Delivery & First Service Center Experience

[IGotEastBay]

I took delivery of my new MS 75D a few weeks ago. Went to Fremont and took the factory tour and then picked the car up after. I inspected the car at pick up and noticed several issues (the biggest one being a scratch on the driver's side small left window that I can eventually have replaced when I want to be without my car for a few days). Most of the issues I found seemed to stem from the car not being washed/detailed prior to pick up (it was pretty dirty with smudges, lots of dust, dirt spots, etc, looked like they skipped delivery prep all together). After going over all the issues I found with the delivery folks and waiting for them to discuss what they could do to correct the situation, I was given the option of taking the car as it was and getting a complimentary detailing in a few weeks at a service center (Dublin) or waiting 2+ hours for them to detail the car that day. I had to get back to work, so I chose the former. I thought offering the detailing was pretty fair although it doesn't make it right that the car was not prepped for delivery like it should have been. I understand that they're all super busy now with M3 coming, but they need to improve the delivery experience for folks throwing down this much money on their premium products. Picking up a dirty car is bush league, especially one this expensive.

Flash forward to this morning, which was my scheduled detailing appointment. I was told at drop off that the detailing would take all day and possibly into the next day but I could have a loaner (unfortunately an ICE) so I could go to work while they worked on it. I was a bit bummed to possibly be without my car overnight but I was OK with the timeline since they were upfront about it. The loaner policy is great and I have to say that everyone I dealt with during drop off was super nice and helpful. The lady who arranged the loaner for me said that she could understand being bummed to get an ICE loaner and was hopeful that they were going to meet Elon's August timeline for having all loaners be Teslas. Then we shared a laugh about "Elon time" for things like that.

Unfortunately, afterwards is where it started to go south. I get a voicemail around 3:30 saying that they want to hold the car until Tuesday(!!!!) because they're busy with other things and can't get to it today. The guy on the phone wasn't apologetic about it, just said it matter of factly. I'm sorry, but this is just not acceptable. I made an appointment for a service over a week ago, it should be done as scheduled. If something comes up, I understand, but give me a call BEFORE I drive out there and tell me to reschedule. It's obvious that my detailing wasn't a priority for them, which is disappointing. I called back and let them know that I wasn't OK with them keeping my car for 5 days and I wasn't too happy about having to drive all the way to Dublin (45+ minutes each way) and back and forth again the following week. After discussing with the guy on the phone (who was really nice and understanding), they were able to offer someone to bring the car back to me today and pick up the ICE loaner. They'll also pick up and drop it off next week too. I thought that was pretty fair (especially since I'm not in a rush to get it detailed), so I agreed.

I'm happy they were (eventually) accommodating and tried to make things right. However, it is pretty frustrating to see that:
1. They have no respect for their customers' time unless they're pushed.
2. They could care less how long they keep your car. I'm still astonished that they think it's OK to even propose keeping my new car for 5 days for something as simple as a detailing appointment, which they made (because they screwed up in the first place) but couldn't keep.

I love the car and I'm trying to be understanding about all this. I'm hopeful that this is just a bumpy start and that things with service will go smoother in the future. My question (and reason for sharing all this), are my delivery/service experiences normal?

 

[Tiger]

Hopefully the root issue here will go away when all loaners are top-of-the-line tesla's, and you can just whish the serivice takes longer ...

 

[whitex]

Not sure what kind of ICE you got as a loaner, but wouldn't just giving you a pre-paid detailing cost them less than a decent class rental for 5 days? There are plenty of places that will professionally detail your car. Heck, why not just give you $300 and call it even?

 

[hiroshiy]

I took delivery of my new MS 75D a few weeks ago. Went to Fremont and took the factory tour and then picked the car up after. I inspected the car at pick up and noticed several issues (the biggest one being a scratch on the driver's side small left window that I can eventually have replaced when I want to be without my car for a few days). Most of the issues I found seemed to stem from the car not being washed/detailed prior to pick up (it was pretty dirty with smudges, lots of dust, dirt spots, etc, looked like they skipped delivery prep all together). After going over all the issues I found with the delivery folks and waiting for them to discuss what they could do to correct the situation, I was given the option of taking the car as it was and getting a complimentary detailing in a few weeks at a service center (Dublin) or waiting 2+ hours for them to detail the car that day. I had to get back to work, so I chose the former. I thought offering the detailing was pretty fair although it doesn't make it right that the car was not prepped for delivery like it should have been. I understand that they're all super busy now with M3 coming, but they need to improve the delivery experience for folks throwing down this much money on their premium products. Picking up a dirty car is bush league, especially one this expensive.

Flash forward to this morning, which was my scheduled detailing appointment. I was told at drop off that the detailing would take all day and possibly into the next day but I could have a loaner (unfortunately an ICE) so I could go to work while they worked on it. I was a bit bummed to possibly be without my car overnight but I was OK with the timeline since they were upfront about it. The loaner policy is great and I have to say that everyone I dealt with during drop off was super nice and helpful. The lady who arranged the loaner for me said that she could understand being bummed to get an ICE loaner and was hopeful that they were going to meet Elon's August timeline for having all loaners be Teslas. Then we shared a laugh about "Elon time" for things like that.

Unfortunately, afterwards is where it started to go south. I get a voicemail around 3:30 saying that they want to hold the car until Tuesday(!!!!) because they're busy with other things and can't get to it today. The guy on the phone wasn't apologetic about it, just said it matter of factly. I'm sorry, but this is just not acceptable. I made an appointment for a service over a week ago, it should be done as scheduled. If something comes up, I understand, but give me a call BEFORE I drive out there and tell me to reschedule. It's obvious that my detailing wasn't a priority for them, which is disappointing. I called back and let them know that I wasn't OK with them keeping my car for 5 days and I wasn't too happy about having to drive all the way to Dublin (45+ minutes each way) and back and forth again the following week. After discussing with the guy on the phone (who was really nice and understanding), they were able to offer someone to bring the car back to me today and pick up the ICE loaner. They'll also pick up and drop it off next week too. I thought that was pretty fair (especially since I'm not in a rush to get it detailed), so I agreed.

I'm happy they were (eventually) accommodating and tried to make things right. However, it is pretty frustrating to see that:
1. They have no respect for their customers' time unless they're pushed.
2. They could care less how long they keep your car. I'm still astonished that they think it's OK to even propose keeping my new car for 5 days for something as simple as a detailing appointment, which they made (because they screwed up in the first place) but couldn't keep.

I love the car and I'm trying to be understanding about all this. I'm hopeful that this is just a bumpy start and that things with service will go smoother in the future. My question (and reason for sharing all this), are my delivery/service experiences normal?

So sorry to hear your experience. This is unacceptable. I think things are getting too loose or lacking respect to customer overall. I would return the car if my service center (BTW they are very good) do that even once. That's Japanese way.

What I always do here is to let them promise one day service. Not two days, fix the time for the return. Bad micromanagement technique I know, but if they know they need to finish things by exactly when, their time management gets better. I almost always get my car returned on that day.

 

[croman]

So sorry to hear your experience. This is unacceptable. I think things are getting too loose or lacking respect to customer overall. I would return the car if my service center (BTW they are very good) do that even once. That's Japanese way.

What I always do here is to let them promise one day service. Not two days, fix the time for the return. Bad micromanagement technique I know, but if they know they need to finish things by exactly when, their time management gets better. I almost always get my car returned on that day.

Not all of us are so lucky as to live in Japan AND have a Tesla. ;-)

Highland Park IL always has Tesla loaners. At least they told me they don't loan out ICE. I think Tesla needs more consistency in all locations.

I'm consistently impressed by my service experiences but clearly OP's experience was frustrating and disappointing. I think OP handled it very well. Luckily I live 10 or 15 minutes from my service center.

 

[IGotEastBay]

It was a standard rental car, nothing fancy (Hyndai Sonata). I can live with a meh loaner if it's only 1 day. It's a good policy to offer one at all. Having to deal with it for 5 days though? Nope.

I was surprised they didn't offer that (taking it to my own detailer and reimbursing). I would have jumped at taking it somewhere else to be honest. I know their washing/detailing services are not exactly great.

Not sure what kind of ICE you got as a loaner, but wouldn't just giving you a pre-paid detailing cost them less than a decent class rental for 5 days? There are plenty of places that will professionally detail your car. Heck, why not just give you $300 and call it even?

 

[Max*]

The lady who arranged the loaner for me said that she could understand being bummed to get an ICE loaner and was hopeful that they were going to meet Elon's August timeline for having all loaners be Teslas.

I don't think my local service is doing this, hah. They changed their policy from letting you wait longer and get a loaner vs. an ICE, to "you can no longer reserve a loaner, first come first serve"

 

[IGotEastBay]

I 100% agree about the lack of respect for the customer and that's what worries me the most. Telsa does a lot to take care of customers, hopefully they will come to understand that the way their employees treat customers (from the top down) can sour all the good they do.

So sorry to hear your experience. This is unacceptable. I think things are getting too loose or lacking respect to customer overall. I would return the car if my service center (BTW they are very good) do that even once. That's Japanese way.

What I always do here is to let them promise one day service. Not two days, fix the time for the return. Bad micromanagement technique I know, but if they know they need to finish things by exactly when, their time management gets better. I almost always get my car returned on that day.

 

[IGotEastBay]

Tesla's in a tough spot, especially in CA with all the demand. I think that and the stress they put on the local centers is the root of the problem. I try to keep an open mind and realize that sometimes folks are busy, stressed, etc and that can impact their customer service. That being said, I do expect more from such a high end product and consistency in the org is key. One sour apple can spoil the bunch.

Not all of us are so lucky as to live in Japan AND have a Tesla. ;-)

Highland Park IL always has Tesla loaners. At least they told me they don't loan out ICE. I think Tesla needs more consistency in all locations.

I'm consistently impressed by my service experiences but clearly OP's experience was frustrating and disappointing. I think OP handled it very well. Luckily I live 10 or 15 minutes from my service center.

 

[croman]

Tesla's in a tough spot, especially in CA with all the demand. I think that and the stress they put on the local centers is the root of the problem. I try to keep an open mind and realize that sometimes folks are busy, stressed, etc and that can impact their customer service. That being said, I do expect more from such a high end product and consistency in the org is key. One sour apple can spoil the bunch.

California might be a rough patch for consistent service due to demand issues but no one should've been more overly optimistic of their California success than Tesla itself. Further, Highland Park area is swarming with Teslas (I just drove my sick daughter around for 1.5 hours and counted about 50-60 (including one P85D doing 15 mph in a 35 that was very frustrating since it went on for 3 or 4 miles), so around one every 1.5 minutes). With that density of cars, you'd think the service center would have similar issues but I get an appointment within 3 days of calling (or emailing) and I get great service with courteous, thoughtful suggestions and accommodations. They have a lot of premium ICE competition but I can't buy anything but an EV, so its not actual competition from my perspective but it is from theirs. That might keep them on their toes more than other areas.