{"id":2923,"date":"2013-02-20T08:44:35","date_gmt":"2013-02-20T06:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/?p=2923"},"modified":"2013-02-20T08:44:35","modified_gmt":"2013-02-20T06:44:35","slug":"glass-half-full-better-place-transforms-station-error-into-customer-service-case-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/2013\/02\/glass-half-full-better-place-transforms-station-error-into-customer-service-case-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Glass Half Full \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Better Place Transforms Station Error into Customer Service Case Study"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>Hey Better Place electric car aficionados: ever wonder what would happen if you pulled into one of the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fully automated battery swap stations and it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work? Well, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m here to tell the tale. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a classic glass half empty\/half full situation. Half empty: the station broke down and we weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t able to get the fresh battery we needed at midnight. Half full: Better Place has really great customer service.<\/p>\n The full story: we were driving back to Jerusalem from a bar mitzvah party in Rehovot. We left relatively early because we knew we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to swap batteries before climbing the hill home. We asked OSCAR, our electric car \u00e2\u20ac\u0153operating system\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and friendly GPS where the most convenient swap station was. Anava Junction, it replied, near where Highways 1 and 431 intersect.<\/p>\n We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve swapped at Anava before and, in the past, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always been a station attendant present. But Better Place is phasing out that staff (they had mostly been doing quality assurance anyway as the stations run on their own). No problem: we pulled up, the station \u00e2\u20ac\u0153recognized\u00e2\u20ac\u009d our car, the gate swung open without a word, and we were guided through the process via the stations\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 electronic signage.<\/p>\n The car was hoisted up as normal, allowing the Better Place robot to slide under the vehicle to remove our battery and insert a new one, a process that takes all of five minutes. And then, a yellow warning sign appeared. It read\u00c2\u00a0takala<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u201c a word that first year\u00c2\u00a0ulpan<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0students quickly learn to dread. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Error.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n We waited a couple of minutes, but the yellow warning remained. So we called Better Place Customer Service.<\/p>\n