Charging Rudeness?

[thankyouOB]

i called. got vmail.
tried to leave msg. but they appear to have shut that down even though it is still working hours. I also called 800 number.

 

[Stoaty]

However, when she goes to plug in her car as she's done before, the boss comes out and tells her that he's changed his mind and won't let her plug in at work anymore. Ugh, today of all days when we're short on range to say this, and without any notice at all!! When she asks why, he says that he received a complaint from a fellow employee that it's unfair that she gets to receive "free fuel" and others don't

Sounds like a chicken boss and an a**hole employee. Why didn't the boss point out that she was paying for the electricity? What a place to work. While I don't need to charge at work, if I did the other employees wouldn't care. A lot of them are interested in my car, and I hope to interest several in eventually buying one.

 

[smkettner]

However, when she goes to plug in her car as she's done before, the boss comes out and tells her that he's changed his mind and won't let her plug in at work anymore. Ugh, today of all days when we're short on range to say this, and without any notice at all!! When she asks why, he says that he received a complaint from a fellow employee that it's unfair that she gets to receive "free fuel" and others don't

Sounds like a chicken boss and an a**hole employee. Why didn't the boss point out that she was paying for the electricity? What a place to work. While I don't need to charge at work, if I did the other employees wouldn't care. A lot of them are interested in my car, and I hope to interest several in eventually buying one.

Good time to start working the rumor mill and spread the truth around

 

[Jimmydreams]

I had a similar experience at Santa Monica Nissan. they were not exactly friendly about letting us charge there.... first question was "well did you buy it here?"
-Matt

The response is "No, but I'm trying to decide which dealer gets my maintenance work, since the dealer I bought it from is too far away." and them stare at them.....let then make the next move. If they still say no, then pull out your smart-phone and mumble "This will make a GREAT YELP, Yahoo, Susans-list, etc. post!".
:twisted:

 

[Deleted member 1295]

Steve, sorry to hear about the bad reception your girlfriend received at Stevens Creek Nissan. Full disclosure: I purchased my LEAF there, only because it was the closest dealer to my home, and I didn't have the smarts or time to search for a better dealer. Your girlfriend's experience doesn't surprise me, the dealership hasn't been very responsive. I think you will find other forum members that have not been satisfied with the dealer's response. I visited Serramonte Nissan (just south of SF in Colma) and asked about using their L2 dock. The person I talked to said it was ok for me to charge (even though I didn't buy LEAF there).

I did a quick look online (probably Yelp) and chose Nissan Sunnyvale over Stevens Creek even though Stevens Creek was closer to work.

If your LEAF needs a boost and you or your girlfriend are in the neighborhood of Cupertino, you can come over for an L2 fix. Will PM my number and address.

Very nice of you. Are you participating in PlugShare or anything like that?

 

[planet4ever]

But, within a few minutes, an employee named Casey emerged and gave her a hard time about utilizing the charger. He said it was intended for their customers only and that she didn't really have the right to use it since she didn't get the Leaf here. Now, I wasn't there and don't know exactly what he said to her, but whatever it was, it was enough for her to call me on the phone sobbing.

I suspect that was actually Kahssay Kidane who is the LEAF technical specialist there. Since I spent quite a bit of time with him on the 2nd when I got my car I am going to call and see if I can straighten him out. I did ask him specifically if the two AeroVironment EVSEs they have there are available to LEAF owners 24 hours a day, and he said yes, but he may have been thinking customers, while I wasn't. There were two LEAFs parked there (mine and another) when Kahssay went over my car with me.

Ray

 

[Randy3]

Just thinking here... :?:

The possible scenerio: one of us LEAFers was either in Turtle mode or out of Edies and we were sitting at a Nissan dealer. The dealer refuses use of the L2 charging port, so the LEAFer calls Nissan Roadside assistance. Where would they flatbed the car to? Right were the car is already sitting? I wonder how Nissan Corporate would take this?

 

[LeafTalk]

That sucks. :roll:

The employer was bad enough but the dealership policy in the US takes the biscuit.

Here in the UK I can take the Leaf to any dealership that has a DC QuickCharger and they are happy to let me use it for free. It's currently one of the selling points of the car and it works in Nissan favour for good publicity. Nissan needs to do something about the situation in the US even if it means paying a small annual subscription that would allow access to all the LEAF chargers at dealerships.

 

[linkim]

Very nice of you. Are you participating in PlugShare or anything like that?

Not involved with PlugShare or similar organization, but will look into it. I think earth4ever identified the "Casey" that works at SC Nissan. The person I am thinking about also met with me when I picked up my Leaf. Would be interested in hearing the response from the dealer after earth4ever has a conversation with them. I thought somewhere in this forum (I didn't do any search) there was a list of Nissan dealers, or am I mistaken. Maybe a column could be added mentioning the use of charging docks by other Leaf owners (those who didn't purchase at that dealer).

 

[earther]

Very nice of you. Are you participating in PlugShare or anything like that?

at the risk of straying from my own thread: I love the PlugShare concept, but don't own a iphone (or any smartphone for that matter... I know, shudder the concept. Maybe someday though). Is there a way (say via internet) to still submit my Gilroy address/cell for people to use my Blink? Is there a way to run the application from a laptop? If not, is there an equivalent program for PCs?

 

[occ]

My poor girlfriend had her first negative experience driving the Leaf today.

Really pissed off to hear things like this. Even if your girlfriend still love the LEAF, just this one "story" she may be telling friends/family would put a bit more doubt into their acceptance level, when both of her bad events could and SHOULD have been easily avoided. Her employer (manager) sounds like an a*hole too. He should be explaining things to the complaining employee and not your girlfriend (esp when arrangements have been agreed upon). On top of that, this was an emergency. I agree with walterbays about contacting HR on this, if just to raise the issue and educate their employees about how little a charge cost, comparing with gasoline, or even free coffee at the office.

And it would be pretty dumb for Nissan not to do something about this..at the very least reprimand Stevens Creek dealership.

I have brothers in Silicon Valley who are also looking to purchase LEAFs, and I will make sure they know to stay away from SC.

 

[Deleted member 1295]

Very nice of you. Are you participating in PlugShare or anything like that?

at the risk of straying from my own thread: I love the PlugShare concept, but don't own a iphone (or any smartphone for that matter... I know, shudder the concept. Maybe someday though). Is there a way (say via internet) to still submit my Gilroy address/cell for people to use my Blink? Is there a way to run the application from a laptop? If not, is there an equivalent program for PCs?

I just downloaded the app myself, and since I don't have an iPhone, it was to my iPod Touch. The app only works when connected, which for the Touch means WiFi, so it won't be very useful except for pre-planning. I think they say they have an Android app coming soon, but I saw no mention of online (non-smartphone) option, so I just sent them that question.

 

[Ready2plugin]

Did she make it home? I hope you had a cold one waiting for her .

 

[91040]

walterbays- Conversely, dealers who are especially welcoming of LEAF drivers recharging, and especially those who provide access 24/7, should be rewarded. Nissan should reward them by increasing their allocation of LEAFs and/or other vehicles with high profit margins. MyNissanLeaf forum should reward them by highlighting them here as new customers begin choosing their dealers. Maybe a dedicated sticky thread?

I second the suggestion that a list of dealers with policies that encourage the use of electric cars be maintained. That way when people order their cars, they can reward the dealers who will support all BEV owners in return.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm going to get flak for this, but oh well. Here goes.

Just to play devil's advocate for a minute, the fact that the policy changed at work does suck but it is their power and they have the right to choose whether to let you plug in or not. If an employer starts getting complaints from other employees, they have to make a decision. Granted, from our point of view, they should have explained the situation better and tried to diffuse the situation rather than just shutting down the person charging, but honestly we don't know the full story here.

Remember, as Leaf owners we don't want to get that "Pious" label that people were hanging on Prius drivers back in the long long ago. I don't want to be snubbed at because I'm "one of those self-righteous EV nuts".

On the same thread, let's consider the outside point of view of the dealership incident. One employee makes a mistake, had a bad day, might be an a-hole anyway, who knows, but gets a little hot headed that someone shows up and is using "their" charger when they haven't given any business. Now all of a sudden there's a "mob" of other EV nuts that are calling in harassing the dealership, submitting all kinds of complaints via corporate, and all else. My first reaction might be "geez, what a bunch of whining a-holes these Leaf drivers are. Our dealership doesn't need this flak, maybe we should re-think this whole program..."

I'm not saying Casey or the employer was in the right. And I agree this was a bad experience and I certainly would consider this event if I were in the area and was looking at buying or servicing a vehicle, but let's also try to remember to avoid the mob-mentality and try to not make a bad name for EV drivers.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I'm going to get flak for this, but oh well. Here goes.

Just to play devil's advocate for a minute, the fact that the policy changed at work does suck but it is their power and they have the right to choose whether to let you plug in or not. If an employer starts getting complaints from other employees, they have to make a decision. Granted, from our point of view, they should have explained the situation better and tried to diffuse the situation rather than just shutting down the person charging, but honestly we don't know the full story here.

Remember, as Leaf owners we don't want to get that "Pious" label that people were hanging on Prius drivers back in the long long ago. I don't want to be snubbed at because I'm "one of those self-righteous EV nuts".

On the same thread, let's consider the outside point of view of the dealership incident. One employee makes a mistake, had a bad day, might be an a-hole anyway, who knows, but gets a little hot headed that someone shows up and is using "their" charger when they haven't given any business. Now all of a sudden there's a "mob" of other EV nuts that are calling in harassing the dealership, submitting all kinds of complaints via corporate, and all else. My first reaction might be "geez, what a bunch of whining a-holes these Leaf drivers are. Our dealership doesn't need this flak, maybe we should re-think this whole program..."

I'm not saying Casey or the employer was in the right. And I agree this was a bad experience and I certainly would consider this event if I were in the area and was looking at buying or servicing a vehicle, but let's also try to remember to avoid the mob-mentality and try to not make a bad name for EV drivers.

I agree. I addition the employer should have let her charge that day since it could have stranded her, that is the correct and fair thing to do even with employee complaints since it was approved before, that is proper notice. If she was given permission to charge at the dealer and someone had an issue at arrive all one has to do is state that and the persons name. EV owners have no right to charge at ANY dealership, it is their EVSE and their power, same as in public and private residences, please remember those facts. Who we deal with rude people is up to our own skills and choices.

 

[Train]

Blorg has it right. Perhaps the dealership didn't handle things right, and it does seem that allowing other Leafs to charge would appear to be a nice courtesy but it's their dealership. And they have their own reasons for their policies.

Look, when there are thousands of these cars in the same area, what then? You'll have two charge stations and maybe six cars that want to charge. What then? Then what happens when someone who actually bought a car from the dealership wants to charge there? Are they supposed to wait? How does the dealership identify who is and isn't a customer and you have two customers arguing in the parking lot of the dealership over a charge.

This is going to come up more and more as the Leaf becomes more common. As far as employees complaining, indeed they can complain. Sure, the boss could tell them, look she's paying for it but again that's a business decision and there's no "right" for electricity to be provided by any business, whether it's paid for or not.

The best point blorg makes is the mob mentality everytime there is a story like this. Whether it's Leafs not starting, EV etiquette, or something else, there seems to be this knee jerk reaction and pitchfork and torches approach.

There's always two sides to a story. This reminds of the witch scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. All of a sudden, we're naming names, castigating the dealership, calling people a**holes.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

...If an employer starts getting complaints from other employees, they have to make a decision.

Very true, and it's the mark of a weak spineless manager to arrive at that decision. Tell him to grow a set and stop kowtowing to some office whiner who is envious they don't have an electric car with gas headed to five bucks.

 

[leafmealone]

Certainly two sperate issues going on here and since one is obviously private bewteen a employer and employee i'm not going to get into those dynamics.

I do think Nissan needs to "enlighten" some of IT'S dealers. It's Nissan's multi-billion dollar product and I'm certain the certification process and agreement includes the condition of access to EVSE's to all Nissan customers, especially during the first years of the rollout. Why else would they be placed out in front of the dealership?

Lets face it, the first line of contact as most dealers is not the fleet, internet or Leaf specialist but rather a member the shark pool who huddles, ready to pounce on the newest arrival. These individuals are usually ill-informed and have a very high turn over. The dealerships owner-management needs to make certain they follow policy.

If I was a Mini E owner asking for something from a Nissan dealer I would completely accept their denial. But as a Nissan Leaf Owner I am supporting the Nissan product and so should the dealer, regardless of where I purchased it. Dealers are franchises of Nissan and shouldn't have the option to set their own policies on these agreements.

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

...If an employer starts getting complaints from other employees, they have to make a decision.

Very true, and it's the mark of a weak spineless manager to arrive at that decision. Tell him to grow a set and stop kowtowing to some office whiner who is envious they don't have an electric car with gas headed to five bucks.

Exactly.
"Attn employees: The management at Corp X is please to announce an additional job benefit: Electric car charging. Get yourself a Volt or LEAF and enjoy this newest benefit!" How is that offensive?

I don't complain when the company starts to offer free mental health evaluations, just because I'm totally sane.