Tesla getting more dealership like

[22522]

Are you referring to developing a high powered home or neighborhood charger?

I am sorry. I am still clueless what you are attempting to do.

Just a charger that works great at apartments with almost zero committee meetings/objections. It won't put you at odds with the people you live near. And an engineered commercial mechanism that makes install also within reach.

Think about all the obstacles to installing a charger in an uncontrolled apartment complex or perhaps over controlled condominium. Solving all those.

 

[22522]

It m

I still don't like it.
i like what i got when i presented myself at tesla, i asked for a test drive, they told me "ok, tomorrow at 15 is ok for you?" they asked the licence and i was right in the car, and, during the test drive we talked, this is the way to do it.
First you need to try the beauty of the car, once you get "that's a great car!" then, you are more positive to "i'm asking this to help you", not the other way around.

There might be a test drive to sales metric that people are trying to hit. If they think you can close, you will mess up their income.

 

[22522]

It m

I still don't like it.
i like what i got when i presented myself at tesla, i asked for a test drive, they told me "ok, tomorrow at 15 is ok for you?" they asked the licence and i was right in the car, and, during the test drive we talked, this is the way to do it.
First you need to try the beauty of the car, once you get "that's a great car!" then, you are more positive to "i'm asking this to help you", not the other way around.

There might be a test drive to sales metric that people are trying to hit. If they think you can't close, you will mess up their income.

 

[NikeWings]

I still don't like it.
i like what i got when i presented myself at tesla, i asked for a test drive, they told me "ok, tomorrow at 15 is ok for you?" they asked the licence and i was right in the car, and, during the test drive we talked, this is the way to do it.
First you need to try the beauty of the car, once you get "that's a great car!" then, you are more positive to "i'm asking this to help you", not the other way around.

That's great for you, but I'm awkwardly left-brained so I'm firstly trying to understand the technical 'how-does-this-work' angle of most things. In fact, I never test drove a Tesla nor stepped inside a facility until delivery. So if I was being pushed for a drive at the onset, my experience would have been negative.

There is no one way of doing, learning and in this case buying. The importance is the that front line remains sensitized and flexible to our directives, so we all get what we need. And it sounds like we both succeeded!

 

[cronosx]

That's great for you, but I'm awkwardly left-brained so I'm firstly trying to understand the technical 'how-does-this-work' angle of most things. In fact, I never test drove a Tesla nor stepped inside a facility until delivery. So if I was being pushed for a drive at the onset, my experience would have been negative.

There is no one way of doing, learning and in this case buying. The importance is the that front line remains sensitized and flexible to our directives, so we all get what we need. And it sounds like we both succeeded!

You got me wrong. i'm exactly like you. i NEED to know EVERY SINGLE ASPECT, everything.
So i read every scrap i can found online, i've read this forum, the italian forum, i asked a lot of questions in forum .. i don't think salesperson know enought to satisfy me, i'm higly schooled in a lot of aspect and i don't like "it has a big battery with longevity", i whatched youtube video on how they tested the battery, i watched graph on how well it's keeping the charge in older battery etc

No, what i want is a salesperson that don't FORCE me to tell him how i live, how much i earn, if i can charge at home etc.

They didn't force me to do the test drive, i ASKED for the test drive, my brother ( that preceeded me in the tesla store.. i got lost of course ) asked a lot of question since he never saw a tesla and they educated him, but it was him who asked after they promted something like "would you like some information on tesla? we are here if you need anything, just ask"

In the test drive they talked to me, but like i was talking to a friend, just sharing opinion ( of course, the fact that the first thing i asked him is to toggle the creep mode could have spoiled my knowledge of the matter ) and it was really pleasantly

But, if before the test drive the started asking me question of if i have a charger at home etc.. i would have ben pissed, i know what i'm doing, i don't need a babysitter, and if i need one, then i ask for one.
Now, i know that lot of people don't know what they do, but a salesperson who know a little can understand if you are in the black pit of ignorance in the matter and then talk to you about like "you know, one of the good thing about this car is that you can charge at night in your house and get the full battery every morning.. have you the possibility of charging at home? yes? oh.. that good", not "i want a test drive - yes of course, have you a home? how much do you earn? how much do you know of tesla? what car do you have?" etc, that's no way to go, it would piss me of in a heartbeat

 

[NikeWings]

You got me wrong. i'm exactly like you. i NEED to know EVERY SINGLE ASPECT, everything.
So i read every scrap i can found online, i've read this forum, the italian forum, i asked a lot of questions in forum .. i don't think salesperson know enought to satisfy me, i'm higly schooled in a lot of aspect and i don't like "it has a big battery with longevity", i whatched youtube video on how they tested the battery, i watched graph on how well it's keeping the charge in older battery etc
No, what i want is a salesperson that don't FORCE me to tell him how i live, how much i earn, if i can charge at home etc.

OK I gotcha. Well, this is where our left-brained, fresh kinship may part. We know Tesla buyers are seeking a unique, customized, highly differentiated experience. We also see that the front line is generally young, enthusiastic, relatively inexperienced and short on acquired instincts to properly serve this pioneering demographic. Nice as heck but in need of better direction/training. its a mis-match that will not scale well and like many other parts of the company, is incurring growing pains. In many ways Tesla is a start-up in disguise. It comes across much larger and more sophisticated because of its amazing products, but its operational framework is an evolving WIP. While the recent outstanding hiring decisions are acting swiftly to accelerate progress, it will take time for the wisdom and polished style to permeate. In the meantime, I think we as buyers/owners/evangelists have to ease up on the "we deserve better" stance and decide to either help drive this mission with a bit of tolerance, objectivity and constructive feedback, or to walk away until its better suited to one's personal needs. Like the buying process we discussed earlier, there is no right or wrong. Its just about suitability. So where stands cronosx.....willing to cut some slack during the transformation or preferring the comfort of immediate perfection? PS - i am deliriously tired but intrigued by your comments and POV so don't be angry with my response. good night.

 

[22522]

After nearly six decades of speaking and reading English, I thought I had a good command of the language... but, after reading some of the posts in this thread, I'm beginning to have doubts.

Hi BluestarE3,

Let us build on strengths in a way that is constructive for everyone.

Please list every reason you see for charging at apartments to be difficult.

I should be able to provide Commander Pike like yes, no answers as to whether the concern is addressed. Maybe there is some sloppy arrogance here. This list will help figure that out.

Let's try it this way to get a better understanding of what Tesla might see as reasons to not provide a test drive.

By the way, a good friend, while trying to reserve a 3, was told by a Tesla employee that if she lived in a place with no access to daily charging "there would be battery life problems." So, yes, charge every night is a requirement.

 

[cronosx]

OK I gotcha. Well, this is where our left-brained, fresh kinship may part. We know Tesla buyers are seeking a unique, customized, highly differentiated experience. We also see that the front line is generally young, enthusiastic, relatively inexperienced and short on acquired instincts to properly serve this pioneering demographic. Nice as heck but in need of better direction/training. its a mis-match that will not scale well and like many other parts of the company, is incurring growing pains. In many ways Tesla is a start-up in disguise. It comes across much larger and more sophisticated because of its amazing products, but its operational framework is an evolving WIP. While the recent outstanding hiring decisions are acting swiftly to accelerate progress, it will take time for the wisdom and polished style to permeate. In the meantime, I think we as buyers/owners/evangelists have to ease up on the "we deserve better" stance and decide to either help drive this mission with a bit of tolerance, objectivity and constructive feedback, or to walk away until its better suited to one's personal needs. Like the buying process we discussed earlier, there is no right or wrong. Its just about suitability. So where stands cronosx.....willing to cut some slack during the transformation or preferring the comfort of immediate perfection? PS - i am deliriously tired but intrigued by your comments and POV so don't be angry with my response. good night.

Why i should be angry? because we disagree on some point? absolutely no

I think that what they had when i did the test drive was perfect, it's a shame that they can't mantain the same user experience, the only question is.. why?
It's caused by bad training? well, this can be solved in time, just some course were you teach how they should behave, and it's done
It's caused by too few salesperson? so they are tring to lower the "non interessed" test-drive on some region? this also could and should be solved with new SC, in this case it's only a matter of time..but again, i think they should behave better, just telling "sorry we are full, maybe next week?"
But maybe it's caused by a need to sell more, and it is what is worring me.. but if this is the reason, i hope that they will improve the "how" this is done

Of course they can get better ( again, like before ), i just hope that they WANT to get better and they are only tryng some new kind of experience that will be discarded soon

 

[jeffro01]

How is the supposed interaction "dealership like"??? How many car dealerships have you ever talked to that asked you questions which may have appeared to discourage you from buying a car from them? My guess... 0...

Now, having only one side of this story makes it a bit difficult to form an opinion but as Tesla grows they are going to have to figure out a way to educate customers on how to charge at home, whether they even can, what may be necessary to do so, etc... This is critical as more and more non-EV centric customers come to Tesla, they could have a poor experience if they don't understand how to, where to, and what's needed to charge their car.

Just my two cents...

Jeff

 

[22522]

How is the supposed interaction "dealership like"??? How many car dealerships have you ever talked to that asked you questions which may have appeared to discourage you from buying a car from them? My guess... 0...

Now, having only one side of this story makes it a bit difficult to form an opinion but as Tesla grows they are going to have to figure out a way to educate customers on how to charge at home, whether they even can, what may be necessary to do so, etc... This is critical as more and more non-EV centric customers come to Tesla, they could have a poor experience if they don't understand how to, where to, and what's needed to charge their car.

Just my two cents...

Jeff

A human being whose metric is more important than the person in front of them is dealership like.

 

[jeffro01]

A human being whose metric is more important than the person in front of them is dealership like.

If that's your definition of a "dealership like experience" then surely you're applying that label to virtually every sales transaction you've ever been involved in...???

This is the next set of growing pains for Tesla, they are now transitioning from a company where all they had to do was open their doors and the sales would flood in to a company that needs to solicit these sales. This isn't a negative to me, it's not a warning sign of anything nefarious, it's simply the next evolution of the company. Those who bought early on, where Tesla could simply sit there with their hand out while you dropped money into it, naturally got a very different experience than what you will start seeing going forward. This is going to be unsettling to some, this thread is an example.

What I don't want to see Tesla doing is the "if you buy right now I can get X deal" or the "my sales manager really likes you and gave me authorization to offer you a limited time deal if you buy right now" type sales crap... If that starts happening, that's where I'll draw the line and call it the "dealership like experience" but what you're referencing isn't even close.

Jeff

 

[Electroman]

Until such time a Tesla sales associate uses any of these phrases, I am Okay

"What would it take for me to put you behind the wheel of that lovely X, today?"
"If you buy it today, we will take another $1000 off"
"Let me check with my manager"
"Would you like to add chrome protection for only an extra $20 per month?"

 

[jeffro01]

Until such time a Tesla sales associate uses any of these phrases, I am Okay

"What would it take for me to put you behind the wheel of that lovely X, today?"
"If you buy it today, we will take another $1000 off"
"Let me check with my manager"
"Would you like to add chrome protection for only an extra $20 per month?"

Exactly...

Jeff

 

[BluestarE3]

Until such time a Tesla sales associate uses any of these phrases, I am Okay

"What would it take for me to put you behind the wheel of that lovely X, today?"
"If you buy it today, we will take another $1000 off"
"Let me check with my manager"
"Would you like to add chrome protection for only an extra $20 per month?"

Yep, reminds me of this classic scene in Fargo:

 

[Shock-On-T]

What does "working toward a demonstration model" mean?

It means he's delusional.

 

[Az_Rael]

Another data point for this thread - I just got a call to schedule a test drive from a Fremont sales rep. (I had entered my info onto the website last weekend to see available times at Burbank - didn't find anything and canceled out of the site without going further - but apparently they've got your phone number anyways at that point. Lesson learned).

So I was a little put off initially by the perceived "cold" call since I didn't realize the website had already tagged me as "interested" but, since I AM actually interested in a test drive, I thought, "what the hey" and said I would book one.

I was then subjected to "required" questions that involved the following:
-my age and to make sure I had a driver's license (expected),
-what car I was interested in driving (expected - Model 60 if they have one),
-timing of when I might be ready to buy (they could see I was a Model 3 reservation holder - expected, told him I was looking at CPOs)
-then asked if I had ever driven an EV before (I said I own a Volt),
-then asked some pointed questions about home charging ("I know the Volt is a plug-in what do you have at home in regards to charging?") which I quickly quelled by stating I had a 240 charger already installed. I had to confirm that fact twice, since apparently it was relevant to the test drive.
- I was also asked about my daily commute mileage and if I regularly went on day trips and where were those day trips normally to (I answered all that and was told I would be given a supercharger network explanation).
- I was also asked if I would be trading in the Volt and if I wanted a trade in estimate prepared for me at the test drive (uh sure, why not)
- if I had financed the Volt, then if I was interested in financing a Model S (yes, yes)

THEN I was put down on the Burbank test drive schedule.

So.... from a newbie perspective (other than wandering into a Gallery once to oogle at the car, this is my first official interaction with Tesla) it seemed no different from a regular car dealership. It was a LOT of questions, and I felt a little bit like I was being sized up so that they could have the hard sell ready for me when I arrived (but maybe that's just my preconceived notions). I am not unhappy with the experience, just wanted to give my impressions since apparently, the experience used to be somewhat different.

As of right now, I am expecting a typical car dealership experience during the test drive and hope they won't be too pushy in person since I am not quite ready to pull the trigger on a CPO yet.

 

[Pdub2015]

They can't very well offer test drives just anybody; with limited resources, it's important to be able to spend more time with qualified leads, then with the guy (like me!) who can't even afford the current offering, but wants to experience a Tesla.

 

[Phil Seastrand]

@Az_Rael - I suspect they are trying to qualify what they need to go over with you and what they can assume you already know. Since you have charging already in place they don't need to spend any time with you about setting up charging in your home. Likewise for financing, etc. Keep in mind that a traditional dealership's goal is to get you into as high a priced car and they can, and make sure they close the deal. Tesla is far more concerned that you understand the pros and cons of driving an electric car and won't be surprised when something comes up related to that and get you into the proper Tesla, regardless of the cost, or none if that's the right answer.

There is no point in wasting your or their time if you are not "qualified" for an electric car.

 

[hpartsch]

The good thing is that the test drive went went very will my friend -- there was no pressure and it was very educational.

 

[Az_Rael]

@Az_Rael - I suspect they are trying to qualify what they need to go over with you and what they can assume you already know. Since you have charging already in place they don't need to spend any time with you about setting up charging in your home. Likewise for financing, etc. Keep in mind that a traditional dealership's goal is to get you into as high a priced car and they can, and make sure they close the deal. Tesla is far more concerned that you understand the pros and cons of driving an electric car and won't be surprised when something comes up related to that and get you into the proper Tesla, regardless of the cost, or none if that's the right answer.

There is no point in wasting your or their time if you are not "qualified" for an electric car.

That is very true and probably what was happening. I am filtering it through my past experiences (like we all do) and hope to be pleasantly surprised during the actual test drive.