BBB Complaint

Yesterday, after work, I had a repeat scenario of last Friday. I rode my board from work, not to home, but to the most strategic bus stop. Trying to go all the way home would result in me kicking the heavy board for the last half a mile.

As I coasted to the bus stop, one of the students sitting there asked me if it was a gun I was holding. No, I told him. Not a gun. Just an electric board. It’s a great way to meet people, though I still haven’t found that cool skater chick. Yet.

Then today I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I have very mixed feelings about doing this. Mostly because the board is still so fun. It’s still makes commuting to work, without using my car, a joy.

But it still doesn’t get 7 to 10 miles. It still never went even half that. And for $400, I expect to get 7 to 10 miles. Even if it’s just for when the battery is still new. I spent $400 dollars I didn’t really have, expecting to commute the whole 3 miles to work and back. For $400, I never got that.

So, for never returning my calls or emails, for false advertising, now the ball is in your court, Emad Boards.

Bus and Board, FTW

Commuting home from work. In Florida. During Hurricane Season. FTW.

It was five thirty. I’d just clocked out of work. Friday afternoon. I live three miles West.

But the forecast was for lightning. The sky didn’t look good. A giant, gray cloud dominated, threatening to rain at any moment. Somewhere in the back of my mind, an action star was saying “Pop Quiz, Hot Shot.”

I could ride my board to a nearby bus stop. Semi protected from the rain. And wait. Or I could call for a ride home, and be part of the traffic.

I was feeling lucky.

I hopped on my board and headed West. Past my coworkers -- chumps -- walking with their Puny Mc WeakSauce slow feet. Past the swampy area. I’ve become so comfortable riding my board on that spacious bike path, that I took out my cell phone and fired up the bus app. Because the sky was rumbling.

Furthermore, I knew that my board wouldn’t take me all the way. I would *have* to walk and kick my board the final half a mile, if I tried to make it all the way home.

But a glance at the app, and I was in luck. The bus was coming up around the bend. Perfect timing. I caught it just before the only major road in my commute home. Just as I stepped into the bus, it started raining.

But where I got off, at the stop by my house, it stopped raining. I hopped back on my board and rode it into my apartment complex. On the way, I passed a truck waiting at a home sign. His window was down, his arm hanging out. He yelled a compliment at seeing how cool electric boards are.

I rode the rest of the way to my front door. FTW. Then it really started raining.

Mixed feelings about the Emad board

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved to be an early adopter. I always loved to have the next big thing, before anyone else. To have the kind of object that people would stop you and ask you about.

Electric Skateboards are definitely that thing. Want proof? One of my most favorited tweets on twitter @maulakai is the one I made after first commuting to work on my Emad board.

I admit, I’m lucky to be able to make the commute to work from my home. I live only three miles away. When you look at the box my board came in, it claims to have a range of 7 to 10 miles.

That’s what really kills me. When I first got my board, it’s range proved to be only 3.5 miles. After sending it back to the shop for repairs, it now gets less than three miles! Which means, I can no longer use it to commute to work. What a bummer! Emad still isn’t returning phone calls or emails. They made sun a fun product, but ruined it by lying about it’s specs and providing an “asshole” level of customer service. Because of that, despite a very fun product, I can’t recommend it to anyone who asks me. And every day, people ask me about it.

Today, I took the bus onto campus, and then rode my board from there. It’s a compromise, I guess. But I still hate myself for promoting the damn Emad board, that never lived up to it’s promises.

What I do love, however, is the comments I get. Every day. From people who just happen to see me walk into the building, carrying my vehicle with me. This is something straight out of the Jetsons.

Today, a valet who saw me enter the building asked, “Really?”

The other day, I had an onlooker comment, “So you’re not *really* a skateboarder? You don’t push?”

No, I don’t kick. I don’t even know how to, really.

The joy of carving up the sidewalk, just before an after work, is well worth the pain of lugging that tank of a skateboard onto the bus, and into the building. But the puzzled looks and random comments are like the cherry on top. I look forward to the day when I’m not the only one carving concrete.

Boosted Shows Swag

And here it is. Another email in my box from an electric skateboarding company. This time, from Boosted Boards.

They're promoting an event in the SF Bay area where they'll prove to the public they really will have a product to sell me. At some point. In the near future.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/calendar/market-days/july-20-2013?utm_source=Website+Newsletter+Sign+UP&utm_campaign=ff007e8d9b-New_Logo_and_Fast_Co_Video7_16_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_13a383f14c-ff007e8d9b-91316513

I'm asking a friend to go there a take pictures.  Developing.

Below is the text of their email.

Hey there!

You may have noticed a new logo on our prototypes. We had to change our old one for a few reasons, so we teamed up with Mackey Saturday, a fantastic designer and boardsports enthusiast. The new logo reflects both the 3-phase brushless motor at the core of our design and the dynamics of the riding experience.

 

 

FastCo Video

 

A few months ago, the BFD crew came to Boosted to shoot a feature for Fast Company's Change Generation series. This is the first video showing the beta board and remote in action. Enjoy!

Boosted Boards Amps Up Skateboards With Some Motor Power  13 ratings 749 views

Boosted Demo Event at the Exploratorium SF

We're partnering up with the Exploratorium this Saturday July 20th for a FREE outdoors learning event. We'll be exhibiting our latest boards with other companies showcasing cool vehicles such as personal submarines and hovercrafts. If you're in the bay, come demo our boards and check out the new Exploratorium at Pier 15! Click here for more info. 

 
Feel free to email community@boostedboards.com with any questions or comments. 

Cheers!
-Sho
Boosted Community Manager

Evolve Boards Misses their shipping date

I'm in a very strange place right now. On the one hand, I love riding my 600w Emad board. But on the other hand, it has never performed even half as well as advertised. It no longer even gets me to work.

At first, I purchased a cheap board and tested the electric skateboarding waters. It was time for the next step and to buy a more expensive model.

So far as I can tell, there are only two companies that make superior electric skateboards. One is Boosted Boards. But judging from their webpage, they're still far from being ready to ship.

The other is Evolve. Their webpage said they will ship in July. I logged into the web page, used a credit card, and bought one.

I've been holding my breath ever since. Until I got this email:

Dear Justin,

Thanks again for your order. Please note that our boards are due to arrive here in or about August 18th. We will be assembling and getting out boards ASAP after that.

We are excited and anxious to ship to you. Thank you for your patience. You will love it. Please call me 616-915-3876 if questions or if you wish to discuss.

Thanks again.


Evolve Skateboards USA

It seems nobody is actually selling a quality electric skateboard that can get me 3 miles to work. Boosted Boards (which I also signed up for) the ball is in your court.

Campus Scooters to the rescue

I was told that my Emad Electric Skateboard 600w would absolutely get a range of 7 - 10 miles. But after meticulously logging every ride I had on the board, I found I couldn't even get 4 miles. Then the whole thing broke. I returned it to where I bought it. Campus Scooters.

The staff at Campus Scooters were wonderful. Best service I've ever had. They returned the board, at no cost to me. But when I received it a few weeks later, the battery wouldn't charge. I returned the board again. This time, a new board was mailed to me from Emad in Orlando.

We had a bit of a rainy spell in which I couldn't use the board. But now that I've had a chance to ride again, I'm a bit sad. Now, instead of getting almost 4 miles, I get less than 3!

I live exactly 3 miles away from where I work. I bought this board thinking I could take it to work, and back without a charge. Now, after having my faulty board repaired, I can't even make it that far. Never has this board done even half of what it says it can do on the box.

I'm in the process of talking to the owner at Emad, but if my history of doing business with him is any indication, I think he'll be dodging my calls, and giving me lines.

In the meantime, I still have to drive or ride the bus to work. But the parking lot is so far, at least I can use the board from there.

Kudos to the staff at Campus Scooters. They stood by me and gave me great support. The whole ordeal led to them no longer selling Emad skateboards. They have removed all affiliation with Emad from their web page as well.

In the beginning ... Emad 600w

In the beginning, I was watching a Ted talk. It was about the world's lightest electric vehicle. The infamous Boosted Board. I fell in love. I had to have one. An electric skateboard? How cool is that? But I couldn't buy one. Boosted Boards weren't, and still aren't, available for sale.

Then I started searching for electric skateboards on Google. Turns out, Boosted Boards isn't the first company to have the idea of electric skateboards. There were already about a dozen companies.

I compared. I read. I re-compared and re-read every web site I could find. Eventually, I was sold on Emad Electric Skateboards, for two reasons. One, they are located here in Florida, out of Orlando. Two, their boards, like every other board I could find, had exactly the same specs, but for only $450.

I bought one. And fell in love ...

My first ride was very shaky. Just around the parking lot a few times. I was instantly hooked. I was instantly in love. But then a funny thing happened.

The next days's ride, a mile down the road to the supermarket and back, was so fun, I decided to do it again. But before I got to the supermarket, I felt the battery dying. I turned around, and barely made it home.

I checked the distance to the supermarket again on Google Earth. One mile even. I checked the range of the 600w Emad Electric Skateboard, 7 - 10 miles. Why was the board losing energy at less than four?