Non-existent Customer Service

[DW254]

Quality customer service is a foundational building block of any successful company. Without customers, nothing happens.
When I purchased our first Tesla in 2014 the customer service was outstanding. Not only did the Model S receive the highest Consumer Report rating of any car in history, Tesla held the top position for rated customer service by any automobile company as well.

Shortly after the Model 3 arrived service began to falter, until today, sadly Tesla has taken the unthinkable steps of turning off customer access through email or phone. An email confirmation for a service appointment that directs a customer to email or call with any questions results in a bounced back email and a series of button-pushing options that ultimately directs customers to the website for "chat support". The mobile reps that we used to call directly now have blocked phone access to customers.

What are they thinking? Or better put, who is not thinking here? For several years I was an avid Tesla fan, directing friends to and selling many cars for them. Not any more. I can no longer recommend a company that makes the conscious decision to distance itself from customers. Tesla's new mission statement has morphed to "buy our car, but don't try to contact us after the purchase."

With their recent software (or better yet theft-ware) update removing over 30 miles of range from my 2014 Model S, they are completely non-responsive to my requests for a conversation with a service supervisor. They turned our S85 to an S60 overnight and won't to talk with anyone about it.

Without customers, nothing happens. Tesla needs to make a huge correction in their customer service access, or things will stop happening for Tesla. The ultimate winner in the EV market will provide both a quality vehicle and memorable customer service. Fortunately there are several companies positioned to do this in the next couple of years. Long term business is about relationships not products, and with their recent changes Tesla is hell-bent on destroying customer relationships.

Very sad to watch the top of their game Tesla days of 2014 vanish into dust.

 

[Artax]

Welcome to the current state of Tesla... If you're not buying a Model 3 today, you simply don't exist. Yeah, I'm sure others are going to chime in and tell me how wrong I am and blah blah blah...

The ONLY thing Tesla cares about right now, is the final delivery number for the quarter and that's being driven entirely by the Model 3. Everything else comes in a very distant second...

You'd get better customer service from Comcast right now.

Jeff

And reality is, when you take delivery of your Model 3, you too no longer exist..!! After 2 months, I am still wrestling to get quality issues resolved. And be forewarned... DO NOT BELIEVE A THING YOUR SALES OR DELIVERY PRIME TELLS YOU... THEY LIE..!! They just want you out the door, and will tell you what you want to hear to get you off their back.

If there is any reason Tesla will eventually fail, this is it. Real auto makers will eventually catch up to the battery technology... and the less than impressive s/w. After 2 months of ownership, I am in the 'never Tesla again' camp.

 

[SJV Commish]

This is not new. Online (Tesla App or site and log into your account) is the best way to handle anything.

I took your advice and logged into the service portal and scheduled an appt using the app. I hope they read my notes and call me to discuss prior to their 7/1/19 mobile service call. I will keep you posted. Thanks.

 

[Rellert]

What's up with the horrible customer service. Tesla does not reply to emails and you cannot reach anyone by phone including the SC

Tesla is overwhelmed with an infrastructure that was designed for Model S/X volume and never adjusted to the flood of Model 3’s.
Just bought a Model X and it’s been nothing short of a nightmare. I purchased FSD but my car was not programmed properly at the factory and still waiting for someone to upload the updated software.
There is only so much good will Tesla can rely on before critics start latching on to this horrendous state of things.
It’s ironic that when I call Apple for a problem with a $3,000 computer, I get an answer within 3 minutes, but on a $100,000 purchase, it takes days/weeks to get even an acknowledgement. It’s truly sad.
If anything contributes to the downfall of this iconic company, it will be support and service.

 

[Venkateshwara]

What's up with the horrible customer service. Tesla does not reply to emails and you cannot reach anyone by phone including the SC

tesla customer service sucks

 

[Electroman]

tesla customer service sucks

That was very detailed and insightful.

 

[joefee]

I agree with OP....customer service is horrible as described. This is NOT to say Service Center or other customer facing employees are the problem...they are generally outstanding. A luxury brand can not ignore your emails, put you in voicemail jail and make it totally impossible to have a live conversation with customer service. In the "old days" you could have talked/emailed to any one in corporate including George B and Jerome Guillen. Elon you need to fix this...now!

 

[slaading]

Same here in France. Support is TERRIBLE!

Took delivery of my M3, 3 weeks ago, with manufacturing problems (driver door not closing properly, stains on the sits etc) and I didn't get an email in 3 weeks with a plan to fix the issues. Just plain silence. I sent different emails, cc everyone I could, but nothing.

In my last email I'm asking for a refund, it won't work but I'm pretty sure I could get a working car faster by ordering a new one.

 

[re04586]

I feel as the corrosion of customer service is tied to the volume of M3’s, just too many for them to handle.

Maybe Tesla needs to separate MX and MS into a luxury line (like Lexus within Toyota) and make service centers dedicated to that line.

Yeah, I know it will never happen, LOL.

 

[anetfish]

I used to like email communication with SC but it seems now they've switched to text message, which works great for me too. just one data point.

 

[richardw0000]

My experience with Tesla has been terrible from day one. Delayed delivery due to hood damage in transit, defective battery at delivery, no record made of goodwill service that was promised, long lead times for parts and service, denial of battery issues, terrible communication. I got rid of my Model S two weeks ago. I won’t be buying another Tesla. They will go under if they don’t get their act together.

 

[Cookie71]

I am not an owner and based on CS issues I will not be buying a Tesla in the foreseeable future. I had planned on buying a Performance 3 in March.
I live 90 miles from a SC. I was told I would likely not get a loaner if they needed to keep the car over night. I currently have a Lincoln and they will pick it up at my house and leave me a loaner, even if service will be completed that day. Even lowly Kia will take me home and pick me up although it is a 50 mile round trip, or give me s loaner. Acura, they didn’t have a loaner but gladly rented a car for me for the day.
Oh, then I found out that HomeLink was no longer included and would need to be installed at the SC for $300. Yes, good luck with that.
I just don’t have the time to fight Tesla. I may be that person that buys the I-Pace or waits for one of the promised new EV entrants next year.
Having vented on this, I still want a Tesla.

 

[kavyboy]

I feel as the corrosion of customer service is tied to the volume of M3’s, just too many for them to handle.

Nobody could have predicted that.
No, wait... everybody predicted that.

 

[Electroman]

I am not an owner and based on CS issues I will not be buying a Tesla in the foreseeable future. I had planned on buying a Performance 3 in March.
I live 90 miles from a SC. I was told I would likely not get a loaner if they needed to keep the car over night. I currently have a Lincoln and they will pick it up at my house and leave me a loaner, even if service will be completed that day. Even lowly Kia will take me home and pick me up although it is a 50 mile round trip, or give me s loaner. Acura, they didn’t have a loaner but gladly rented a car for me for the day.
Oh, then I found out that HomeLink was no longer included and would need to be installed at the SC for $300. Yes, good luck with that.
I just don’t have the time to fight Tesla. I may be that person that buys the I-Pace or waits for one of the promised new EV entrants next year.
Having vented on this, I still want a Tesla.

You will buy a Tesla.

 

[petecrayton]

What's up with the horrible customer service. Tesla does not reply to emails and you cannot reach anyone by phone including the SC

I had a pretty good experience with Jacksonville, Fl. SC. Got a flat and chose to drive on it slowly the mile to my house, knowing I would ruin the tire. I went on line and inquired of Tesla if they carried replacement tires. They text me back almost immediately that they would send a service truck with a loaner tire/wheel assembly and take mine back to the shop for repair/replace. This was Sat. afternoon of the labor day weekend. As promised, truck arrives and I am good to go. They contact me on Sunday and inform me I did indeed need a new tire and it will be ready after the holiday whenever was convenient for me, no appt. necessary. I popped in Wednesday and they swapped out the wheels in less than 30 mins. Great service. The bad news.....it cost $300. Discount tire had the same tire for $128. I doubt mounting and balance would have closed the gap much. But it got done, minimal down time and hassle. If you're gonna drive a $85K car, you sound stupid whining about a hundred bucks.

 

[Earthpower]

I use the Tesla app if I have a question/schedule service/ report a problem. Mobile service contacts me before the appointment and fixes the problem remotely. I have been pleased with the company and thrilled with the car. I own a Model 3 and have had great customer support for the 8 months I've owned the car.

 

[jboy210]

I am not an owner and based on CS issues I will not be buying a Tesla in the foreseeable future. I had planned on buying a Performance 3 in March.
I live 90 miles from a SC. I was told I would likely not get a loaner if they needed to keep the car over night. I currently have a Lincoln and they will pick it up at my house and leave me a loaner, even if service will be completed that day. Even lowly Kia will take me home and pick me up although it is a 50 mile round trip, or give me s loaner. Acura, they didn’t have a loaner but gladly rented a car for me for the day.
Oh, then I found out that HomeLink was no longer included and would need to be installed at the SC for $300. Yes, good luck with that.
I just don’t have the time to fight Tesla. I may be that person that buys the I-Pace or waits for one of the promised new EV entrants next year.
Having vented on this, I still want a Tesla.

Tesla will rent a car for you or do Uber/Lyft. But the ultimate luxury is that for some issues they will come to your office or home and fix the car there. I had an alignment problem with the charge door on my X that sometime prevent it from closing all the way. The guy came to my home and fixed it in my garage. My only effort was he had me move another car in the garage so he could have room to remove interior panels and get to the charger. Took about 45 minutes. Way less time then I would have spent going to the SC and waiting for the service writer to log the info, and get a Lyft home

 

[jboy210]

Tesla is overwhelmed with an infrastructure that was designed for Model S/X volume and never adjusted to the flood of Model 3’s.
Just bought a Model X and it’s been nothing short of a nightmare. I purchased FSD but my car was not programmed properly at the factory and still waiting for someone to upload the updated software.
There is only so much good will Tesla can rely on before critics start latching on to this horrendous state of things.
It’s ironic that when I call Apple for a problem with a $3,000 computer, I get an answer within 3 minutes, but on a $100,000 purchase, it takes days/weeks to get even an acknowledgement. It’s truly sad.
If anything contributes to the downfall of this iconic company, it will be support and service.

Of course what is the answer from Apple. "They all do that". "There is no problem with the keyboard". "Throttle down to 20% of max clock speed is normal".... Took them 3 years to acknowledge issues with 2016 and later MacBook/Pro keyboards. And we all remember Steve Jobs telling us we were holding our phones wrong with "Antennagate" and finally "caving" and giving us a $0.50 rubber bumper to prevent grounding of the antenna.

 

[Darren Donovan]

There's a new tweet from EM, it reads "Occupy Mars". Jesus, why don't you just take care of your loyal customers on EARTH first before doing anything else out there!

 

[Earthpower]

Obviously, customer service is not bad since many people are having positive experiences. A lot of generalizing here that does not reflect all experiences. Wait until you experience service from BMW, Tesla has been much better.