Unimpressive Costco experiences, and other first-time HA shopping experiences

Look at the person who has aids and their clinic closes or they move. Visit the local clinic and you get the bum’s rush. “We only service what we sell.” is the typical response. Here is a future customer and they drive them away. This is even though they could at least cover part of their cost by selling them their service for a reduced but still as somewhat profitable transaction.

Typical? Really? That is not only not universally true but there is no way you could possibly know whether it is or not. Most hearing aid wearers don’t post on this or any other forum and opinions formed by gleaning the experiences of those that do, whether positive or negative, are of very little value in providing any statistically significant data. The personal experiences of the people here are just that and no more. Additionally you don’t know whether or not servicing hearing aids is a profitable endeavor. If it was profitable one would think that there’d be many exploiting that opportunity. I can think of any number of reasons why many small clinics, especially in small markets, would not want to engage in servicing instruments outside those they supply and fit. But are there none? On the contrary. When I was playing with the idea of having a friend of mine who is an HIS who lives 1000 mi away from me supply and fit my aids I had to consider finding a local means of servicing things in a pinch. Not only were there several within driving distance happy to service them, but they were also willing to honor warranties. So whose experience is typical?

Now if we can believe CDC statistics 12.7% of Americans have hearing loss in both ears. Only 20% of those who would benefit from aids actually use them. That would be around 6 million or 2% of the population. If we reduce that to include only those who move after purchasing their aids and need service somewhere other than where they bought them we have a rather minuscule number and hardly one that would encourage dedicated service facilities in any other than large population areas.

Costco provides a service and there are people who benefit from it. Great. But that is the end of it. Like any personal experience, anecdotal evidences prove nothing beyond that particular experience. I don’t like Costco and I don’t like them like I don’t like Walmart, K-Mart, Target, or any big box super store because they take dollars out of the local economy and send them back to a corporate location. They destroy local businesses, pay sub standard wages and are a large part of the reason why folks don’t make enough money to shop anywhere else. Where is the neighborhood market owned by your neighbor? The hardware store on the corner or the drug store owned by the pharmacist that lives in the next block? All gone the way of the carrier pigeon. But that’s OK because I’ve got my fill in the blank and besides every one else is out to screw me.

Well, anecdotal or not, what I said here is born out in many threads here. It isn’t a huge data set but it is what is available.

To correct one error, Costco does pay well above the average wage. It is above $20/hr. That’s huge for retail. I find them more consumer oriented than any in the market. Satisfaction is well above the norm for both big box and local.

As to Target, they were started by an old line retailer – Dayton-Hudson. Certainly superior to Walmart – there we’ll agree.

What I see from the two post is two, divergent and anecdotal views – nothing more.

Costco may pay better than the others but the big box criticism still stands. It has a negative impact on the local economy as it drives the individual out of the retail market and sends its profits somewhere else. That is not anecdotal. The statistical data cited is also not anecdotal. Hearing aids are not a large market and incapable of supporting a service industry in any but the largest population areas. That is likewise not anecdotal. The only part of my post that is anecdotal is my search and find of a local provider of service. But I didn’t claim it was anything else. I simply asked which was typical? And that was a rhetorical question.

The opinions expressed here are certainly no huge data set. In fact it is so small as to be insignificant. Divide the number of members here by 6 million to see just how insignificant. If folks are pleased with what is offered at Costco fine. But the idea I see repeated here that all private practices are out to rape the individual is born of ignorance. It is unfortunate that some folks have to justify their own decisions by belittling alternatives. Too often the root of it is envy and envy is an ugly thing.

I get you are all bent out of shape because you can’t get a malt at the drugstore run by old Mr. Jones. Sadly, he lacked the economy of scale to compete. Maybe you’d like to bring back pot belly stove and spittoons too but it ain’t gonna happen.

Competition and the Baby Boomer wave will change the industry, probably for the better. Competition and published pricing will help (thank you, Internet).

Just like the auto industry right? Sure.

The idea that there is such as thing as a competitive market is a fantasy. All smoke and mirrors. Centralization, which has moved beyond national borders and is quickly becoming global, has killed it. But that’s a topic for a different venue.

I guess that I would point to Costco as the leading competitive force in the HA industry. It certainly seems to be having an impact.

If Samsung decided to get into the business, that would also be interesting…

I guess that I would point to Costco as the leading competitive force in the HA industry. It certainly seems to be having an impact.

It satisfies a need for a particular group yes. And given that things are the way they are it makes possible what some might not be able to afford. But you don’t get a Ferrari at a Ford dealer. And you don’t find people getting pissed at Enzo because he doesn’t sell an F12 Berlinetta for the price of a Mustang. But for some reason, when things are health related, the entitlement mindset takes over for some who think it’s all a matter of rights.

If Samsung decided to get into the business, that would also be interesting…

And what do you think that would do? Samsung has TV’s from $200.00 to over $20,000.00. There are throw away hearing aids in the market now just like there are throw away TVs. You do know the pattern of monopolization right? A powerful company buys into a market with an initial investment and the capabilities to sustain low pricing to drive the weaker competitors out of the industry. As the plan proceeds they take a larger and larger share of the market until they no longer have to offer the cheap trinket. In the end pricing returns to what the market will bear and the only thing that changes in the name on the product.

Of course. No offense taken.

I’m sure that an F12 Berlinetta would be nice… for some. But as daily commuter it would suck.

A Ford probably suits my needs a lot better. And I don’t really care if it has 8 or 12 cup holders, as long as it is dependable and get’s me from A to B.

It’s been a while since my original post in this “first time HA shopping” thread. I think it’s time for an update, for those interested or going through a similar experience.

1. Costco
   Since my original post, I “roughly” followed some advice earlier in this thread, and sent some feedback on my experience to Costco. I sent a message through their Customer Service online link, and asked that they forward it to a regional Hearing Center manager.
   Costco contacted me very quickly… first a regional VP who said she would have someone else contact me to get more information. Then a store manager from another store in my area called. After I expressed interest to her in trying to continue to work with Costco to at least try some hearing aids, she had a Hearing Aid Center manager call me from yet another store in my area. This will become store #3 for me when I visit them next Tuesday.
   At the very least, they reached out to show that keeping me as a customer is important to them, which is more than many businesses would do.
   The HA manager at store #3 was helpful and informative. He assured me that they normally have demo units that they can program at his store, and he will make sure he makes some time to talk with me when I’m there next week. If I have time he said they’ll program multiple models for me to try while walking around the store. He also told me that they don’t need a Costco hearing test to place an order or program their units… a suitable hearing test from any professional hearing center will do for them. He left it up to me as to whether I want to be “re-tested” at store #3 or to just bring in the two test results I have from other non-Costco hearing centers, and use those.
   So I’m looking forward to visiting store #3 next week.

2. Connect Hearing
   I just completed a 2-week trial today of Phonak Audeo V70’s from a Connect Hearing store. I enjoyed that trial a lot, and learned a bit about what it’s like to wear aids and how they might work. I got used to having them on within a few days. Two weeks really wasn’t enough time to find out what they can do… I went back for one “adjustment” during the trial, where I asked them to program a 2nd program with more voice frequency emphasis. Overall I noticed a significant benefit in being able to lower the television volume and better hear conversations with my wife. I still noticed a lack of clarity in speech, even in quiet environments, however, which is my primary reason for needing them. Not sure if this is something that will improve as I get used to them, or I needed more adjustments to the programming, or if another model may perform better there, or whether that’s just what to expect from any aids.
   But I decided to terminate things with Connect Hearing when they wouldn’t quote me a price any lower than $5500/pair. If I thought their audiological expertise was great, or they were experts at getting the most out of the devices, that might sway my decision. But neither seemed to be true there.
   Connect Hearing also seems to employ some “bait and switch” tactics, in at least two areas. One is that you can find references on their website today to a “price matching policy”. You can also find some more detail about that in older links that aren’t on their website. But all of these links, when you click on them lead to zero information about any current price matching policy. I don’t know if that’s left over from an older policy or what, but I asked the HIS that fitted me about that, and he said “no, we don’t do price matching”. This is unfortunate, because Choice Hearing Aid Providers offers the same Phonak V70s for ~ $3500 / pair.
   The second “bait and switch” tactic is that they advertise a AAA discount of 45% on hearing aids. When I showed him this, he said I could get that, but then calculated a bit, then told me that that 45% is off the retail price (which the ad already stated)… but he then quoted the “retail price” of the Phonak V70s as ~$5000 each (what???). So that the 45% ended up being only about 5% less than the ~$5800 price that he had already quoted me for a pair, since they had already given me a discount for being a “pay up front” (i.e. non-insurance) customer.
   All of this b.s. just reinforced that I don’t want to do business at least with that office of Connect Hearing.

3. Choice Hearing and Hearing Revolution
   I’ve also contacted two other companies with business models that appear similar… they both offer a wide array of low-to-high-end devices from many manufacturers, and what seems like “central device distribution” with online-advertised prices for most models, plus some type of “limited” service plan… These are i) Choice Hearing Aid Providers; and ii) Hearing Revolution.
   Both of these companies basically have you order hearing aids with 45-day trial periods, and then connect you to a local “hearing professional” office that they’ve contracted with to do the initial fitting and programming, and provide some “service plan” to have you use the local office for either limited-time or ongoing support.
   Choice Hearing is probably a non-starter for me, because they told me that the nearest offices that they work with are 60-90 minute drives from my home.
   Hearing Revolution looks more promising, in that they told me that the office they would refer me to has multiple audiologists and good online reviews, and is only a 20-30 minute drive. Plus they appear to bundle more “follow-up” visits with the initial cost. Hearing Revolution also provides an up-front visit and hearing test with this office prior to making any commitment. So regardless of what I decide to do with Costco, I’ll probably go forward with a visit to this office to find out more about what they recommend and the Hearing Revolution plan.

Overall I’m really looking forward to making a decision within the next few weeks, and getting a pair of hearing aids… especially now that I’m back to my “old” hearing after my two-week trial.
I’ll post with progress again then.

Wow, you did get the red carpet. Nice to hear they sure are working to make the experience a good one.

If the Trax and KS6 don’t seem to fit the bill, give the Bernafon a try. I had the audi set them up and they have a different approach that is, well, different. I think I’d have trialed them if my 90 days hadn’t expired.

@dablyputs said:

I recently bought KS6 hearing aids after using Oticon Agil Pro aids for 10 years. The program on my aids are configured backward. My level of loss in my right ear warrants an earmold fitting as I had on my Oticons but the Costco tech didn’t discuss that with me. He was thoroughly unfamiliar with the android app and it turns out my phone does not work with the aids. My phone see’s the aids bluetooth signature but I am unable to pair with them. This is completely idiotic since it is the most recent version of Android available and the most advanced Android phone on the market. The aids sound tinny and unnatural. Since I don’t have a remote or a working app I have no way of turning the volume down on my aids. I will be looking in to buying a used pair of older Siemens on ebay, getting them programmed and then keeping my eye out for a good price on a pair of that has microphone array beamforming and wireless audio transmissions, referred to as various marketing buzzwords by different manufacturers.

Audiogram:

250 20/30
500 20/40
1k 20/60
2k 30/60
4k 50/70
6k 60/60
8k 50/50

Sounds like you and the HA person at Costco aren’t on the same page at all. Resound products will not “pair” to Android unless you use the phone clip+ in which case you are actually pairing with the phone clip.

Very informative post! My Audiologist recommended hearing aids (don’t remember what brand, although I now realize that’s important) and I chose the middle cost of $5,700. I have almost severe hearing loss in both ears, but have done fairly well with my BTE aids for six years.

I called a Costco…nearest one is a hundred miles from us…and was told they would compare my hearing test from my Audiologist with their test. I’ll also have the prescription with me if they accept it.

I’m sure it’s a different level of expertise at each Costco, but I’ll probably try it. Did you decide where to get your HA? I’ll be looking for more of your posts.Thanks!

This is a 9 year old thread.

I didn’t notice the date! Thanks.