Poor experience using a Tesla Charging Partner

[apacheguy]

Stayed last night at the Best Western Danville Sycamore Inn, which is listed as a Tesla charging partner. I notified the hotel that I was an EV driver when I made the reservation and that I planned on using their charging amenities. Well, low and behold, I checked in last night and they were like "oh, I see in the notes that you drive an EV. Um, well, our chargers are all broken." I was like you gotta be kidding me.

Sure enough, there are 2 Tesla connectors and 1 J1772. All 3 were broken and not receiving power.

First off, I was pretty pissed that all 3 were broken and also very suspicious. The sign posted near the chargers indicating they were out of service seemed like it was several weeks old. More over, I was pissed that they took my reservation, knew that I had an EV, and chose not to mention it until check in time.

I'd really like to see Tesla take action against them because this was just sloppy.

 

[Drucifer]

If they are on Plugshare.com (and they are, link below), please leave your comments there as well. Also, before making a trip, I always check plugshare for charger status, as if there is a problem, there is usually a comment indicating the nature of the situation that is written by an EV owner and not some sort of "spin" by a property owner that wants to rent one more room.

http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/63002

 

[apacheguy]

In hindsight, I should've checked Plugshare before arriving. But, I mean, come on. I gave them advance notice and they didn't bother to contact me and let me know the scoop. I thought since they were a Tesla charging partner they'd be somewhat more reliable. To have all 3 of your chargers offline for several weeks is hardly reliable.

 

[TexasEV]

All a Tesla charging partner means is Tesla gave them the HPWCs and paid some or all of the installation cost. I don't know of any obligation the hotel has to notify Tesla of problems, and Tesla isn't going to be proactive about it, but if the hotel is not going to keep them in service and Tesla becomes aware of it then Tesla should delete that location from the destination charging list. In the meantime Plugshare is the best resource.

 

[andrewket]

Assuming I had other options, I would have found a different hotel and insisted that they allow me to cancel the stay without penalty. Did they at least offer you a discount?

 

[TexasEV]

Make sure to post a hotel review about this on Trip Advisor. That usually gets their attention.

 

[andrewket]

Make sure to post a hotel review about this on Trip Advisor. That usually gets their attention.

This is a good suggestion. Trip advisor reviews hold a lot of weight.

 

[LagunaHJames]

Stayed last night at the Best Western Danville Sycamore Inn, which is listed as a Tesla charging partner. I notified the hotel that I was an EV driver when I made the reservation and that I planned on using their charging amenities. Well, low and behold, I checked in last night and they were like "oh, I see in the notes that you drive an EV. Um, well, our chargers are all broken." I was like you gotta be kidding me.

Sure enough, there are 2 Tesla connectors and 1 J1772. All 3 were broken and not receiving power.

First off, I was pretty pissed that all 3 were broken and also very suspicious. The sign posted near the chargers indicating they were out of service seemed like it was several weeks old. More over, I was pissed that they took my reservation, knew that I had an EV, and chose not to mention it until check in time.

I'd really like to see Tesla take action against them because this was just sloppy.

Sorry to hear you had a problem with one of the destination chargers. We did a road trip this summer all the way to Victoria, BC and used three different destination chargers. In each case we did let them know in advance that we were expecting to use their charger and when we checked in they had the notes on our reservation. I also check Plugshare as well since any issues with the charger are usually posted there. I agree with the other suggestions about posting on Trip Advisor and would also suggest you email Tesla and let them know. I realize it is a little extra work to do all this but it will benefit all of us down the road. Thanks for sharing your experience,

 

[apacheguy]

Tesla and the GM of the hotel have been made aware of the issue. Per GM who has served only 1 month at this location, the chargers have been a real PITA to deal with. Apparently issue was caused by poor electrical work when they were installed causing the breakers to constantly trip while they are in use.

 

[andrewket]

Tesla and the GM of the hotel have been made aware of the issue. Per GM who has served only 1 month at this location, the chargers have been a real PITA to deal with. Apparently issue was caused by poor electrical work when they were installed causing the breakers to constantly trip while they are in use.

That's unfortunate. The GM should remove themselves from the program, and tell people who are making reservations with EVs that the EVSEs are currently unavailable. Once repaired, they can be re-listed. It's 99% about communication.

 

[Beryl]

Thanks for sharing this and taking follow up action. I now know what to do in the future since I'm planning several trips in 2016:

- Check with the hotel specifically and get the name of the employee who verified the equipment is operational

- Check Plugshare
- Check trip advisor
- Identify a backup charging location

Given their comments about the tripping breakers, all 3 being out of order is indeed suspicious. I'm now wary about all of Great Western hotels and that is a shame. You'd think they would consider the potential load and upgrade their infrastructure accordingly.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Thanks for sharing this and taking follow up action. I now know what to do in the future since I'm planning several trips in 2016:

- Check with the hotel specifically and get the name of the employee who verified the equipment is operational

- Check Plugshare
- Check trip advisor
- Identify a backup charging location

Given their comments about the tripping breakers, all 3 being out of order is indeed suspicious. I'm now wary about all of Great Western hotels and that is a shame. You'd think they would consider the potential load and upgrade their infrastructure accordingly.

Best Western is fully franchised, so you should always judge on an individual basis.

 

[RMan]

Thanks for the update. We stayed at the Best Western Danville Sycamore Inn on September 14, specifically to support (and use) the Destination Charger. When we attempted to connect to the Tesla charger we found the J1772 and one of the Tesla parking spots "ICED". We had to "squeeze" our car between the two ICE vehicles to charge. We were unable to get either of the Tesla chargers to work. We returned to the front desk and a very friendly, knowledgeable employee walked with us to the chargers. She indicated the chargers were frequently inoperable but she would try resetting the breaker (located under the stairwell). This did the trick and we were able to charge. I asked her about the tow ICE vehicles and she assured us not to worry that they were employee cars and they would be carful not to damage our car. I'm not sure this property has embraced the EV concept. We are returning to the area next week and will avoid staying at this property.

 

[Drucifer]

She indicated the chargers were frequently inoperable but she would try resetting the breaker (located under the stairwell). This did the trick and we were able to charge. I asked her about the tow ICE vehicles and she assured us not to worry that they were employee cars and they would be careful not to damage our car. I'm not sure this property has embraced the EV concept. We are returning to the area next week and will avoid staying at this property.

I would bet that the property changed ownership. Previous ownership was marketing to EV drivers, but the new owners are super cheap and don't want to part with the $1-$5 of electricity. I bet they intentionally turn off that circuit breaker and tell their employees to park there and only move if things get "called out" at the front desk.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Well, it looks like Tesla pulled the BW Danville information from the Destination Charging website. The comments on Plugshare are not good, maybe from folks here. Always a good idea to check both places. So until the BW Danville changes, it's best to avoid.

On a related question, I've booked the Doubletree in Rosemead, CA, also specifically for the charging. There aren't any responses on Plugshare. If anyone has any inside info, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

I think TripAdvisor needs some more lobbying "FOR listing EV charging capability in a property's Amenities," also too.

 

[TexasEV]

I think TripAdvisor needs some more lobbying "FOR listing EV charging capability in a property's Amenities," also too.

I agree, but when people have requested that it's really brought out the EV haters in force. As we can filter Plugshare to show only hotels, it's not really necessary. We can use Trip Advisor to call out those hotels who say they offer it but don't make it usable or accessible, as above.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

I agree, but when people have requested that it's really brought out the EV haters in force.

Well, I've seen them come out in twos and threes. VERY VOCAL twos and threes, and apparently with LOTS of time on their hands, but I'd like to try to outnumber them every once in a while.