Thanks Ather Team for organising this regularly. It requires quite some effort, even if it is an online event. In Indian retail product, no one else does this and you continue to do for 2+ years is great. We hope we can meet soon once situation returns to normalcy.
To really add value to the time spent by both Ather team and 500+ (& growing attendees), I want to give my feedback on Q&A. I hope you are okay to take it positively.
Not just in today’s event, a trend seen in forum and events: There are subjects you avoid to answer even when repeatedly asked or gets top-voted. And, some times when you answer, it is very vague and it looks like you answered it just for the sake of answering it.
Let me give couple of examples:
OTA:
- 450vs450x- is 450 of lesser interest these days? These days we hear less on 450 on OTA and feature enhancement
- What are the OTA plans for Ather 450?
- Will there be any more software improvements for 450s?
This question was asked because number of owners have highlighted about huge delay in OTAs. On this front, Ather had set huge hype right from the beginning and it was massively under-delivered.
No, it is not about the requests which are unfeasible. It is about huge delays & lack of roadmap. The number of features implemented in last 2 years were very few and far between. Last year has been mostly about bug fixes & missing feature rollout for 450X.
What was expected?
- A timeline of how many OTAs / how many features can be done in a year?
- A road-map of what and when to expect. E.g. Charging Throttle & Offline Maps in Q2 2021. Hazard Lights & Auto-Theme in Q3 2021. Battery Drain Improvement & Navigation Delay in Q4 2021.
- Select from the feature requests posted by owners and select based on votes and feasibility.
Answer: We really care about 450 and there will be few features & bug fixes every year. It is very vague and does not add any extra value to what we already knew.
Belt Noise:
- When will noise issue will be resolved? it is not acceptable answer need to drive 2k -3K KM to get the belt adjusted, other belt drive vehicles don’t claim this.
- Can the motor noise be reduced ? Even after 1000 km + too much noise while riding the scooter.
- Belt Issue - What is it makes so unreliable to get exact belt tuning? Virginity of new scooter is gone once the scooter is given to the service with respect to belt. Every scooter is different. Hard to get satisfaction with this particular point even after many services.
These questions were asked because: depends on whom you speak with (customer care & service team) answer is somewhere from 250 kms to 1700 kms after which the sound reduces. Even in 2019, I was told 300 and then 700 but in reality, it became better somewhere around 1300 kms.
What was expected?
- What is the cause? Can you tune it better? Can you run it few 100 kms before delivery itself?
- Why different answers?
- Or: a clear No. it will be like that and cant do much for so & so reasons.
Answer: It will reduce after 250 kms. Even many people like the whee sound. If there is specific issue, we can definitely look into it.
Shut-down Bug:
Can you fix the shutdown bug for early batches of Ather 450? Just curious if we are okay to pay, how much would you charge us?
This question was asked by many over a period of time, because it is critical. Yes, we believe in Ather and its people. But, if it is a bug, it needs to be fixed. If it is a critical bug, it becomes even more important.
It never gets answered. Because, the answer what we all want to hear is: Ather will fix it (over a period of next 6 months or during their next scheduled service). You don’t answer it because of obvious reasons.
I think that’s enough as it is already a long post. I can give more examples, but that’s not needed. 
