Comments regarding the 10 year battery warranty from The Electric Transport Shop
Hi Members,
Along with Jamie I am co-founder of The Electric Transport Shop.
This is my first post on any forum...ever. I feel a small rumble of anticipation...is that normal?
Firstly thank you to Wisper, Flecc, SteveBills and John, for bringing the topic of this thread to our attention.
I think several members have rightly pointed out that the 50% capacity limit in the terms and conditions of the 10 year battery warranty may look like commitment escapism.
I feel we had better explain ourselves a bit and hopefully you will believe that we are sincere and our customers wont be disappointed by the scheme.
Our Customers
Most of our customers use their ebikes over distances of less than 15 miles/day and for their purposes 50% capacity will generally be fine unless they have hills/loads that cause voltage drop trip. We generally get to advise our customers which bikes best suit their needs and therefore will take hills/loads into account at the outset.
We are seeing the average daily distance cycled increase because more young commuters are finding their wings on ebikes (and no doubt joining you on this forum). If the intended use of the bike is fully explored at the outset we are able to recommend appropriate battery/bike care to ensure our customers will be happy with the outcome.
In reality what will happen is that our customers will see us twice a year and a good relationship will be built with our store managers and colleagues. Whenever a customer justly requires a battery replacement to use the bike as they intended then they will get it, no delay, no quibble.
Most of the customers we initially approached with this idea loved the thought of having a real incentive to keep their ebikes in good condition with regular servicing and not having to worry about the cost of replacement batteries.
Because the warranty is transferable they can sell their regularly serviced machine for maximum value with battery warranty and service log book.
Our Colleagues
are professional, enthusiastic, honest people. They would not recommend or stand behind any ideas I presented to them unless they believed in them and trusted that they added real value for their customers and the business.
The guidelines are there and our store managers have to decide when it is time to replace their customers batteries...face to face and seeing them at least twice a year....and possibly living just up the road from them.
Our Suppliers
We work closely with all of our suppliers to ensure we can offer more real value to customers. As an example: one of our suppliers has been making some interesting developments regarding the voltage drop BMS trip. I'm sure you will hear more in the near future.
Is it possible/sane?
Our sincerity regarding this offer comes from the knowledge that there are sound business ideas behind it.
We are always looking to improve the value we offer to our customers. That needs to be done with a view to the future and the reasoning may not always be obvious at first. Indeed some of that reasoning we cannot reveal. Andy 82 has made some insightful comments.
Many people have bought bargain or discounted ebikes that have proven to be a false economy. Most people do not have the time to learn about the inner workings of the machines they use, and possibly not even the time or desire to service them themselves. Reliability and back up is crucial to the care free enjoyment of these products and that is where we believe the real value lies for our customers and this offer is an extension of that belief.
In Conclusion
We are not a faceless operation. We are very much involved in the promotion of ebikes in our localities. Our store managers are the very best we could find: knowledgeable, down to earth people.
All of our offers are genuine and sustainable.
We hope this offer leads to less ebikes being scrapped and more availability of quality used ebikes on the market.
The 50% battery capacity requirement is more of a guideline and an attempt not to encourage unnecessary waste and cost.
I can say we want to be absolutely fair about this and would like to invite productive discussion about what the requirements for battery replacement should be.
End of War & Peace
Eddie
PS, what are trackbacks?