Tesla (the company) killing itself slowly?

[Ferrari ex]

I was actually logging in to ask if anyone else was as frustrated as me about the complete inability to contact a person at a service center when I saw this thread. I’m a formerly happy P90D model S owner but this policy of not being able to talk to anyone has completely changed my attitude toward recommending Tesla to my friends. I’m not a frequent forum person and I’m a little surprised at the vitriol toward anyone that speaks ill of the company. I totally agree that the attitude has shifted at the service centers where the customer is now a nuisance rather than a fellow believer in Tesla, probably because they are completely overwhelmed. They are hassled and the lack of ability to communicate before you show up to have an issue repaired that was not exactly what was checked in the 7 available boxes on some form frustrates them as much as you. Parts are not there, loaner cars are not there, small issues turn into lengthy ones, all because of lack of the ability to communicate issues clearly. This absolutely costs more money than having another person to answer the phone and clarify your issue and parts availability before you take out a loaner car for a week which seems now to be the norm.
The lack of communication between the Rangers and the service centers is also unbelievable. One has no idea what the other is doing and they exist in separate silos. You get a Ranger appointment as your only option even when it is clearly something that only a service center with a lift can address. But there is nothing to be done but wait until they come over to tell you you need a service center appointment now weeks out.
I have also experienced being blamed for something that was reassembled incorrectly. An underbody shield that covers the rear motor came apart rather spectacularly at 80 mph with a great deal of noise and underbody banging that frankly scared the hell out of everyone in the car. Try explaining that to the app scheduling you for Ranger service. After forcing myself unannounced on my service center they showed me that it had been installed 4” further back than it should have been, bowed out and broke in two. Since They had recently removed that shield and reinstalled it servicing that area, but actually asked me who had been under there “looking at the motor” . They categorically said none of their techs would ever put it back on like that. Not the way to make your customer feel valued, And no, I Don’t have a lift at home and didn’t flatten myself and crawl under the battery to do it. Since it is still in warranty, I think they will cover it, but I was dumbfounded by this change in attitude. Parts are weeks away of course...

I am really concerned that this business model meant to separate the customer from the company in sales and service is not what the customer wants. I have gone from a ardent Tesla advocate telling everyone how it is the future and you should get one to just not wanting to talk much about it to people anymore. I’m not ditching it as I Still love the car itself and the concept of electric propulsion and the ability to outperform everything on the road. I can now see Tesla being the subject of business school classes and movies a few years from now as a case study in how to alienate your loyal customers and watch your business fail.

 

[whitex]

Most startling -- and upsetting -- is the lack of empathy from the company. It's attitude toward owners is antagonistic. That is the "more efficient model": antagonism.

The antagonism is the byproduct of the Elon Musk trademark service model (he has been after all the VP of service at Tesla for the last couple of years) - workers are overwhelmed and overloaded, while what they can offer to customers in terms of speed of service, loaners, or even goodwill, are being eliminated. That creates angry customers, some of whom take it out on the workers there is nobody else to take grievances to. That results in antagonism on both sides, which produces even worse service, which produces more antagonism, rinse, lather, repeat...

 

[whitex]

This is the crux of my frustration with Tesla. Instead of focusing on cars and getting that right (i.e., production, delivery, service, profitability), Tesla's ADD CEO is obsessed with distracting and burdening a struggling company with solar panels, energy storage, semi trucks, taxi fleets, insurance products, music streaming service, and stupid video games. Musk may be a visionary on a lot of levels, but he's a terrible CEO who is hurting Tesla more than he is helping.

If Tesla went with the dealer model - let independent shops fix the cars while Tesla provides parts (without weeks of wait), there would be shops lining up to do service at Tesla prices (e.g. annual service $750, replace MCU $3,600, etc, etc). Of course, the warranty repairs would probably bankrupt Tesla, which is where I think the problem is. The reason they are not scaling service is because it costs them money - so making service miserable is Elon's way to slow the bleeding from bad production quality. If service is hard to get, people will only bring the most serious problems. Even then, delaying the fix by making service personel or parts scarce plays to Tesla advantage - it runs out the warranty clock.

 

[whitex]

true

I had the option of an Enterprise supplied Model S (75), I didnt really need it and Uber got me home to the stable of other cars I can drive.

Bingo! Tesla's are best suited for customers who have stables of cars to drive. Those are the customers Elon is streamlining service for, free Uber home, we'll call you in few days, weeks or months, when you're car is ready. In the meantime, enjoy one of your other cars. Elon recommends to keep a few spare Tesla's in that stable, in case you feel like driving one while yours is at the service center.

Wow, it just dawned on me, that's Elon's latest innovation! Make people buy spare Tesla's! Genius!

 

[whitex]

I'm confused how going with a Toyota, Honda, or VW is going to help. It's not like THEY are giving out loaners! The fact the Tesla comes to you for the vast majority of repairs is WAY more important!

They do have loaners when performing warranty services or recalls over some time threshold (2 hrs?). More importantly, they are way more efficient at performing the services. For example, I had a warped rotor on a VW. Covered under warranty, I made an appointment 3 days out, they gave it back to me in 1.5hrs, no loaner needed. Same scenario with Model S, made an appointment a month out (10x the wait of VW), I show up, they say it should be an hour or two in the shop, but I need to leave the car for 1-3 days "while it waits to get into the shop". They fixed it next day, but what an inefficient system! Oh, the only "loaners" available were two Chrysler mini-vans - Elon's way of "accelerating sustainable transportation" I guess.

 

[vexige]

Within last week I got two huge customer satisfaction survey from JD Powers and someone else. On both I replied that I will not recommend purchasing Tesla at this stage... I assume Tesla ordered and paid substantial amount for these surways, as stated, they're very extensive. I'm not sure why does it matter to ask customers how we are satisfied with design, dynamics, or technology, if the car gets terrible customer service and issues with her takes forever to resolve.
Someone described Tesla customer service pretty accurately: denial and condescension...

 

[Ofarlig]

I tried using the app/homepage to book the CCS retrofit for my car, and I got just error messages. Apparently that has been going on for weeks over here for a lot of people and no fix from Tesla. Is that the latest idea for cost cutting from Elon? If no one can book appointments Tesla doesn’t have to pay for warranty work?

 

[aerodyne]

I can see something else...How the Twitter Disease ruined a great man, whose company was taken over by shareholders, employees, and car owners, and lived on to fufill it's promise.

 

[PWlakewood]

Yeah, removing the phone and executive escalation options show how much they care.

There are more options than these. People could sell their Tesla, sell tesla stock, stop buying teslas, go complain in person at a sc, email, Twitter, etc. All I'm saying is theres more that can be done than just complaining on a forum. Has anyone considered filing a complaint with the BBB or your states attorney general?

Speaking with your wallet is one of the best ways to get a message across. Unfortunately tesla Keeps selling thousands of cars which just compounds the problem.

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

Tesla do need to establish and meet some very basic customer service standards:

• Respond materially to 80% of emails in 4 working hours and 99% in 3 working days
• Respond to voice mails within 4 hours, even by email or text message
  
• Ensure voicemail boxes never fill up
• Answer the phone at customer service within 5 minutes

Wouldn't take a lot of extra staffing expense to improve their service to these levels.

 

[jebinc]

Tesla do need to establish and meet some very basic customer service standards:

• Respond materially to 80% of emails in 4 working hours and 99% in 3 working days
• Respond to voice mails within 4 hours, even by email or text message
  
• Ensure voicemail boxes never fill up
• Answer the phone at customer service within 5 minutes

Wouldn't take a lot of extra staffing expense to improve their service to these levels.

I have emails into customer services that have aged more than three weeks. No response.

 

[PWlakewood]

Tesla do need to establish and meet some very basic customer service standards:

• Respond materially to 80% of emails in 4 working hours and 99% in 3 working days
• Respond to voice mails within 4 hours, even by email or text message
  
• Ensure voicemail boxes never fill up
• Answer the phone at customer service within 5 minutes

Wouldn't take a lot of extra staffing expense to improve their service to these levels.

And where does the money come from to pay for more employees? Is there a company that follows those standards?

 

[aerodyne]

Here is a positive, yet temporary option we can all agree with. Take a mini vacation to a SC far away from a major city. Visit first without an appt and see how busy they are. Then, make an appt in person and plan to stay local for a day or so. I think you will find it is like going back in time a few years, before M3.

For those on West coast, highly recommend Santa Barbara SC and store. Can't wait to go back, too bad I don't need anything done for two years I can't do myself.

 

[PWlakewood]

Here is a positive, yet temporary option we can all agree with. Take a mini vacation to a SC far away from a major city. Visit first without an appt and see how busy they are. Then, make an appt in person and plan to stay local for a day or so. I think you will find it is like going back in time a few years, before M3.

For those on West coast, highly recommend Santa Barbara SC and store. Can't wait to go back, too bad I don't need anything done for two years I can't do myself.

In other words not all sc are having customer service issues. I've been to the Seattle sc twice and both times I had a great experience even though they were extremely busy. I get got service loaners which some people say doesn't exist anymore.

 

[aerodyne]

Correct. Not all SC's are overloaded. Plus, you will be giving business to those folks that need it, and away from those that don't...

 

[aerodyne]

Friend got a '19MS loaner for her M3 two weeks ago....from BURBANK!

Unfortunately, they broke her window. But she got to drive a MS!

 

[Ofarlig]

And where does the money come from to pay for more employees? Is there a company that follows those standards?

Yes, normally companies reply within those timeframes, and if they can’t they expand their work forces until they can. Tesla on the other hand doesn’t even bother fixing their app so everyone can book an appointment, even though it is their sole way of booking one.

 

[PWlakewood]

Yes, normally companies reply within those timeframes, and if they can’t they expand their work forces until they can. Tesla on the other hand doesn’t even bother fixing their app so everyone can book an appointment, even though it is their sole way of booking one.

I can assure you not all companies follow your set of standards. I recently purchased some items from sonos and pro-ject and I can tell you neither company followed your standard.

Adding employees cost money and no one has come up with a viable solution to fix the problem that wont force tesla to make cuts elsewhere.

I've booked all my appointments using the app and I had an issue 1 time, came back a few hours later and was able to book it.

 

[darxsys]

In other words not all sc are having customer service issues. I've been to the Seattle sc twice and both times I had a great experience even though they were extremely busy. I get got service loaners which some people say doesn't exist anymore.

Seattle and Bellevue are consistently horrible. Both of them. I've seen people literally scream at SC personnel during my visits. My experiences have been terrible to the point that now I am sure I will go to Vancouver, BC for any issue if I can. I get nervous just passing by Bellevue SC these days. Bellevue SC gave me a Nissan Rogue Enterprise loaner once. It was disgusting to drive, I just parked it and left it in the garage. I leave them my Model S, and they give me that as a loaner? Really makes you feel valued, ya know. They didn't fix almost any issues I complained about across 4 different visits. I simply canceled the fifth appointment after realizing I am wasting time and money with the new diagnosis fees. Their personnel is some of the worst I have ever experienced. Horrible, absolutely horrible.

 

[jebinc]

Seattle and Bellevue are consistently horrible. Both of them. I've seen people literally scream at SC personnel during my visits. My experiences have been terrible to the point that now I am sure I will go to Vancouver, BC for any issue if I can. I get nervous just passing by Bellevue SC these days. Bellevue SC gave me a Nissan Rogue Enterprise loaner once. It was disgusting to drive, I just parked it and left it in the garage. I leave them my Model S, and they give me that as a loaner? Really makes you feel valued, ya know. They didn't fix almost any issues I complained about across 4 different visits. I simply canceled the fifth appointment after realizing I am wasting time and money with the new diagnosis fees. Their personnel is some of the worst I have ever experienced. Horrible, absolutely horrible.

My experience, other than delivery day, has been horrific - two SC visits and several dialogs via text msg with Mobile service. This SC damaged my M3 when installing my Homelink option, and then refused to respond to any of my text msgs - of course, that number I used was the one they regularly communicated with me right up until the Homelink was installed, so it's a good number. I ended up repairing the paint chips myself, rather than deal with the remaining hacks (several have been RIF'd) at that SC.