Tesla service then and now

[Tic-tac-toe]

i have been reading the old threads and it is very obvious that service has gone downhill recently. Hopefully, it is temporary but I am curious how much Tesla support and service has gone downhill.

Our service has been bad. Hilariously bad. Starting at purchase:

Tesla insisted we take delivery by Sept 23, the end of the third quarter, otherwise we would lose our inventory car. We had our bank wire Tesla the deposit on Sept 21 with the balanced wired on Sept 24. When we showed up at the SC to pickup our car on Sept 23, they had no record of the deposit. Nevertheless, they let us drive off with the car. The deposit, 21k, actually showed up as balanced due for 6+ wks on our online account and I had to email our delivery specialist the wire transfer info so he could track it down.

I made a SC appointment to get a software update. SC dinged the car. My car had just been wrapped and ceramic coated. Tesla gave me a loaner, a Mercedes C class during the software update which was done overnight and told me to bring the Model S back to get the ding repaired and Tesla will also pay to get that section rewrapped. SC checked and filled my tires but did not charge or wash.

I cannot ever reach the SC by phone. When I call the number listed for the SC, I am put on hold for 30+ minutes and then reach a call center located elsewhere. I called to make sure I would have a loaner when I took the car back to get the ding repaired. The human I reached assured me I will get a loaner but not necessarily a Tesla loaner.

Took MS P100D in to get ding repaired. Enterprise gave me a Nissan Altima (luckier than the person in the morning who got a Versa) but told me I can email them about getting a Tesla if one becomes available. The next day I got a 75D. Took just over a week to get the ding repaired, dropped off Tuesday. Will pickup tomorrow, Thursday. Tesla is great about texting their progress. No wash or charge this time either due to volume. Afterwards I have to take the car to my wrap guy who will get the section rewrapped in about an hour.


So is this typical for Tesla service now? I LOVE the car, btw. Otherwise, I’ll be mad about all this nonsense.

 

[docbrown]

I missed the "hilariously bad" part. Was it that you had to wait a long time on the phone? Seems like you had some bad luck with getting a ding while it was in service, but it sounds like they took pretty good care of you.

 

[David99]

It depends very much on the service center. Some are better than others. Most of them are hopelessly overworked. They can't provide the service they should.

In the old days they used to monitor the discussions here and call you up if you mentioned a problem. Now they want to get you out the door quickly.

 

[75Shappyt]

the service center here in Kansas City, is the best service I have ever got with a car I drive, I think (David99) is right depends on the service center, and the body shop they sent me to was great also, had a dent fixed that someone backed into my car, they got the part, fixed the dent, and only had my car for 3 days.

 

[Don TLR]

I haven't noticed any lack or service quality and Tempe AZ has always been a great location for me, lately they got rid of the Tesla loaners but that's the only complaint and hopefully its temporary..

 

[Barry]

Not considering geographic variations due to local SCs, but corporate service, I place Tesla at the bottom of any company I've ever dealt with, including Comcast.

1 hour on-hold times routinely.
Phone calls/emails not returned.
Months of delays on parts, in the event of an accident.
Poor QC with software updates, including poor UI design due to more eyes-off-the-road time needed, monochrome maps, poor climate control update.
Etc.

While I love the car itself, and the concept of an EV, unless something drastically changes in company policy, I won't be buying another Tesla. Hopefully by the time I'm ready for a new car, there will be other comparable options, like the Germans.

 

[Struja]

I am in Toronto and I would imagine the service story varies from SC to SC let alone from one country to another. I have been in for service 3 times and each time has been wildly different. The first was excellent. Fast repair, got a loaner, car was cleaned and charged. Couldn't have been better.

Second was similar but no charge, no wash and loaner was filthy. No big deal.

3rd time was awful. Driver seat was defective (and dangerously loose). Problem diagnosed on April 18, 2018. New seat replaced (after about 20 phone calls to SC, escalated emails to corporate etc..) in November 2018. 7 months for a replacement seat is not acceptable.

Tesla did not offer me anything for the delay. I think I got "we're sorry" via email but nothing else.

 

[BulldogsRus]

I am in Toronto and I would imagine the service story varies from SC to SC let alone from one country to another. I have been in for service 3 times and each time has been wildly different. The first was excellent. Fast repair, got a loaner, car was cleaned and charged. Couldn't have been better.

Second was similar but no charge, no wash and loaner was filthy. No big deal.

3rd time was awful. Driver seat was defective (and dangerously loose). Problem diagnosed on April 18, 2018. New seat replaced (after about 20 phone calls to SC, escalated emails to corporate etc..) in November 2018. 7 months for a replacement seat is not acceptable.

Tesla did not offer me anything for the delay. I think I got "we're sorry" via email but nothing else.

Because you have no leverage, they know you have zero other comparable EV options for the foreseeable future. And because they are so backlogged with Model 3 rollouts, early adopters and current S and X owners have been pushed aside.

What's funny is that Tesla knows that it is only a matter of a year or two before the entire landscape changes, so they should be hiring more staff to minimize these issues and maintain customer loyalty. Instead they are doing the complete opposite and putting the burden on it's client base to weather the storm.

 

[RDoc]

It's going to be a lot longer than a year or two before there are comparable cars to Tesla or a comparable charger network, so get used to this level of customer care/support. It's going to be the same for quite awhile while they get their profitability up.

 

[BulldogsRus]

It's going to be a lot longer than a year or two before there are comparable cars to Tesla or a comparable charger network, so get used to this level of customer care/support. It's going to be the same for quite awhile while they get their profitability up.

Assuming the e-Tron, Jag and Porsche offerings are ramping up then maybe not, plus the charging network is planning for almost 1900 locations NATIONWIDE by EOY 2019:

Audi takes aim at Tesla with Electrify America charging network

As of now, in the US they currently have 1375 WORLDWIDE.

 

[David29]

I am sure Tesla knows they need to staff up all their customer-facing functions (service, delivery, maybe even sales) in the face of their rapidly growing population of owners and prospective owners. From what I have seen in several recent visits to my local sales/service/delivery center, they have indeed staffed up the sales and delivery functions. The number of Tesla staff on site at my local store has to be 3 or 4 times as many as they had in 2015-2016. I have heard complaints that deliveries are sometimes delayed and so on, but it does look as if a large effort is being made to support the growing delivery volume.
As for service -- What I have personally seen is that the service quality seems to be good but that the service times are growing longer. In my area (Boston), there is a crying need for more physical service space -- another service facility or two. But that takes time and money and is a lot harder to do than just hiring more staff at the same facility. For that matter, increasing the service staff is more difficult than sales or delivery, because they need skilled technicians and mechanics.
But -- if Tesla was really as cash-strapped as Elon recently said they were in the third quarter of this year, I can see why they might have been slow to invest in more service facilities, and possibly even service staff. Plus, if the experience with getting my nearby facility (Dedham, MA) is any example, it seems to take Tesla years to arrange a site from acquisition (leasing, most likely) to construction and equipping and staffing, etc. So, we may have to be patient as they grow their service business.
What i am less willing to be patient about is their call center(s). Call center people are probably less difficult to acquire than a car mechanic or technician (because I imagine much less specialized knowledge and experience are required). But there is widespread complaining about inordinately long wait times to reach call centers and get responses. In my own recent case, my car broke down last Friday afternoon about 3:00. I called Tesla Roadside Assistance. Long story short, they were not able to even call for a tow (flatbed) until 11 PM that night, 8 hours later. I was within walking distance to my home, but what if I had been out in the boonies somewhere with little kids, or a woman alone in a remote area, etc.? That sort of delay is simply unacceptable. (In retrospect, i should have called AAA, and will do that next time.) I definitely think Tesla needs to do a much better job on their call center functions, and I hope they know it. (Once I reached someone, the people I spoke with were eager to help, apologetic, and sounded frazzled, so i do not fault any of the individuals doing the telephone work.)
Unfortunately, I think these "growing pains" will continue for some time and will continue to inflict real pain on some customers.

 

[TMeister]

I guess I'm spoiled living too far from a service center (350 miles to either one in opposite directions). So we have a service ranger who lives 5 miles away instead.

I have had some minor issues taken car of: AC expansion valve, alignment, strut replacement, door handle. In each case I worked directly with the ranger at his request. He gets the parts quick and does the work in my driveway or garage. For the alignment and struts he did the work at a place where he rents shop space. He also does the annual maintenance since I didn't want to change drive unit fluid or evacuate the AC for desiccant bag. Nor do I have the tools to make the coolant circulate for that fluid change.

He brings over a loaner if I want and trades it out for my car.

Overall, it has been the best service experience I've had. I've only had warranty work done on my previous cars and the Audi dealer stands out as the opposite experience to Tesla. Each and every time I brought a car (4 different cars, multiple times each) in to them for work they broke something else. So I do all the service on my ICE cars and avoid the dealer now.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Seems like, for the most part the Tesla service is still pretty good, but in some cases, especially where they are super busy, the service can quickly go south for some individual cases.

I see customers complaining about the San Diego service center, but in my case everything has worked out as planned, with the car issues taken care of quickly.

Couple years ago, the service centers were pretty relaxed. Just some easy warranty upgrades, switching out some bad batteries or drive units. Could gab for a while with the service people and every thing seemed wide open. Just a few Roadsters and Model S vehicle in the shop.

When the Model X first came out, it had more teething problems, and things seemed to be taking more time.

Now they are putting out about 20X more vehicles, and of course they are getting much busier. Especially busy delivering new vehicles to customers ahead of the Tax Credit deadline.

They have set up outside service kiosks with multiple service writers to reduce waiting for those lined up. They seem to have gotten much more focused and are instituting new policies and proceedures to get a much higher volume in and out as efficiently as possible. Seems like repair parts are gettting to the service centers more quickly as well.

They have also partnered with many higher quality repair shops for paint and collision repairs. They seemed to mostly be backed up by some of these contracted repair facilities who are needing some time to ramp up for the volume that Tesla is sending them. These shops seem also to be servicing Mercedes and BMWs service centers.

Had much worse service from the rip off Mercedes dealership.

 

[azmodls]

I haven't noticed any lack or service quality and Tempe AZ has always been a great location for me, lately they got rid of the Tesla loaners but that's the only complaint and hopefully its temporary..

Don, I got a Tesla loaner at the Tempe center yesterday. They said a loaner had just come back that I could take. Was an older Model S 60.

 

[Barry]

What's funny is that Tesla knows that it is only a matter of a year or two before the entire landscape changes, so they should be hiring more staff to minimize these issues and maintain customer loyalty. Instead they are doing the complete opposite and putting the burden on it's client base to weather the storm.

The problem is Musk is trying to expand into additional models, trucks, etc. so quickly, they have no cash available for proper service. They really need someone who knows how to run a growing company. Seems all his middle managers have left.

 

[Tic-tac-toe]

Picked up the car and am very happy! Does not need a rewrap because the body shop was able to fix the small ding without removing the wrap. Also, my plates finally came today via Fed Ex; was on our third set of temporary plates.

Sexy Hotness was dirty and not charged either. I am envious reading that car washes and charging use to come with service.

The weekend we picked up our car, Sept 22-23, the SC had over 300 cars being pickup! Amazing...

If and when Tesla builds a supercharging station within DC itself (like they are doing in Philly) I’ll stop complaining. Promise.

 

[RedMX&WhiteM3]

I too love the cars (when they work) but my experience with Tesla Service has been the worst by far of any car I've owned. Totally disorganized, almost never call you back when they say they will, can't make any of the their own decisions, they seem completely understaffed and leader-less. I think my Model 3 was built with a bad chip or something, it's been getting worse and worse-- a huge list of constant errors. The glitchiest piece of tech I've ever owned and the service people keep telling me the next software update will fix it - it hasn't yet. I was once a huge Tesla fanboy but not so much anymore. I only bother to vent on here so that others with the same experience know they are not alone. Hope Elon gets this in shape before more fans become disillusioned. I really do love the cars but they cost too much to be this much of a hassle.

 

[IchDochNicht]

So far, my experiences at the Fremont, CA, Service Center are almost 100% positive. The only little gripes was that I waited forever in a phone queue, and an employee tried to talk me out of needing a visor clip that actually holds the visor in place. I overcame both easily, and would give all other aspects of my service experience 5 Stars.

Not so much the Chevy Dealer that messed-up my previous 2015 Volt. In fact, they were a big reason why I finally made the jump to Tesla. They dented my car, messed-up the clear wrap on the hood, scratched the shifter,... I had to go there 3 times, and ended-up adjusting my washer nozzle by myself, to save me from a 4th visit. Since then I dreaded needing any service for that otherwise wonderful (and totally adequate for my needs) car.

I understand that Tesla has growing pains right now. There is no other car manufacturer we know of that has scaled-up so quickly, while controlling the service experience in-house. So far, I prefer having Tesla take care of my car; not sure I will want to pay for this after the warranty, though. I wish there were independent techs that could make at least routine repairs.

 

[Tic-tac-toe]

I am overall very happy with my car. My only complaint is that the auto wipers are a bust and the windshield wipers are loud which is really noticible when raining/snow since the car is perfectly silent otherwise. Yes, the wipers are noisier than the wipers on my 21 yr old Honda Civic. Not acceptable on a 150k car. However, I am afraid to go back to the service center for these minor issues.

I posted on another thread what I found in the back seats when I picked up the car after the ding repair. Yup, model X parts. So you are wondering why your very minor repair is taking forever? Worst inventory parts control ever.

Also, I heard that the Tyco rd service center totaled a brand new model X by backing it into a concrete pillar. They told the owner that the repair will take at least 3 months and that the repair will not fix it back to brand new condition. The owner chose to get another new X. I think the SC is very overwhelmed.

 

[Racerx22b]

I have only had experience with the West Palm Service center. Although not always perfect they work hard to get it right, provide real time updates, are always super friendly, and I've been provided Tesla loaners nearly every time I have required service. They have even done work under warranty when I thought it should be something I pay for. I have even sent the entire service dept pizzas for lunch on one occasion for how helpful they were.

Sexy Hotness was dirty and not charged either. I am envious reading that car washes and charging use to come with service.

Since you had your car wrapped and ceramic coated I am surprised you even want them to wash your car. I've never seen a car dealer wash that was done properly. I actually leave a note on my service record and place a sticky note inside the car instructing to NOT wash my car. I only allow them to do an interior clean. Dirty water, dirty wash mittens or brushes, coarse and dirty drying towels, cheap soap..... I could go on and on... If you want fine scratches and swirls everywhere let them go for it. But if you want you car mirror finish status then tell them to stay away.