I've loved Tesla for 7 years. But after years of abuse, I'm out

[tomas]

SigGuy wants what he wants and thinks he is entitled to. No amount of arguing will be convincing to him and those who support his premise. C'est la vie. But for him to say 75% are in agreement with him, well that's just non-scientific.

In just two years of Model X ownership, I've for sure seen service changes. And I'm a boomer. And I don't claim things are perfect. Or luxurious. But my car has been seen without fuss. Sometimes in my garage. Sometimes in Tesla's. I love it when mobile service comes to me.

My Model X has not been as service free as my 2005 Jeep Wrangler. But all of its issues involved systems/parts/features that don't exist on the Wrangler. And the Wrangler has traveled fewer than 800 miles over the past two years. I only keep it because the door and top can come off.

Last Tesla service I had was two months ago after I'd waited some time for them to have the yellow screen border fix available. Appointment made over the phone app. Arrived and used a touchscreen to check in. Had a comfortable seat and a coffee. Five minutes later a service guy came out to talk to me. Got an immediate Uber voucher and was on my way within 15 minutes of arrival. Took my first ever Uber ride. Which turned out to be way more entertaining than driving a loaner home. It's a new world.

probably more than 75% of those vocal on this forum unhappy... but far less of total ownership.

you can see it easily in page counts. Complaint threads like this end up going 100 pages with mostly “agrees” and happy threads might go a couple of pages before they die. Nature of the internet beast sadly.

 

[VT_EE]

It's been several years but I distinctly remember my local Audi dealer telling me that there were no loaners when I brought in my A4 for service because they were reserved for A8 and A6 owners. The idea of differentiated service levels for higher-revenue customers is hardly unusual.

I never had that issue when I owned a BMW 3 Series.

 

[VT_EE]

probably more than 75% of those vocal on this forum unhappy... but far less of total ownership.

you can see it easily in page counts. Complaint threads like this end up going 100 pages with mostly “agrees” and happy threads might go a couple of pages before they die. Nature of the internet beast sadly.

It’s a form of therapy.

 

[Cheburashka]

The odd thing is that those of us on the Tesla Energy side still have this type of support. I called just yesterday with a problem. I got a knowledgeable customer support person who nicely listened to my issue, was empathetic and responded with a reasonable answer to my question. He was also very personable and really wanted me to be satisfied. Just like the old days with Tesla cars.

I actually got another solar brand and an LG battery because I dreaded having to deal with Tesla for something as crucial as power to my house.

 

[Chaserr]

@tomas it wasn't always this way. Tesla changed and that's why people who used to love them don't any more.

 

[MP3Mike]

not charge me for warrantied repairs ($200 deductible)

They have never charged you for warranty work. They have charged you the deductible for repairs made under your ESA because that is what the contract calls for.

And even communication doesn't address charging "deductibles" for warrantied work (after 7 years of not doing so)

The first 4years/50k miles would have been warranty work that they wouldn't charge you for. Everything after that was not warranty work, it would have been covered by your ESA that has a deductible.

 

[David_Cary]

It would be funny if the OP didn't realize the ESA policy. And maybe, they skipped the $200 deductible as a good faith measure on a couple of repairs.

I find the APP stuff annoying but got my one serious repair done in 24 hours so didn't need a loaner. This was about a month ago. I dropped the car off on Sunday evening and ubered to the SC on Monday after work.

I have had multiple service at my place of work - almost invisibly.

So experience varies. I am 1 month shy of 5 years.

 

[tomas]

But if done properly, SCALE usually results in improved ability to execute on every metric related to the business including customer service.

Ok, this is a conversation worth having: if Tesla creates a car that needs minimal service, and when it does need it - a seamless, timely customer service model where you schedule an appointment in your app and it can give you reasonable window, You list out what you need done, they analyze it and contact you Via text on timely basis if not clear, they schedule the parts to be there in background, you get an accurate quote by email before your appointment, you drop off your car and pick up loaner or get Uber credits, you get timely text updates on progress, you go to pick up car and pay via phone, the service manager checks in with you daily next few days by text re quality ...

would that be a good customer service experience? They would be able to save in costs via efficiency, you would get excellent, timely service.

indeed, I think that’s what they are gunning for in their scale up. Rethinking service as they are rethinking lots of things. I don’t think they are TRYING to fail anyone.

and, in fact, that has been my precise experience the last 3 times I’ve had service... twice on 3, once on S. Twice in Santa Barbara, once in Chicago.

now, I am in a situation where Uber is sufficient for me for up to 3 days. I understand some people are not. There need to be loaners for situations where needed.

I get it that not everyone is getting same level. But is the target wrong?

 

[tomas]

@tomas it wasn't always this way. Tesla changed and that's why SOME people who used to love them don't any more.

FTFY

It just isn't absolutes. I try to acknowledge in my posts that I’m conveying my experience, and respect that others have had other experiences. There is not unanimity. Look, I’ve got a 2012 with an A battery (the very first owner Outrage - look it up!). I’ve been chargegated and will probably be batterygated and eMMCd at some point. Yeah I liked the v8 UI before AP ruined it for us non APers. I had a DU replaced. I could be on this forum getting outraged and creating my own “why I dropped Tesla” thread. Seems popular now, there are several.

but I’m happy. S and 2 3s. To me, service has always been first rate and impeccable. If you asked me what I expected in 2010 when I ordered my S, I’d have given even odds on an expensive paperweight 8 years hence. Instead I have 3 cars I love to drive and they have been super-reliable.

I’m so, so sorry. I just can’t complain! But anyone else is welcome to vent or whatever.

 

[cpa]

Ok, this is a conversation worth having: if Tesla creates a car that needs minimal service, and when it does need it - a seamless, timely customer service model where you schedule an appointment in your app and it can give you reasonable window, You list out what you need done, they analyze it and contact you Via text on timely basis if not clear, they schedule the parts to be there in background, you get an accurate quote by email before your appointment, you drop off your car and pick up loaner or get Uber credits, you get timely text updates on progress, you go to pick up car and pay via phone, the service manager checks in with you daily next few days by text re quality ...

would that be a good customer service experience? They would be able to save in costs via efficiency, you would get excellent, timely service.

indeed, I think that’s what they are gunning for in their scale up. Rethinking service as they are rethinking lots of things. I don’t think they are TRYING to fail anyone.

and, in fact, that has been my precise experience the last 3 times I’ve had service... twice on 3, once on S. Twice in Santa Barbara, once in Chicago.

now, I am in a situation where Uber is sufficient for me for up to 3 days. I understand some people are not. There need to be loaners for situations where needed.

I get it that not everyone is getting same level. But is the target wrong?

I think the aspiration is good but insufficient. We need immediate feedback from the app. Right now, there is none. A "reasonable window" is too vague. All requests for service must be followed up promptly during normal business hours and by ten AM Monday for weekend requests. The response should offer a request for a call if there are other pressing matters so that we can speak to a person to resolve any conflicts rather than become pen pals via text message.

Many people, including me, do not tether our phones to our persons. Even if we miss a call, the caller can leave a detailed, personalized message in 15-20 seconds. No so with text messages.

Automation is good to a point, but there will always come a time when hands-on personalized contact makes situations smoother from not only the customer's perspective but also the employees' perspectives who are on the front lines.

If Tesla were truly committed to customer service, their feedback email should have more than one question. The last one just asked me how pleased I was on a scale of 1 to 5. Nothing else. Maybe that has changed in the past eight months.

I agree with you that Tesla is not TRYING to fail anyone. Tesla is more than likely trying to get by with the least and hope for the best. Sorta like the teenager who does a half-assed job with his chores so he can go on to do other things that are more fun.

 

[David_Cary]

Wait CPA, you are not tethered to your phone? How old are you?

I agree that App communication is not perfect. But I have to say, the no touch service arrangement has it Covid advantages.

Expect to see a lot of service arrangements moving to Tesla's model. But no virus transmission on phone calls, just very time inefficient despite what you say. A 30 year old can text more detail than they can speak in a certain amount of time. When you add in the 7 or 8 rings, and then the outgoing message, you are just wasting time. I mean how inefficient?

If your phone detected that you were a boomer and were not tethered to your phone in 2 secs and then no outgoing message, then maybe voicemail is time efficient. But that isn't the way phones are working in 2020. Maybe the next Android updates.

I hate calling clients. I love emailing them. And I turn 50 tomorrow. Imaging a 30 yo - average tesla employee age?

 

[Battpower]

It's been several years but I distinctly remember my local Audi dealer telling me that there were no loaners when I brought in my A4 for service because they were reserved for A8 and A6 owners. The idea of differentiated service levels for higher-revenue customers is hardly unusual.

In my experience, that's just getting themselves off the hook because there are no loaners!

The dealers I have used that offer loaners usually just offer you a slightly later booking if you request a loaner. I suspect they push a little harder to get regular customers better service when possible.

 

[Battpower]

Sorta like the teenager who does a half-assed job with his chores so he can go on to do other things that are more fun.

Oh..... have you got one of those too then? I can relate!

 

[Battpower]

and an LG battery

When I researched battery systems several years ago, LG Chem and Tesla were the front runners. I went with LG Chem because:

It was cheaper
The warranty actually made sense (ie stated minimum guaranteed energy throughput)
I could talk to someone about buying the battery.
It could be integrated with kit from other manufacturers to get exactly the spec I wanted.

 

[tomas]

Wait CPA, you are not tethered to your phone? How old are you?

I agree that App communication is not perfect. But I have to say, the no touch service arrangement has it Covid advantages.

Expect to see a lot of service arrangements moving to Tesla's model. But no virus transmission on phone calls, just very time inefficient despite what you say. A 30 year old can text more detail than they can speak in a certain amount of time. When you add in the 7 or 8 rings, and then the outgoing message, you are just wasting time. I mean how inefficient?

If your phone detected that you were a boomer and were not tethered to your phone in 2 secs and then no outgoing message, then maybe voicemail is time efficient. But that isn't the way phones are working in 2020. Maybe the next Android updates.

I hate calling clients. I love emailing them. And I turn 50 tomorrow. Imaging a 30 yo - average tesla employee age?

And, having briefly worked in an auto dealer service department, I can attest that time on the phone with customers - mostly time wasting hand holding and/or telling people things they could easily find in the manual - was by far the largest time slice of the day for service managers.

 

[EVortex]

I think the aspiration is good but insufficient. We need immediate feedback from the app. Right now, there is none. A "reasonable window" is too vague. All requests for service must be followed up promptly during normal business hours and by ten AM Monday for weekend requests. The response should offer a request for a call if there are other pressing matters so that we can speak to a person to resolve any conflicts rather than become pen pals via text message.

Many people, including me, do not tether our phones to our persons. Even if we miss a call, the caller can leave a detailed, personalized message in 15-20 seconds. No so with text messages.

Automation is good to a point, but there will always come a time when hands-on personalized contact makes situations smoother from not only the customer's perspective but also the employees' perspectives who are on the front lines.

If Tesla were truly committed to customer service, their feedback email should have more than one question. The last one just asked me how pleased I was on a scale of 1 to 5. Nothing else. Maybe that has changed in the past eight months.

I agree with you that Tesla is not TRYING to fail anyone. Tesla is more than likely trying to get by with the least and hope for the best. Sorta like the teenager who does a half-assed job with his chores so he can go on to do other things that are more fun.

Service level agreements (SLAs) should always be part of any customer service model, automated or manual. I think an automated model is possible but requires full commitment, use cases that approach 100% coverage, and continuous improvement. Will Elon go all in or just take the short term easy way out? Doing it right is very difficult and few will achieve it, but those that do will own the market.

 

[Big Toys]

Wait CPA, you are not tethered to your phone? How old are you?

I agree that App communication is not perfect. But I have to say, the no touch service arrangement has it Covid advantages.

Expect to see a lot of service arrangements moving to Tesla's model. But no virus transmission on phone calls, just very time inefficient despite what you say. A 30 year old can text more detail than they can speak in a certain amount of time. When you add in the 7 or 8 rings, and then the outgoing message, you are just wasting time. I mean how inefficient?

If your phone detected that you were a boomer and were not tethered to your phone in 2 secs and then no outgoing message, then maybe voicemail is time efficient. But that isn't the way phones are working in 2020. Maybe the next Android updates.

I hate calling clients. I love emailing them. And I turn 50 tomorrow. Imaging a 30 yo - average tesla employee age?

The problem with your preferred model is that it results in exactly the deficiency in customer service we are experiencing. In a text based world, no one ever taught your 30 year old how to interact with others outside their friend circle, let alone what customer service means, and is a outsized source of anxiety in personal relationships. It is absolutely astonishing and embarrassing that a manager has to teach someone who has been in the workforce for several years how to interact with customers.

Sometimes, complex issues are best resolved with spoken language rather than twitter text and equivalent grammar.

 

[ACA Man]

FTFY

It just isn't absolutes. I try to acknowledge in my posts that I’m conveying my experience, and respect that others have had other experiences. There is not unanimity. Look, I’ve got a 2012 with an A battery (the very first owner Outrage - look it up!). I’ve been chargegated and will probably be batterygated and eMMCd at some point. Yeah I liked the v8 UI before AP ruined it for us non APers. I had a DU replaced. I could be on this forum getting outraged and creating my own “why I dropped Tesla” thread. Seems popular now, there are several.

but I’m happy. S and 2 3s. To me, service has always been first rate and impeccable. If you asked me what I expected in 2010 when I ordered my S, I’d have given even odds on an expensive paperweight 8 years hence. Instead I have 3 cars I love to drive and they have been super-reliable.

I’m so, so sorry. I just can’t complain! But anyone else is welcome to vent or whatever.

@tomas it wasn't always this way. Tesla changed and that's why people who used to love them don't any more.

Exactly.

 

[Skipdd]

The odd thing is that those of us on the Tesla Energy side still have this type of support. I called just yesterday with a problem. I got a knowledgeable customer support person who nicely listened to my issue, was empathetic and responded with a reasonable answer to my question. He was also very personable and really wanted me to be satisfied. Just like the old days with Tesla cars.

That’s good to hear. We have been working towards a new domicile (hit pause w/COVID financial uncertainty), and I was thinking of going with solar shingles. With the hit or miss service stories on the cars (my experience has mostly been positive, except the “ring around the rosey MCU yellow border game” - I gave up), I was looking at Tesla alternatives that I could have more confidence in long-term service for. Once we retire, I don’t want to have to worry with support issues 5/10/15 years down the road.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

That is too bad. Elon pays a lot of lip service to the original supporters, but now the company does not seem to be appreciating that their success is due to buyers like you. I bought a year ago, pre-raven, and also feel this in a much lesser way with the switch to PM front motors. If you look that is where many of the new features and benefits come from and it occurred literally right after I purchased. I am still A big fan of the cars and that requires some support of the company, which at heart is a brilliant organization with a great mission statement.

Good luck, lots of new EV's coming out and I think some competition will be good incentive for Tesla to look a little harder at losing return customers.

Having owned 8 MS's, I have to report that the PRE-Raven Model S seemed a lot less noisy than our Raven MS P, but it's not like I have a sound meter wired up . . . . You're not missing much with a PRE-Raven, except for a bit of range. Enjoy!