Charging spot entitlement?

[scaesare]

We moving in to a new building at work and one of the amenities they offer to the tenants of the bldg. is electric vehicle charging spots. This is in a paid-for garage (in our case by our employer) shared by multiple tenants in the bldgs. on in the business park. Visitors may also pay to use this garage.

There are five 120V/20A outlets and one 208V/50A outlet. There's some voltage sag (~199V or so), so I get 23-24 miles/hr or charge rate.

The spaces are marked as reserved for electric vehicles while charging. You can just make out the sign here:

I'm not there every day yet, and I've not needed to charge all the days I have parked in the garage. So on the days I did not need a charge, I parked in a regular spot. One day I only needed a partial charge, so I used one of the 20A spots. On two days I needed a full charge, and used the 50A outlet, needing the majority of the day to charge.

At no time did I see anybody else parking at any of the charging spaces, although I did see another Tesla in the garage a bit back.

Yesterday I walked out to find this affixed to my window:

I find this interesting, not because of the request to not be in the spot full time, which is reasonable if a person isn't actually charging. Rather I find the "...MY 240-V charge spot..." a bit odd. I'm not sure how this person has come to the conclusion that a spot in a paid-for shared facility is his...

 

[FakeStewartAlsop]

Oh, that's my note. I don't have a Tesla yet. I just like to put out those notes to mess with Tesla owners.

 

[Boourns]

Sort of weird that the person said "my" spot. Not sure what to make of that.

I would probably leave a note on the EVSE or on the other Tesla, since it was probably that person, with your phone/email and offer to work out an agreement to use the spot. This is what I did at my old job where there was an L2 spot that I had to share with a Volt owner (I had a Leaf). Usually he charged in the morning, and I was able to get the spot next to him. He said as long as he was full I could unplug him and plug in my car, so after lunch I usually just walked down and swapped the plug. If a spot was ICEd or one of us had to take a trip downtown things got kind of annoying with arranging for one of us to move, etc. But overall we worked it out OK.

Here, it may be more complicated since you probably can't both top off in a single day. But you should be able to come some agreement to share. This unfortunately is just the way it is until changing infrastructure gets much more prevalent. But at least you have charging options at work. Most people don't!

 

[jeffro01]

Well how I'd handle that is likely different than most... No it's not very friendly or neighborly so I'll keep it to myself...

Jeff

 

[scaesare]

I have no problem with trying to accommodate everybody's needs... especially while we are still in the "frontier days" of charging infrastructure. We need to recognize we all (hopefully) have similar goals.

It's the idea that folks are viewing things as "theirs" for whatever reason, when it's clearly shared/public infrastructure, is what I take issue with.

 

[Az_Rael]

I wonder if that person who wrote the note helped to get the charging spot installed (by petitioning their employer/garage owner, etc) and therefore feels they are entitled to it now.

 

[bonnie]

I wonder if that person who wrote the note helped to get the charging spot installed (by petitioning their employer/garage owner, etc) and therefore feels they are entitled to it now.

Exactly what I was thinking.

Calling it 'my' spot was a poor choice of words. But there is probably a reason they feel they should get first shot at it. I'd just leave a note, as suggested up thread, with my contact info and ask them to get in touch.

In lieu of that, leave your contact info on your car the next time you park there - if they call, then perhaps you can discuss how the spot can be shared with not only the original note-writer, but also anyone else that may get an EV in the future.

 

[Hojo]

I wonder if that person who wrote the note helped to get the charging spot installed (by petitioning their employer/garage owner, etc) and therefore feels they are entitled to it now.

That person could also have paid for the installation. The OP is assuming the garage bore the expense. Probably best to leave a note in hopes of a discussion to learn the facts and work out an accommodation.

 

[1208]

I wonder if that person who wrote the note helped to get the charging spot installed (by petitioning their employer/garage owner, etc) and therefore feels they are entitled to it now.

Put your name on the note next time Az_Rael.

 

[scaesare]

That person could also have paid for the installation. The OP is assuming the garage bore the expense. Probably best to leave a note in hopes of a discussion to learn the facts and work out an accommodation.

The business park explicitly lists it as available for usage by garage patrons. The signage says no different,

If he has some special claim to it, he needs to take it up with the folks managing the property, methinks.

I'm not going to be a dork about it... but I am going to attempt to contact them.

 

[scaesare]

I wonder if that person who wrote the note helped to get the charging spot installed (by petitioning their employer/garage owner, etc) and therefore feels they are entitled to it now.

Incidentally, the building I was in previously had a tenant who DID get the property mgm't company to put in an outlet for him to charge his Volt with. He negotiated it as part of his lease in the bldg., and there was a reserved parking sign on that space for his company name.

Clear, no fuss, no muss.

 

[wildtigg3r]

1st, I would contact the property/building management to clear things up. Make sure all the EV charging spots are not reserved for anyone.

2nd, like everyone has already mentioned, leave a note on other EV with your information for them to contact you and see what the fuzz is all about.

 

[182RG]

I wonder if that person who wrote the note helped to get the charging spot installed (by petitioning their employer/garage owner, etc) and therefore feels they are entitled to it now.

^ This ^

You never know what his employer might have told him ("I had the 240V installed for you, my happy, loyal employee.").

As others have said, give him/her the benefit of the doubt and get it cleared up in a rational way with the garage/building owner/management. If it becomes irrational after attempts at "best effort", send a message to @jeffro01 for his resolution technique.

 

[scaesare]

Jefffro01 and I have already compared notes.

I already knew how I was going to handle it... just thought it an interesting tidbit to share with y'all.

 

[kort677]

on the surface it appears that the spots are first come first served, that said that you and whomever else is vying for the spot needs to remember that a charging spot is not a parking spot, you should park there while charging and relinquish the spot once your charge is complete.

 

[scaesare]

on the surface it appears that the spots are first come first served, that said that you and whomever else is vying for the spot needs to remember that a charging spot is not a parking spot, you should park there while charging and relinquish the spot once your charge is complete.

Which you'll note I actually had already stated as much in my initial post...

 

[Fusion]

I'm curious how you guys keep your charger from getting stolen? I didn't get my car yet so maybe I'm missing something.

 

[mikeash]

The charger locks into the charge port when you plug it in. You can't remove it unless the car is unlocked. This doesn't protect you from vandalism, being unplugged at the outlet, or having the little adapter at the end stolen, but it's usually good enough.

 

[scaesare]

The cable is locked in to the charge port when the car is locked.