Real Experiences: One Driver’s Journey from EV Skeptic to Electric Era Super-Supporter

At Electric Era, we’re focused on accelerating electrification and the future of transportation. We’re also big believers in transparency, storytelling on how we do what we do—like deploying our battery-back EV charging stations—and real feedback from EV drivers who use our charging stations. Getting feedback as to whether we’re making EV charging easier is absolutely essential to us, because it aligns with our mission, which our CEO, Quincy Lee, describes as follows:

‍

“Our company mission was designed with EV drivers in mind. What we are building, we are building for them. Normalizing exceptional EV charging is how we decarbonize and electrify transportation.”

‍

Today, we’re excited to offer a real-world example of the type of feedback from EV drivers and charging customers that energizes us and keeps all of us at Electric Era excited to continue building on the progress and performance results we’ve driven this year. This blog post is based on a conversation between Scott Dowling and Connor Black, a team member here at Electric Era. Their discussion charts the journey of how Scott went from an EV skeptic to an EV lover.

‍

Scott’s story is salient because he speaks well to the challenges that discourage EV ownership in general, including ones related to access, ease-of-use of charging infrastructure, and why EV charging stakeholders who proactively advance solutions that solve those issues can earn drivers’ trust, secure repeat business, and build strong brands. 

‍

We appreciate the opportunity we had to interview Scott and gained so much value from his insights and perspective. How he articulates the benefits of our efforts to improve EV charging from the perspective of an everyday driver (rather than an industry expert) was particularly impactful.

‍

Here are some of the standout snippets from Scott and Connor’s discussion:

‍

How it started

Connor: “Let’s start with your experience at the beginning of the journey... When did you start looking at electric vehicles? How did that come about? You know, was there any hesitation in that.”

Scott: “Absolutely. I'm probably like a lot of people who were or are skeptical of what's been advertised when it comes to EVs. Without getting into gory detail, I had several negative charging experiences with EVs. I was with a friend who had a Tesla, and we were going to take a trip across Washington State to visit locations that were off the interstate freeway. It was really problematic trying to find places where you could plug in and charge. You had to go out of your way. I thought to myself, ‘Jeez, this is not a car I'd ever want to have for a road trip.’”

‍

How it’s going

Over the years, based on financial incentives and other considerations, Scott did warm up to EVs, and said, “Let's give it a try,” especially as he did not anticipate going on many long road trips.

That said, he and his wife did plan a trip from Seattle to San Diego and Palm Springs. Scott’s experience driving an EV on that road trip was markedly different from his first across Washington State years prior. Here’s how he reflected on the trip and described his experience at Electric Era charging stations: 

Scott: “Before the trip, I read an article in a local publication in Seattle that talked about your new charging station at Costco’s location down in Ridgefield, Washington. I thought to myself, “I'm gonna hit that when we do our road trip and give it a try and see what that experience is like, as I’m also a loyal Costco customer. I thought we'll just stop there and give it a try.”

‍

‍

‍

‍

Connor: “That's awesome to hear. As a Seattle-based company, we're really passionate about electrification within the local area, as well as along the I-5 corridor and the entire U.S. When you were planning the trip, what did you consider when looking for charging stations?”

Scott: “You want it to be convenient. You want ease-of-use, right? That's what sold me on your technology. Let me tell you a little bit about the journey. When we stopped at that Costco location, it was such an easy, painless experience that I went on your website to see ‘Where else is this company?’  Where else do they have locations? Now, I seek you out.”

‍

Watch Full video interview here:

‍

‍

‍

‍

Connor: “And do you use an app or anything? Do you look at reviews before you head to a station?”

Scott: “Yeah. One negative of EV charging can be the number of apps you have to download because most networks, it seems, have an app they want you to download and register and set up an account on. It becomes a bit of an annoyance. I’ve had other experiences where I had to download an app in order to use the charging station. That adds hassle. You have to register and set up accounts. In some circumstances, you have to preload your account with dollars, and someone’s basically taken your money hostage. It's like, ‘Wait a second, you know?’”

“That was one of the selling points, again, of your technology. It is effortless. You just show up. You plug in. You tap your credit card, and several minutes later, you're on your way, and you've got a full battery or close to it. I just love your technology and how effortless it is.”

Connor: “We really appreciate that. We strive to emulate the ease of a gas station experience. We thought about an app but really put ourselves in the driver's shoes and decided that requiring an app is not the best experience for them. Making charging as seamless as possible is our goal.”

‍

‍

We’re thankful to have had the opportunity to speak with Scott and appreciate the extent to which he champions our efforts to deploy EV charging stations that make EV ownership worthwhile. Keeping EV drivers in the fast lane and getting positive feedback on our efforts only increases our motivation.

We’re looking forward to deploying many more of our battery-backed EV charging stations across the country in 2025, as well as to receiving feedback, whether on the customer experience from drivers like Scott, or on ways to further  improve our technologies and services. 

‍

If you’re an EV or plug-in hybrid driver and get the chance to check out an Electric Era station, we would love to hear about your experience! You can drop us a note anytime at hello@electricera.tech 

‍