Customer Service is Dead

[TaoJones]

@LVThomas:

Glad it worked out.

You're absolutely right to expect a Tesla loaner during Tesla service - that's the expectation *set by Tesla*, not to mention an expectation met by BMW and others for decades.

Now, as people have noted, unless and until Tesla manages their loaner inventory more effectively, that may require rescheduling appointments, but it's something Tesla can fix if they choose to. They've already made the promise at the high end (P100Ds).

I expect them to manage to the lowest common denominator (a Tesla, at least) at the bare minimum. It's not like it's an outlandish expectation - again, *it's the expectation they set*.

Of the dozens of service visits I've had, I've only needed a loaner a couple of/few times (e.g, drive unit replacement piggybacked onto an annual service). They've offered many more times than that; a little advance planning to be able to work in their waiting area for the small stuff, e.g., a half- or 3/4-day or so, goes a long way toward making things easier for everybody.

 

[GreenT]

Service has HAD IT.

My car has been in the shop, on and off, for over a month. It initially went in for symptom A.
Went in for 10 days.
Parts had to be ordered.
"Fixed." Came out.
3 days later more problems. Allegedly unrelated but I don't know.
Back in.
Another several weeks.
As the car manufacturer, I expect every service center to have parts in stock for a complete model Roadster, S and X.
1 or 2 cars. Minimum.
Inventory management should ensure that every models spare parts are replenished automatically,
PROactively.
I didn't pay $125k to drive an ICE for weeks on end. (Not trying to sound elitist.)
4-5 years ago service was SO much better.
Today it's TERRIBLE!!!!!
Elon is too busy with his brain in the cloud with so many things he's lost sight of what matters.
When a Model S/X is not in the shop it's an INCREDIBLE car to drive. Just DREAD service.
DREAD!!!!

And to echo someone else's comments ... the staff couldn't be nicer. But nicer doesn't cut it. We need S-E-R-V-I-C-E!

 

[brkaus]

That’s Tesla’s fault for not anticipating the obvious

I agree there!

 

[rxlawdude]

Update: I got my car back and the young lady in service explained the situation the best she could since it is something Hertz did. The charge is supposed to be removed by midnight or something like that. There wasn’t any arguing or being upset. I talked about it on this forum about 100x more than I talked about it with them. For a luxury vehicle, I still expect a Tesla loaner and depending on the type of service I will try to line one up with future appointments. The point about providing a loaner/rental for a free upgrade is a good one and I will take that into account if a similar situation comes up. Concerning the length of time the upgrade took, they told me they would need it overnight. If they would have told me it would be done same day I could have worked it out one way or the other.

Shortly after I got home the app notified me that I had the update available for easy exit and chill mode. In the world we live in today, I am blessed to have this happen and the charge on the card not be a huge, although temporary, financial issue.

In other words, you had a HOLD on your credit card. This is not unusual for rental cars. Your calling it a "charge" was inaccurate at best.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

In other words, you had a HOLD on your credit card. This is not unusual for rental cars. Your calling it a "charge" was inaccurate at best.

A hold of nearly $1,500? That's a pretty steep hold from the *driver* for a complimentary loaner, paid for by Tesla. I would assume everyone would at least be properly informed about it. In this case, why was the driver not informed?

Again, this is for whatever reason the expectation (hype) set by Tesla:

Tesla service center loaners will all be P100Ds with Ludicrous, says Musk

The guy was promised a loaner over the phone. Where was his P100D?

“Our policy for service loaners is that the service loaner fleet will be the very best version of a Tesla that is available” said Musk during the Q1 earnings call today. “If you have a Model X that comes in for service, the service loaner you will get will be the absolute fully loaded state-of-the-art P100D Ludicrous … Model X that we have. Same for Model S.”

Why does Tesla set such expectations?

I guess hype sells. Too bad one would actually have to follow-up on those promises later and deliver.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

IMO, I would be perfectly fine with a "no loaner" policy. But now that Tesla has set out that the policy is P100Ds for all S/X owners, well, they are selling cars based on that expectation and they need to deliver.

Again, they could have just chosen not to over-promise. As they could have chosen not to over-promise on EAP, FSD, P85D HP, P90DL performance, battery kWh, free lighted vanity mirrors for all Model S and any number of things that they've inflated...

 

[verygreen]

I sense now is a good time to earn my disagrees for the day by tossing out my massively unpopular opinion

Tesla should have charged some nominal amount to do the performance update. Perhaps waive if part of annual service. The performance increase is costing Tesla. Loaner cars, phone calls, responding to escalation requests (why isn't my particular 75d or 90d eligible), service center time, etc.

Considering that the upgrade really is just a config file change and a car reboot, could be done with a script so that you wake up and find in the morning your car was upgraded overnight while parked - I see absolutely zero sense into requiring any sort of service visits for this so this wound is certainly self-inflicted on the Tesla side.

 

[LVThomas]

In other words, you had a HOLD on your credit card. This is not unusual for rental cars. Your calling it a "charge" was inaccurate at best.

No, it was not a hold it was a charge. They messed up and this shouldn’t have happened. Not sure why you want to be an apologist for them more than they do, but this was NOT a normal situation.

 

[SMAlset]

Considering that the upgrade really is just a config file change and a car reboot, could be done with a script so that you wake up and find in the morning your car was upgraded overnight while parked - I see absolutely zero sense into requiring any sort of service visits for this so this wound is certainly self-inflicted on the Tesla side.

I was under the impression the 75D uncorking required more than a software update (replacing fuse and not sure if anything else) and there was labor involved. We are having ours uncorked tomorrow as a matter of fact. Service call was made for the yellow band around our screen, warranty issue, and decided to add the uncorking at same time.

Not sure if we are getting a loaner but if were actually charged for a loaner/rental without agreeing upfront to it, I know we wouldn't be happy especially with a second car sitting at home. Obviously it was an unfortunate mistake and they happen. I will say that we've always felt well taken care of on the very few trips into Service (charge port and vandalized rear window). Both were sudden unexpected service calls and we were fit in quite promptly.

 

[croman]

Verygreen has uncorked cars. He knows for a fact. He's the Obi-Wan of Tesla and wk057 is the Yoda.

 

[brkaus]

Considering that the upgrade really is just a config file change and a car reboot, could be done with a script so that you wake up and find in the morning your car was upgraded overnight while parked - I see absolutely zero sense into requiring any sort of service visits for this so this wound is certainly self-inflicted on the Tesla side.

Definitely self inflicted.

But they must have some reason for the service visit? Perhaps a part needs to be replaced if a certain revision was installed?

 

[verygreen]

I was under the impression the 75D uncorking required more than a software update (replacing fuse and not sure if anything else)

No fuse replacements, all modern day batteries have 'soft fuses'. Now if you are uncorking a 85D - there if you have the old style hard-coded fuse you need to replace it. (what? you did not know 85Ds are uncorkable? Well, now you know, though Tesla certainly does not endorse it).
This is also why on 100Ds it reportedly could be done with a ranger visit (better than SC visit I guess, but still a lot more hassle on the Tesla side than is really needed).

But they must have some reason for the service visit? Perhaps a part needs to be replaced if a certain revision was installed?

One plausible theory I heard is in the wording of the announcement - they wanted people to schedule their annual maintenance visit ($$$) and the uncorking was the carrot.

 

[Xtek]

Are you sure it was an actual charge instead of just an auth?

 

[Max*]

A hold of nearly $1,500? That's a pretty steep hold from the *driver* for a complimentary loaner, paid for by Tesla.

I have to agree, I think they just messed up with the hold. It's not a big deal at all, but it's not right either...

Each time I had a rental from Tesla (and trust me there were a lot), it was typically a $100 hold. Today it was a $50 hold for some reason.

 

[striekes]

I scheduled a service for my MS last week and requested for a loaner. This morning after spending 1 hour with the technician testing/writing up issues to be fixed, the OA informed me they are out of Tesla and third party loaner cars.

This is my first service and I am disappointed considering I've planned my schedule around it. I was told Tesla customer service was supposed to be better than competitors? He gave me the option of dropping my car the next day but cannot guarantee me a loaner car will be available. I've decided to take my car back and drop it off tomorrow morning.

Does anyone know if this happens often?

 

[striekes]

Second day service center has no Tesla or third party loaner cars. I'll have to change my day schedule and try again tomorrow. How will they handle the Model 3 service demand when things ramp up? But at least this time I received a call from OA before I left home.

 

[TexLaw]

I frequently got Enterprise rentals for loaners when I had BMW service.

Personally I'm just happy to have a loaner at all, regardless of it its a Tesla, a BMW or a Toytota Corolla.

I remember the time I took in my Lexus and they were out of loaners (it does happen). I wound up in a Dodge Ram crew cab. I drove that thing for a week or so (and about 500 miles). It wasn't something I wanted for a permanent vehicle, but it was a blast while I had it!

 

[Max*]

I scheduled a service for my MS last week and requested for a loaner. This morning after spending 1 hour with the technician testing/writing up issues to be fixed, the OA informed me they are out of Tesla and third party loaner cars.

This is my first service and I am disappointed considering I've planned my schedule around it. I was told Tesla customer service was supposed to be better than competitors? He gave me the option of dropping my car the next day but cannot guarantee me a loaner car will be available. I've decided to take my car back and drop it off tomorrow morning.

Does anyone know if this happens often?

They were out of third party loaners? You mean like rental cars? Enterprise or Hertz didn't have any more rental cars? That sounds so odd to me.

I've had one time I came in and they gave away the last rental, but all they had to do was call Enterprise (maybe Hertz?) and they came and picked me and up and got me squared away with a rental.

 

[arcus]

Each time I had a rental from Tesla (and trust me there were a lot), it was typically a $100 hold. Today it was a $50 hold for some reason.

It is either a discount after 5th visit or an extension of Cyber Monday deals

 

[striekes]

They were out of third party loaners? You mean like rental cars? Enterprise or Hertz didn't have any more rental cars? That sounds so odd to me.

I've had one time I came in and they gave away the last rental, but all they had to do was call Enterprise (maybe Hertz?) and they came and picked me and up and got me squared away with a rental.

Yeah he specifically said Tesla and Enterprise cars are all out.
This is not what I expected.

The technician noticed issues that needed to be fixed during our drive.

Wind noise
Door handles
Clicking sound on driver side
Cracking noise from brakes