[bijims]

Originally Posted by lionell

I don't understand how an automotive company can go backwards in their design and implementation.

Gen 1 - Single sided swingarm, sorted rear hub design

Gen 2 - Instead of making it better, they have taken it an easy way out and trashed the entire design of the scooter, the top (panels, design) and bottom (suspension, drivetrain) don't gel at all.

To put it in simple terms, the first generation was FORM OVER FUNCTION, whereas the second generation relies on the principle of FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION.

Now to further expand:

1. GEN 1 had a central spine on the floorboard, limiting its use, whereas that is taken care of in Gen 2.

2. The two-piece grab rail in GEN 1 was placed too low and was flimsy, it has now been replaced with a single, sturdier tubular unit placed higher up in Gen 2, and it protects the pillion from falling backwards too.

3. The front mono-shock on the Gen 1 was prone to breakage and had issues, whereas a conventional telescopic fork has replaced that in the Gen 2

4. The Motor is more powerful and efficient, with faster acceleration and top speed.

5. Range has increased

6. The more conventional rear suspension and swingarm have improved handling and are easier for servicing as well.

[aim120]

Originally Posted by bijims

1. GEN 1 had a central spine on the floorboard, limiting its use, whereas that is taken care of in Gen 2..

That central spine could have been eliminated easily. Under the plastic floor board the spine hump is there only to accommodate a grab handle for the person who is installing the battery in the factory. There is no other use for that spine hump.

The Dutch designers on the Ola S1 aka Etergo like every other EU scooter like a Vespa thought it was a good idea to create a floor hump.

[bijims]

AN UPDATE ON THE THREAD
As expected with Ola (they are notorious for having poor after-sales and customer service), there was ZERO response after that. With me being busy for my trip to Muscat, I decided to try out all the features and functions of the scooter for the last couple of days before my trip, thankfully, most of the features work as expected, except the Proximity Unlock which has a mind of its own (It's still in Beta though) as well as Hill Hold which doesn't work at all when riding with a pillion and on the quite steep incline on the way to my house.

However, Hill Hold does work when I am riding solo, don't know whether it is something with the software or hardware, Everything else apart from that including the moods, regen settings, Bluetooth connectivity, Maps, and Party Mode works as expected. The scooter is fun to ride and I have tried out all the modes (Eco, Normal, Sport and Hyper). What I have found out is that you don't need to ride in Eco to get the maximum range, you can ride even in Hyper too provided you maintain a steady speed of around 40 to 50 km/h, somehow, I have achieved my best efficiency figures in this Hyper mode, moreover, the torque in Hyper Mode is on another level, and you can easily overtake anything on the road. I have tested all the regen modes as well and found the best is to turn it off and use forced regen (twisting the throttle in the opposite direction) when required and it works like a charm, it can take care of most of your braking needs in city traffic and at low speeds too (however it works only below 90% SOC).

Now, I noticed that idle battery drain was around 3% per day, so I figured why not try the Vacation Mode on my trip to Muscat, and so I put my Scooter in Vacation Mode on the 17th at around 75% SOC and it has been over a week and the scooter still shows 72% SOC, which translates to around 0.5% idle drain a day, These figures are in line with what OLA says (Battery may drain from 100% to 0% in a month i.e. around 3.33% per day and Vacation Mode battery drain from 100% to 0% takes around 200 days, i.e. 0.5% per day)

Being satisfied with the scooters' features and performance, my only gripe is the poor fit and finish, which is sadly what Ola considers to be the norm. Hopefully, everything else works out fine and I can have a happy and niggle-free ownership experience.

However, A couple of things I would like Ola to solve is the service, which needs to improve drastically, the service centres, staff etc need to improve a lot, firstly they need to ramp up the service, I don't think 600 service centres would be enough going by the numbers they sell. The time required to solve even the simplest of issues is enormous and this is a major issue which needs attention. The next is the QC, I don't think they have set any standards for the same or their tolerance levels are sub-par, how else can you explain these panel gaps that are an eyesore?

If these things are taken care of, I am sure OLA would rule the entire two-wheeler segment (not just the EV 2 Wheeler segment), Simply selling the scooter and not looking back may make you the best-seller for a while (Ola is on course to sell over 40,000 scooters this month), but proper after-sales, a good quality product and customer service will ensure you remain there.

[bijims]

ANOTHER UPDATE ON THE THREAD
I reached back home from Muscat yesterday evening and I am glad to say the Vacation Mode works quite well, I unlocked the scooter from my phone or arriving home and it took just over a minute to boot up, with SOC @ 69%, just 6% drop in over 12 days, translating to just 0.5% drop per day, This is on the expected lines as OLA claims 200 days of Idle standby on a 100 per cent charge in Vacation mode, whereas the same is under 30 days if kept idle (otherwise than Vacation Mode). Haven't taken the scooter out for a spin yet after coming home, will do so today and let you know. In the meantime, I bought a bunch of accessories for the scooter as well including a Floor Mat, Pillion Side Footrest, Screen guard and Seat Cover. I enquired about the Pillion Side Footrest and Centre Stand from Ola, but it seems their implementation of the Pillion Side Footrest involves removing even the stand footrest on one side and the Pillion Footrest and other footrest come as one piece, which doesn't look appealing with both sides not matching, Moreover, it is quite expensive at Rs.1,999 and they didn't have it in stock either.

As regards the centre stand, it seems Ola only provides the same for the GEN 1 series and a similar one for the GEN 2 hasn't been released yet. The Centre stand which cost only Rs.999 was well worth it, and I was keen on it too, but with the same unavailable from Ola, I dropped plans for the same and will wait till Ola releases its official GEN 2 Centre Stand.

So, with limited options from Ola, I had to go for these accessories Online, and they are quite good, the Foot Mat and Side Footrest were top-notch, with the ability to retain the original footpegs, and they sit flush with the body after installation.

I haven't installed the Screen guard yet nor have I installed the Seat cover, both of which I will be installing over the week.

So to conclude, I would like to say that Ola needs to bring in more accessories just like other manufacturers, this is an easy way to earn some additional revenue and customers would more often than not prefer the manufacturer-provided accessories rather than third-party products provided they are priced right.

The Centre Stand for the GEN 2 is a must-have and must be introduced ASAP. A cheaper side footrest option, Floor Mats, trunk mats, screen guard handle grip covers etc are a few useful accessories Ola could bring in.

Hopefully, they do bring in the Centre stand immediately as it is already too late (it has been more than 6 months since the Gen 2 launched).

Will keep you all posted with more updates as my journey with my OLA S1 PRO GEN 2 continues!

[bijims]

OLA CUSTOMER CARE CLOSED MY TICKET WITHOUT MY CONSENT!
I received a call yesterday from Ola customer care asking me to close my ticket, I told them "First of all you provided me with a scooter with excessive panel gaps all around, then you made me visit the service centre far away and when I reached there you made me wait three hours and after that, you gave me a reply that it is a manufacturing defect and nothing can be done of it" I told them I couldn't close the ticket as my issue isn't resolved. They didn't even do an inch of help and I had to resort to X and Team-BHP to get a ticket and appointment raised, Now you want me to close the ticket without any resolution whatsoever, he was speechless and told me after a while to raise a new ticket as social media escalations couldn't be left open for so long. I told them to let it be open until its resolved. He didn't reply and cut the call.

Today as I see it the ticket has been closed without my consent. This is the kind of customer service that Ola provides you with. Even if I try to re-open the ticket, the App doesn't allow me to do so, Therefore, I have requested the re-opening of the ticket through their social media handles and hopefully this time they do something about it, at least some of the major issues.

Ola may sell 50k (like last month) or even lakhs of scooters per month with their aggressive marking and offers and remain number one on the sales charts for a while, but that will get them so far. If they truly want to sustain the momentum and remain the number one choice in the 2W-EV segment, they need to improve their Customer service drastically and after-sales as well first including the service centre experience, and secondly their Quality Control Mechanisms (the massive panel gaps, poor fit and finish, build quality are the worst I have seen).

If these don't improve rather quickly, I see them dying a slow death and other players like TVS, Ather, Bajaj or even other up-and-coming brands like River may eclipse them and become the customers' first choice.

As like the lakhs of other Ola customers, I too hope that the service experience and quality issues are ironed out and our voices heard, it is a pity that a product with so much promise is bogged down by poor after-sales and customer care that doesn't even care!. You have to beg the service centre staff to get your scooter taken in. That is the kind of environment that Ola has created, they have made customers pay at least a lakh or more for their scooters and have turned them into beggars many of whom relent the day they choose an OLA. They didn't come to Ola with their hard-earned money to have their scooters in the service centre catching dust for months and be served with arrogant customer care and service centre staff who treat these owners like beggars.

I don't see what pride these service centre staff have in having over 50 to 100 scooters outside waiting for service or repair, It is not only the service centre staff to blame here, they are overwhelmed with the number of defects these scooters have, especially the GEN 1 range and some of the Hub motor models. So the only solution is improvement in quality, more service centres (per the sales) with well-trained staff.

With the kind of issues being reported I don't think the 600 service centres planned would be enough. The sales numbers and problems associated with the scooters are so large that even the existing 400+ are filled to the brim with scooters, and getting an appointment is a task in itself.

Hopefully, OLA understands this and improves on these vital aspects

[tushky]

Originally Posted by bijims

UPDATE FROM OLA CUSTOMER BACKEND SUPPORT TEAM.


Attachment 2582940

I think it's a general practice at the OLA service center to raise an invoice after the job is done. You are not supposed to pay any amount.

They recently replaced my S1 PRO's broken front suspension under warranty. I didn't have to pay anything for it. Still, there is an invoice in my app.

[bijims]

Originally Posted by tushky

I think it's a general practice at the OLA service center to raise an invoice after the job is done. You are not supposed to pay any amount.

They recently replaced my S1 PRO's broken front suspension under warranty. I didn't have to pay anything for it. Still, there is an invoice in my app.

After a Job is done right? There was absolutely nothing done, not even a hand laid on my scooter, then for what are they raising an invoice? It's just for the service centre to show they had done something whereas actually, they denied taking it in citing manufacturing defect and nothing could be done on the same.

[bijims]

A MAJOR UPDATE ON THE THREAD
7 weeks after my initial complaint and post on this thread, I finally received a call from a senior executive at OLA who wanted to know my issue and how they could remedy it.

He enquired about the panel gaps and issues faced, asked me about the service centre and sales experience, the hassles, difficulties, the behaviour of the sales and service centre staff and even about the number of vehicles I saw at the service centre, I told him as much as I could and he promised me that he would arrange a service personnel visit to my home to take care of the issue today and whatever parts need replacing he would get it done in couple of days, I was happy with his response and am waiting for what is to transpire today.

From the looks of it, It seems they are concerned about the issue and want to fix it, Hopefully, that is the case and those body panels with horrendous panel gaps can be fixed. They have certainly taken note of my thread on Team-BHP and are willing to take action based on it.

I am highly grateful to the forum and its members for helping me raise this issue and especially to @Aditya and @GTO for taking my post from the Ola S1 Pro thread and creating a new thread for it, I would also like to thank everyone who has taken their time to help me and point out their views on this issue It has paid off and has got the attention from Ola and I sincerely hope they do the needful.

I also hope that they resolve issues with their QC including panel gaps, and part issues as well as the high waiting times at the service centres to get repairs done, the number of vehicles at the service centre is a testament to the number of issues owners face, and hopefully, they look into it ASAP as such issues are a major concern and if not fixed quickly, people will lose their faith in the company, however, if these issues are resolved, then there is absolutely nothing standing in Ola's way as I believe it has got its product portfolio on point as regards price and features.

I will keep you all updated on the thread as and when any major updates are available.

Thank You

[medicineman1987]

OLA has the WORST after sales experience of any brand I have ever dealt with (And we've owned products from legends such as Fiat, Skoda and Kinetic engineering) Recently my MoveOS 4 update got stuck half way so I took it to the nearest OLA Service centre. They wasted half my day, asked me to come back the next morning, wasted a few more hours again and yet were clueless as to what to do. So finally they factory reset the scooter and sent me home. Thankfully the update sorted itself out the next day. They have raised a similar invoice of 334 rupees for no reason.

[jaganm]

Originally Posted by bijims

A MAJOR UPDATE ON THE THREAD
7 weeks after my initial complaint and post on this thread, I finally received a call from a senior executive at OLA who wanted to know my issue and how they could remedy it.

Do you have the contact of the senior person here? I took delivery of my bike in early March and from the very beginning had a sound from the front. It was either in the bearing or the front disc as the frequency was in sync with the wheel rotation speed. I have since confirmed as the disc has a mark which is consistent with some rubbing on rotation.

I have raised multiple tickets, but despite having Ola Care + and tweeting multiple times including to the CEO, there is absolutely no action. I even took a video of the issue on my action cam and posted it without any action. The customer care keeps telling me on DM that it is escalated but it seems to have been lost somewhere in the noise.

It isn't a show stopper as I'm still able to ride but it is a manufacturing defect that needs to be fixed and detracts from the new bike experience. I feel helpless and at my wits end as to how to get this company to respond.

[Apex1815]

I have ridden OLA Scooter in heavy traffic for about a week and here are my observations about this Product :

- The Handle is too high, therefore is very difficult to maneuver in the high traffic areas.

- The buttons are just plane and requires visual attention every time, unlike Activa or Jupiter where mere feel factor is enough to operate the switches.

- The Side Stand is too flimsy and can break easily.

- The shape and size of the seat is too weird. It is too broad.

- Overall the Scooter itself looks very ugly especially from behind.

[AdityaDeane]

Originally Posted by Apex1815

I have ridden OLA Scooter in heavy traffic for about a week and here are my observations about this Product :

- The Handle is too high, therefore is very difficult to maneuver in the high traffic areas.

- The buttons are just plane and requires visual attention every time, unlike Activa or Jupiter where mere feel factor is enough to operate the switches.

- The Side Stand is too flimsy and can break easily.

- The shape and size of the seat is too weird. It is too broad.

- Overall the Scooter itself looks very ugly especially from behind.

My response to these observations from my driving experience over the last 7 months:-

1. My Ola's handle is like any other scooty out there. Didn't find it to be hard or difficult to maneuver in tight spots. Get your handle checked!

2. Agree 100%, especially with Gloves on in winter, it was very difficult. And it is even harder at night, with no backlit option. I rarely scoot, so I don't even have muscle memory of the switch positions yet.

3. Everyone says so, and hence I keep my scooter in such a place that no-one comes and sits on it at any time. Eagerly waiting for Ola to make the Centre Stand as official accessory, so I can buy it.

4. I too keep sliding forward while driving. It really is a weird design for a family scooter seat. Rear is nice and wide though, good for the pillion rider.

5. I love the looks of my scooter from all sides. The looks of Etergo App scooter are what made me to look at Ola in the first place. Those Wall-E like robotic headlamps look sexy...

[ajparag]

Originally Posted by jaganm

Do you have the contact of the senior person here? I took delivery of my bike in early March and from the very beginning had a sound from the front. It was either in the bearing or the front disc as the frequency was in sync with the wheel rotation speed. I have since confirmed as the disc has a mark which is consistent with some rubbing on rotation.

I have raised multiple tickets, but despite having Ola Care + and tweeting multiple times including to the CEO, there is absolutely no action. I even took a video of the issue on my action cam and posted it without any action. The customer care keeps telling me on DM that it is escalated but it seems to have been lost somewhere in the noise.

It isn't a show stopper as I'm still able to ride but it is a manufacturing defect that needs to be fixed and detracts from the new bike experience. I feel helpless and at my wits end as to how to get this company to respond.

It could be the brake pad rubbing on the wheel. Get it checked from any 2 wheeler mechanic. It is a common issue with Ola.

[sujinjoses]

Originally Posted by bijims

OLA CUSTOMER CARE CLOSED MY TICKET WITHOUT MY CONSENT!
I received a call yesterday from Ola customer care asking me to close my ticket, I told them "First of all you provided me with a scooter with excessive panel gaps all around, then you made me visit the service centre far away and when I reached there you made me wait three hours and after that, you gave me a reply that it is a manufacturing defect and nothing can be done of it" I told them I couldn't close the ticket as my issue isn't resolved. They didn't even do an inch of help and I had to resort to X and Team-BHP to get a ticket and appointment raised, Now you want me to close the ticket without any resolution whatsoever, he was speechless and told me after a while to raise a new ticket as social media escalations couldn't be left open for so long. I told them to let it be open until its resolved. He didn't reply and cut the call.

Today as I see it the ticket has been closed without my consent. This is the kind of customer service that Ola provides you with. Even if I try to re-open the ticket, the App doesn't allow me to do so, Therefore, I have requested the re-opening of the ticket through their social media handles and hopefully this time they do something about it, at least some of the major issues.

Ola may sell 50k (like last month) or even lakhs of scooters per month with their aggressive marking and offers and remain number one on the sales charts for a while, but that will get them so far. If they truly want to sustain the momentum and remain the number one choice in the 2W-EV segment, they need to improve their Customer service drastically and after-sales as well first including the service centre experience, and secondly their Quality Control Mechanisms (the massive panel gaps, poor fit and finish, build quality are the worst I have seen).

If these don't improve rather quickly, I see them dying a slow death and other players like TVS, Ather, Bajaj or even other up-and-coming brands like River may eclipse them and become the customers' first choice.

As like the lakhs of other Ola customers, I too hope that the service experience and quality issues are ironed out and our voices heard, it is a pity that a product with so much promise is bogged down by poor after-sales and customer care that doesn't even care!. You have to beg the service centre staff to get your scooter taken in. That is the kind of environment that Ola has created, they have made customers pay at least a lakh or more for their scooters and have turned them into beggars many of whom relent the day they choose an OLA. They didn't come to Ola with their hard-earned money to have their scooters in the service centre catching dust for months and be served with arrogant customer care and service centre staff who treat these owners like beggars.

I don't see what pride these service centre staff have in having over 50 to 100 scooters outside waiting for service or repair, It is not only the service centre staff to blame here, they are overwhelmed with the number of defects these scooters have, especially the GEN 1 range and some of the Hub motor models. So the only solution is improvement in quality, more service centres (per the sales) with well-trained staff.

With the kind of issues being reported I don't think the 600 service centres planned would be enough. The sales numbers and problems associated with the scooters are so large that even the existing 400+ are filled to the brim with scooters, and getting an appointment is a task in itself.

Hopefully, OLA understands this and improves on these vital aspects

I took delivery of my S1 in Sep 2022. Driven 32K so far. Due to many issues, it was in service centers for more than 70 days in multiple instances. I am an active CarePlus plan subscriber with which they offered free pickup/ drop, Home Service, consumable parts replacement, etc. But the fact is, there won't be any slots available for a home service or for a service at the service centres.
From February 2023, I am facing a motor noise issue (from 13k in odo). Raised the tickets multiple times, but they keep on closing the tickets, saying they are not getting any telematics messages regarding the motor issue. Technician confirmed that the noise comes from the motor bearing and the sound won't go without a motor replacement since they cannot service the motor.
Last time, I got a ticket (# 02661257) on 19th April after a social media war. I went to the service centre on 19th April and they informed me that they are busy with other work and since my vehicle is in a drivable condition. Two mechanics didi a test drive and they heard the noise. Then they asked me to bring it on next week and closed the ticket on the same day! I handed over my scooter to Pappanamcode EC on 24 April as discussed with the service manager and again did a test drive and listened to the noise, but they didn't create a job card. Again after a lot of social media posts, they created a ticket (# 03149874) to a service centre at Kollam district which was around 80 kms away from my residence, and the vehicle was with Pappanamcode Service Center in Thiruvananthapuram District! During this time, I did regular visits to the Service Centre to know the status. But no progress was found other than a rear brake pad change. On every visit, they keep on saying that the video proof of the noise is to be taken and the vehicle should be in their custody till completing the repair works. So I decided to wait till I get a resolution. My vehicle was parked on the side of the National highway covered with dust and bird droppings. I kept an eye on my scooter's ride journal to see the vehicle usage. On 9th May, I found a midnight drive of 4 Kms with a top speed of 80 km/hr and a ride back to the service centre at 10 am. Again saw two more drives on 10th May and enquired about the same to the service manager. He sent me a fantastic reply stating "I'm on leave Just go and ask someone..". I went to the service centre again on 11th May and they repeated the same dialogue that they need the vehicle in their custody for a few more days to collect the video proof. I told them that my vehicle is being abused for their daily commute and I insisted on taking the video proof on the same day. I told them that I need my vehicle back on the same day and I won't leave their premises if they didn't take the video proof on the same day. After a long wait of 2 hours, one mechanic came and again asked me to drive the scooter and he shot the video proof and then released my scooter without closing my ticket. They told me that they will update the status through a phone call, but nothing happened yet. I keep on updating the events to the support email provided, but no replies were received. I will never recommend an Ola scooter due to its pathetic after sales support.
Fortunately I was able to capture the videos of every conversation and decided to approach the Consumer Redressal Forum with all proof.

I request TeamBHP admins to talk with Ola Authorities to do the needful to fix the issues with their after sales service.

[v4run]

I honestly think the customers are to blame here also. Every prospective buyer was warned about the low quality product Ola is and the worst after sales service of the company but Indians being Indians they see value proposition and nothing else. “I GeT 160 kms oN a SiNgLe cHaRgE BRO” reality is quite the opposite. Many of the scooters are in service centres for 50+ days. I am seeing these kind of posts on the internet since day 1 of Ola. Nothing has changed. Nothing will change until people stop buying those low quality products.