This applies mostly to the folks that live in the Phoenix area but if you live near a Costco this may impact you as well.
I have been fortunate because the Costco nearest to my house (Hayden in Scottsdale) sells more wine than any other Costco (and I have been told any other store of any kind but I don't believe it) in America. Consequently, they have always had a great selection of interesting wines at competitive prices. I have told people that when they are in town they should check it out, and a lot of folks have told me they are impressed. Over the last few months, however, I have noticed that their selection is not what it once was and sent an email to their customer support group asking if this was because of the pandemic or a change in policy.
Much to my amazement, I got a call from the Store Manager. He thanked me for my comment because he was going into a meeting with his wine buyers, was getting a lot of complaints about the changes to his wine department, and was going to use my comment as well as others he received in his meeting. It is their new policy to reduce the number of wines they sell (he said that they have reduced the different types of wines they sell by at least 40) and try to fill the space with skids of high sales volume wine. He said he was getting negative comments from customers and he was going to do what he could to get the policy changed. I was also amazed at how honest he was with me.
I am posting this note as an FYI and to and if you have seen the selection at your Costco go downhill and would like to see it improved to send them a comment as well. It may make a difference and help your local Costco management fix problems created by the corporate office. . You can send feedback by going to Costco.com and clicking on the feedback tab that appears on the right side of the screen.
