"But, I couldn't get it to charge"

[DevSecOps]

Let me start a thread with some chum.

Today I'm doing my thing, running errands and I come across something that just drives me up a wall. So, I come across a MachE in a EVgo stall, not charging, not even plugged in. They just happened to be in the grocery store. Mind you, this is one of those parking stalls at the very front of the store, so it's bound to be abused. Without knowing who these people were I just so happened to be behind the owners in the checkout line and passed right by them when going to my truck.

I exclaimed "You're not supposed to park in that spot if you're not charging!"

The response back from the owner was "But, I couldn't get it to charge".

A few more words were exchanged and we went on our way.

My question for the community:

So there's 3 possible scenarios here; the charger is completely out of order, the owners are lying, or the charger didn't want to initiate a session for whatever reason (i.e. bad payment method). Do you think any of those scenarios warrant parking in a spot clearly designated for "charging only"?

Personally, I don't think any scenario warrants parking in that spot while not charging. I don't think a tow truck driver would care if it was out of order or your transaction didn't go through. The sign is clearly written.

Will "I couldn't get it to charge" be the new excuse for anyone who wants to park in these spots?

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[azerik]

They meant: ‘but I didn’t want to pay to charge’. I see this at random ChargePoint’s

 

[thekat03]

If the charger is blatantly out of order, fine, whatever. If the charger just wasn't working for them, but not blatantly out of order, leave the spot so someone else can try it. I've seen some cars fail to activate a charger, but the next one pulling in did just fine.

 

[generaltso]

If they couldn’t get it to charge, they should have moved. Why shouldn’t anyone else be able to try it?

 

[DevSecOps]

If the charger is blatantly out of order, fine, whatever.

Not quite sure I agree. If the charger is out of order and needs repair, access to the station so it could be repaired might be necessary. Some repairs may require the use of a lift or other piece of equipment attached to a service repair vehicle.

That's kinda like saying you can park in a fire lane because the building isn't on fire.

 

[Logal727]

They should have moved but if they didn’t get their OTA or a dealer update those fat boy EVGo stations def have issues with MME. I probably would have helped them to try to charge and maybe educate them nicely. It also would have been funny if it worked immediately.

 

[Logal727]

I also don’t understand why people wanna park closer to the entrance, I always park furthest away from everyone, just minimizes the chances of idiots messing up your car.

 

[DevSecOps]

They should have moved but if they didn’t get their OTA or a dealer update those fat boy EVGo stations def have issues with MME. I probably would have helped them to try to charge and maybe educate them nicely. It also would have been funny if it worked immediately.

I'm being very assumptious, but most people don't DCFC when they are grocery shopping. If I actually saw them struggling to charge I would have definitely tried to help, but this was at the departure stage.

 

[MellowJohnny]

I think it's the new excuse. I see EVs in prime charging spots not charging quite a lot. Today in fact I took one of two spots (street parking) and plugged in. Walked by the car 10 minutes later and a MY had taken the other spot, not plugged in. Granted they were out of province, but if you own an EV you know the deal. I was downtown for an hour and a half and they were still in the the spot when I left.

I see quite a lot - it's not "EV parking" its "EV charging".

 

[Mach1E]

I’ll be the first to admit I have been (somewhat) guilty of this.

Went to an L2 charger, chose the charger in the app, plug in, waited about a minute….. no charge. Try again, same issue. Try the other charging cord twice, to no avail. The lights on the Mach e charging port kept going red and the app just said “charging error.” The plug clips that hold it in we’re also broken. I just left my car plugged in and went to dinner frustrated.

There were still two open spots when I left as well as when I came back. After wasting 5 minutes trying to get the charger to work, the last thing I was gonna do is go drive around in circles looking for a parking spot.

If anything, maybe by hogging a broken charger spot I saved someone else the frustration of wasting their time trying to get it to work. The LCD screen was also sun damaged and unreadable.

Was the person in the OPs story telling the truth? I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt. They really need to keep the charging network more reliable.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

Yeah, I agree Todd. Honestly if the charger wasn't working I'd likely have taken the spot but I take your point about a repair person... I won't make that mistake in the future.

But I'm just wondering which one of us here owns a shadow black SR RWD Premium and shops at the same Raley's as you....? ?

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Let me start a thread with some chum.

Today I'm doing my thing, running errands and I come across something that just drives me up a wall. So, I come across a MachE in a EVgo stall, not charging, not even plugged in. They just happened to be in the grocery store. Mind you, this is one of those parking stalls at the very front of the store, so it's bound to be abused. Without knowing who these people were I just so happened to be behind the owners in the checkout line and passed right by them when going to my truck.

I exclaimed "You're not supposed to park in that spot if you're not charging!"

The response back from the owner was "But, I couldn't get it to charge".

A few more words were exchanged and we went on our way.

My question for the community:

So there's 3 possible scenarios here; the charger is completely out of order, the owners are lying, or the charger didn't want to initiate a session for whatever reason (i.e. bad payment method). Do you think any of those scenarios warrant parking in a spot clearly designated for "charging only"?

Personally, I don't think any scenario warrants parking in that spot while not charging. I don't think a tow truck driver would care if it was out of order or your transaction didn't go through. The sign is clearly written.

Will "I couldn't get it to charge" be the new excuse for anyone who wants to park in these spots?

View attachment 109885

I got to the airport rather early last Sunday due to very light traffic and no accidents. So I pulled into a CP EV charging spot as I was quite early and I'd pick up a couple of percentage points (or more) while waiting. Pretty much the same type of sign. I Couldn't get the charger to activate. Moved the car. The end.

 

[johnmark]

This is why charging stations should never ever be in the prime parking slots.

Same thing at my work garage, though they're not dcfc. I really hope companies installing charging infrastructure are taking input on this point.

 

[mccdeuce]

I have seen similar twice now. Both times I ask how new they are to EVs and would they like some help to see if maybe “everything want just right”

Both times. New EV owners. The one, took the help and we got them charging. The other blatantly told me they didn’t care or need the energy. Just parked for the convenience of the spot.

Charging etiquette is important but in the end we just need people to be reasonable and not entitled.

 

[dtbaker61]

Let me start a thread with some chum.

Today I'm doing my thing, running errands and I come across something that just drives me up a wall. So, I come across a MachE in a EVgo stall, not charging, not even plugged in. They just happened to be in the grocery store. Mind you, this is one of those parking stalls at the very front of the store, so it's bound to be abused. Without knowing who these people were I just so happened to be behind the owners in the checkout line and passed right by them when going to my truck.

I exclaimed "You're not supposed to park in that spot if you're not charging!"

The response back from the owner was "But, I couldn't get it to charge".

A few more words were exchanged and we went on our way.

My question for the community:

So there's 3 possible scenarios here; the charger is completely out of order, the owners are lying, or the charger didn't want to initiate a session for whatever reason (i.e. bad payment method). Do you think any of those scenarios warrant parking in a spot clearly designated for "charging only"?

Personally, I don't think any scenario warrants parking in that spot while not charging. I don't think a tow truck driver would care if it was out of order or your transaction didn't go through. The sign is clearly written.

Will "I couldn't get it to charge" be the new excuse for anyone who wants to park in these spots?

View attachment 109885

they weren't even trying to charge... not even plugged in. weak excuse to use close parking. should have snapped and posted picture of license for 'Stall of Shame'

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