Just two weeks ago, an Ola Electric showroom in Madhya Pradesh had caught fire, and it had been suspected that a faulty scooter had led to the blaze. Now another Ola Electric showroom has caught fire in Karnataka, but the reasons this time aren’t what you’d typically expect.
An Ola Electric customer has burned down an Ola Electric showroom after being unhappy with the company’s after sales service. Mohammad Nadeem, 26, had bought an Ola Electric scooter in Kalaburagi in North Karnataka. But the scooter had frequent issues, and he brought it to the showroom to be repaired. Unsatisfied with Ola Electric’s after-sales service, Nadeem bought petrol to the showroom and set it on fire.
Visuals from the incident showed smoke billowing out of the Ola Electric showroom. The showroom, along with six scooters, was gutted in the blaze. Mohammad Nadeem has been detained by the local police. Kalaburagi Chowk police registered a case, and the Nadeem has been taken into custody for interrogation.
“He bought an Ola scooter from the showroom 20 days ago, but it had frequent issues,” a senior police officer told Moneycontrol. “The showroom staff did not address the problems despite his repeated visits. Frustrated with the issues and the staff’s negligence, he poured petrol on the showroom and set it on fire on Tuesday,” they added.
No casualties were reported in the incident. The fire was put out by fire safety officials. The shop had been closed at the time of the fire.
The incident is a reminder of the challenges of running a business in India — India’s population is diverse, and can sometimes react to situations in unexpected ways. Economists and regulators would do well to account for this while extrapolating India’s growth over the next few decades — things might not continue to be as rosy as they seem. And the incident couldn’t be worse publicity for Ola — while it’s highlighted possible deficiencies with its after-sales service in the most dramatic way, it’s damaging on several levels. Ola, for years, has been looking to eliminate petrol vehicles, and replace them with its own electric fleet. In a cruel twist of fate, ann irate customer has now ended up using petrol to burn down its electric vehicle showroom.