The subject line is my opinion based upon weeks of experience with "executive escalation."
First, the standard business definition of "executive" is a company officer with a minimum level that is typically a vice president. Nowhere in my experience with executive escalation was there ever anybody involved in my issues that was anyways close to being an executive. It started off with a near entry level customer service specialist who later in the process became known as "from the office of the president" but it was still same person.
While my Tesla S is a 9 or a 10 on a 10 point scale based upon its performance, Tesla customer service has consistently been a 3 or 4 on a 10 point scale. To be clear, all of the many people I've talked to over the last nine months have been good people who wanted to help. What is absolutely remarkable is that 11 different people at some time in my conversation with them said this exact same statement - "they never tell us anything."
Therein lies Tesla's customer service problem. It's a company founded and run by engineers. Engineers in my more than 1/4 century of being an executive at major companies typically place a very low level of importance on customer service. That, in my experience, is profoundly true at Tesla. From the top, they do not have the systems, principles, and attitudes necessary to deliver world-class service that measures up to a world-class vehicle.
I will not go into all of the specific issues that I have had that required my interaction with Tesla customer service. Suffice it to say, they have been many and varied.
And the experiences only got worse in the executive escalation process. People not responding to emails for weeks. People not calling multiple times when they said they would - including one time where they said they would call back a few hours later in the same day (that call has yet to be made weeks later). Zero resolution to the issues I raised in the executive escalation process.
I make these points not to complain.
I make these points as a plea to Tesla to get their customer service act together. I very much want to see Tesla be a great success. The early adopters and geeks were willing to put up with poor customer service. As Tesla expands its base of business to more general market, people are not going to put up with very poor customer service.
Tesla, please wake up and get your customer service act together. The solution is going to come from the top, not the middle or the bottom of the customer service organization. The middle and bottom tend to be well-intentioned people wanting to do a good job but not given the tools or systems or information to do their job.
First, the standard business definition of "executive" is a company officer with a minimum level that is typically a vice president. Nowhere in my experience with executive escalation was there ever anybody involved in my issues that was anyways close to being an executive. It started off with a near entry level customer service specialist who later in the process became known as "from the office of the president" but it was still same person.
While my Tesla S is a 9 or a 10 on a 10 point scale based upon its performance, Tesla customer service has consistently been a 3 or 4 on a 10 point scale. To be clear, all of the many people I've talked to over the last nine months have been good people who wanted to help. What is absolutely remarkable is that 11 different people at some time in my conversation with them said this exact same statement - "they never tell us anything."
Therein lies Tesla's customer service problem. It's a company founded and run by engineers. Engineers in my more than 1/4 century of being an executive at major companies typically place a very low level of importance on customer service. That, in my experience, is profoundly true at Tesla. From the top, they do not have the systems, principles, and attitudes necessary to deliver world-class service that measures up to a world-class vehicle.
I will not go into all of the specific issues that I have had that required my interaction with Tesla customer service. Suffice it to say, they have been many and varied.
And the experiences only got worse in the executive escalation process. People not responding to emails for weeks. People not calling multiple times when they said they would - including one time where they said they would call back a few hours later in the same day (that call has yet to be made weeks later). Zero resolution to the issues I raised in the executive escalation process.
I make these points not to complain.
I make these points as a plea to Tesla to get their customer service act together. I very much want to see Tesla be a great success. The early adopters and geeks were willing to put up with poor customer service. As Tesla expands its base of business to more general market, people are not going to put up with very poor customer service.
Tesla, please wake up and get your customer service act together. The solution is going to come from the top, not the middle or the bottom of the customer service organization. The middle and bottom tend to be well-intentioned people wanting to do a good job but not given the tools or systems or information to do their job.
