Tesla Service Sucks?

[IanAber]

I read lots of reports about how Tesla service centres are terrible and the service sucks. I don't know the details about these reports but in my experience Tesla service is the best I have ever found and I cannot imagine how it could be made better, short of giving you the opportunity to actually speak to a service agent directly.

I had a headlight fail on my 3 year old Model S90D when I was in Georgia recently. I tried to contact the Decatur service centre to see if they could fit me in because I was there only for Thanksgiving weekend. I decided to head on to the centre and keep calling them. Eventually I got through to a service coordinator about a half an hour before I was due to get there. The gentleman on the phone told me they would take a look at it but they were pretty busy so it could be late in the afternoon before they could get to it. I arrived at 1PM and the check in process was incredibly fast with no stupid paperwork to fill out or authorisations to sign. I settled in to the waiting area and called my son who lives near by to go for some lunch. By the time he showed up at 3:10PM I had already received a notification that my car was ready to be picked up. Again, no paperwork for the warranty repair. I was very happy.

Two days before Christmas I was on my way to my sons house in Atlanta when the driver side lower control arm broke at the Tifton supercharger. Tesla arranged a tow that said they would be another 4 hours before they could pick us up. The tow truck arrived in two hours and then drove us to the Decatur service centre where we deposited the car and dropped the key fob in the drop box. I had spoken to the Gabriel earlier who told me they were closed on Christmas eve so it would be the day after Christmas before they could get to it. My son picked us up and we went to his house expecting to hear something after Christmas. At 10:30 the following morning, Christmas Eve, I got a text message saying some of the technicians had come in on their holiday to clear some of the backlog of work and had fixed my car already. I went straight there and Gabriel met me outside with the key. Again no paperwork, no hassle just fantastic, above and beyond, service.

Every manufacturer of vehicles has warranty repairs for failed components but the real mark of a company is how they deal with them. In my opinion, based on my experience, Tesla is right at the top of the list. Light years ahead of any of the other service organisations I have had experience with, Honda, Buick, GMC, Ford, Cadillac, Toyota, Volvo, Daihatsu, Nissan and BMW. Well done Tesla of Decatur!

 

[EVSteve]

Simply put the service experience is very location dependent.

Case and point both Devon PA and Cherry Hill NJ damaged my car, couldn't get appointments straight, were overworked and neglectful. Raleigh NC on the other hand was flawless going above and beyond my expectations. My car was returned to me by Raleigh in good order, clean and with a full charge. The wide margin is enough incentive for me to take a trip to North Carolina from Pennsylvania and do a little vacationing while they work on my car.

 

[jmaddr]

@IanAber, thanks for posting.

I think it demonstrates that it’s just human nature to post when you are upset and need to “vent” and have hope someone will the throw you a lifeline.

I do believe most experiences with Tesla service complete just fine but no one has a reason to post just fine. This doesn’t diminish some of the horrible experiences some have had, but hopefully it does show it can be and is just fine most of the time.

Thanks for posting.

 

[pl8dlikafiddle]

I agree with experience will be location dependent.

I’ve had great experience at both the Alpharetta, GA and Marietta, GA service centers. I guess we’re pretty lucky in the metro Atlanta area.

 

[Tessaract]

I would echo the sentiments of IanAber. My multiple experiences with the Kingston-based mobile service and recently opened Ottawa SC have been top rate. Appointments kept every time, all service covered under warranty, additional service bulletin work that I hadn't even been aware was needed was done preemptively, really pleasant people to deal with, etc. I feel sympathy for the bad experiences of others, but would caution that concluding from these bad experiences that Tesla service is universally or often bad would be statistically invalid.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Just be thankful that you happen to leave near one of the good service centers. I've got a 5-6 state region serviced by the most awful customer service I've ever experienced in the Rocky Mountain Region. My best option would be to drive to Salt Lake City or Arizona which I have yet to explore.

At this point I'm just biding my time until someone else makes an EV that's 80% of the Model S cars that we currently own. The way they continue to limit power output and charge rates at Superchargers they're helping to level the playing field and make that transition easier since those tend to be the areas Tesla excels at.