How Is Tesla Going To Solve Service For The Masses?

[mikevbf]

I know we have a thread on Service Centers, but service centers seems to be less and less about service centers for Tesla going forward which is why I created this thread. With the exponential growth the more affordable Model 3 creates and the Model Y will continue, Tesla has come to a tipping point with service. I believe Elon Musk is well aware of this which is why he has stated that Service is his number 1 priority. Right now the Tesla brand is loved by many as customer satisfaction polls show. To keep this positive image and become a successful company in transition to mass production, Tesla must solve the problem of service.

I am curious what people think. Is Tesla on the right track with a ranger type model to service 90% of Tesla's service needs? Or will they need to expand service centers significantly as well? Elon Musk has stated service will never be a profit center for Tesla. But, right now in a time of financial discipline for the company, service centers lose money. How do you think service centers could break even without negatively impacting customer satisfaction? These are some of the basic yet essential questions I would like explore in this thread.

 

[cpa]

Why do you ask such extremely hard questions?

Quality control needs to improve at Fremont to reduce to a tiny number of warranty repairs for defective batteries, drive trains, and other issues that are essential not only to driving but to appearances. No misaligned doors or trunks. No paint swirls. These fixes take time and cost money.

Ranger (mobile) service can repair most items that do not require lifting the car on a hoist or replacing a critical component. Door handles, 12V battery, and other minor components can be swapped out at your home or office. Mobile service will not have the cost of leasing a large building and installing a lot of equipment. Instead, they just lease a storage unit for replacement parts and have vehicles that are used by the techs to make their rounds.

We needed to have (as it turned out) the traction battery replaced in our Model 3. The scheduling for the diagnostic testing was horrible. It is difficult to contact the Service Center directly. Going through the main switchboard to an attendant who reads from a script is not helpful. This seems to be a costly exercise for Tesla. We should be able to contact our Service Center directly to speak to a knowledgeable person instead of a call-center employee who fields all sorts of questions. The phone app does not seem to deliver the goods, nor does the website. Since many of us are 3 hours + from a Service Center, Tesla needs to have a location-based approach for us to contact them with our service issues. Rely less on computer-driven metrics and more on old-fashioned service where a real person can look at our logs and see what the problem is and then contact us promptly for a solution. Mobile service? Fine. Service Center need? Fine. We will arrange for a tow if you cannot drive the car.

A couple of times now a tech has been stationed at the Kettleman City 40-stall Supercharger. This is a fantastic idea, and should be duplicated across selected routes that receive a large amount of Tesla traffic to fix small issues or to answer questions from us.

If Elon Musk really and truly wants to emphasize the service angle, then he needs to spend 30 days in the field, on the phones, and at the Service Centers to get a solid feeling for how things are working. He should do some investigation by interviewing us customers personally to determine what our problem was, how it was handled, and how quickly it was handled. Perhaps wear those oversized glasses, large nose, and mustache disguise when he goes undercover.

 

[mikevbf]

If Elon Musk really and truly wants to emphasize the service angle, then he needs to spend 30 days in the field, on the phones, and at the Service Centers to get a solid feeling for how things are working. He should do some investigation by interviewing us customers personally to determine what our problem was, how it was handled, and how quickly it was handled. Perhaps wear those oversized glasses, large nose, and mustache disguise when he goes undercover.

I believe he feels he has already done that. And, according to his tweet 6 months ago, everyone in NA will be covered in 2 weeks:
Elon Musk sees ‘foolish oversight’ of Tesla’s service coverage, announces major expansion of service centers
For those who live far away from a service center, do you feel "covered"? It definitely feels like a work still in process to me. ie I just got a call from the tow company who offered to pick up my loaner MX, return it to service center and bring me my car back for something around $1500. BTW to the service center's credit, we did work it out this time by holding on to the loaner long enough until I would be in their area anyway.

 

[mikevbf]

Quality control needs to improve at Fremont to reduce to a tiny number of warranty repairs for defective batteries, drive trains, and other issues that are essential not only to driving but to appearances. No misaligned doors or trunks. No paint swirls. These fixes take time and cost money.

Tesla does have an interesting patent for panel gaps, but I have not heard anything about them using it. Maybe on the Model Y.
Tesla patents new clamping system to help with panel gaps

 

[dethman]

Despite what elon says, service is definitely not #1 priority. He might say that to appease buyers, but there is only one number 1 priority... selling cars and software, to generate cash.

Waits at socal service centers are >6 wks and have been that way for the past 9 months with no end in sight.

 

[Az_Rael]

I am curious what people think. Is Tesla on the right track with a ranger type model to service 90% of Tesla's service needs?

I like the ranger model, but there needs to be a way for the consumer to schedule it. We had 1 ranger visit be a no show because he didn't actually book us the appointment he said he would for a follow up visit (he messed up the part and only had one on hand). We had zero visibility other than the date/time the ranger gave us for the next appt. Turns out that appt didn't exist.

They also need to fix parts ordering in advance of visits. If I type into the notes box that I need a replacement part (a decal that the previous ranger already messed up in this case) and I show up and no one ordered it, what good is that? Then I get flak about wanting to leave the car until the part is available so that I don't have to drive 3 hours round trip an extra time. It isn't like I had a loaner, just tired of driving back and forth and having my time wasted so wanted to leave the car until it was done.

Oh, and they need to check everything is completed on the service ticket before calling you and telling you the car is done. During the above mentioned event with a stupid decal, we actually showed up to pick up the car and they hadn't installed the decal. That is when they told us, oh we see that on your ticket, but even though we had your car 4 days for the other work we did, no one ordered the decal. You need to take your car home now and we will reschedule. Which led to the "no, we are leaving the car here until you are done." conversation.

Tallying it all up, getting that one decal installed involved 2 ranger visits (he forgot the part the first time, then messed it up the 2nd time), 1 ranger no show, and 2 service center visits.

Absolutely awful experience. I wouldn't put up with this level of B.S. from any other car company, so it is a testament to Tesla's cars that I still put up with this from them.

But, honestly, I am looking really hard at those Audi e-trons coming out in 2020/2021 when we are ready to sell the S. I supercharge maybe 3 times a year and the Audi dealer near me always had top notch no-hassle service for our S4.

 

[EVCollies]

Our ranger experience has been excellent.

The ranger has been out three times. The first two visits at our request, once to replace a handle and the second to replace the 12v battery (all under warranty).

The third visit was at the ranger's initiative, he was scheduled to be in the area and noticed our car was due for a recall (steering wheel bolt) and called to schedule on his own.

No other manufacturer offers a similar service.

 

[Ostrichsak]

To the point of there needing to be a way to schedule the mobile appointments: the nice Service lady told me yesterday that they're working on a way to request mobile in the app when you're requesting service instead of defaulting to selecting a date/time at a local service center and then needing someone at that location to manually review all of them to determine which qualify for potential mobile service and sending links. The goal is to have users tick a box for mobile if that's what they prefer and if that particular service allows for mobile repair.

 

[ricohman]

Mobile service isn't going to work for those of us who live in -30.
And having a service dept 840km away is a joke. Needs service centers in every city.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Mobile service isn't going to work for those of us who live in -30.
And having a service dept 840km away is a joke. Needs service centers in every city.

I live in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado so I guess my view is skewed due to it being so sunny and warm here year 'round.

 

[dhrivnak]

I know we have a thread on Service Centers, but service centers seems to be less and less about service centers for Tesla going forward which is why I created this thread. With the exponential growth the more affordable Model 3 creates and the Model Y will continue, Tesla has come to a tipping point with service. I believe Elon Musk is well aware of this which is why he has stated that Service is his number 1 priority. Right now the Tesla brand is loved by many as customer satisfaction polls show. To keep this positive image and become a successful company in transition to mass production, Tesla must solve the problem of service.

I am curious what people think. Is Tesla on the right track with a ranger type model to service 90% of Tesla's service needs? Or will they need to expand service centers significantly as well? Elon Musk has stated service will never be a profit center for Tesla. But, right now in a time of financial discipline for the company, service centers lose money. How do you think service centers could break even without negatively impacting customer satisfaction? These are some of the basic yet essential questions I would like explore in this thread.

In our area Tesla has hired two mobile technicians, (rangers) which have been GREAT. Personally I think it is a MUCH better model than the standard dealer model.

 

[Uncle Paul]

I believe that Tesla is analyzing the service center, and using data collected from their current offerings to learn how to fine tune their program.

Took my X in last week for a weak 12v battery. Making the appointment, Tesla recommended I leave the 2 year old car there for some diagnosis. They gave me a Tesla loaner and began evaluating my car. Since it has gone two years/25,000 without any service the retorqued some bolts, filled the washer fluid and hooked it up to a diagnostic computer. They noted some irregularities when downloading the latest firmware, so had a specialist in that area give it a once over. Did the required tweaks and messaged me to return to pick up my car.
Note said they wanted the enterprise loaner back as they wanted it for other customers.

Overall it was a great experience. They installed a fresh 12v battery, did some preventative maintenance on the car and got it back to me in one day. No charge for the service or loaner. I did pick up a fresh set of wiper blades that they charged me for. They have stopped washing customer cars due to Orange County ecological reasons.

This was at the Orange County service center near John Wayne airport. The delivery center down the street delivers around 100 cars a day and the separate service center also handles about 100 cars a day.

Now I understand, that with this volume, there will be occasional instances where a customer is not treated as well or as efficiently as I was, but those instances do not tell the entire service story.

Tesla is running at a fast pace. I see improvements in their programs all the time. They are learning and applying money and resources to improve their entire operation.

 

[Missile Toad]

Tesla parts shipping and communications, here in Texas, is a complete disaster. Trying to communicate with their parts staff via email is like trying to decipher the Nostradamus predictions. They gave zero feedback for weeks, and eventually, I found the needed part by calling to Service Centers out of state. The Parts Staff should be entirely gutted and re-staffed with professionals.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Tesla parts shipping and communications, here in Texas, is a complete disaster. Trying to communicate with their parts staff via email is like trying to decipher the Nostradamus predictions. They gave zero feedback for weeks, and eventually, I found the needed part by calling to Service Centers out of state. The Parts Staff should be entirely gutted and re-staffed with professionals.

I think when people think of "customer service" they only think of the actual service wing of Tesla. There's a lot more that go into service existing Tesla owners and right now the supply line of parts is a HUGE black eye on the company. Last week I talked to the owner of a "Tesla Authorized Body Shop" here in Colorado who said he has 27 Tesla waiting for parts from Tesla in order to repair. Twenty-seven. Some going on three months of just sitting waiting for Tesla to provide parts that have been on order for months. That's crazy and makes me worried about owning one of these cars. Not to mention most body shops around here still turn you away for work if you tell them you have a Tesla. These are the things that Tesla MUST focus on if they want to better their image of customer support and so far it seems like they've done nothing to repair this since Elon's tweets about focusing on this aspect. Where are the results? Words mean jack snap to people who aren't fooled by flashy statements with no substance.

 

[ricohman]

I live in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado so I guess my view is skewed due to it being so sunny and warm here year 'round.

In February we had 21 days below -30. The school buses were cancelled for 8 days in February as it was below -40.
Working outside or on anything made of plastic is very difficult if not impossible.

 

[Ostrichsak]

In February we had 21 days below -30. The school buses were cancelled for 8 days in February as it was below -40.
Working outside or on anything made of plastic is very difficult if not impossible.

So you chose the the single coldest few weeks during a record cold streak to base your stance that mobile service isn't a solution at all any time of the year? Okay. You also were slightly colder for a few more days in a row this year than where I live... so don't see it as being on another planet the way you're trying to make it seem. This assumption also assumes that NO Tesla owners have garages either or park indoors. Just because it wouldn't work for you specifically during a specific window during a specific year doesn't mean the entire program is a wash for everyone. Of course it would be weather dependent in some cases but so are many services offered by plenty of companies that aren't Tesla. What's the point you're trying to make again because I'm just not getting it.

 

[mikevbf]

After starting this thread, I started thinking about the ranger service as it relates to economies of scale. Until Tesla is able to break even on service, maybe the most important metric to keep track of along with customer satisfaction levels is cost of service per Tesla on the road. As the numbers of Tesla on the road increases so does the amount of service Tesla makes available need to increase or customer satisfaction goes down, sales go down, etc.

Now take into account how geographically spread out these vehicles that need service are. With only a few cars and thus only a few rangers, these rangers are relatively inefficient because of the amount of time they need to spend driving to customers instead of working on cars. But as the numbers of cars goes up dramatically with mass production of the Model 3 and eventually the Y, I would guess the geographic diversity of these vehicles increases at a much slower rate. The result is as Tesla increases the number of rangers, the geographic radius the rangers service decreases making the number of cars each ranger services in a day go up. This efficiency of scale makes me hopeful Tesla can accomplish close to break even per vehicle serviced as the number of Tesla on the road increases while improving customer satisfaction. My guess is this is very much the first principle type thinking Tesla is doing to solve service for the masses. From the shared experiences in this thread it appears the difficulty spots are densely populated Teslas in places like California and the less densely Tesla populated places like Saskatchewan.

 

[dgpcolorado]

In February we had 21 days below -30. The school buses were cancelled for 8 days in February as it was below -40.
Working outside or on anything made of plastic is very difficult if not impossible.

I'll agree with that.

The ranger who repaired a door handle on my car had to service another car outside in -23ºC a few days earlier. He doesn't much like it and described it as "take gloves off, work for a few seconds, put gloves back on, repeat". Working in my garage in slightly above freezing temperatures was pretty balmy by comparison.

Nevertheless, service centers serving rural areas or small, remote, cities seem unlikely for the foreseeable future. My out-of-warranty car had to be transported 300 miles across the mountains last week — I was lucky that my insurance picked up the tow because the quoted price from Tesla roadside, using a local company, was $1400.

 

[mikevbf]

Video on Jesse from Now You Know mobile service experience:

 

[CarlK]

Mobile service isn't going to work for those of us who live in -30.
And having a service dept 840km away is a joke. Needs service centers in every city.

Get more people in your community to buy a Tesla the chance you'll be getting a service center will be greatly improved.