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

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Do you notice the defects coming into the showroom/sales center and proactively correct them (as a lobbyist of sorts for the consumer) or do you hope that they are not noticed. Were you graded on this, how much post production cost you incurred before delivery of a vehicle?
 
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We do our best to address defects after vehicles undergo PDI (pre delivery inspection) right when they're unloaded from trucks. 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. Being the delivery specialist, those issues unfortunately fall on us even though we have nothing to do with the actual handling of the vehicle. Delivery specialists' whole bonus (which is a joke- literally a couple hundred dollars at the end of quarter + $20/hr base) is based on customer satisfaction. So detailers overlooking things that lead to an upset customer affects our measly bonus.

Sometimes we do notice things day of delivery- which we have to either hope customers don't notice, or give the option to due bill (bring back later) or delay delivery until it gets fixed.

As far as production cost, not really sure. It's just a part of the job to make vehicles as perfect as possible.
 
thx DES for making yourself available.

Can you provide some inside insight on how the lemon law/ buy back process works at Tesla? Like what's the process and what's the best way for us to escalate things if need be on problems?
 
Can you provide some inside insight on how the lemon law/ buy back process works at Tesla? Like what's the process and what's the best way for us to escalate things if need be on problems?

This isn't a Tesla-specific thing, it's regulated by the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

Basically, you go to arbitration.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/acp/pdf_files/englemn.pdf
 
It's not common to be honest, and the things that we'd hope they don't notice are usually VERY small details like faint clear coat scratches. It all comes down to the end of quarter rush when vehicles flood in and everybody is overworked. Vehicles for EU, AUS, and Asia are manufactured first, so US vehicles flood in to centers at the last minute. The last month of every quarter, we were literally told by upper management that we cannot have a day off until after EOQ- if we had objections we'd get the "well there are a million people lined up to have your job" or you'd feel inherently guilty for screwing coworkers over by being absent.
 
This isn't a Tesla-specific thing, it's regulated by the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

Basically, you go to arbitration.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/acp/pdf_files/englemn.pdf
To have your voice heard for lemon law, please please please leave the delivery department alone- they have enough on their plate. It's all in the service manager's hand. If they don't help in a timely fashion, just search on Linkedin on who the regional service manager is and ping them.
 
This bothers me. No offense but this type of action erodes customer trust and is at the heart of excellent customer service.
It's not common to be honest, and the things that we'd hope they don't notice are usually VERY small details like faint clear coat scratches. It all comes down to the end of quarter rush when vehicles flood in and everybody is overworked. Vehicles for EU, AUS, and Asia are manufactured first, so US vehicles flood in to centers at the last minute. The last month of every quarter, we were literally told by upper management that we cannot have a day off until after EOQ- if we had objections we'd get the "well there are a million people lined up to have your job" or you'd feel inherently guilty for screwing coworkers over by being absent.
 
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Do you notice the defects coming into the showroom/sales center and proactively correct them (as a lobbyist of sorts for the consumer) or do you hope that they are not noticed. Were you graded on this, how much post production cost you incurred before delivery of a vehicle?
We do our best to address defects after vehicles undergo PDI (pre delivery inspection) right when they're unloaded from trucks. 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. Being the delivery specialist, those issues unfortunately fall on us even though we have nothing to do with the actual handling of the vehicle. Delivery specialists' whole bonus (which is a joke- literally a couple hundred dollars at the end of quarter + $20/hr base) is based on customer satisfaction. So detailers overlooking things that lead to an upset customer affects our measly bonus.

Sometimes we do notice things day of delivery- which we have to either hope customers don't notice, or give the option to due bill (bring back later) or delay delivery until it gets fixed.

As far as production cost, not really sure. It's just a part of the job to make vehicles as perfect as possible.
 
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Reactions: Fiddler
I don't trust someone with such an obvious grudge to provide ANY sort of objective information. Thanks anyway.
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.
 
@DESinUS ....why did I get great swag on my three deliveries and other DS’s don’t give anything ?;):eek::mad:
Ahhh the swag! We had them taken away from us (along with other things like coffee machines, snacks, etc.) in an effort to cut costs a while back. They removed it from showrooms as well. Basically, the swag is now an "escalation only" resolution. Plus we literally don't have anything in most locations to give in the first place. You might get a Tesla-branded pen though!