Guest Editor: Ade Thomas, Founder of Green.TV Media, The EV SUMMIT, and World EV Day™
With consumer friction around EV engagement as we enter the early mainstream audience, perhaps the Charge Point Operator (CPO) community need to consider bringing back the petrol pump attendant, the Charge Point Attendant.
The early mainstream have a very, very different mindset to early adopters: the early mainstream want things to be super simple, and just work. Early adopters are mavericks: they like a challenge. Addressing this change of psychology is key to bring more people on the EV journey.
For pretty much all of us, the car is both a means of getting from A to B, and a symbol of freedom and liberty. Petrol / gas stations deliver on that sense of personal freedom. Issues around payment, operational reliability and the complexity of a whole new world of charging undermine that sense of personal freedom in the minds of consumers. The CPO sector needs to better understand and accept that, I think.
One of my first jobs was a petrol pump attendant, ahead of university. I enjoyed it. It helped me to develop a set of customer engagement skills and experiences. Time to bring it back.
