Segway Phasing Out Training?

[plesset]

I got a call last night from a lady at Segway wanting to do a 5 minute survey. Normally I would never participate in these kinds of things but since it was from Segway I decided it would be a great opportunity to express my feedback. Of the 30 or so questions she asked me I would say 20 were specific to how I felt about the training. From the kind of questions she asked me I got the impression that Segway was trying to determine the effectivness of their product training. A lot of them directly asked how I felt about the need for training and if I felt that the video and literature were enough. It seems logical to me that eventually Segway is going to offer this only if you request it. After the questions she opened the floor for suggestions. I told her it would be nice to offer the Segway in a pair for a slight discount since I often fight with my girlfriend about who gets to ride it when we go out. She laughed and said she could not believe how many people have said the same thing. Maybe we will see this soon.

http://www.shadysideinn.com/1/segtag.jpg

[ElectraGlide]

The most difficult part of the sale and delivery has got to be the training. Imagine selling a product on-line, it can be purchased from Anchorage to Miami....from Minot to El Paso and everywhere in-between. And after each delivery you must send a person to train the new owner. Some places are extremely difficult to reach.....limited air service......rural...inner city. Streamlining this part of the transaction would benefit all parties. Segfest goers should attend the trainers workshop and make themselves available to Segway to conduct these "at home" trainings.

Steve

[q]

i got my "eval" call a couple
weeks ago. my impression was
that llc wanted feedback as
to decision one's training.
("is it good, or should we go
back to doing it?"--was my
interpretation.)

and, of course, they wanted to
know if i started gliding _be-
fore_ i could get the training.
(i couldn't wait. a 6-week
back order was long enough.)

kthxbye.

q.

http://www.pcisys.net/~qwhew/segway/jpg_segway_with_deco_08032003_sunday_3b.jpg

//

[Brooster]

The fact that Segway LLC is offering "coach's" training at SegwayFest (see the "Segway LLC's SegwwayFest Participation Updates" thread) indicates to me that HT orientations aren't going to be a thing of the past any time soon.

Brooster

[BruceWright]

They asked me the same questions after I bought mine. They're just tracking the quality of the training, I think.

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream

[GlideMaster]

It is the opinion of the undersigned that training is necessity and should always remain a precondition of a sale. Training in a lot of cases from an experienced glider is invaluable.

<center>Responsible Gliders Glide Segway
and Segway Gliders Glide Responsibly</center>

<center>http://www.segwaychat.com/forum/avatars/glidemaster.gif</center>

[mattk]

I learned to ride without training. Although I cant see my grandmother just getting on a going without training.

I think it should it should stay the same- recommened and optional

[opti6600]

Matt, then I have a feeling you aren't entirely knowledgeable of the features or caveats of a Segway HT. The only real training resource that you've had is SegwayChat...imagine if somebody was just given a Segway and told to use it?

Check out my previous thread " A Reason For Effective Training " for more on that...the woman went through a training program, but the program itself was too poorly put together to prove a working solution.

---------
Let's just take the safety labels off of everything and let America's problem sort itself out.

[citivolus]

Matt, I have a feeling that your proximity to FIRST, Segway and DEKA in addition to your youthfullness may give you an advantage over the majority of people. You have probably spent quite a bit of time learning what isn't impossible. I imagine most adults know that a stick and platform on two wheels just doesn't balance and this causes the condition known as first timers flutter, the primary palpitation, the quanza quake or vascillating virg... ahem, sorry about that. At any rate, I've noticed that younger people tend to see it work and therefore expect it to work because they don't have 30+ years of experience telling them otherwise. As far as training goes, I see it like most everything else, you might be able to get by without it but it will no doubt cover things you have yet to think of and don't want to find out the hard way in addition to providing the confidence needed to trust the machine and yourself.

--
swiftly flying

[dexter]

If and when volume ramps up training will be even more of an issue. Do you think there will be a point in time that the Segway is so commonplace that almost everyone will "know" how to ride one, or "know" how to expect to be trained by peers? Compare this to the bicycle. DEFINATELY something you just can't get on and ride. But also something that is part of our culture (being taught by parents or peers, training wheels, and especially the fact that it is "common knowledge" that you have to have some training and/or practice before you can ride).

I'm asking, is the question of training partly because the Segway is so completely new that people don't know WHAT to expect... looks like you can just get on and ride, but not that easy if you were to try it cold. So it is kind of necessary now to force the issue of training so that purchasers know what to expect and are able to ride safely. Once society begins to know what to expect, to know what a Segway "is", will informal peer training become part of the culture?

Dave C.
me: www.idexter.com
work: www.idealjacobs.com
play: www.nyline.org

[pam]

I think so, Dexter. So much of our learning is imitative, anyway, that when Segways are more pervasive, people will "expect" it to be easier - I think that what makes it somewhat more "difficult" now is the fear of something new, and the relating it to our experiences with other wheeled vehicles. Learning to ride a bike is HARD. Once the expectation is that they can do it, they'll be able to do it &lt;G&gt;. At least, that's my thought. Then the biggest problem will be the accidents that occur from complacency.
Pam

[PoloAk]

I can't tell you how nervous I was to get on the Segway the first time. I'm so happy I flew to NH for training (and the SC folks I met). Even though you could learn w/o training, I think having the extra attention makes you a little more sure of yourself.

CZWMDV,

Kelsey

[GlideMaster]

I was gliding four days before I took my official training last September. When I did finally receive my instruction the instructor saw me gliding and wanted to know where I'd learned to glide. I explained that I'd seen it on GMA in December of 2001 and remembered how to operate the glider. I was just lucky that when I started I just happen to pick the black key because I had no idea that the three keys were different and I hadn't read the instructions.

Regardless of the above circumstances, it is still the opinion of the undersigned that training is a necessity and should always remain a precondition of a sale. Training in a lot of cases from an experienced glider is invaluable.

quote:Originally posted by mattk

I learned to ride without training. Although I cant see my grandmother just getting on a going without training.

I think it should it should stay the same- recommened and optional


<center>http://www.segwaychat.com/forum/avatars/glidemaster.gif</center>