by Inspector Dan
During my six year experience as Co-Founder and Owner of the nations largest Light Electric Vehicle retail outlet located in Austin, Texas I found myself in a very unique and unusual industry. I’ve assembled and sold thousands of electric bikes and scooters to people of all ages, sizes, backgrounds, races…you name it. One thing we all have in common is the need to get around and getting around is becoming more difficult for various reasons. I was often asked,” How did you come to opening an electric transportation business?”
I remember before the store was even an idea, just wanting to ride an electric scooter to see if it was fun. I bought one at a flea market. It was a cheap piece of junk and didn’t last long but I became intrigued with the whole LEV concept and YES, it was fun. Press releases generated by Segway, the high end manufacturer of the “IT” also grabbed my attention, but there had to be a product that was reliable and affordable for the general public.
After some research on the internet, my partner Ann McSpadden and I narrowed it down to a few manufacturers of electric bikes and scooters. We developed a basic business plan and went for it. We didn’t know what to expect since there were no business models to follow and nobody was even using electric transportation. By 2001 and in the tradition of “Keep Austin Weird“, the store was named Alien Scooters. Everything happened so fast. We grew out of the first location in 6 weeks and made the big decision to open the 3000 square foot showroom and service center, where it is still located.
As time passed, manufacturers big and small came and went along with many importers of unsafe junk. Some had a great product but terrible marketing plans to a non-existent market. The biggest failure being manufacturers not providing service and technical support to the end users. An electric bike or scooter requires hands on attention to keep it in proper running condition like any equipment and there are very few people with the skills to provide this specialized service. Often, parts were not available. Most LEV’s were distributed over the internet and Big Box stores ended up in a land fill. This method of distribution may have done more harm to the LEV industry than good. Many of these products were ahead of their time will never be seen again. We collected as many as we could. Ann keeps in a warehouse we came to call,”The Scooter Museum”.
We kept our business model simple. Offer the best products in the industry. Diversify the product lines and use multiple suppliers. Provide outstanding service and technical support. Make educating the customer part of the sale and most importantly, Go Green.
The store is wind powered and everything gets recycled. A solar charger absords the indoor florescent lighting during the day and charges the test ride LEV’s over at night. The EPA issued us an award for being too green. Eventually, we became the service center for the area and then the southwest United States. At times it seemed like the whole world. My main function after sales was to manage the service and technical operations. We created a feedback loop to consult with many of the manufacturers as they began to rely on us for customer input and product development. Some even listened.
It took a few too many meetings with city officials and Austin Energy until they finally saw the benefits and impact that LEV’s offer to the community. Currently, the City of Austin, Texas offers an incentive rebate to their citizens to be able to make an affordable form of clean transportation even more affordable. Austin’s Mayor Will Wynn declared Electric Bike Day and currently thousands of people in and around the Austin, Texas area own and ride LEV’s as if they always existed.
We kept our business model simple. Offer the best products in the industry. Diversify the product lines and use multiple suppliers. Provide outstanding service and technical support. Make educating the customer part of the sale and most importantly, Go Green.
The store is wind powered and everything gets recycled. A solar charger absords the indoor florescent lighting during the day and charges the test ride LEV’s over at night. The EPA issued us an award for being too green. Eventually, we became the service center for the area and then the southwest United States. At times it seemed like the whole world. My main function after sales was to manage the service and technical operations. We created a feedback loop to consult with many of the manufacturers as they began to rely on us for customer input and product development. Some even listened.
It took a few too many meetings with city officials and Austin Energy until they finally saw the benefits and impact that LEV’s offer to the community. Currently, the City of Austin, Texas offers an incentive rebate to their citizens to be able to make an affordable form of clean transportation even more affordable. Austin’s Mayor Will Wynn declared Electric Bike Day and currently thousands of people in and around the Austin, Texas area own and ride LEV’s as if they always existed.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Currently, I have developed and started the wheels rolling, so to speak, for Hawaii and more specifically Kauai with the introduction of a high quality, very functional electric scooter named the P.E.T. Scooter. There is nothing in it's class and could well be the Swiss Army Knife of Personal Electric Transportation devices to date. Don't wait for a Government bailout or the Aliens to save earth.
