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

[Coffs]

"I couldn't get it to charge" = Saw the price of $0.65 per kW and said F that.

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[DevSecOps]

Was the person in the OPs story telling the truth? I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I'm not accusing them of lying, I was simply putting out all possibilities and opening discussion about a possible scenario where the unit isn't working. Personally, if it's not working at all I wouldn't stay there for the simple fear of being towed or keyed. But I also feel like if it's not working you shouldn't block it so that it can be repaired or in the case that whatever issue is resolved someone else could use it. Sometimes these units can be repaired via a phone call and reboot.

shops at the same Raley's as you

I was about 30 minutes from home and stopped there just to grab a few non-perishables while I was in town. Not my normal store.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

I was about 30 minutes from home and stopped there just to grab a few non-perishables while I was in town. Not my normal store.

I decided to not post the address ?

 

[DevSecOps]

I decided to not post the address ?

At least invite me to lunch if you're following me around.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

At least invite me to lunch if you're following me around.

I love to sleuth using details in posted photos. It's often trivially easy.

Oh, and your right-side taillight is out.

 

[Mach1E]

I'm not accusing them of lying, I was simply putting out all possibilities and opening discussion about a possible scenario where the unit isn't working. Personally, if it's not working at all I wouldn't stay there for the simple fear of being towed or keyed. But I also feel like if it's not working you shouldn't block it so that it can be repaired or in the case that whatever issue is resolved someone else could use it. Sometimes these units can be repaired via a phone call and reboot.



I was about 30 minutes from home and stopped there just to grab a few non-perishables while I was in town. Not my normal store.

That’s a fair point about not blocking so it could be fixed. In my case, I get the feeling this charger hasn’t worked in a long time (broken handles and screen).

Why didn’t I move? Out of frustration and lack of other parking spots. It’s kinda a unique situation, but I didn’t want to waste any more time and be later to dinner. Was it selfish of me? Yup. No real excuses there.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Most of us have probably seen the same exact charger work for one person but not another. Therefore if the charger doesn't work for you, you shouldn't assume it's broken for everyone and block the spot.

So "I couldn't get it to charge" is not a valid excuse to stay parked IMO.

 

[DevSecOps]

Oh, and your right-side taillight is out.

I'm not falling for that!

 

[AKgrampy]

If it was really broken then they probably saved others from wasting their time trying to charge there. What is the chance someone would come by with a lift to pull the unit while they were shopping? Based on the complaints everyone shares almost zero! Or work could have begun and then when they left the repair person could have pulled it. Most likely it was not broke and either they did not know what they were doing or they just wanted the close in spot. You brought the issue up to them and hopefully they will not do it in the future. As for myself I charge at home and leave any freebies and special parking to any of the people who feel that they are special because they drive a EV.

 

[RandyMache]

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?

No excuse is ok. If it is broken, it should be kept free in case a repair vehicle shows up. Any other reason is just crap.

 

[axelheimer24]

Leaving your car un plugged and unattended at a DCFC is never cool. That said, the fact that this is a common issue tells us that people value convenience - sometimes over common decency. We can try to make people more considerate or we could leverage this simple finding to help drive more EV adoption. Want more people to drive electric? Make more EV designated parking spots at convenient locations. No charger necessary. Most of my coworkers could care less about driving an EV, but if the first floor of our 7 floor parking garage were EV spots, adoption would jump.

 

[DevSecOps]

Want more people to drive electric? Make more EV designated parking spots at convenient locations. No charger necessary.

Yeah, that's a big negativo! We aren't special (except for @Logal727 cited) and we deserve no front row seats to anything. Rewarding bad behavior by giving those offenders princess parking will not teach them anything and will only encourage anarchy.

California HOV lanes are a prime example of how rewarding EV purchases with princess lanes has caused the opposite to happen, less people are carpooling. No one is going to buy an EV because they can park up close. Do women get prego so they can use "expecting mothers" parking spots at Toys-R-Us? C'mon... EVs need to sell themselves and if they aren't, the solution isn't special perks.

 

[axelheimer24]

Yeah, that's a big negativo! We aren't special (except for @Logal727 cited) and we deserve no front row seats to anything. Rewarding bad behavior by giving those offenders princess parking will not teach them anything and will only encourage anarchy.

California HOV lanes are a prime example of how rewarding EV purchases with princess lanes has caused the opposite to happen, less people are carpooling. No one is going to buy an EV because they can park up close. Do women get prego so they can use "expecting mothers" parking spots at Toys-R-Us? C'mon... EVs need to sell themselves and if they aren't, the solution isn't special perks.

It’s not about being special, it’s about incentivizing behavior. HOV lanes is a good example. They tried to incentivize a behavior and it worked, only problem is it caused a negative externality. I’m not sure what the negative externality of making designated EV charging spaces without chargers would be. There may be one, I just cant think of one. Also, buying an EV is a much smaller commitment than getting pregnant. The use case I’m thinking about is a large parking garage, not a Walmart parking lot. Parking on the first floor vs. the 5th floor saves 10 minutes on a commute. That’s enough to change some behavior.

 

[DR.J56]

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.

/\ THIS! And not only that, I can get out of the damn parking lot without having to drive up next to the front of the store.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

I had this happen to me two days ago. I was very late to an event and pulled into a parking garage. The first few spots were blink charges. I parked at one and couldn’t initiate a charge. So I moved my car to a normal spot.

I think the right thing to do is to move. But I would never question anyone for not doing what I’m willing / supposed to do because I hold myself but not others to a higher standard. It’s a more peaceful way of living life.

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