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

[AMPd]

Millenials don't have a reference to know what a screwing is, because they assume such behavior is a feature. Because it's so cool.

I disagree, I’m a millennial and I felt screwed by Tesla on many occasions.

 

[Dariushd]

My service center just outside Los Angeles doesn't have loaners but gave me a very generous Uber voucher for the time I was without my car while I had service. It sounds like the OP had a very lovely relationship in the beginning, and I'm sorry to see that has gone away. The deductible is odd, warranty should not incur a charge so that is concerning, but all of my experiences with service have been on par with other luxury car services I've had int eh past with BMW for example. The only thing that has changed is the loaner program, but the Uber thing was surprisingly good for a couple day service, I was pretty fine with it even though I thought I would hate not having a loaner like Ive had at BMW.

 

[Ldog]

I put a deposit on a Model S over a decade ago. I bought a Signature model (one of the first 1,000 MS made) and became an outspoken evangelist for the company. For the fist year, it was a whirlwind romance and I probably sold a dozen+ cars myself and Tesla treated me like a member of the family. A few years in, things started to get rocky as Tesla got more and more busy but I understood. 100,000 owners vying for its attention made for a different dynamic. But then the Model X and eventually the model 3 came into the picture and Tesla started to be more distant and more cold. At first it was just a lack of personal touch but over time, it became neglect.
Now, its an outright abusive relationship. Tesla literally doesn't pick up the phone (this is not a cute relationship analogy- they don't pick up the phone). They discontinued the "owner experience" group (they used to address owner issues) because... who cares? They cut out the loaner program. They lied constantly ("we're increasing the loaner program! We're building a new service facility just for Model 3! We're selling features we can't deliver!") . They started charging $200 "deductible" for issues that are covered by warranty (after 7 years of not doing so and never making it clear it was even a possibility). I wrote a plaintive email into the great void of "[email protected]" as a last hope that somehow Tesla cared enough to at least lie to me about all this. No response at all.
Tesla, which started out with customer service akin to Apple had slowly devolved into a company with customer service worse than Spectrum (or any other monopolistic company). I guess somewhere along the way they realized that treating customers well was not its best strategy to keep its stock price high. Any resources that had been put to serving customers was reallocated to sales. The lie they tell that they are "trying" is as insulting as a spouse telling you they're "trying" not to cheat. Trying is as simple as investing in customer service (or not divesting what was already in place).
If you've been a Tesla owner for more than 5 years, I can't imagine that you too haven't felt the same neglect and abuse.

I absolutely hate Tesla. I love the car but hate the company. And that is awful. Feels like saying I hate an ex-lover because I truly did love this company for years. I learned to love electric cars and I'm hopeful that some company that still prioritizes customers will make a great one. Otherwise, I may just be stuck with an ICE car because as much as I love electric, I refuse to be treated like crap. Tesla should be ashamed of itself for letting its customers down and for shaming its own product in the process.

I have had good experience with my local service center. What frustrates me is trying to get someone on the line for a question. Only source seems to be these type of community outreaches. I do feel though that early on I was special owning one. Now everyone feels special

 

[Tony8489]

It's really odd, isn't it. One would think the mothership would make the experience better for the cars that are near the birthplace. Tough love?

I live 3 miles from the Burbank Service Center. If I need something I drive over there and talk to someone in person. If it's not an urgent issue maybe the appointment is set up for a couple of weeks. And sometimes the service is by ranger even though I live so close. My impression is that the rangers are quite knowledgeable, will improvise solutions if necessary.

Since the OP lives in Los Angeles, he may not live as close to a service center as I do, but he can't live all that far either. So IMHO he does have the option to speak to a live person if that's a priority.

 

[SigGuy]

Since the OP lives in Los Angeles, he may not live as close to a service center as I do, but he can't live all that far either. So IMHO he does have the option to speak to a live person if that's a priority.

I live 3 miles from a service station. And yes, physically going in there to grab someone works better than any other way of reaching them. But the telephone was invented in 1876 and email has been prevalent for 30 years. Having to speak face to face is a quite outdated and inefficient mode of communication for an advanced electric car company.
Also, as I've stated repeatedly, lack of communication is hardly their only customer service shortfall.

 

[EVortex]

I live 3 miles from a service station. And yes, physically going in there to grab someone works better than any other way of reaching them. But the telephone was invented in 1876 and email has been prevalent for 30 years. Having to speak face to face is a quite outdated and inefficient mode of communication for an advanced electric car company.
Also, as I've stated repeatedly, lack of communication is hardly their only customer service shortfall.

I also go to the SC when I want to communicate with Tesla. I only live a few miles away and it is the best approach for me. We each have to adapt to whatever works best for us until Tesla changes or standardizes their current practice.

 

[DelPhonic1]

My service and attention to detail in purchase has been immaculate over this past month. Great communication as well as follow thru in Burbank. I’m a happy camper so far.

 

[David29]

I put a deposit on a Model S over a decade ago. I bought a Signature model (one of the first 1,000 MS made) and became an outspoken evangelist for the company. For the fist year, it was a whirlwind romance and I probably sold a dozen+ cars myself and Tesla treated me like a member of the family. A few years in, things started to get rocky as Tesla got more and more busy but I understood. 100,000 owners vying for its attention made for a different dynamic. But then the Model X and eventually the model 3 came into the picture and Tesla started to be more distant and more cold. At first it was just a lack of personal touch but over time, it became neglect.
Now, its an outright abusive relationship. Tesla literally doesn't pick up the phone (this is not a cute relationship analogy- they don't pick up the phone). They discontinued the "owner experience" group (they used to address owner issues) because... who cares? They cut out the loaner program. They lied constantly ("we're increasing the loaner program! We're building a new service facility just for Model 3! We're selling features we can't deliver!") . They started charging $200 "deductible" for issues that are covered by warranty (after 7 years of not doing so and never making it clear it was even a possibility). I wrote a plaintive email into the great void of "[email protected]" as a last hope that somehow Tesla cared enough to at least lie to me about all this. No response at all.
Tesla, which started out with customer service akin to Apple had slowly devolved into a company with customer service worse than Spectrum (or any other monopolistic company). I guess somewhere along the way they realized that treating customers well was not its best strategy to keep its stock price high. Any resources that had been put to serving customers was reallocated to sales. The lie they tell that they are "trying" is as insulting as a spouse telling you they're "trying" not to cheat. Trying is as simple as investing in customer service (or not divesting what was already in place).
If you've been a Tesla owner for more than 5 years, I can't imagine that you too haven't felt the same neglect and abuse.

I absolutely hate Tesla. I love the car but hate the company. And that is awful. Feels like saying I hate an ex-lover because I truly did love this company for years. I learned to love electric cars and I'm hopeful that some company that still prioritizes customers will make a great one. Otherwise, I may just be stuck with an ICE car because as much as I love electric, I refuse to be treated like crap. Tesla should be ashamed of itself for letting its customers down and for shaming its own product in the process.

Because you have such a long history and such heart-felt feelings now, I would write an actual letter and mail it to one or all the top execs -- the chairwoman (especially), maybe Elon, other Board members (if you can locate addresses), etc. Such a letter would, I think, carry more weight than an email to a "feedback" mailbox. Include several specific examples of the reason for your loss of faith in them. And if you are or were also a stockholder, tell them that as well. (They work for the stockholders.)

I hope you take the time to send such a letter.

 

[Reefdiver]

Tesla could really eliminate 95% of the negative feelings about the service experience by just making it possible to speak to someone on the phone. Whoever thought it was ok to cut that part out of the equation really sucks and knows nothing about service. And yes I’ve owned Teslas since 2013, and it bugs the heck out of me not being able to speak to someone. Basic.

 

[luke68bird]

Tesla could really eliminate 95% of the negative feelings about the service experience by just making it possible to speak to someone on the phone. Whoever thought it was ok to cut that part out of the equation really sucks and knows nothing about service. And yes I’ve owned Teslas since 2013, and it bugs the heck out of me not being able to speak to someone. Basic.

Also answering text and email instead of ignoring customer might help.

 

[Vector2]

Because you have such a long history and such heart-felt feelings now, I would write an actual letter and mail it to one or all the top execs -- the chairwoman (especially), maybe Elon, other Board members (if you can locate addresses), etc. Such a letter would, I think, carry more weight than an email to a "feedback" mailbox. Include several specific examples of the reason for your loss of faith in them. And if you are or were also a stockholder, tell them that as well. (They work for the stockholders.)

I hope you take the time to send such a letter.

 

[SigGuy]

Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what I would expect.
The company that doesn't bother to answer their phones or their email (or pay attention to it's own online forum) isn't likely to pay serious attention to a written letter. I believe strongly that Tesla is absolutely aware of how unaccessible they are. I believe it's by design. Sadly.

 

[EVortex]

Tesla could really eliminate 95% of the negative feelings about the service experience by just making it possible to speak to someone on the phone. Whoever thought it was ok to cut that part out of the equation really sucks and knows nothing about service. And yes I’ve owned Teslas since 2013, and it bugs the heck out of me not being able to speak to someone. Basic.

For those that agree Tesla needs to improve customer communication and provide phone support, I am curious if you think an excellent automated approach would be an acceptable alternative. By “excellent” I mean realtime immediate and accurate status updates on repairs and sales process, access to an immediate online useful and thorough knowledge base for answers to general and technical questions, an immediate emergency text response for critical issues (car down or stranded), and a reasonable SLA (maybe 24 hours) for email or text responses to questions that can’t be answered through the knowledge base. Before responding with “that will never happen,” if it were possible would it be an acceptable alternative to phone support?

 

[Battpower]

For those that agree Tesla needs to improve customer communication and provide phone support, I am curious if you think an excellent automated approach would be an acceptable alternative. By “excellent” I mean realtime immediate and accurate status updates on repairs and sales process, access to an immediate online useful and thorough knowledge base for answers to general and technical questions, an immediate emergency text response for critical issues (car down or stranded), and a reasonable SLA (maybe 24 hours) for email or text responses to questions that can’t be answered through the knowledge base. Before responding with “that will never happen,” if it were possible would it be an acceptable alternative to phone support?

Only with guaranteed human intervention / backup that is essential to address many of the issues that go around and around on here. So first you need the human system to design the AI to be able to address a realistic and well defined task. In the case of Tesla and their attitude to customer contact, its not uncommon for the left side to not know what the left side is doing, let alone the right.

Sure, would a functional, well designed contact system be a good idea - yes. Do I think in Tesla's current position they are showing that they actually want to understand and serve clients better.... I'm not at all convinced.

Given that there are pockets of near excellence service then Tesla have the model already if they chose to see it.

 

[EVortex]

Only with guaranteed human intervention / backup. So first you need the human system to design the AI to be able to address a realistic and well defined task. In the case of Tesla and their attitude to customer contact, its not uncommon for the left side to know what the left side is doing, let alone the right.

Sure, would a functional, well designed contact system be a good idea - yes. Do I think in Tesla's current position they are showing that they actually want to understand and serve clients better.... I not at all convinced.

Thanks for responding - makes sense. Others?

 

[Battpower]

Thanks for responding - makes sense. Others?

If I can add one other thing.

Using the existing 'automated' system, I have had this response several times over the past few days. Prize for guessing what the demanding task was, and the real meaning of the above message?

 

[EVortex]

If I can add one other thing.

View attachment 538182

Using the existing 'automated' system, I have had this response several times over the past few days. Prize for guessing what the demanding task was, and the real meaning of the above message?

No idea, cryptic at best.

 

[Battpower]

No idea, cryptic at best.

Not that cryptic. But should be very easy! I go in to edit an existing appointment. There it is. Let's me select new date like a champ. Even tells me my request was successful. For the past week I have been checking back next day but date still not changed. So next I will have to revert to calling direct to SC. What's the point of automation that plain doesn't work?

 

[cpa]

Only with guaranteed human intervention / backup that is essential to address many of the issues that go around and around on here. So first you need the human system to design the AI to be able to address a realistic and well defined task. In the case of Tesla and their attitude to customer contact, its not uncommon for the left side to know what the left side is doing, let alone the right.

Sure, would a functional, well designed contact system be a good idea - yes. Do I think in Tesla's current position they are showing that they actually want to understand and serve clients better.... I not at all convinced.

Given that there are pockets of near excellence service then Tesla have the model already if they chose to see it.

Thanks for responding - makes sense. Others?

I'll add that this sort of system is new. New things have inherent flaws, deficiencies, mistakes, and other annoyances because the people responsible for design and implementation use their best guesses as to how and what to implement. Sure, they hold meetings, have discussions, and other earnest efforts to come up with their solution. But in the end, they are not the users of the product; they are merely the intermediaries between the customer and the visible Tesla employees who have to work with the customers.

They could roll this product out slowly. Test it in selected areas across the globe to get a handle on what works or does not work. Solicit feedback from the users--both Tesla and customers to refine, augment, enhance, or delete certain approaches or assumptions.

But in the end, we still need some sort of fallback relief when issues arise. And that requires some sort of customer service hot line where we speak to a real person. Even that system could screen calls by requesting a code number that is assigned to us when we use other forms of communication like emails or phone apps for service. By entering the code, the automated system would be written in a way to identify us and our problem, the elapsed time from initial contact, and the progress to date. If this system determines that there are issues, we are connected to a live person whose department is fairly high in the corporate structure. If this system determines that the situation does not warrant human interaction, an automated response is generated with a timeline for future communication should we still be in limbo.

Finally, over the years, I have seen organizational charts where customer service reports directly to an EVP of the company who has a better line to the CEO and COO. Perhaps Tesla ought to examine this structure (I assume the customer service department is non-existent.)

 

[EVortex]

Not that cryptic. But should be very easy! I go in to edit an existing appointment. There it is. Let's me select new date like a champ. Even tells me my request was successful. For the past week I have been checking back next day but date still not changed. So next I will have to revert to calling direct to SC. What's the point of automation that plain doesn't work?

Poor automation is often worse than no automation. Excellent automation is integrated across the value chain, tested and optimized end-to-end, and covers close to 100% of use cases. They can’t just throw an app at a process and claim victory - there is obviously a long way to go to even approach “excellent.” Good example!