Put a big, physical button on the charger for “This charger is broken.” When a user pushes it, play a recording asking them to describe what is wrong. They answer, and then a new support ticket appears immediately in your queue. The charger itself provides all the other info you need about where the charger is, who owns it, etc. And you want to get multiple tickets from the same charger because that tells you how many people need to use it. And how often they can’t.
A touchscreen option would be good too. Also analytics... if you have a location that hasn't been used in a while, and other chargers nearby get regular use, flag it for inspection.
As a ChargePoint stockholder, I am pleased to see this kind of charger evolution. ChargePoint's definition of charger uptime is also the most honest and transparent in the industry.
Thank you so much for informing us about this! I completely agree. Building in the adapter to the charger is such a good idea. No worries about a cheap un-safe product. This is a great move and I wish ChargePoint good luck on the roll out!!
When they’re working they activate wicked fast with a phone wallet RFID. Their sales and maintenance model is lacking in the past so hopefully they can learn lessons and improve going forward.
More than 1/2 of the ChargePoint stations I’ve recently visited had dispensers that were NOT functional. Looking forward to the day they brag about their reliability numbers.
I have never been to a non-functioning charge point location. Then again I've never used one because we use the Tesla charging network. Also never found one of those non-functioning though I did have to wait for a spot once. Then again fueling my Jeep up at Costco I have to get in line for an hour every time, maybe a little longer now that one of the pumps isn't working.
I’ve got a ChargePoint Home flex -had it ever since I got my lightning, which now I guess it’s about 18 months. I had one of them fail, but ChargePoint replaced it pretty quickly. My comment today is really for you, Tom. I enjoy your videos very informative. I always learn a lot, but I do have one suggestion. Please allow your guests to answer your questions. I know you’re really versed on the products and services the vendor is offering, but I really like to hear from them and see how they respond to your questions. This gives me a better sense of how well they know their products and also how dedicated they are to what they’re saying , if that makes sense.
“VERY QUICKLY” - THIS GUY IS VERY VAGUE - wish your optimism will come to fruition - i have my doubts - we all already know as you do you cannot make a business case for selling electricity - unless the equipment suppliers assume/accept some risk for the profitability of the site we will continue to have broken sites waiting days-weeks-months for repair as the site operator has little to no incentive to fix it.
ChargePoint was the first (and only) DCFC that I ever used with my Nissan LEAF over 7 years ago. I also plugged into some of their Level 2 stations way back then. Great to see that they are much more widespread than they were back then!
It's very frustrating seeing a 50 kW ChargePoint near me at a truck stop next to a main highway that has been off-line for years. My best information is the owner needs to pay for a new board to get it back on the Cell network after the Cell Carrier shut down the old system. Such a good location, part of the truck stop , A Wendy"s, sub shop. gas/convenience store . Next to a solar farm. I was there one day when a new Leaf owner was trying to connect to it -It is not listed on the ChargePoint app anymore. At least the level 2 unit was still there. Probably easier to replace the unit with the new omni-port. I was at a location at another Wendy's in a lake-side tourist town . They had a level 2 ChargePoint that was off network. Using a NFC card would turn it on for a free charge! Very handy near the motel and a Frosty.
You gotta go into the business and let them know you'd like to have the charger working. These franchise owners are still a small business, they have to make a business case for the expenditure. More people coming in and seeing the charger as a draw for the biz is how things get repaired.
About 3 yrs ago I lived in a Boston apartment that offered a dozen parking spaces for rent with ChargePoint 6 kW chargers. On several occasions, my Tesla refused to charge because it saw a large voltage drop as it ramped up current. Tesla diagnostic thought I was using an inferior extension cord. But, the really ugly part was ChargePoint wouldn’t repair the charger, blaming the operator. And the operator refused to fix it because they couldn’t understand the problem. This is where ChargePoint’s business model fails. It destroyed the brand in my mind. Later, I needed to specify a commercial charger for condo board and ChargePoint wasn’t a consideration.
Absolutely! EVSE companies need to build maintenance contracts in what they sell. It is their name and brand on the line so, charge $0.05-0.10 extra per kW and use it to maintain their brand image and quality. Everyone still gets their cut (Utility, Owner, Chargpoint) and there is a "reserve fund" for maintenance. Also, charge more for idle fees. Too many idlers out there when chargers are in high demand.
Where I work we have two of four posts have issues, and a third has a cell issue. Their maintenance agreements are too high for the company I work for, so nothing is addressed on these posts. This is not a good look for CP when they have their name on posts that do not work.
@@CraigMatsuura It's a fundamental flaw in their business model. If they cover their equipment in their branding, they need to make sure that equipment is working. If other people are going to own and maintain it, don't slap your name on it.
@@CraigMatsuura Ditto. The ChargePoint chargers at work are not Tesla quality. Ours are usually needing to have their modems replaced or software issues that have yet to be resolved even after mutiple visits by techs.
Really cool upgrade... now they need to build out Express Plus charging stations across the street from Super Chargers that Charge Point owns, manages and maintains. This will address some of the negative fluff out there about neglected charging staions. All Express Plus stations sold should be maintained by ChargePoint...so they always work. These are their flagship chargers and with these new connectors they could become know as the go to station for fast charging.
Listening to the CEO talk about how there needs to be better ways for the user to report “bad” Chargepoint stations is exactly why I went with Tesla. Before I bought my Model Y in 11/23 I had clear doubts about EV’s. I did not buy my EV with idea that “I” could be the savior of the environment. I liked the idea of EV’s from the GM EV1, but everything produced was utter crap from a driver’s standpoint. After Tesla began producing and selling things got interesting but there was the charging issue. So, about 2 years before I bought I began renting EVs and my worst experience with charging was at Chargepoint (very few super charger, most others either did not work or charged slower than a 110 connection). There were and still are no charging stations as good as Tesla; you drive up, plug in and you are done. I’ve never had to wait and never had to charge more than 20 minutes on a long trip. And, yes I drive if it is under 8 hours which is the same as when I drive a gas vehicle.
ChargePoint aims to service all EVs. Tesla stations limit what they support. Tesla chose the easier route. They are being forced to change that, of course, but they have had an easier road thus far. My niece has had an older Bike for some time. She has run into broken charging stations in the past, but in the whole she hasn't had any issue pulling up to a station and charging. We all just wished these companies would work together more than they have. As the industry matures, it looks like that is happening. And it helps that governments are stepping in and forcing the issue. The free market has been too slow to fix these issues.
In some parts of Europe, they have a CHARGING box without a cable. You bring your own cable. I think to myself: THAT'S BRILLIANT! #1 It eliminates the probability some animal is going to cut the cable and steal it for Copper. #2 People with larger cars can get larger, longer cables - since unlike Tesla, there's no standardization across cars and their charging systems. #3 It means you can install the chargers in more places and they can simply sit there waiting to be needed.
Yeah, I think it is a good idea too and I believe they put that in the standard for J3400. But it's only for level 2 charging. I don't think anywhere in the world does this for Level 3 DC charging. But it should be awesome in the future! Putting chargers on Light poles and stuff like that. Pretty awesome.
Tom -- great job, a usual. I have a 2022 BMW i3 -- love it -- just purchased (BMW Certified w/23,000 miles). I am having a problem with L3 DC fast charging. I have tried EA and EVgo. Both connect, seem to "see" the car, authenticate my credit card, but then the charging session aborts without any charge being transferred. I had the dealer (a good one, with i3 experience, check the car and there are no faults, and it charges properly on their L3 charger. I have a L2 240VAC charger at home (Tesla with the Lectron adaptor you've reviewed -- works great), and use the car as a "city car", and this is more than fine for my modest daily needs. But want the option to DC fast charge if needed in a pinch, and it frustrates me when something so otherwise perfect does not work as expected. No one -- including the help line at the public charging companies -- seems able to troubleshoot the problem. Any ideas?
Thanks for reporting on this, step in the right direction, towards ending EV charger incompatibilities . And I appreciate why they did the inverse of a Magicdock. Since it can be used for retrofits and for new chargers. But it's still a shame, since it's suboptimal for new chargers. And how about an integrated CHAdeMO adapter? In conclusion a great first step. But hope to see some additional developments, in the future.
CP should not sell a single unit unless the buyer is contracted to fix it when it breaks. Our local IKEA has one or more that have been out of service for months and years abd IKEA does not care.
We also have reported the charger gave the ID number of the charger (via email and app). Charge point rates were not reasonable for my work to have them fixed. My work is now in the process of replacing the CP units as maintenance is way too costly for them. Sadly, this could not be fixed in a timely manor and reason price.
If all chargepoint dcfcs are connected to chargepoint network how do you not know they're not working? Relying on drivers to diagnose and relay information is asinine. My car just notified me that the door wasn't closed. Let's move into the times. Might want to put giant signs on the units w/o a service plan, BTW. "Owned, operated, and serviced by XYZ shopping mall."
Why on earth do it backwards when it's so much smaller and elegant the way Tesla did it and there's no legal reason not to copy it. The bulk alone would be reason enough for a Tesla driver to never go back. Or is that the idea? I'm very confused.
Hearing Mr. Wilmer mention the vandalism and cable cutting is interesting. Several in my area were hit within the last few weeks. Will they shift to different cable mgmt or removing cables all together and expect drivers to provide their cables and simply plug in.
Omni Port is a gap technology that’s not really necessary. Eventually all of NA based EVs will use the NACS. In the meantime, would you really go on a road trip and not bring charging adapters because Omni Port is available? Of course not. So, Omni Port becomes a pleasant surprise instead of a differentiator.
It's still going to take 20 years before all EVs on the road have NACS. You still have to account for all CCS vehicles that are currently on the road and factor in how long they last or even pre-owned CCS vehicles that will be purchased in the future. The Omni port is needed to help this transition.
Good Ad. Problem is most Charge Points in the wild is level 2 not Level 3. Charge point does have level 3 in a few locations. None that I can find in the San Francisco Bay Area.
How many of them work on a consistent basis? My experience, particularly in the Austin, TX area, is that they are very poorly maintained and half the time they do not work. They can talk all they want about the different models but all we see is the label ChargePoint and it is not working, it is a terrible image. My suggestion when they do not maintain them is to put a different label, probably the label of the owner.
We have a level 2 Charge Point EV charger - it has worked well for several years now. But when you use the app it often shows these level 2 which are private usually. More detail about chargers in one’s area and in particular showing level 3 chargers clearly would be an improvement to me. Some chargers show detail and others do not.
When i first bought my Tesla 2 years ago, chargepoint was the closest charger to my residence. I tried to use that charger 100's of times, never once working. There were 2 other chargepoint chargers about 10 miles away, which i also repeatedly tried. None of them ever worked. I havent gone to a chargepoint since.
I am a chargepoint home flex owner and I would like to point out two giant issues. The stamp on the outside says 40A max which means that during the electrical inspection I was told I needed to a) set the max to 32A and label it as 32A max on the charger or b) install a 50A breaker instead of a 60A breaker and set the max out put to 40A or not pass the inspection. But that feeds into big issue number 2. It has a setting for 80A but the terminals are 6AWG size max which means you cannot install it as an 80A charger to code it the US. So my question is WTF?
Interesting, thanks Tom. Sounds like ChargePoint is at the mercy of its customers when it comes to their reputation. People seeing broken public chargers will view it as being the fault of ChargePoint not the site owner. My guess is maintenance and repairs are not inexpensive for site owners which compounds the problem.
nice to learn about charge point and how they dont own and operate. I just wish they had some type contract that requires the owner to repair within a certain amout of time due to their branding being all over it.
As a Tesla owner since 2018, I am just starting to be informed about what non-Tesla EV owners have been dealing with for years. It really sucks to have unreliable public charging. My understanding is that ChargePoint will sell a unit to anyone, maintain it for a year under warranty, and then charge the owner for maintenance. So ChargePoint has there name on units that have not worked for years. That gives new meaning to free negative advertising. A one year warranty for a very expensive piece of equipment? Doesn't look like they really stand behind their product.
I’m currently helping a large local Buisness near me. They have 5 double chargers. But none of the employees have an ev so they can’t troubleshoot. They are not charge point chargers I don’t recognize the brand and can’t remember. Some of use should step up and help some of the local businesses that have installed them but they don’t know how to work or fix them.
I think there should be a shift to a system similar to Europe where the chargers are just plugs rather than cables. Would definately help with all the cable cutters as the stations wouldn't have cables anymore. Though this is a good idea for the system that we have in NA.
To be fair, that only applies to AC (up to 22kW) public charging. All public DC chargers have attached cables. What Europe does have is a mandated standard for both AC and DC (CCS-2) plugs. It means that while we don't need to carry several adapters, we do need to carry an AC cable.
I was questioning the main cable being CCS with an adapter to NACS (since it’s bigger and heavier that way) but it makes total sense in the context of retrofitting older chargers. This allows us to update all chargers to support NACS without a full cable swap (cheaper I assume).
Maybe you can tell me why I always have to 1) Plug in my Chargepoint Flex to my EV (either Bolt or ID4); 2) Wait for the yellow light: 3) Unplug the charger; 4) Wait for the green light. Always. Both cars. Other than that, I love the system! Speaking of modularity - I think it would be really great to offer a dual-cable adapter kit for the Chargepoint Flex. It would have to be intelligent enough to either switch or share the connection, but I don't think it's an insurmountable problem. Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like you're having some kind of wi-fi connection problem - the white light indicates no wi-fi. Are you able to see charging activity on the CP app?
@@MichaelKirven Interesting. I didn't know WiFi recognition was necessary before charging. I don't know how I'd go about testing that. Thanks for your input though.
Very gratified to hear Rick Wilmer. But his inability to increase awareness of breakdowns at the 1,000,000 locations is very outdated in this age of Internet of Things. The chargers should themselves be communicating with ChargePoint, about their usage and health.
Good for ChargePoint, the more different brands of EV chargers, the better, and in theory, will create competition and hopefully get per kWh prices down
The repairability needs to improve. WiFi adapter died in my home 40 (pre flex) whole unit had to be replaced. I’m sure that’s the case for some of these bollard units. Especially the 3G cell networked ones. Also, the new charger is still only 2.4Ghz WiFi there’s room for improvement in repairability.
Great news. But the reporting broken units is still hard on their app. Also there name is on the units that are broken. Most of the level 2 chargers around here that are chargepoint are broken for years. We really need more level 2 chargers. Their name in our area is mud. Another one which is over priced and have many broken ones in our area is EVgo. Many in our area avoid these 2.
@@charliesullivan4304 I know, but their name is on it and they are broken. I have actually called them, and even spoken with the location people. Most of them say it's too expensive to fix.
The simplest thing to find broken chargers would be to track the last time somebody successfully charged, and better yet, the last 10 times. After that, I would slap a barcode on it that takes you straight to a website with the serial number already entered in.
Heck, even scraping plugshare reviews. Many opportunities are being missed on this one. "Report a problem" using your phone's GPS, the App, and known installed chargers. Just knowing the general location is enough to remotely do diagnostics and data analysis to see if further investigation is warranted. Also can include things like 1) When was RFID last successfully used, 2) When was the last successful touch screen input, 3) Has the screen been frozen or powered off for x amount of minutes (if corporations can monitor us while we work, the software can monitor screen status), 4) Does the device "Call home" and can "home call it"? 5) When was the last successful charge compared to other chargers in the area? 5) How many complaints has the charger received since its last onsite inspection and/or service, 6) Include a Report a Problem within the touchscreen interface for when the touchscreen is not broken..........
If pinpointing exactly what charger is broken and what’s wrong with it is so important to them, they should add a QR code to the chargers to report issues. That way it shows exactly what charger is broken and then you can just have a drop down menu to choose from in regard to what the issue is.
So how do I get in touch with the ChargePoint CEO to ask if it’s possible for the company to install a ChargePoint at an area on Interstate 10 between Quartzsite, Arizona and Buckeye, Arizona. I ride an electric Harley and I can’t ride past Quartzsite going east in order to make it to Buckeye, Arizona because there aren’t any charging stations between those 2 locations. Thank you for your time and any help is appreciated.
Great information! Now I will avoid Chargepoint chargers since it is the owner's responsibility to maintain. By far, I find them broken the most. Noho West parking structure only 5 of 20 worked!
My number one complaint is every single screen fails way before one year if it's in the sun they last longer than one year (but not much) if it's inside of a parking garage. To me this is bad plan to design to fail around the warranty period. I've been using these since 2014. It's consistently bad failing around one year.
Tom, I’m a Jersey Guy who owns a VW ID4 and a Tesla M3. I noticed on my Tesla app “charge my other EV” that the Bridgewater V3 Tesla Superchargers at the WaWa are listed as a Magic Dock location. These definitely were not a couple of weeks ago. Is Tesla retrofitting old Supercharger locations into Magic Dock locations? I haven’t physically checked it out yet but it would make a great video if you could find out more information about this.
Mr Wilmer, will the Omni-Port communicate with older Tesla’s using (CAN) their communications standard? Every customer should upgrade their Charge Point hardware pronto to avoid adapter havoc from the damage they can/will/have pass along. The cost of flaky adapter damage vs this upgrade is negligible and the versatility it adds is two fold. Budget it and get it done to make the most of your investment. I’m looking forward to the GPS based station trouble reporting capabilities in the near future. ~ A Charge Point HomeFlex Owner and frequent Charge Point DCFC customer. The most reliable network I have used so far. Oh and by the way, the inlet type dock is a huge cable preservation technique. #keepupthegreatwork
Many of these third party chargers might have a ok placements of chargers. But many of chargepoint chargers are level 2 (6kw) very slow chargers. The dc fast chargers are in many cases not working. I live in the valley area and most third party chargers are not working. Except for Tesla. In many cases whe I try to check on Electrify America chargers, they have crazy lines because 1 out of 3 locations are working.
I like the RFID card. Nice and quick. But bottom line one should never count on a Charge point charger to be serviceable. As a backup it’s fine but you will be stranded if you count on a Chargepoint charger working.
ChargePoint business model is much like Health insurance - pitting the pay or against he customer - sucking profits in the middles but leaving customers hanging - until they accept risk for up time and operation availability - their contribution to soliving the problem will remain on the sidelines
How about Charge Point putting some units here in the middle of the country in Kansas/Oklahoma? Currently there are none in the western halves of either state. Nor are there any sites from other providers for that matter, which means it’s an open market for them. The 250-300 mile gaps between the Interstates need filling
@@carlfriedrichs2404 I have lots of experience with the Francis Electric network in this area. They are the EV charging provider for non-Interstate highways, with dozens of sites pretty well situated across Oklahoma. They received the VW settlement money and were required to build their sites on US and State highways instead of the Interstates, which are already pretty well served by EA and Tesla. The problem is that Francis has installed some chargers that are incapable of charging EGMP vehicles such as my Ioniq 5, Kia EV 6, etc. Entire sites cannot charge these vehicles. Also, Francis does not maintain their units at all, and some sites have been completely dead for over 2 years now. The rest are mostly crippled at 40 kw. Francis is a complete joke in my and a lot of others’ opinion, yet they have received the 2nd largest amount of NEVI funding in this first round. They have not built anything yet, but based on their track record, I don’t expect much from them.
@@asjmcpherson I did. And I understand their business model. I also note that from their app’s map that they have very few chargers in the middle of the country, located like everyone else only along the Interstates, places that are already well served. For “one of the largest charging providers in the world” I am a bit disappointed, because I have been to several of their sites and they do work well and seem to be well maintained. For people driving only on Interstates they are a decent option. For everyone else, not so much.
Instead of relying on customers to notify about broken charging stations, why not implement a sustainable solution like a heartbeat sensor that reports back to CP HQ. This way your customer support engineers can take proactive measures to reach out to the station owner and recommend a service call the moment there is an alert for any given station. Just saying 😉
I call bullshit on him saying they don’t know they’re broken. It’s all monitored and synchronized with their app. They just don’t care once they sell it to the operators. Here’s a solution, make it mandatory to maintain the units or else they don’t get them. Don’t just sell the units and hope the operators maintain them. It’s just making them look bad. Dumb business model.
If I buy an install a charger in the parking lot of my shopping center, why would I agree to a mandatory repair contract? I paid for the unit and the installation and I own it, why should the company that sold it to me have the power to force me to fix it? Wouldn't they then design them to break so they could make more money fixing them under mandatory repair contracts?
It’s not ChargePoint’s problem. It’s whoever owns that particular public charger. It’s not like Electrify America or Tesla’s Supercharge, where they own and operate their own network.
Stopped at a new chargepoint 300kw station. Impressive looking chargers BUT would not connect to my chargepoint app in charge of the rate of 56 cents a kilowatt. Highway robbery. These companies need to be regulated.
The fast charging business is a money losing business, the cost you stated won't even cover the running costs. Not to mention no money for new chargers and power modules.
ChargePoint is alway my 3rd or 4th choice for charging. I have a chargepoint (my second on cuz the first one died) at my house. Depending on none EV people to be in charge of fixing a broken charger is a terrible business model and the sole reason Chargepoint will never be close to number one or two charging company in the US.
I’ve always said the built in adapter was the only smart thing and Tesla backed away just to sell millions of $250 adapters and then they, Ford and Rivian can’t ship.
We need to move to a BYOC system. Or have the fixed cables be aluminum or something, with a sticker that says "Cable is Aluminum" or something, so thieves know it's not copper
Good Lord, the Omniport handle is the size of a fuel dispenser nozzle that fuels semi trucks. Someone got horribly confused when considering the concept of convenience.
I'm not sure I agree. J3400 has more in it than just that connector--for example, it specs the Mennekes connector for untethered L2 cables. Should we call them J3400 too?
Fine for slow home chargers. How about some 150 DC chargers. That is what really needed. Plugging in at the store for with an AC chargers is truly a waste.
I don't know how a level 2 charge or a level 1 inside a college campus is going to help the so stressed out, none Tesla, EV driver. I don't blame charge point for that, but I do blame whoever is behind this mess and I also blame the car dealers for selling them ev to individuals living in an apartment or a studio with out any access to a juice box. Get through your heads. An EV vehicle and a juice box is like a combo, soda 🥤 and French fries 🍟. They go together. Can you tell me why those dealerships are selling they're cars to a none home owners and giving out a 3 years of free fast charging dc so even if they have a juice box at home they still gonna want to use free staff and make a big congestion at the few none out of order fast charging stations . It's not helping us as ev owners. I give you an other example, can anyone tell me what happened to Evgo fast charging stations in Las Vegas. They closed all but 2 locations. We don't need that. And they are being closed for over a year now and no sign of reopening. Here's my advice to all EV enthusiasts , if you don't own a home with access to a juice box and if you're using it for business. Don't buy EV at this time. Because it's going to wipe out the smile off your face, period. And as for charge point, I say this. You have a long way to go before you could fulfill every ev owner need, when you start building a full highrise EV buildings across America with fast DC, level 2 and 1 , access to bathroom and have a monitored security system, then we can talk. As up now, we are having a real hard time charging our vehicles .
