Tesla is communicating better.

[pilotSteve]

VIN should be here mid-next-week according to Tesla, when the car enters final assembly, after paint. Working backwards from a "factory completion / ready to ship" date of 11/12, it's likely going to be 11/6-11/8 when a VIN is made available.

Hey FlasherZ - you were RIGHT! Got my VIN (S00912) on 11/5 in an email reply to my query earlier that day. I asked for the VIN and to verify that 11/19 still would be a good delivery day. Matt said "11/19 is still in your delivery window!". I'll follow up on Monday if no email before then....

 

[FlasherZ]

Congratulations! Good luck!

I was told I was one of the first to use the new "delivery" system, where a button appears in your "My Tesla" with the delivery questionnaire that used to be handled in e-mail. I filled it out and the next step is for the local delivery folks to arrange the details with me. Did you get that too?

 

[pilotSteve]

I was told I was one of the first to use the new "delivery" system, where a button appears in your "My Tesla" with the delivery questionnaire that used to be handled in e-mail. I filled it out and the next step is for the local delivery folks to arrange the details with me. Did you get that too?

not yet :smile: but that would make a very nice Monday if that arrived in my email tomorrow......

I had, however, replied by email about my desired time, method of payment, and supplied copies of my WADL and insurance card about two weeks ago. Perhaps my paperwork is done?

 

[FlasherZ]

That's the stuff (or most of it) covered by the delivery tool... sounds like you're ready to go.

 

[v12 to 12v]

not yet :smile: but that would make a very nice Monday if that arrived in my email tomorrow......

I had, however, replied by email about my desired time, method of payment, and supplied copies of my WADL and insurance card about two weeks ago. Perhaps my paperwork is done?

I think there is one more step. I was told that a final purchase agreement will be coming with more specific info. I think that your car will be in the same NW shipment as mine. We have always had numbers close together and the same delivery windows.

 

[efusco]

Wrote my DS twice last week, haven't heard a word.


Evan, Via Tapatalk

 

[KBF]

I typically get better responses when I email the generic TM addresses, and I get different people responding each time. There are one or two individuals I have emailed directly, and it can be hit and miss.

 

[Jkam]

I'm really afraid this communication problem is going to be Tesla's chronic achilles heel. You would think there would be some improvement by now, but in my case it doesn't appear to be so.

I received an email from a delivery specialist (DS) on 10/22 stating my car was finished and was waiting logistics. I got another email 3 days later saying that my car was due to be on the 10/30 boat from Oakland to Honolulu and arrive on 11/3. After sending an email on 10/31 inquiring whether the car indeed made it on the 10/30 boat, I was told "it should be arriving this week and then will get unloaded". On 11/2 I get phone call, and the DS tells me 1) my car did not make it on the 10/30 boat as planned, 2) it is now scheduled to be on the boat departing 11/8, 3) he is now personally taking care of the shipment (which begs the question, what was he doing before if he wasn't personally taking care of the shipment?), 4) I would be informed every step of the way, and 5) Tesla will make up for the delay someway.

As it stands now, 11/8 has come and gone, and I have not received one communication from the DS or anybody else at Tesla despite being told I "would be informed every step of the way." Not one communication since the 11/2 phone call making all these promises. I don't know if my car made the boat or not. If the car missed the boat on 11/8, then it'll be at least another week before the car can get here at the earliest, but more likely closer to another two weeks. Even if they sent me a quick email saying "the car missed the boat again" would be a positive. I would still be upset, but at least they kept their promise of keeping me informed every step of the way.

I have been trying to be patient and understanding, but it has been extremely hard since Tesla sets up expectations under its own volition only to fail to meet those expectations over and over again. I don't get any information as promised. When I do get information, it has proven to be false. I've heard other people talk about the great service Tesla provides. I'm glad for those people, but I personally have not experienced any of it. This is a complete farce.

By now you would think things would be better.

 

[Norbert]

3) he is now personally taking care of the shipment (which begs the question, what was he doing before if he wasn't personally taking care of the shipment?)

I'd think a DS' main job is to deliver vehicles which are ready for delivery, as opposed to overseeing shipment operations. (And boat shipments are probably very exceptional, so they don't have established procedures and communication channels for dealing with them. Based on the first boat experience, it seems the time when he receives information regarding the boat shipment, is about 3 days later.)

 

[dsm363]

I'm really afraid this communication problem is going to be Tesla's chronic achilles heal. You would think there would be some improvement by now, but in my case it doesn't appear to be so.

The Delivery Specialists seemed understaffed at this point and try to pass along information when asked or when they are told but it doesn't appear yet that they have any automatic notification system available to them. That is something that should be handled in California. I hope it made the trip.

I know you shouldn't have to but have you sent an e-mail or called since the last phone call asking them where it is?

 

[Robert.Boston]

I am baffled by Tesla's staffing approach. Getting a car to a customer clearly separates into two groups of activities, before and after getting the vehicle on whatever 3rd-party shipper is used to transport the vehicle away from the factory. In Fremont, Tesla should have a group of Logistics Specialists; these people are responsible for knowing where every car is in production, arranging bulk transport to ship cars out of the factory, and interacting with customers up to the point of loading the vehicle. The Delivery Specialists then pick up, tracking vehicle movement from the factory, prepping the car for delivery, and actually delivering the vehicle.

 

[Sparrow]

Tesla is revamping their process. They are adding an inside delivery team to pickup those pieces that you just described. From what I was told that process should be completed starting in December. In the meantime, I think the Delivery Specialist are still mainly overwhelmed. I have had the same communication experiences with my car in the truck as before. I was promised regular updates, but didn't get any until I made the call and even then it was we don't know anything. Just when I thought the target date (which was today) was going to come and go without any information, it appears I may actually get the car today. Of course that would mean having only a few hours of notice before delivery since nothing is firmed up yet.

 

[AnOutsider]

I'm still baffled that Tesla is still "understaffed" and doesn't have processes in place at a point in time when they should be a month ahead of their current production rate. I can see flaws and supplier issues holding up cars -- what held up HR?

 

[Louv]

I'm still baffled that Tesla is still "understaffed" and doesn't have processes in place at a point in time when they should be a month ahead of their current production rate. I can see flaws and supplier issues holding up cars -- what held up HR?

Have you tried to hire in the Bay Area recently? The "economy" here in the bay area is still strong, and there are lots of jobs unfilled because the Right Person can't be easily found. Besides that, I'd imagine that financial constraints still are a concern for the company, so maybe (and I have zero inside info) they are trying to keep their hiring pace slowed down, and do more with fewer people, until the production numbers can support more employees. Yes, it is a chicken-n-egg problem.

 

[AnOutsider]

Have you tried to hire in the Bay Area recently? The "economy" here in the bay area is still strong, and there are lots of jobs unfilled because the Right Person can't be easily found. Besides that, I'd imagine that financial constraints still are a concern for the company, so maybe (and I have zero inside info) they are trying to keep their hiring pace slowed down, and do more with fewer people, until the production numbers can support more employees. Yes, it is a chicken-n-egg problem.

Sorry, don't fully buy it. Firstly, not all of their staffing is in the bay area. Delivery Specialists are all over the country. Secondly, they knew where they needed to be at this point in time quite a bit ago. They raised money to make sure they had a buffer. Staff wasn't part of those calculations?

 

[Doug_G]

I'm still baffled that Tesla is still "understaffed" and doesn't have processes in place at a point in time when they should be a month ahead of their current production rate. I can see flaws and supplier issues holding up cars -- what held up HR?

A certain level of chaos was inevitable. They had to go from delivering NO cars to delivering thousands of cars from almost a standing start. I'm sure if you had bags of money you could hire legions of workers well in advance, and have them fully trained and waiting to go, but we all know they couldn't do that.

It does sound like things are improving, but I wouldn't expect perfection at this point in time.

 

[FlasherZ]

Moreover, you want the DS's actually delivering cars. Just like in incident response, Tesla needs to free them up to get the work done and separate them from the customer service / PR roles. At the same time, Tesla also needs to realize that this purchase is not like mailing off 6 box tops and $1.95 shipping & handling and "when it gets here, it gets here".

Good process design, with systems to manage the process, is key to this. Tesla has systems to look at the status of an order internally, so it isn't too hard to make a small investment to change the single "the factory is building your model S" message in My Tesla to one of a handful of states -- in factory queue; body-in-white; final assembly/test; and handed-to-delivery, and exposing their internal "delivery window" to the consumer (even as it changes).

 

[Discoducky]

It does sound like things are improving, but I wouldn't expect perfection at this point in time.

Agreed, but the vector should be spot on before they hit 400/week so as not to be the bottleneck to earnings. At 400/week there will be no room for logistically errors without a high amount of pain. But their logistically messaging (strategic) might need to improve as much as the logistics themselves (tactical). For instance: The Hawaii shipment scenario should be flushed out prior to giving out dates. Maritime shipping is very hit and miss so the communication should inform the customer enough to provide them comfort and confidence in the dates provided (if any) at certain key points in the process.

 

[Jkam]

Moreover, you want the DS's actually delivering cars. Just like in incident response, Tesla needs to free them up to get the work done and separate them from the customer service / PR roles. At the same time, Tesla also needs to realize that this purchase is not like mailing off 6 box tops and $1.95 shipping & handling and "when it gets here, it gets here".

Good process design, with systems to manage the process, is key to this. Tesla has systems to look at the status of an order internally, so it isn't too hard to make a small investment to change the single "the factory is building your model S" message in My Tesla to one of a handful of states -- in factory queue; body-in-white; final assembly/test; and handed-to-delivery, and exposing their internal "delivery window" to the consumer (even as it changes).

OK, I made a mistake. The guy I've been corresponding with is not a delivery specialist. However, I'm not sure what his title is because it doesn't say on any of the emails I have from him. So maybe he is a logistics coordinator...or something. Still no reason to be giving no information when I would be kept in the loop every step of the way.

 

[Charged_Up]

Moreover, you want the DS's actually delivering cars. Just like in incident response, Tesla needs to free them up to get the work done and separate them from the customer service / PR roles. At the same time, Tesla also needs to realize that this purchase is not like mailing off 6 box tops and $1.95 shipping & handling and "when it gets here, it gets here".

Good process design, with systems to manage the process, is key to this. Tesla has systems to look at the status of an order internally, so it isn't too hard to make a small investment to change the single "the factory is building your model S" message in My Tesla to one of a handful of states -- in factory queue; body-in-white; final assembly/test; and handed-to-delivery, and exposing their internal "delivery window" to the consumer (even as it changes).

Even more than that, I believe they need to automate systems so that post purchase, there are still regular communications dealing with benchmarks - registration filed with state, due-bill items, any service issues, etc. So far, I have not been contacted on any of these items (although I have discussed some with various Tesla people). More info (especially that can be automated as to progress of any open items) is better I think than less. Plus, it would be completely different from the customer service at most dealers, which most people find expensive and a chore.