Charging at Dealers -- secondary charging stations (?)

[Randy3]

A lot of discussion lately centers around where to charge when not at home. One take on this is that Nissan dealers should not be considered primary charging locations. If a Blink or ChargePoint station is in the same area as a dealer, I'll try the commercial (Blink or ChargePoint) station instead of the dealer. And, if I can get home without using any charger, I will definitely skip the dealer.

This is not an issue in my area (Fresno) because we have no commercial chargers yet. But this seems to be coming up more in the areas where commercial charging stations are showing up. Most of the charging stations I've seen at dealers are in the back (service) area, or in the Customer Parking area. Honestly, I'm not being a customer when I come in just to charge my LEAF.

The discussion is good. Maybe the emotions, not so good.

 

[jwallace3]

This seems to be an issue isolated to dealers out west or in California. So far in Tennessee every dealer I've heard of allows anyone to charge with no questions asked.

A lot of discussion lately centers around where to charge when not at home. One take on this is that Nissan dealers should not be considered primary charging locations. If a Blink or ChargePoint station is in the same area as a dealer, I'll try the commercial (Blink or ChargePoint) station instead of the dealer. And, if I can get home without using any charger, I will definitely skip the dealer.

This is not an issue in my area (Fresno) because we have no commercial chargers yet. But this seems to be coming up more in the areas where commercial charging stations are showing up. Most of the charging stations I've seen at dealers are in the back (service) area, or in the Customer Parking area. Honestly, I'm not being a customer when I come in just to charge my LEAF.

The discussion is good. Maybe the emotions, not so good.

 

[johnr]

When I charged at the dealer in Gilroy, they said if I'm using their charging station that makes me a customer This is the kind of attitude I like. Unfortunately a few dealers have decided to be complete @$%&#s about it. I heard from people charging at Bakersfield Nissan that they have also been very welcoming. Many dealerships realize the value of this, too bad not all of them do. That said, yes I will generally prefer to charge at a Chargepoint given the option, as I know it sometimes can be an inconvenience to a dealer. And if I can make the trip without charging, just by driving slower, I will - what's the point of wasting time stopped for a charge if you don't have to? That said, as long as Nissan insists on populating the Leaf's nav screen with dealers only, and omitting other existing infrastructure such as Chargepoint, dealerships will by default be primary charging stations for those who aren't aware of other options.