Costco Wholesale — Attraction in Town of Rye

This post is about the power outage at the Portchester store. I have been coming to this store for over 20yrs with little to no issues. As a matter of fact( the day of the outage) I had my sunglasses adjusted by a professional and caring employee that ensured I was satisfied. Kudos to the mgmt team that hired this employee.

Now back to the outage. This happened on Monday 6/23 around 1:30pm. When the lights went out as I was leaving the store I didn't notice any emergency lights go on which was unusual. Also, and maybe this occurred after I left but there was no announcement to calm customers that the Store leadership was working to have the power restored. This would have been helpful since losing power can happen anytime and a standard safety related announcement would have indicated that the store was in control and that customers safety was their priority.

What was also disappointing was the lack of coordination and control of the parking lot mayhem where customers were frustrated with only one exit. Key employees should have been trained to facilitate traffic flow in the parking lot for orderly exiting. Or if employees are not trained, then call the police for assistance. With the heat hitting over 100° and no coordination or communication had customers super aggravated of a situation that could have been controlled if a process was in place by Costco for this type of emergency. Here are my suggested process improvements:

Immediate standardized communication for emergencies. Customers want to know that a team is in control and are working to resolve the issue while keeping everyone safe.

Better emergency lighting. Being in the dark only compounds the fear and anxiety of customers.

With a store of this size there should be at least two exits.

Parking lot Coordinators to keep an orderly flow of vehicles exiting of the property.

All of the above is not a heavy lift and can be accomplished if there are processes in place, visible leadership and proper training.

Costco leadership fell down on themselves for a scenario as basic as this with no sign of preparedness...

Customer Service was phenomenal. George and Jeannie were patient when they heard about my situation and took extra time to explain the discrepancy between what I knew to be true according to a New Rochelle Costco Employee, and then proceeded to resolve my problem in a timely, and considerate manner. I appreciate that extra time they took to explain instead of trying to send me on a wild goose chase especially since I had just finished work, finished shopping at the New Rochelle Costco and had gone to port Port Chester for one specific item that was out of stock in New Rochelle. George, and Jeannie, I appreciate you. Thanks for going that extra mile for a member to patiently explain the situation even though I may have been short with you guys.

If your curious… my situation is explained below.

In New Rochelle, I was shopping but there was one item I wanted that was not in stock. I wanted a rain check because I wanted to lock in this price but was told that they weren’t getting anymore and therefore I needed to go to the Port Chester location (which I wasn’t familiar with) to get this item. They also told me that I should get there as soon as possible because once it is sold out there I would have the same problem as it is a seasonal item and wouldn’t get it again until sometime next year. I contemplated not going to get it but this item was finally in my budget. It was on sale. I was like okay, I gotta go get this item only to arrive in Port Chester to find out that the item was on sale but not the same price. I understand that items at different stores have varying prices based on locations, and other circumstances, etc. but I was extremely peeved that the customer service person in New Rochelle did not take the extra time to look into it/ explain it to me when I specifically said I want to lock in this price. Clearly, the price mattered to me. If he had just looked at the screen carefully he could’ve just told me it was not the same price and I wouldn’t have driven an extra 10 minutes, and paid a toll...

Always LOVED the travel further north for THIS Costco location (Port Chester) Two levels with a great selection of products when I can't find everything that I need in my local Costco (New Rochelle) was a plus. However, I experienced what I feel was discrimination when going to self checkout. A female employee asked to see my membership card and didn't ask the person in front of me to see theirs. I showed the card and thought I'd be able to proceed to checkout. Unfortunately, she then asked if I was the card holder, to which I replied "No my father is". She insisted on getting the manager to approach me. He asked who was the second name on the card to which I replied," my mother". Note: both of my parents are elderly and disabled . Therefore, I do the shopping for them. The manager then told me that I would not be able to shop here since I am not one of the names listed on the card. This is an absolute disgrace! I spent almost two hours in this store, cart full of groceries, perishable items included and had to leave my cart at the front and exit almost at closing. Not only did you inconvenience me, but also your staff who have to either throw out perishable items but they also would have to stock nonperishable items back onto the shelves. If you have purchased groceries that have gone bad, this may be the reason: I looked back at my cart and the items remained there most likely until closing before being re shelved. Why am I able to enter the store by showing a card and then asked at the last minute about membership? Let me also add that the person behind me was not put thru the same type of scrutiny as I. Also, how would you know if I wasn't the actual second person listed on the card if I didn't say so. What's next? Are you going to ask that someone present their driver's license? Shame on your front end employees at this location! This behavior is abhorrent and should be reported to their...