I just bought a PowerA charging station, which sits on my end table next to my couch. When I want to play, I just grab the controller, which is fully charged, and when I'm done, I just plop it back. I use my rechargeables with my X1 where I have a nice charger sitting on the same end table as the PlayStation 4 charger. Although, I store the batteries in a storage area inside the other end table.
EDIT:
I wonder if he's turning the PS4 off instead of putting it into standby mode (orange LED strip). It won't charge when turned off completely! :$
I know the difference between standby and powered of and even if I wasn't IT, it says what the two are when attempting to power it off. the only time I powered it off was when I was struggling to close an app before I found the menu.
I haven't used it much the last three days. I'll play around and see if I can get it to charge on standby. The cable they gave me feels like it has two stages before complete insertion. Its possible the first two days I could have not had it plugged in all the way. When it wasn't charging I could have sworn I had read and forgotten that sleep charging had to be patched in. Still that was third and farthest down my list of controller issues. I have gotten it completely charged at least twice. Which was in one week doing nothing much more than watching movies on Vudu. I don't think there is a defense for that. I also don't think its a problem that should make people buy a different console.