Tesla Service Centres - Is this normal?

[Cyclone1]

I collected my car from Tesla Birmingham on May 26th, on inspection everything seemed spot on. The only blemish I could find was on the drivers side inner pillar where it looked like someone had caught / trapped the seat belt buckle and left scratches, enough to take the paint off. The two Tesla employees there agreed and advised they’d get it logged and booked in for repair, so they did this and whilst I was still there I received an appointment for June 18th (today). Happy with the way it was handled.

So fast forward to today. I get up early and travel the 60 miles to Birmingham. On arrival I’m informed a courtesy car is ready and we then run through the notes of the issue. I ask if the drivers door seal can be looked at as it keeps peeling away from the bottom of the door (I tried to add it in the app but it gave me another appointment date). To which I was told I’d probably have to stick to that new appointment date, but if they have time and a seal in stock they may replace it.

So after no more than 10mins there I am in the courtesy car and on my way back home. As I arrive home about 90 minutes later I get a call from the service centre. I am told that they can’t fix the scratch today and the car will have to be booked in again!! I am then told that these types are jobs are only done on Wednesdays so the car needs to be booked on that day only! I asked if that was the case what was the point of booking it in today, to which I was told that they need to see the issue first before deciding next steps. I then ask if they can sort the door seal and am told yes only if they have one in stock, but it will be booked in just in case in 4 weeks time when it gets the scratch done.

To my disbelief I am then asked if I can return the courtesy car today as they have booked it out tomorrow. At this point I’m keeping my cool but politely explain that I’ve moved a few hours of my working day already and was under the assumption I would have it for at least one day. Had I known they were only “checking the job” I’d have happily waited!

Not impressed at all.

 

[bhav]

I suspect this is the consequence of running (overly) efficient app-based servicing to minimise downtime of workers. Clearly not ideal. I suppose the flip side of it is that when it works well there's less worrying about having to call someone to make an appt, dealing with pesky dealers etc.

I'm literally about to drop mine off at SC for a few scratches I noted on delivery...will report back!

I did find that I booked it in for Friday at a time that worked for me, and they just moved it to Thursday without asking if the time/day worked instead...fortunately it did but was a bit strange to have the Friday available in the app in the first place. Perhaps it's the same thing - they only do centre console work on a Thursday

(Fortunately they're down the road from me so don't think the courtesy car will factor too much).

 

[davidmc]

Yep when i first had an appointment. When i first collected my car in Aug 2019 i noticed a chip inside the drivers doors and door misalignment and booked online for an appointment (around Sept i think). Drove to Birmingham that morning for the appointment. They looked at it and said yep it needs fixing and they then book me again for a new appointment to get it fixed :/. I told them this with photos first time around when i used the app to book the appointment, so i drove 50miles there and back for them just to agree! (Painful).

I have my car in at the moment but this time they have had it 2 weeks (tomorrow) and they do keep you updated which is good.

 

[Durzel]

That does sound really crap to be honest.

Because of the free form nature of service requests through the app I can see how the visit is actually more of an inspection than a promise to actually do the work that day. You could book a service request to say that your door has fallen off and it would still give you a date to book it in.

However at the very least I would expect someone from Tesla to look at the request and get in touch before the service date to clarify points, or say that it will need to be booked in on another date if needs be etc.

When I booked my car in with Tesla Bristol for some blemishes they called me twice beforehand to get more information.

The courtesy car thing is just weird though.

 

[Rustybkts]

Looks as if they could do with some sensible organising that would also save them money.

Surely if the body shop bods are not on site a decent picture(s) would be enough when picking the car up. Some jobs such as door re-alignment could be done by a ranger as it cannot take long to do.

Maybe I.m in the wrong job?

 

[TM3P1]

I know this is my first post, so please go easy on me and appreciate that my experience doesn't reflect everyone else's. I am, however, somewhat reassurred that everyone else is experiencing shoddy customer service from Tesla in the UK.

I picked up my Model 3 performance last Thursday 11/6/2020. Only a few tiny little things I picked up on delivery and when I mentioned the guy handing over (it really was the most primitive handover ever but I put this down to COVID19) and was told to book them in from the app for service.

Fast forward 3 days and I realise that LTE just does not work in the car. WiFi connection to my UniFi network is also quite poor (despite my iPhone XS Max hitting the full 200/20 whilst in the car). A little more diagnosis by myself and it is clear the LTE just is not connecting for whatever reason. I try booking a service appointment for it to be looked at and I am booked in for 6th July (which is totally unacceptable as it is a brand new £57k car!).

So day 6, yesterday I call up Tesla and tell them the problem. Talked through the soft reset, hard reset etc to no avail. I am told a technician will call me back by the afternoon, nobody ever does. I end up calling them 4 times yesterday and nothing has happened.

I call them again today, this time tell them that if this isn't sorted by midday today then the car is going back for a refund (as I have frankly had enough). I get a call from a technician asking me to connect the car to my Wifi (so they can download the data logs), something they did yesterday morning (and apparently what they were working on all of yesterday!).

A technician calls to say that premium connectivity is working but the modem needs a reflash (personally I think it is toast from the factory) and they can book me in for 9th July. After some push back they contact the manager at Birmingham and agree a date of 29/6 and need the car for the entire day! I just hope it won't be another 'inspection' visit. Presumably quality control are not words Tesla are familiar with.

No apology, no compensation offered at any point. Not only is the service shocking, no other car manufacturer would treat their customers in such way. I know I was expecting American customer service in the UK, like Apple or Costco are able to provide.

If I hadn't sold the BMW M3 to buy this thing I would have dumped it back at their delivery centre and cut my losses. Seriously not impressed, especially as connectivity seems to be one of the USPs that they sell their products on the back of.

Does anyone have an email address that I could complain to in the UK?

 

[Jason71]

Anyone else had the "I booked it in for an afternoon slot then got a call 4pm the day before saying I either brought it in at 8am or the appointment was getting cancelled?" one? I believe that is quite common

 

[Jason71]

I know I was expecting American customer service in the UK, like Apple or Costco are able to provide.

You are getting American style customer service. Its just you are getting AT&T and Comcast rather than Apple and Costco.

 

[TM3P1]

You are getting American style customer service. Its just you are getting AT&T and Comcast rather than Apple and Costco.

 

[Cnixon]

Absolutely un f ing believable. I have just posted similar before i read this. The American reference above seems to be the crux of the matter. The US is meant to be the most customer focused country. But Tesla has the mantra "the customer is always wrong". The refusal to paint a bare metal area damaged prior to delivery because it "wasn't visible when bonnet (trunk) was closed" (separate post) typifies the attitude of this company and its employees.

 

[pgkevet]

Anyone else had the "I booked it in for an afternoon slot then got a call 4pm the day before saying I either brought it in at 8am or the appointment was getting cancelled?" one? I believe that is quite common

Ah, Yes.. the 8.am slot which it got changed to (from ater lunch) and meant i had to get up at 5am to sort me out and make the distance with all the rush hour traffic on the last bit into the city. I got there, waited a couple of hours to be told they had started on someone else's car and they'd get round to mine after lunch. Still, taking a bunch of seat cushions into a corner of the waiting area to doss down and catch up on lost sleep got me a courtesy car and a sensible time collection the next day...

Service centres work like FSD... throw out a program update and see what breaks...

 

[Cnixon]

...
Does anyone have an email address that I could complain to in the UK?

Oh sorry! Don't you know customer service uk don't really exist. I've spoken to people all over the world.

 

[TM3P1]

Oh sorry! Don't you know customer service uk don't really exist. I've spoken to people all over the world.

Yes absolutely but I thought I was being fobbed off when I asked 'service' on the phone how I could contact customer support to complain. Apparently they don't even have a fake complaints department

 

[MrBadger]

Sounds about par for the course. We were booked in for various jobs, but the major work involved a new windscreen and possibly roof glass. They had known about this work for nearly 6 months, even postponing the work on a couple of occasions to make sure everything could be done in one visit.

Dropped car off expecting at least a few days work. Got text to say car could be picked up but they couldn't do the glass as they didn't have the sealant! Its not like we sprung the job on them, they had nearly six months to get the bits that they needed in - they even told us that they had done that - sigh.

I'm not sure what goes on. We were originally scheduled just days before lockdown was likely and we wanted to make sure we had the car on our drive rather than locked away in a Tesla service centre with no access - lots of uncertainty. But we took car in and discussed everything and they were brill. They understood our concern and came up with an agreed list of work needing to be done. But when car came back quite a few weeks later, its like someone had thrown everything in the bin and we were starting all over. Things like rear lights that on first occasion chap said, yep definitely needed doing, not done on return as we had not given photos and, being weeks on end of scorching hot days, not surprising that they had had time to dry out.

 

[Jason71]

Ah, Yes.. the 8.am slot which it got changed to (from ater lunch) and meant i had to get up at 5am to sort me out and make the distance with all the rush hour traffic on the last bit into the city. I got there, waited a couple of hours to be told they had started on someone else's car and they'd get round to mine after lunch. Still, taking a bunch of seat cushions into a corner of the waiting area to doss down and catch up on lost sleep got me a courtesy car and a sensible time collection the next day...

Service centres work like FSD... throw out a program update and see what breaks...

It wasn't a Friday was it? I think they like to leave early on Fridays?
I went with the "how long will I have to wait?" angle.
SC: "Wait? you don't need to wait".
Me: " I do. I live 30 miles away, you will have my car, I literally have nowhere to go"
that was enough to get my original time re-instated. it was a simple bolt on bolt off type job though that was only ever going to take 30 minutes and not overrun.

 

[Durzel]

I’m dreading anything major going wrong on mine. I’ve been more fortunate than others that the only problems I’ve had have been cosmetic ones spotted on delivery.

I’ve got no reason to suspect my local service centre wouldn’t be effective, but at the same time it’s worrying. My car is (or will be) my daily driver too, so I need it to work.

The only saving grace, for all of us really, is that technically there’s not much that should go wrong, mechanically at least. Water leaks and rust are concerns though, particularly as the UK isn’t Tesla’s natural habitat.

 

[Jason71]

Absolutely un f ing believable. I have just posted similar before i read this. The American reference above seems to be the crux of the matter. The US is meant to be the most customer focused country. But Tesla has the mantra "the customer is always wrong". The refusal to paint a bare metal area damaged prior to delivery because it "wasn't visible when bonnet (trunk) was closed" (separate post) typifies the attitude of this company and its employees.

The US customer service thing is a myth. Yes it is excellent when companies want to win your business or need repeated business like in a restaurant but once you sign any kind of long term contract like for internet , cell service or buying a car then, with their weak consumer laws they have got you and it all goes out the window, The service centres are over worked and they know you have nowhere else to go so in the short term they can treat you like crap and they aren't thinking any further ahead than that. Once the competition gets its act together they will have to as well or its game over.

 

[MadScientist]

It’s threads like these that start me looking for the ‘cancel order’ button.

 

[Jason71]

It’s threads like these that start me looking for the ‘cancel order’ button.

so long as you don't need any service its fine. I've had one trip for an arguably self inflicted issue and have no reason to need to go back ever and am hoping it stays that way. Forums always give you the worst case scenario. People rarely go on forums to say say how great everything is but there must be a few of them out there somewhere....

 

[MadScientist]

so long as you don't need any service its fine.

Indeed, but it appears that a significant portion of new cars do require some (at least minor) attention and you would hope it would be painless process especially if it involves significant travel. I’ll be happier when the Winchester Service centre opens which is a lot closer than Bristol..