Well, I’ll admit, I have received outstanding service from start to finish with Tesla. I’m a ‘car guy’ – love automobiles! I worked as an engineer in the auto industry for 27 years for one of the big 3 and have enjoyed buying a number of vehicles over the years from various manufacturers (big to small, inexpensive to expensive) – I enjoyed all of them, although I did have some favorites over the years.
The very first Tesla a saw was a few years ago in CA. We flew there for a cruise and stayed a couple extra days to see the area. When we visited Venice Beach, after what seemed like an eternity searching for a parking space, we finally found a space which happened to be next to a white Model S. I didn’t know what it was and looked all over the car for some sort of name or badging – I somehow missed the name on the rear. But looking in the car I noticed the huge center display and could only imagine what it looked like when active. It took a bit before my wife was able to remind me of why we were there, NOT to look at cars, but to visit the beach! So if anyone owned a white MS a few years ago and parked at Venice Beach only to return to their car to find fingerprints all over their driver’s window – I’m sorry!
Anyway, I did some research when we got back to the hotel and found what I saw was a Tesla and it was 100% electric. My interest sort of waned at this point, but I did look further and noticed that while Tesla’s site showed superchargers located throughout CA, there were not that many in the rest of the country, especially in the Midwest where I live. Although, they showed “planned” chargers (gray dots on the map) which would allow a cross country trip, I had seen many ‘planned’ ideas in the industry come and go through the years without implementation. So I put the idea about buying one out of my mind. Until…
Last year, I accompanied my wife on a business trip. Since we were in the market to replace our 2 hybrids, I used the time to go car shopping! While looking at various hybrids, I somehow remembered Tesla and fond that they had a Sales Center near the hotel. Looking further, I noticed that all of those gray dots I had seen before on the supercharger map were now RED dots! Tesla actually delivered on what they ‘planned’!!! I was impressed! So I made a trip to the SC to take a look at the cars, they had an X on the showroom floor and it was receiving lots of attention, but after the sales associate told me about the wait time for delivery, I lost interest in the MX and focused on the MS. I was sold on the test drive! But there were no inventory cars at the location in the colors we wanted. After returning home, I found that there was a SC about an hour away in Cincinnati. So I made a trip down the following day after work. I spent over an hour checking out the rolling chassis they had on the showroom and talking to Richard (owner advisor) and Austin (product specialist).
What I didn’t realize was that I arrived only 5 minutes before the Sales Center was scheduled to close. As we talked and looked at various options, etc. Richard and Austin never mentioned anything about the store being closed nor did they make me feel rushed. I only recognized it when I left and they had to unlock the door to let me out! I then noticed the store hours posted next to the door and realized it was about 90 minutes past the time they closed! I apologized profusely and Richard and Austin smiled and said, “No problem, we enjoyed talking to you!”
Since I had driven one but my wife hadn’t, I really wanted her experience driving one and they had an inventory MS in her first color choice. The only problem was getting her down to take a look at it since she had a crazy work schedule that week. Richard and Austin offered to bring the car to our home the following day when my wife would have some time to drive it and experience parking it in the garage, etc. Needless to say, we purchased that car.
So… service before the sale and the delivery experience was OUTSTANDING!
After fighting on who’s going to drive the MS, my wife and I quickly decided we wanted another Tesla, so we reserved a M3. However, we quickly learned that we couldn’t wait. Richard was outstanding in helping us with searching for CPOs that weren’t listed on Tesla’s website. So we ended up with another MS. My parents had planned on buying a new car and after experiencing our Teslas, they decided to change their plans and get an MS, so we helped them buy their MS. The delivery specialist patiently went over all the details with my parents (80 years old) upon delivery and spent all the time they needed until they were thoroughly familiar with the car before leaving. My dad used AutoPilot for most of the 1 hour drive home after delivery. And in December, I finally replaced my ICE SUV with an MX, so in the course of about 8 months, we purchased 4 Teslas. They are awesome, we love them!
Don’t get me wrong, cars are based on mechanical systems and every mechanical system will either fail or need some sort of preventative maintenance over time. So what’s important to me is how the manufacturer, service organization, etc. respond in these instances. It’s not so much about a component failing as it is about how they take care of it. Any service can be an inconvenience, taking steps to minimize that inconvenience is important.
I have found that service ‘after’ the sale has been equally OUTSTANDING! Honestly, we would have never purchased #2, 3, or 4 if this had not been the case. Taking a car in for service can be a huge disruption in my day. Arrangements, scheduling, drop off, pickup, etc. can be a big inconvenience. The Tesla service folks have gone out of their way to make the process as painless as possible. Since the SC is an hour away, they pick up and drop off the car at the times and locations of my choosing and leave me with a loaner. That has helped minimize the inconvenience. The service advisor I’ve dealt with most is Jon. He is AWESOME! He keeps me informed on the status of items while the vehicle is being serviced and takes the time to personally check the vehicle over before it’s delivered back to me. If the technicians aren’t able to duplicate an issue I’ve mentioned, he won’t stop until he’s able to replicate it and get it addressed. He may call and say, “The tech couldn’t duplicate the issue, but I’d like to make sure we get it addressed, would you mind if we keep your car overnight and allow me to test it in this condition/that condition, etc.” His diligence has eliminated the NTF (“No Trouble Found”) solution to problems I’ve seen written on countless service repair orders over the years when picking up vehicles from Dealer service centers after I’ve had them in for repair. What aggravated me so much with those times, is the service advisors wouldn’t even call and let me know that they didn’t fix the problem. It was my surprise when I picked up the vehicle! That also meant I would have to schedule ANOTHER appointment to address the issue and be inconvenienced all over again! I found the NTF syndrome was independent of manufacturer, dealership, etc. It just seemed to me that most viewed it as easier and more profitable to be paid to diagnose a problem whether it was fixed or not (diagnose and fix it if easy, if it’s difficult, just move on to the next). I have not experienced this with Tesla Service – Jon takes the time to make sure he thoroughly understands the issues and does what it takes to make sure it gets addressed. I’m very picky about my vehicles and have been amazed that on a couple occasions Jon has called after doing his ‘walk around’ of my vehicle before it gets returned to me and asked, “Have you noticed…?” and proceed to describe something that I hadn’t even noticed (if you know me personally, you’d know how picky I am about my cars, you’d know that would be a pretty rare thing for someone to notice something about my car that I hadn’t already noticed, as I tend to ‘study’ them when washing them, etc.
). Anyway, Jon’s question would be followed, by “Would you mind if we addressed that before we bring the vehicle back to you?” Now THAT’s Customer Service! I’ve owned a lot of vehicles over the years and I can safely say that no other service organization has met the level of service I’ve received from Tesla. I understand that things happen, but it’s how they’re handled afterwards that makes all the difference in the world. All of my experiences with Tesla Service is that they have been diligent and thorough throughout the process which resulted in truly minimizing the inconvenience and disruption in my schedule.
So … Service after the sale is OUTSTANDING!!!
I’ve purchased accessories from the Parts Department and have received excellent customer service each time. Actually, all of my interactions with everyone in the Tesla organization have been positive.
And, you already know, driving one is FUN. So my overall ownership experience is … OUTSTANDING!
