Tesla (the company) killing itself slowly?

[mtndrew1]

My BMW dealer broke all the clips off my rear bumper installing a trailer hitch on my X5M. I didn't notice until I stepped on it loading something and it came almost completely off. After 2 attempts for fix it with plastic welds and adhesive they finally replaced. When I traded the X5M for an X6M, I removed and installed the hitch myself without breaking anything. Same dealership overfilled the oil on my M6 three times, despite me bringing them the TSB after the first failure. They broke numerous clips which they never replaced. They pried apart the wood trim on my M6 dash to replace a broken latch in my arm rest storage, breaking the trim and the frame it clipped into. They overfilled refrigerant after an AC service making the compressor lock up less than 200ft out of the dealership. I switched dealers to a slightly further location which was a little better, but still not perfect.

Never did they alert me to the damage, I had to discover it on my own.

Heck, I just bought a CPO BMW i8 from a different BMW dealer a couple weeks ago and they had the front tires on the wrong side, it was leaking oil from the filter and they apparently filled the trunk with about 2" of water when they were cleaning it. They had to ship me a new trunk liner.

Yeah people here have some awfully rosy recollections of service with other brands. While I don’t doubt that some of them are accurate they’re diametrically opposed to virtually every car service experience I’ve ever had in the past.

Vehicle service is just a part of life that has never gone as well as it should, from any brand, for either maintenance or repair. It’s always been like the DMV for me. Tesla for all their faults has been the best so far.

I would of course welcome any improvement to Tesla’s service and they should have a live person to contact, as mentioned above, but I’m pretty satisfied with their service in general and their rate of improvement in particular. For me, going from a cheap car to an expensive one, it feels like the quality of service is commensurate with the increased price of my Tesla.

I hope others who are not getting the same level of service satisfaction can have their voices heard so that things improve for them.

 

[PWlakewood]

So far the only solution that has been mentioned is:

Spend all the profit on adding more service center employees.

 

[kavyboy]

So are you privy to these facts of yours because you sit in on meetings or does elon call you personally?

So let's say they hire people with all the profit. What happens when they need cash for something?

I'm no business maven at all, but the startup I've worked for has always had per-approved lines of credit to pay off unexpected debt or to take advantage of opportunities. Revenue is put back in the company, not sitting in funds waiting for a rainy day.

 

[Ostrichsak]

While this is not exactly accurate (quite a few unreturned calls and many instances of being entirely ignored for days) I agree with the premise that this service needs to be available.

While Tesla’s online service is working well for me now there are places where a live human would be much appreciated. I’d like to buy a part (white dash trim swap) and don’t know how to make that happen aside from driving up to the SC and wasting everyone’s time.

So yes, I’m in total agreement that there should be a way to contact a real person even if it’s a centralized call center situation. I hope they add this to their service system.

Admittedly though when it happened previously it was the exception and not the rule. With Tesla it has become the rule and, even though it's expected now by those who have experienced it, it's infuriating.

 

[PWlakewood]

I'm no business maven at all, but the startup I've worked for has always had per-approved lines of credit to pay off unexpected debt or to take advantage of opportunities. Revenue is put back in the company, not sitting in funds waiting for a rainy day.

And the 2 startups I've worked for have operated on all cash. No debt, no credit, no loans. One business has done over 100 million in 7 years the other has done 35 million in 15 years. Both are still around and service has improved greatly in each business. Having debt is not a good thing for busines .

 

[Ostrichsak]

And your solution is what, stop selling cars and go bankrupt? I'm sure our service will improve once a creditor is managing it.

Tesla needs to improve their service and QA, I agree 100%, but that's not going to happen if there's no Tesla.

At the rate the customer service is degrading they won't have to stop making cars to go bankrupt. If they don't treat this issue like the urgent matter it is there won't be a Tesla.

 

[Krazaak]

So far the only solution that has been mentioned is:

Spend all the profit on adding more service center employees.

Was there profit I missed? They have cash on hand, of which over half is from a recent capital raise. They posted a loss once again as far as I'm aware.

I'm not trying to come off as defending Tesla, I believe people are having service issues and I think their handling of the screen yellowing issue is pure idiocy.

 

[PWlakewood]

Was there profit I missed? They have cash on hand, of which over half is from a recent capital raise. They posted a loss once again as far as I'm aware.

I'm not trying to come off as defending Tesla, I believe people are having service issues and I think their handling of the screen yellowing issue is pure idiocy.

The solution mentioned was not my solution.

 

[Krazaak]

At the rate the customer service is degrading they won't have to stop making cars to go bankrupt. If they don't treat this issue like the urgent matter it is there won't be a Tesla.

I don't entirely disagree, but I think people with negative services experiences are still in the minority. I also think people who want a good EV are going to find frustrating relationships with other brands as well.

 

[Ostrichsak]

How big is tesla compared to other companies? Number of sc to sc. It takes time to build the service infrastructure and everyone knows tesla is behind. Not a simple or quick fix

I never said that it was simple but after nearly a year of promises to improve customer service shouldn't we see at least SOME sign of actual improvements by now? I'm not talking 180 degrees of turn-around here I'm talking about minor improvements that we can hang our hat on. The service centers in my region are still losing employees weekly which would be the exact opposite of signs that improvements are coming down the pipeline.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Thank you for this. Some people think Tesla is the only manufacturer with issues. Every OEM has similar issues.

I never said they didn't. It doesn't explain why I can't talk to someone at Tesla service.

 

[mtndrew1]

Admittedly though when it happened previously it was the exception and not the rule. With Tesla it has become the rule and, even though it's expected now by those who have experienced it, it's infuriating.

This is not in line with my experiences but I’m sorry that it’s yours.

Every car dealer service department I’ve interacted with has been a cluster___ of the service advisor never being available, not returning calls, not getting rental car payments arranged in a timely manner, damaging my vehicle, sneaking in unapproved work I didn’t sign off on to raise the bill, etc. Then the clerk is rude or lost the invoice or whatever. It’s all topped off with every living soul I interact with along the way begging me for an EXTREMELY SATISFIED response on their survey.

If you came from a premium brand maybe things are consistently different in that world. Personally, out of 13 cars over 23 years from nearly all brands within my budget, I can’t think of a single consistently positive service department experience I’ve ever had.

I can certainly rattle off endless horrors though. The notion that most dealer service departments have their stuff together and are regularly available to speak to customers who they treat fairly and transparently is so opposite my experience that it’s nearly funny.

 

[Ostrichsak]

So far the only solution that has been mentioned is:

Spend all the profit on adding more service center employees.

It's a start and beats sitting on their hands and hoping the problem goes away while continuing to produce more customers that will require more service.

 

[PWlakewood]

At the rate the customer service is degrading they won't have to stop making cars to go bankrupt. If they don't treat this issue like the urgent matter it is there won't be a Tesla.

Again. How do you know there not trying to remedy the situation? There is alot of red tape that has to be cut in order for tesla to open up more service centers. Tesla is not going anywhere no matter how hard you try and sell it and spread bs. It is entertaining though.

 

[Ostrichsak]

And the 2 startups I've worked for have operated on all cash. No debt, no credit, no loans. One business has done over 100 million in 7 years the other has done 35 million in 15 years. Both are still around and service has improved greatly in each business. Having debt is not a good thing for busines .

Having excess profit for a startup is worse than having debt.

 

[Ostrichsak]

This is not in line with my experiences but I’m sorry that it’s yours.

Every car dealer service department I’ve interacted with has been a cluster___ of the service advisor never being available, not returning calls, not getting rental car payments arranged in a timely manner, damaging my vehicle, sneaking in unapproved work I didn’t sign off on to raise the bill, etc. Then the clerk is rude or lost the invoice or whatever. It’s all topped off with every living soul I interact with along the way begging me for an EXTREMELY SATISFIED response on their survey.

If you came from a premium brand maybe things are consistently different in that world. Personally, out of 13 cars over 23 years from nearly all brands within my budget, I can’t think of a single consistently positive service department experience I’ve ever had.

I can certainly rattle off endless horrors though. The notion that most dealer service departments have their stuff together and are regularly available to speak to customers who they treat fairly and transparently is so opposite my experience that it’s nearly funny.

Now take all of those negative experiences and add the ingredient of not being able to talk to anyone and tell me how your satisfaction levels are affected.

 

[PWlakewood]

I never said that it was simple but after nearly a year of promises to improve customer service shouldn't we see at least SOME sign of actual improvements by now? I'm not talking 180 degrees of turn-around here I'm talking about minor improvements that we can hang our hat on. The service centers in my region are still losing employees weekly which would be the exact opposite of signs that improvements are coming down the pipeline.

I've never had issues with my sc. I've used the app to schedule and bring my car in on the day scheduled and drive away in a loaner until my car is done both times. I've also used mobile service 3 times with no issue. Some people have more issues than others.

 

[alcibiades]

Some people have more issues than others.

At least now you recognize there's a problem. Baby steps.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Again. How do you know there not trying to remedy the situation? There is alot of red tape that has to be cut in order for tesla to open up more service centers. Tesla is not going anywhere no matter how hard you try and sell it and spread bs. It is entertaining though.

We know because it's been several quarters now of zero improvements and many regions have regressed even further. Tesla has proven their nimbleness already in countless ways compared to the much larger and more established competitors. Now, all of a sudden, they can't make changes quickly? That's a load of BS right there. I'm not even talking about opening new service centers here even though that also needs to happen. I'm talking about properly staffing existing service centers in order to serve existing customers and continue ramping up to match production moving forward.

 

[PWlakewood]

Now take all of those negative experiences and add the ingredient of not being able to talk to anyone and tell me how your satisfaction levels are affected.

My sc communicates over text message and is responsive while my car is being serviced.