer label dress shirt either, a lot of times you end up having to iron iron iron (or send to the dry cleaners, as I do) because they look like hell if you just pull them out of the dryer.  And honestly, Dave has had a number of ‘good’ shirts that we bought at high prices and the buttons pop off or break so quickly; that’s not quality, that’s just annoying.  But the important thing is that Dave likes these shirts and the way they fit, plus they look nice on, and stay looking nice over the whole day too.  They wrote about the shirts in the June 2006 issue of the Costco Connection and discussed how they can keep the quality high but the price so low.  One of the key ways is by using just one supplier that grows, harvests, weaves and dyes the cotton used in the shirts.  It’s all about manufacturing efficiency, that and selling an awful lot of them through Costco and Costco.com.  Right now, you can get a 2-pack of these shirts at Costco.com for $39.99 (including shipping).  Which is just a really amazing deal to me.  I’m hoping we’ll still be able to get these in London.  But, if I were getting picky, I’d have to say it would be nice if they would have a few more color options.  While white and blue are good standard colors maybe they could throw in a nice light gray or a darker blue even, just for a little variety.

While that is my favorite Kirkland Signature because it truly represents an unbelievable mix of quality and value, there are plenty of other Kirkland Signature products that I like and buy on a regular basis too.  Such as:  olive oil, balsamic vinegar, shampoo and conditioner, bath towels, men’s dress shirts and jeans, laundry products, batteries, skin care (co-branded with Borghese), paper towels, spices, dried blueberries, juices, nuts, over the counter medications like aspirin and allergy pills, butter, yogurt, spiral sliced ham, frozen shrimp, super premium vanilla ice cream, shortbread cookies (co-branded with Walker’s), and the delicious European cookies with Belgian chocolate.  I’m not sure if the items in the bakery and deli area should count, but as you know I love plenty of those items too, like the pizza and cookies.  My mom swears that the coffee is delicious but we don’t drink coffee, so I’ll have to take her word for it. And while I don’t have a baby, I have heard that the Kirkland Signature baby wipes and diapers just can’t be beat.   But why don’t they have some women’s clothing from the Kirkland Signature line?  Though, I do seem to recall just before we left Austin I had started to see women’s button down shirts too and I believe they have a cashmere sweater they sell in the wintertime, as well.

In any case, I buy a lot of Kirkland Signature stuff, as you can tell, and have found it all to be every bit as good as, and in most cases better than, the name brands.  I really appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making such great products because I can see a benefit every time I take a bite or use one of the Kirkland Signature products.

So, what’s your favorite Kirkland Signature product and how do you think it compares to other store brands and name brands?

So, this weekend Dave and I were thinking that we could go visit the new Costco that we will eventually be shopping at.  However, we don’t have a car here.  Which means that we are dependent on public transportation, at least for the moment.  Lots of planning and figuring ensued and it turns out, it isn’t a very convenient way to get to Costco.  Or at least, that is how it seems to us novice London transport riders.  But first, I guess I should give some details so that everything will make sense.

Currently we are living in a temporary flat, for at least the next few weeks it looks like.  The new place is located in Cromwell Road, right by the Gloucester station.  It’s in a nice central location, unless you want to get to Costco, it seems.  We located a couple of different Costco options, one on Imperial Way, Croydon, CR0 and the other on Shadbolt Avenue, Chingford E4 (I’m still learning about the post code situation, so if you’re from the UK please don’t laugh too hard or feel insulted by my ignorance).  Both are nowhere near as close as my 7 minute drive to the Costco in Austin.  But they are both under an hour of driving, allegedly, according to Google Maps.  Of course, we wouldn’t be driving.  We decided that we would try the location on Shadbolt Avenue since that one is closer to the flat that we are trying to rent (offer is in, so keep your fingers crossed for us).  But then the question became: how do we get there exactly?

Now, in the US, where we have a car, this would be as simple as putting the address into the navigation unit and I’d let her do all the heavy lifting.  Here though, we have no car and have no clue about where we are going or how to work it out really.  So, we went to the Transport for London website, which thankfully lets you put in two addresses and it spits out the various ways and means that you can use to get there in a nice little, easy to follow plan.  Phew…  But man, on public transport is is going to take a bit of time.  And by that I mean somewhere from 75 minutes to 90 minutes, with some walking thrown in.  And honestly, we are using every conveyance known except a plane, I think.  We do some walking, then some underground, then some overground train, then some bus travel, and then some more walking.  Okay, no plane or boat, but still…  So, I was sad, mostly because I was thinking about bringing Costco-sized stuff home on a trip like that on public transportation.

But after thinking about it we decided that we would give it a go, despite the round about journey.  Then I thought about all the car sharing programs we have around Austin now, and lo and behold, they have them in London too.  So, to simplify things immensely for ourselves, we have decided that we will join Zipcar and just ‘borrow’ a car when we want to go to Costco.  That should make it far easier to get our purchases home without everything getting all hot, or becoming like a lead weight.  So, this week I will be signing up for Zipcar and picking up my shiny new card here in their London office and then I will be free to roam around the area to any Costco I want with my own little set of wheels.  I’m sure this is a very American thing, to feel like I must have a car to make this trip, but I am and I can’t get over that after being here just a week.

I’m not going to complain (not really and truly) about how far the Costco locations are from me though.  I’m just glad that London has so many Costco options and that getting there is completely doable.  I know some of you travel for well over an hour to get to your Costco locations, so no whining from me, I promise.

I’m sure you have all heard the news by now (I figured I should mention it anyway): there is talk of succession planning at Costco.  Just over two weeks ago, on February 1, the Board of Directors for Costco announced that it was appointing Craig Jelinek as Chief Operating Officer and President.  Prior to this, Jelinek was the Executive Vice President in charge of merchandising; a position he had held since 2004.  Jelinek has been with Costco in a variety of management positions in warehouse operations for more than 20 years though, so he’s got plenty of Costco time under his belt.    Here’s what Jim Sinegal had to say about the announcement of Jelinek’s new position:

“We are excited about Craig’s elevation to his new role. He is a highly seasoned retail executive, with over twenty-five years’ experience at our Company and over thirty-five years’ experience in the industry. We look forward to his participation in a broader range of decisions as we move the Company forward.”

For now, Jim Sinegal will continue as CEO but there are some changes there too.  Sinegal, along with three others – Chairman of the Board Jeff Brotman, Senior Executive Vice President Dick DiCerchio, Craig Jelinek – will form the Office of the President.  In the future, the Office of the President team will work together to deal with major company issues.  And that definitely sounds like they are trying to prepare for the inevitable transition to a new CEO.

We all knew that Jim Sinegal couldn’t stick around forever as the Costco CEO, but hopefully they will handle the transition plan well enough that the new guy will be more than prepared for a seamless transition to CEO.  More importantly, I’m sure we all hope that the future change in CEO will not result in changes to all the things that make Costco so great; customer service, chief amongst them.

• CNN: Costco Wholesale Corporation Announces Executive Management Change