Service and communication (out of main)

[N5329K]

Wow. Sort by "recent".

Top 130 Reviews about Tesla Motors

Wow indeed.
This is what happens when a company grows beyond its initial pool of enthusiastic early adopters (who are willing to put up with a lot) and hits the real world (where people expect you to answer phone calls). It seems to me that Tesla has three options left: Adapt and fix. Retreat to be just another niche manufacturer (and scale back production to a level that can be maintained in the field). Or blithely skip over the cliff and die.
Is there an option I’ve missed?
Robin

 

[Steve m]

Wow indeed.
This is what happens when a company grows beyond its initial pool of enthusiastic early adopters (who are willing to put up with a lot) and hits the real world (where people expect you to answer phone calls). It seems to me that Tesla has three options left: Adapt and fix. Retreat to be just another niche manufacturer (and scale back production to a level that can be maintained in the field). Or blithely skip over the cliff and die.
Is there an option I’ve missed?
Robin

14 negative reviews in all of the 2nd quarter when they sold 54k cars in the US.

For Q1 there were 21 negative reviews and around 30k cars sold in the US.

Looks like things are improving.

 

[N5329K]

14 negative reviews in all of the 2nd quarter when they sold 54k cars in the US.

For Q1 there were 21 negative reviews and around 30k cars sold in the US.

Looks like things are improving.

That’s a reassuring way to look at this one snapshot. The fact that most of the complaints were about exactly the same thing is not reassuring.
Robin

 

[Steve m]

That’s a reassuring way to look at this one snapshot. The fact that most of the complaints were about exactly the same thing is not reassuring.
Robin

I think it is just another self selecting online survey and thus is not much use for judging over all quality good or bad.

I just started reading reviews for other car companies.... I am now in the market for a horse.

 

[N5329K]

I just started reading reviews for other car companies.... I am now in the market for a horse.

I know what you mean. I'm more than a little tempted to only buy cars I can maintain myself. Or (as I have twice now) only buy cars that are so ultrareliable they need no unscheduled service at all.
Robin

 

[Sudre]

I have a new issue that I just entered in the APP. To me it is a software issue that arose after an update. "Back in the day" when I got my Feb 2013 S it was a phone call and I would say, "hey take a look at the software my car is doing weird things." Sure enough they were typically able to fix the issue without a tech coming out or me bringing the car in. One I remember clearly was a traction control issue when they were tweeking software.

My back passenger door is opening itself when all doors are unlocked.
Double press the FOB the door opens.
Pull any handle inside the car the door opens.

Now lets focus on the service part. They can not look at the car until August 13th! That is the earliest they have for my area, St. Louis, for mobile service much less taking it to Tesla..... according to the APP. So for weeks I will have to get out of my car and walk around to the other side and close the door, even if child locks are turned on. The average person who purchases a car as expensive as an S would find that totally unacceptable and get a different car. Most people are not Tesla fans like we are. Most people do not search forums for repair issues.

Each time an issue like this happens my wife puts a strike against buying a 3. I really had her close to giving up her 2000 Toyota but now we are back to lets wait and see.

 

[Steve m]

My back passenger door is opening itself when all doors are unlocked.
Double press the FOB the door opens.
Pull any handle inside the car the door opens.

You might want to consult a priest about doing an exorcism as there seems to be something in the back your car wants out.

 

[sweter]

You think US is bad? Check out Europe. If this is not service hell then I don't know what it is:



I feel for Austrian customers, closest appointment is on Christmas Eve.

Note that Warsaw Service Center was opened only last week and it's already fully booked for 2 months.

I know of at least 5 people who eagerly want to buy Model 3, but dread the service and are holding off with making the purchase.

I recently have been in a small collision and need body repair. I've been now waiting for 2 weeks to get a quote and timeline from a body shop (500 km away) and then I expect to wait another 4-5 weeks for spare parts to arrive in Europe from the US and then another 3 weeks to actually make the repair. I hope they finish before Christmas...

So the point is: everyone I talk to about my Model 3 know that Teslas are great cars, but they also all heard about the horror stories from service centers. But contrary to panel gaps, build quality and demand problems FUD, this one is actually true and serious. This seriously tarnishes the brand and customer experience and should be top priority now. Musk said on one of the calls that it is becoming his top priority, but no change has been seen so far, at least in Europe.

 

[alcibiades]

My car has been at the SC for 4 weeks. Getting your car into service is merely one of many hurdles.

 

[Cobos]

Actually there has been improvements in Norway. In Oslo ( one of THE biggest markets for Tesla) service time is going down. The’ve had issues getting new service centres built, but increasing to two shifts has moved the line. They also now communicate when your car is in which IS an improvement. Finally this year they got their massive SC in Karihaugen opened and an extra small one in Moss.
Bergen is still an issue but it is improving there too.

So from being abysmal it is now OK.

So what I’m saying is Tesla can improve this but it might take 1-2 years.

You think US is bad? Check out Europe. If this is not service hell then I don't know what it is:

View attachment 432720

I feel for Austrian customers, closest appointment is on Christmas Eve.

Note that Warsaw Service Center was opened only last week and it's already fully booked for 2 months.

I know of at least 5 people who eagerly want to buy Model 3, but dread the service and are holding off with making the purchase.

I recently have been in a small collision and need body repair. I've been now waiting for 2 weeks to get a quote and timeline from a body shop (500 km away) and then I expect to wait another 4-5 weeks for spare parts to arrive in Europe from the US and then another 3 weeks to actually make the repair. I hope they finish before Christmas...

So the point is: everyone I talk to about my Model 3 know that Teslas are great cars, but they also all heard about the horror stories from service centers. But contrary to panel gaps, build quality and demand problems FUD, this one is actually true and serious. This seriously tarnishes the brand and customer experience and should be top priority now. Musk said on one of the calls that it is becoming his top priority, but no change has been seen so far, at least in Europe.

 

[jeffro01]

The reality is, and some of you can keep burying your heads in the sand if you must, Tesla is in huge trouble and while it's not apparently obvious yet it's one of those things that by the time most of you investors notice, it'll be too late... The vehicle service and general customer service is possibly the worst ever in the history of history... Yeah I know saying it like that seems overly dramatic and so full of hyperbole that you may simply roll your eyes and move on but do so at your own perl. Things have gotten much worse over the years, and certainly no where near better. Owners like myself who've been bitten by this no longer recommend Tesla's and, at least is the case for me, actively discourage others from buying one. I've talked at least 3 people out of buying a Tesla because I didn't want them coming back to me when something goes wrong and Tesla leaves them hanging out to dry...

The worst example of this is the screen yellowing issue... Cosmetic? Um. No. Try manufacturer defect but the arrogance of this company actually lets them think they can charge people $1300 for a permanent fix... What? This is a very simple no brainer for any other company but Tesla. It's stupid things like this that make people go do I really want another Tesla?

Lucky for Tesla the cars are so amazing otherwise they'd have folded long ago... Even still, there's only so much the general public will tolerate.

This is why I got rid of all of my Tesla stock and if you have large holdings in TSLA, you really should seriously think about getting out as this house of cards is going to fall really, really fast...

Jeff

 

[Cheburashka]

This is why I got rid of all of my Tesla stock and if you have large holdings in TSLA, you really should seriously think about getting out as this house of cards is going to fall really, really fast...

Jeff

I feel the same way.

The demand seems to be there, yet Tesla keeps cutting prices, which goes against logic.

Service is obviously barely (or not at all) being expanded or improved. People are refusing to buy Teslas once they hear of the horror stories. I assume Tesla has no resources to expand service since they are so budget constrained.

Seems like Tesla is always on the edge of circling the drain.

 

[MarcusMaximus]

Service is obviously barely (or not at all) being expanded or improved.

OK, in fairness here, I don't think the above is true. It basically depends on your timescale. Service is vastly worse vs. when I bought my car in late 2016, no doubt. However, in the last couple months things are getting much better. Its generally (odd quirks with @neroden 's local service center aside) easy to make a service appointment. And once you do, it seems to be very easy to get in touch with the mobile service tech/service center you made the appointment with. Both generally seem to be knowledgeable and willing to help.

The main things that have slipped, in my opinion, are:

1. General phone wait times
2. Phone tech support quality

There's the bit about yellowing screen's that certainly annoying, but is more of a disagreement on what constitutes a warranty item and on what fix will work best(basically just not trusting the fix Tesla is putting out). There are certainly quirks that Tesla needs to solve ASAP, but I don't agree that they haven't taken steps to do so.

 

[alcibiades]

OK, in fairness here, I don't think the above is true. It basically depends on your timescale. Service is vastly worse vs. when I bought my car in late 2016, no doubt. However, in the last couple months things are getting much better. Its generally (odd quirks with @neroden 's local service center aside) easy to make a service appointment. And once you do, it seems to be very easy to get in touch with the mobile service tech/service center you made the appointment with. Both generally seem to be knowledgeable and willing to help.

The main things that have slipped, in my opinion, are:

1. General phone wait times
2. Phone tech support quality

There's the bit about yellowing screen's that certainly annoying, but is more of a disagreement on what constitutes a warranty item and on what fix will work best(basically just not trusting the fix Tesla is putting out). There are certainly quirks that Tesla needs to solve ASAP, but I don't agree that they haven't taken steps to do so.

My car has been at an SC for 4 weeks and I literally have no idea what is going on.

 

[MarcusMaximus]

My car has been at an SC for 4 weeks and I literally have no idea what is going on.

Called in this morning for my issue. Got through to a human being at the service center my car is scheduled for in ~30 seconds. I was calling to provide bug reports capturing the issue(autopilot related) and he said only general support can handle that. I gritted my teeth and called general support. Surprisingly, after 15 minutes I got through to a person. He got my description of what happened along with the times it happened, reached out to a “level 2 tech” and came back saying that they diagnosed it as a problem that requires the service center to fix, so just to keep my appointment for tomorrow.

Positives:
1. Very quickly got through to service center
2. Wait time of 15 minutes isn't outstanding, but isn't terrible either for general support.
3. Both service center and general support guy actively worked through figuring out best next steps

Negatives:
1. Annoying that only general support can access vehicle logs/bug reports. They need to fix that. The lack of communication between different divisions of Tesla service(general support, service centers and mobile techs) is very bad.
2. Tied into #1, I had to tell the general support guy what the mobile service tech told me about the issue, rather than him just having it in front of him
3. They still didn't tell me exactly what the bug report showed, though that'll only matter if the service center isn't able to get the info they need. We'll see.

Overall, I still say things are improving, but just aren't there yet.

 

[alcibiades]

Called in this morning for my issue. Got through to a human being at the service center my car is scheduled for in ~30 seconds. I was calling to provide bug reports capturing the issue(autopilot related) and he said only general support can handle that. I gritted my teeth and called general support. Surprisingly, after 15 minutes I got through to a person. He got my description of what happened along with the times it happened, reached out to a “level 2 tech” and came back saying that they diagnosed it as a problem that requires the service center to fix, so just to keep my appointment for tomorrow.

Positives:
1. Very quickly got through to service center
2. Wait time of 15 minutes isn't outstanding, but isn't terrible either for general support.
3. Both service center and general support guy actively worked through figuring out best next steps

Negatives:
1. Annoying that only general support can access vehicle logs/bug reports. They need to fix that. The lack of communication between different divisions of Tesla service(general support, service centers and mobile techs) is very bad.
2. Tied into #1, I had to tell the general support guy what the mobile service tech told me about the issue, rather than him just having it in front of him
3. They still didn't tell me exactly what the bug report showed, though that'll only matter if the service center isn't able to get the info they need. We'll see.

Overall, I still say things are improving, but just aren't there yet.

Good for the tuna.

 

[neroden]

So the point is: everyone I talk to about my Model 3 know that Teslas are great cars, but they also all heard about the horror stories from service centers. But contrary to panel gaps, build quality and demand problems FUD, this one is actually true and serious. This seriously tarnishes the brand and customer experience and should be top priority now. Musk said on one of the calls that it is becoming his top priority, but no change has been seen so far, at least in Europe.

What disturbs me is exactly this. After this was supposedly "top priority" at the last conference call, a FULL QUARTER LATER, things appear to be just as bad as before, in the same ways.

Company is going to go straight down the tubes unless they adapt fast. They've maybe got a year, max.

 

[neroden]

• Use of "goodwill" repairs. I don't think Tesla does anything against the rules here, but some work is allocated to goodwill and so not covered by the warranty reserve. This will be work not strictly covered by the warranty but where Tesla still approves free repair work - in a way this could be thought of as a marketing expense - better word of mouth customer advertising if customers are kept happy. Possibly some of this work would be disputed in court by the customer if it wasn't offered for free - so goodwill/warranty is always a somewhat blurry line. Tesla continuously increases the reliability/quality of new cars so as a larger % of Tesla's fleet becomes newer cars, this expense should reduce. Tesla may also become less generous with some goodwill repairs.
  
  

I and others have definitely had repairs marked as "goodwill" which were actually warranty repairs, for whatever reason. Had they tried to deny the repairs they would have been sued and they would have lost guaranteed. I think staff was just sloppy about classifying them, really.

Hopefully Tesla can make progress on both improving the quality of service and reducing the cost of service this year. For the most part these two do actually go together so Tesla is highly incentivised to work on this.

Correct. It costs a lot more to fail to contact someone four times and have a furious customer yelling at you than it does to answer the phone and give correct information first time.

 

[neroden]

Anyone else notice that the fossil fuel fanbois / TSLAQ cultists and some of their journalist puppets are stepping up their FUD campaign again the past few days. Quite predictable ahead of earnings.

Notice that the actual FUDsters and TSLAQ types will never talk about Tesla's service communications problems.

Doesn't fit the Big Oil / ICE Auto narrative, since it obviously has nothing to do with electric cars in general and is just Tesla screwing up somnething they can fix.

 

[neroden]

Worth reading to see what members over at the Model 3 forum think of service:

Tesla Customer Service is a Black Hole

BTW, the flowchart matches my experience exactly. Service communications are pure trash.