Any body ever approached a business about installing a charge station.

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

webeleafowners

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 5, 2015
Messages
1,306
Location
Okanagan Valley British Columbia
Hi Folks. In our small town of 55000 we have 3 public level 2 stations and a single CHADEMO/CCS station. All free. Yes, including the CHADEMO. They are located in not too bad proximity down town with one being at a university that rarely gets used. We spent part of our winter in Palm Springs California and kinda got used to all the level 2 charging avaiable at malls and shopping areas and parks etc. The marketing worked. We tended to gravitate to those shopping areas and restaurants. Everybody wins.

We would like to approach a local shopping mall/area and have them consider putting in an EV charger. Maybe even help with crowd sourcing contributions to aid putting it in. There are a couple areas in town that could use a few level 2 stations but I'm not sure of the proper way to approach them. I think this type of installation may also aid the appartment dwellers who want an EV as well.

Any one been down this road. Any suggestions.

Thanks folks.
 
No, but these might help.
https://www.chargepoint.com/businesses/retail/

http://voltacharging.com/retail-centers - I have used a few of their free L2 EVSEs in Fremont and San Jose, CA before. Unfortunately, because they're free, they're often busy or blocked by PHEV/EVs who are finished. :(
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Yeah. They weren't interested.
same here. I've tried several times for the past four years with no success. However, when I visited with a business owner who had one, I discovered that THEY actively sought out to add one. So, my takeaway message is you need to find a business owner who already knows about EVs and wants to "green up" their business. How? Beats me. However, I live in Hicksville in redneck county.
 
For several years a bunch of us tried to get Honest Weight Food Coop, a member-owned non-profit, to install one or two charging stations. First they said it "was under consideration." Then it was "planned." Then it was "not going to happen." Needless to say, it never happened. OTOH a local grocery chain, Price Chopper Supermarkets, started to install free L-2 ChargePoint stations whenever they built or renovated a store, without any pressure being applied of which I'm aware.

So what I suggest is that people go to businesses, and lobby for them NOT to install public charging stations.
 
Yeah, hundreds of times. And the battle is ongoing. Nearly every business today craves feedback. Look at your receipt (both sides!) there is an option to post your thoughts on your experience. I do this EVERYTIME for every business I visit and since I practically live on the road, I have a lot of ops to provide feedback.

So tell them, you would visit more often if they had a charging station.

tell them, you love their products but would dump them in a second if their competition got a charging station.

best part of online surveys? They take about 2 mins. Simply create scripted responses and copy and paste away!
 
Here is another resource. http://www.workplacecharging.com
It may not be exactly on target, but you may find some parts helpful.

I make it a point to speak with the manager of stores and businesses to thank them for the car chargers.

Also, even if they so "no".
When they get the request a second time, then a third, it will start having an influence.
 
webeleafowners said:
Hi Folks. In our small town of 55000 we have 3 public level 2 stations and a single CHADEMO/CCS station. All free. Yes, including the CHADEMO. They are located in not too bad proximity down town with one being at a university that rarely gets used. We spent part of our winter in Palm Springs California and kinda got used to all the level 2 charging avaiable at malls and shopping areas and parks etc. The marketing worked. We tended to gravitate to those shopping areas and restaurants. Everybody wins.

We would like to approach a local shopping mall/area and have them consider putting in an EV charger. Maybe even help with crowd sourcing contributions to aid putting it in. There are a couple areas in town that could use a few level 2 stations but I'm not sure of the proper way to approach them. I think this type of installation may also aid the appartment dwellers who want an EV as well.

Any one been down this road. Any suggestions.

Thanks folks.
During the BC Livesmart Incentive program from 2012 to early 2014, there were cash rebates for commercial type installations IIRC about $15.000 limit and residential rebates for personal EVSE equipment for $500 (which I took advantage of) sourced through this webpage:
http://www.livesmartbc.ca/incentives/transportation/CEV-rebates.html
Note the page now gets redirected to the new program which includes the $3k scrap it program, obviously trying to concentrate the funds into new vehicles and not so much infrastructure.
The new program for 2017 however includes incentives for multi residential buildings and updates to the building code also.
http://pluginbc.ca/40-million-new-funding-evs/
I think there will be little expansion in the commercial end until some incentive is there. It is great news though that the existing infrastructure
will be maintained and expanded to several areas re; a survey that was sent last year to all EV registered owners in BC.
pluginbc.ca/wp/wp-content/.../BC-DCFC-Gap-Analysis-Report-FBC_Aug-2015.pdf
And a map showing existing locations as well as new and under proposal :
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1TT7JDnzdfoCZ5USmPWb28sdYGdw&ll=49.55061339626829%2C-122.50508898437499&z=7
BTW your lucky to have a free QC setup ours is $.35/kWh plus $.50 for parking :roll:
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
Yeah, hundreds of times. And the battle is ongoing. Nearly every business today craves feedback. Look at your receipt (both sides!) there is an option to post your thoughts on your experience. I do this EVERYTIME for every business I visit and since I practically live on the road, I have a lot of ops to provide feedback.

So tell them, you would visit more often if they had a charging station.

tell them, you love their products but would dump them in a second if their competition got a charging station.

best part of online surveys? They take about 2 mins. Simply create scripted responses and copy and paste away!

I did that with a gym. They sent out an online survey and I filled it in saying I wished they put in EVSEs since it would be a great place to charge. I was very surprised when I got an email back from the President of the company, a large US-national company, and we set up a time to chat on the phone. He was inquisitive and asked lots of curiosity questions as well as financials. Nothing ever came of it, but at least someone somewhere reads these things and it may percolate up to the top.

Personally I don't think it ever makes any financial sense to install a charging station as a source of income. But installing it to be a source of foot traffic is a wonderful thing. I go to a cinema twice as far away because they have charging stations which means I frequent those restaurants and stores as well. But I won't pay for a charge. I can do that at home. Charging is a convenience for me, not a necessity. I will gladly pay the business owner many times over their few pennies of electricity. $12 for a bucket of popped corn? I think they can spare the cost of a charge...
 
No fruits have been borne from it, but I've requested stations via ChargePoint before, giving them the contact details for various places that I frequent, or would like to frequent. (Our airport would be a great location for one, as an example.) I also have directed a few businesses like one of the local Kroger stores to install a L2 charger. In some cases, whether or not there is a charger available makes/breaks whether or not I can go there. Whole Foods, of course, has a charger, but the local Natural Grocers does not.
 
^^^
Problem is, the business is going to ask "what's the value proposition? what's in it for me? what's the cost/benefit of this?" Will it attract more paying customers or increase revenue? If yes, by how much vs. total cost of installing this device and the ongoing subscription fees (if Chargepoint) + electric bills + other ongoing costs.

If a business already is receiving enough/plenty business w/o this, they may not need any more.

I've had conversations w/someone who works for Chargepoint and (IIRC) he mentioned a problem is that for a business, each parking spot has a monetary value to them. If you tie up spaces by designating them only as EV spaces, when it's empty, that's one less (valuable) space that an ICEV (vast majority of vehicles) can't take use. To me, it sounds like it can be a losing proposition to install charging stations.

For instance, I can't see a local busy shopping mall sorta near me wanting to bother unless someone (e.g. govt) mandates they install them. They already are a zoo on weekends and reasonably busy on weekdays. Installing a couple EV charging stations I bet wouldn't be justified at all in cost. There are 8 free public L2 stations (I use these sometimes) only 1.1 miles away.
 
2k1Toaster said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
Yeah, hundreds of times. And the battle is ongoing. Nearly every business today craves feedback. Look at your receipt (both sides!) there is an option to post your thoughts on your experience. I do this EVERYTIME for every business I visit and since I practically live on the road, I have a lot of ops to provide feedback.

So tell them, you would visit more often if they had a charging station.

tell them, you love their products but would dump them in a second if their competition got a charging station.

best part of online surveys? They take about 2 mins. Simply create scripted responses and copy and paste away!

I did that with a gym. They sent out an online survey and I filled it in saying I wished they put in EVSEs since it would be a great place to charge. I was very surprised when I got an email back from the President of the company, a large US-national company, and we set up a time to chat on the phone. He was inquisitive and asked lots of curiosity questions as well as financials. Nothing ever came of it, but at least someone somewhere reads these things and it may percolate up to the top.

Personally I don't think it ever makes any financial sense to install a charging station as a source of income. But installing it to be a source of foot traffic is a wonderful thing. I go to a cinema twice as far away because they have charging stations which means I frequent those restaurants and stores as well. But I won't pay for a charge. I can do that at home. Charging is a convenience for me, not a necessity. I will gladly pay the business owner many times over their few pennies of electricity. $12 for a bucket of popped corn? I think they can spare the cost of a charge...

That is how you get the idea rolling. Now what needs to happen is they need to hear it several more times from your neighbors, etc.

I also had an email conversation with a rep from Target. Now, where will it go? who knows but its now on their sightline. The objective now is to get it to cover more of their vision.
 
I tried once at a hospital I worked. The response was that a bunch of doctors with Teslas already tried to get that - not that they needed the charging but so they could get the premium, dedicated parking spots the stations would be at. Given the number of doctors with Teslas and the fact they would camp in the spot all day and fight each other for the spots, they concluded it best not to go there. Apparently, I was the only EV owner there with something short of a Tesla so there weren't enough people who would really benefit to justify the above headaches with the doctors. :roll:
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
I also had an email conversation with a rep from Target. Now, where will it go? who knows but its now on their sightline. The objective now is to get it to cover more of their vision.
FWIW, the Target at http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1082327_how-to-do-electric-car-chargers-right-new-target-store-in-ca has a really good setup in terms of EVSE placement. I've used theirs a few times. First two hours of charging are free, as well.

I don't venture up there much but when I do, I sometimes take advantage. :cool:
 
DarthPuppy said:
I tried once at a hospital I worked. The response was that a bunch of doctors with Teslas already tried to get that - not that they needed the charging but so they could get the premium, dedicated parking spots the stations would be at.
Well, there's no reason at all that an EV spot should be a premium spot. These aren't handicapped spots, where you want to make things easy on the driver. An out-of-the-way spot is fine -- even preferable, since it lessens ICEing.
 
wmcbrine said:
DarthPuppy said:
I tried once at a hospital I worked. The response was that a bunch of doctors with Teslas already tried to get that - not that they needed the charging but so they could get the premium, dedicated parking spots the stations would be at.
Well, there's no reason at all that an EV spot should be a premium spot. These aren't handicapped spots, where you want to make things easy on the driver. An out-of-the-way spot is fine -- even preferable, since it lessens ICEing.

Nearly all hospitals already have premium parking for doctors.
 
You have to see the usage. In my area there are EVSE's at Walgreens and Carls Jr. Only once have I seen a Carl's EVSE in use and I have never seen a car hooked up at Walgreens. I know that I charge at home for less. Why would i pay a premium to charge?

This is for the traveler that has no access to L3 charging. That is not me. My car has CCS but I likely will never use it.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
Nearly all hospitals already have premium parking for doctors.
True. Given that the guy giving the response outranked me by a couple levels, I really didn't want to dispute the points with him. I figured it was a flippant response at the time. But office politics being what they are, I figured best not to pursue further.
 
I approached the building owners with the suggestion of EV charging spots, or even allowing us to use the 120V outlets in the garage.

The response: "God put enough oil on this Earth to last until the Rapture." :evil:
 
Back
Top