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I was a delivery specialist for many years- Ask Me Anything

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Do the cars have a QC check sheet filled out when the car arrives from the factory? Do they have one filled out during PDI and new owner walkthrough?
There is the "end of line" checklist for major things like seats being installed, interior panels matching (i've seen mis-matched interiors before though), etc. PDI checklists are done at the center- cars don't queue for delivery unless they clear PDI. Detail teams are the ones noticing the smaller defects that may be present.
 
The problem is that some centers have amazing detailers, and others have people who don't take much pride in their work/care enough. I was lucky to have probably the best detailers at Tesla who wouldn't let anything slide, but I've witnessed very half-ass workers as well. Now that deliveries are in hubs rather than smaller centers, there's a greater chance of things being overlooked.
Is it better to take delivery at the Marina del Rey Delivery Center or at one of the local Service Centers, in terms of detailing and attention to details?

What State did you work in?

Which colors tend to have fewer delivery defects? Which colors the worst?

What day of the week is best to take delivery in terms of staff attention and a thorough walk-thru?

Thanks for participating. I am a big Elon fan but I wish he was less neurotic and more employee friendly.
 
Do many sales advisors give out referral codes and how do people usually convince them to give out their own? Do you know of instances where they have used their won rather than the customer provided one?
Sales people rarely give out their referral because lots can’t afford a tesla. I haven’t heard of employees winning prizes based on referrals. On the delivery end of things, we rarely saw an order without a referral code though.
 
I know a local Tesla sales rep pushes his friends' codes on customers who don't know about referrals. I've overheard it. I'm sure quid-pro-quos are going on to boost their income stream.

I just want to know why delivery specialists never return emails or phone calls? Its like pulling teeth. Its not like Tesla sells that many cars...
 
Is it better to take delivery at the Marina del Rey Delivery Center or at one of the local Service Centers, in terms of detailing and attention to details?

What State did you work in?

Which colors tend to have fewer delivery defects? Which colors the worst?

What day of the week is best to take delivery in terms of staff attention and a thorough walk-thru?

Thanks for participating. I am a big Elon fan but I wish he was less neurotic and more employee friendly.
Madina Del Rey is good from my experience, and I’m almost positive that you don’t have an option to take delivery elsewhere in LA.

I’d like to stay as anonymous as possible.

Any color but black is typically good from a clear coat/swirl mark perspective.
Standard Black is definitely the worst color. The lack of sparkle really accentuates clear coat scratches/swirls that are almost impossible to avoid.

Weekdays are the best since more people don’t have the time to take delivery. Honestly, they only have about 30 minutes to do walkthroughs and they’re always trying to find ways to lessen the time simply because there’s usually not enough man power. Luckily, the cars are very intuitive to learn so you shouldn’t need much time anyways. There are endless videos online too.
 
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I know a local Tesla sales rep pushes his friends' codes on customers who don't know about referrals. I've overheard it. I'm sure quid-pro-quos are going on to boost their income stream.

I just want to know why delivery specialists never return emails or phone calls? Its like pulling teeth. Its not like Tesla sells that many cars...
Yeah, this was the type of thing I was referring to
 
I know a local Tesla sales rep pushes his friends' codes on customers who don't know about referrals. I've overheard it. I'm sure quid-pro-quos are going on to boost their income stream.

I just want to know why delivery specialists never return emails or phone calls? Its like pulling teeth. Its not like Tesla sells that many cars...
It’s a pain point for sure. We were always being bombarded with calls and emails throughout the work day. From going to bed to waking up during any given day, we’d would be ecstatic to have ~50-60 emails waiting for us in the AM. If we took a day or two off, we’d get hundreds of emails. It was insane. Try to keep emails and calls to a minimum if possible. Your delivery specialist will love you so much for that.

To put it in perspective, the average delivery specialist has around 200-250 customers per quarter. On the back end, we’re also dealing with factory concerns, order operations, sales, finance, trades, etc. It’s a lot for one person to handle.
 
I understand why you'd say that based on my comment. I'm not begrudged with them at all, I'm here to give honest answers on what actually happens. That was a joke that was meant to be funny & sarcastic. I genuinely think Teslas are the best cars on the road on pretty much all fronts. I had the most memorable and epic experiences there. I just think that there are answers to frustrations people have that current employees can't be transparent about.
That’s the sad part about online stuff, people can’t tell between joke/sarcasm and what’s real, unless specified upfront or corrected afterwards.

Also, thank you for giving all these insights!!!
 
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There is the "end of line" checklist for major things like seats being installed, interior panels matching (i've seen mis-matched interiors before though), etc. PDI checklists are done at the center- cars don't queue for delivery unless they clear PDI. Detail teams are the ones noticing the smaller defects that may be present.
I’m really curious about tesla’s build, Fit and finish, QC coming out of the factory.. I know it has improved, but I’ve seen some car with horrible finish & Mis-alignments.. I guess they can’t just throw away the car.. service centers would say it’s within tolerance but a lot of times those tolerances are too large to begin with, 3-5mm?
 
Sales people rarely give out their referral because lots can’t afford a tesla. I haven’t heard of employees winning prizes based on referrals. On the delivery end of things, we rarely saw an order without a referral code though.
Uh, sales people don't give out their own referral code because if you're in sales, you are ineligible for the referral program rewards.
 
If there are imperfections in the paint that need to be corrected, can you have the correction done at a detailer where you are getting PPF applied and then have Tesla pick up the paint correction cost? Or does it need to be handled at the pickup service center?

Also, is the correction worse than the initial defect if done at a Tesla authorized paint correction shop? Does Tesla go for the lowest bid shops for the correction work? (based on horror stories from this forum)

Thank you for taking the time to answer everyone's questions.
 
DESinUS - thank you for your contributions here. It’s what makes a forum into a community.

I’m about to become an owner of a new X. What are the top 3-5 things I should look for at delivery? The checklists that are out there seem too long and cumbersome to go through, especially if many of the checklist items would be covered under warranty and don’t necessarily “have to” be identified at delivery.

I guess I’m looking for a coles notes version of a “must check” at delivery list.

Any insights on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
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