Tesla (the company) killing itself slowly?

[re04586]

My service was amazing 1.5 to 2 years ago too. Lots of communication, easy scheduling, always loaners available. Since then, it has gone downhill precipitously.

Thank you Model 3.

 

[hill]

Had an MS for 2.5 years - solid good experiences with customer service for the most part.

Out of country and my wife finds that the MCU is totally gone. Calls roadside, they say that as the vehicle is able to be moved book it into a service center. Important to know that at this point the car has no sensors, no navigation, no backup camera, no user profiles and no A/C or even fan!

Service is booked online (chat is never present on the website) and it schedules Ranger - had to select Other as there is no "most of my car does not work" option. Still 8 days out.

I try to reach a human at Tesla to say this unacceptable - all routes lead to an IVR which directs to website and claims of the elusive "chat with expert".

Call roadside again, no dice.

Thursday get text to say Ranger canceled as they cannot deal with the issue, booked into service center (presumably at the cost of 5 days delay). Now scheduled for Tuesday at 11am (today).

I return the following Sunday - car has not been used due to close to 100 degrees - with no air circulation let alone all the other concerns about driving a crippled car. Car is in deep sleep, will not wake up - after two hours of messing around call roadside who agree to tow. I open the driver's door ... and it wakes up. Call roadside - yes they will tow, but at my cost. Okay leave it - I'll hope it drives okay on Tuesday.

Tuesday. Car takes ages to wake up. Back out of garage, need to get out to close door as no control from car obviously. Car goes to sleep again in the minute or so I am out.

Dive straight to Tesla. Suggestions I am not going to get a loaner as others are ahead in the queue today. First sign of old Tesla when I relate the whole story and they at least find me an old MS to drive.

Waiting for update.

Very unhappy. There should be a way that an essentially undrivable car gets priority - I am sure a human would prioritize, but you can no longer reach them. So much for ensuring that service levels remain the same as the company scales up.

Wife says cancel Model Y deposit, and find something from elsewhere next year.

Rant over.

sorry to hear it ...
Back to the prius, eh?

DejaVu - yours is one of just several of our stories, between our 2016 S - & our 2017 X. It pained us to let them go .... & some owners (thank goodness) have no similar experiences - thankfully. These issues polarized Tesla owners. Some will complain that you are expecting too much - while others will give their own examples of similar circumstances. It's pretty much a five-year-old company with ridiculous growth, spending tons of money just getting up & running, & staying running - so sure, maintenance & Lexus like quality / service take a back seat.
The competition is way behind. Tesla's supercharger network, despite its warts, is 2nd to none. As long as the competition lacks what Tesla has - it doesn't matter as much that Tesla lacks great service. All that said ... we've saved our HPWC, & our extra J1772 & CHAdeMO adapters because some day Tesla may get their stuff up to speed. In the mean time it's back to the 1yr old Plugin minivan & the Volt, sad to say.
.

 

[alcibiades]

After almost 5 weeks at the SC, not only did I get an autopilot error on the first day I had the car back (what it was in for), but now my screen has yellowing. My car is demonstrably worse off for having been at the SC for that long.

This is completely unacceptable. But who am I gonna call? Ghostbusters?

 

[darxsys]

After almost 5 weeks at the SC, not only did I get an autopilot error on the first day I had the car back (what it was in for), but now my screen has yellowing. My car is demonstrably worse off for having been at the SC for that long.

This is completely unacceptable. But who am I gonna call? Ghostbusters?

Easy, call Vroom and arrange pickup. Then call a Porsche dealership and ask about deals.

 

[ev-now]

Wow this thread got legs. I was sharing my experience as the contrast between a few years ago and now. Those who sight the idea that it's hard to provide good customer service due to the costs - forget that argument, the cost of poor customer service is very, very high - with existing and new customers. It stops repeat business, it stops referral business - and Tesla has proudly used it's reputation as an alternative to expensive marketing dollars. If you blow the reputation, then you have to spend the marketing dollars - way less predictable return!

Tesla did it different from day one, they went all out to NOT be the traditional car ownership experience. Now actively blocking customers from talking to their staff - sorry that is not a cost-saving measure, it's a suicidally stupid decision. As others have noted - if you are lucky enough to live locally, you will drive there to talk to a human. Now the service level is differentiated by your geography - not good.

Bottom line. As a long term fan, owner, and share holder, I believe Tesla really needs to address this as those who complain in forums are really just the tip of the iceberg. Oh, it's a week. They were supposed to start on Friday. No idea if they did because with the MCU out even if they did not block wifi, there's no telemetry to my user account anyway.

 

[Chaserr]

forget that argument, the cost of poor customer service is very, very high - with existing and new customers. It stops repeat business, it stops referral business - and Tesla has proudly used it's reputation as an alternative to expensive marketing dollars. If you blow the reputation, then you have to spend the marketing dollars - way less predictable return.

This was Tesla's strength from day 1 - referrals from current owners used to be huge. Now they no longer provide a financial/gift incentive to prompt owners to sell the cars to their friends and colleagues, while increasingly poor service interactions is pushing many of us to steer people away from Tesla instead. Referrals cut both directions, we won't stop doing it just because the recommendation is "I'd avoid them until they get things figured out." Word of mouth is still important, but they aren't "paying" people to youtube evangelize and they aren't making current owners feel like they'd be honest if they didn't explain how frustrating ownership can be so word of mouth is no longer universally positive.

 

[Big Toys]

This whole: "You had a bad experience, so Tesla will fail" thing is somewhat nonsensical, as is the assumption that people complaining on a forum is some kind of useful stat. I don't know the last time I was on a forum that wasn't full of people bitching and trolling.

The problem is that the system is designed to minimize customer service, thus our experience here cannot be the minority voice, since the majority will encounter the same system that is designed to make it as difficult as possible to interact with a human. Not everyone lives walking distance to three SCs. Would you tolerate Amazon if you couldn't bitch about your Prime shipping that was 30 days late? Would you even bother paying for Prime if shipping was no different? Would you recommend Prime to anyone?

 

[jeffpence]

Had an MS for 2.5 years - solid good experiences with customer service for the most part.

Out of country and my wife finds that the MCU is totally gone. Calls roadside, they say that as the vehicle is able to be moved book it into a service center. Important to know that at this point the car has no sensors, no navigation, no backup camera, no user profiles and no A/C or even fan!

Service is booked online (chat is never present on the website) and it schedules Ranger - had to select Other as there is no "most of my car does not work" option. Still 8 days out.

I try to reach a human at Tesla to say this unacceptable - all routes lead to an IVR which directs to website and claims of the elusive "chat with expert".

Call roadside again, no dice.

Thursday get text to say Ranger canceled as they cannot deal with the issue, booked into service center (presumably at the cost of 5 days delay). Now scheduled for Tuesday at 11am (today).

I return the following Sunday - car has not been used due to close to 100 degrees - with no air circulation let alone all the other concerns about driving a crippled car. Car is in deep sleep, will not wake up - after two hours of messing around call roadside who agree to tow. I open the driver's door ... and it wakes up. Call roadside - yes they will tow, but at my cost. Okay leave it - I'll hope it drives okay on Tuesday.

Tuesday. Car takes ages to wake up. Back out of garage, need to get out to close door as no control from car obviously. Car goes to sleep again in the minute or so I am out.

Dive straight to Tesla. Suggestions I am not going to get a loaner as others are ahead in the queue today. First sign of old Tesla when I relate the whole story and they at least find me an old MS to drive.

Waiting for update.

Very unhappy. There should be a way that an essentially undrivable car gets priority - I am sure a human would prioritize, but you can no longer reach them. So much for ensuring that service levels remain the same as the company scales up.

Wife says cancel Model Y deposit, and find something from elsewhere next year.

Rant over.

I received my car a month ago and love it more than any other car, but when I was supposed to take delivery there was a broken rear glass and I was not allowed to take delivery until fixed. The lack of communication with service was horrible. I was trying to take delivery before July 1 for bigger tax credit and time was running out. Finally just in time they let me take delivery and I'm told they will contact me when the part comes in. I have never been able to find the broken glass! It looks flawless. I sure hope they can get their communication and follwup fixed because I love the car and the company.

 

[vexige]

Well, I just came from SC in Springfield NJ... Spoke to SA... Without going into details, they used to have 8 SA-s and only 2 now. That is with many more cars on the road and in service. Phone and chat are not an option any longer, they simply can't keep up. Loaner car contract with Enterprise was terminated.

Good news, they had a last set of floor mats and I replaced mine under warranty.

As to my problems (yellow border on both screens), just to look into it (small screen) it's another 14 cars ahead of me and all techs are on lunch break (12:30pm). But even if they were available, it's a lengthy, multi stage process, as the "part is expensive". As to big screen, Tesla will reach out soon, watch for email. Mind you, I am the lucky one, only within 15-20 minutes from the SC, how about ppl who have to travel from out of state, only to hear what I was told, because they can't get anybody on the line?

I will very seriously look into trading it in and moving back to ICE.
One may think that I'm overreacting, but I'm really worried. I LOVE the car, it's dynamics and looks, but it's is not (only) for fun, I use it to for work 6-7 days p/week, to see people I work with, some of them are really sick (I am a clinical exercise physiologist)...
It's all good and well until it's not, if something goes wrong, the only option is to rent a car, until Tesla will fix mine, which sounds like a lengthy process, which will become only longer, judging from what is happening, all the cost and labor force cutting, while increasing production and reports of deteriorating quality.

 

[PWlakewood]

So what about those people with ICE cars who dont live near a service center? Same tired lame point. Not everyone lives where its convenient to have your car serviced whether it's a tesla or other car.

As far as I know the contract with enterprise is still in effect at my local SC in wa state. Might be certain locations that do not have enterprise as a backup up anymore but certainly not all of the .

 

[Az_Rael]

So what about those people with ICE cars who dont live near a service center? Same tired lame point. Not everyone lives where its convenient to have your car serviced whether it's a tesla or other car.

Those people can probably call their distant service center, actually get someone on the phone and actually verify parts/service/loaner needed prior to making the long drive or arranging a long tow.

Meanwhile, I just have to drive 1.5 hours one way to talk to someone in person because there is zero way to contact my service center any other way. It is frustrating. My Lexus dealer was just as far away, but I could actually communicate with them easily.

 

[PWlakewood]

Those people can probably call their distant service center, actually get someone on the phone and actually verify parts/service/loaner needed prior to making the long drive or arranging a long tow.

Meanwhile, I just have to drive 1.5 hours one way to talk to someone in person because there is zero way to contact my service center any other way. It is frustrating. My Lexus dealer was just as far away, but I could actually communicate with them easily.

Last time I took our other car in for service (Ford dealership 5 miles away) we called ahead to make sure that they would have a loaner ready for us. When we arrived it took over an hour for someone to take our keys and tell us that they ran out of loaners and that they could give us a ride in there shuttle as long as it wasnt more than 10 miles away. We were without my wife's car for 4 days and ford wasnt willing to get us a service loaner from a rental company.

Long story short.......its not just tesla SC that have issues.

 

[Az_Rael]

Long story short.......its not just tesla SC that have issues

Very true. Which is why we should hold Tesla accountable for the terrible SCs where they are happening. Just like you would with that terrible Ford dealer. Downside with Tesla is it is more difficult to make a complaint above the chain of the SC. There isn't a corporate number you can call with complaints like you can with Ford.

 

[PWlakewood]

Very true. Which is why we should hold Tesla accountable for the terrible SCs where they are happening. Just like you would with that terrible Ford dealer. Downside with Tesla is it is more difficult to make a complaint above the chain of the SC. There isn't a corporate number you can call with complaints like you can with Ford.

I agree completely but people feel like bashing tesla will fix the issue when they should be doing everything they can to get the message to the ones that care about fixing the issues. I'm my experience as a Tesla owner I guess I'm one of the luckier ones who has had good experiences with my sc.

 

[tpoltron]

Spoke to SA... Without going into details, they used to have 8 SA-s and only 2 now.

Very concerning if that applies more broadly.

On the recent earning call wasn’t improved service time mentioned? I hope was through getting more parts and cars fixed faster, not making it difficult for customers to start the service process.

 

[darxsys]

Last time I took our other car in for service (Ford dealership 5 miles away) we called ahead to make sure that they would have a loaner ready for us. When we arrived it took over an hour for someone to take our keys and tell us that they ran out of loaners and that they could give us a ride in there shuttle as long as it wasnt more than 10 miles away. We were without my wife's car for 4 days and ford wasnt willing to get us a service loaner from a rental company.

Long story short.......its not just tesla SC that have issues.

So what if it's "not just Tesla having issues"? No one here cares. How much did you pay for your Ford? How many more cars does Ford have on the road compared to Tesla? How can you even give Ford as an example here? What Ford car costs $100k?

 

[Geek190]

Well, the GT40, but I do agree that comparing to the failings of other car companies doesn't help and shouldn't matter. If the service needs to improved, then it shouldn't matter if they are the worst in class or best in class - service needs to improved.

Customer service absolutely needs to be improved from a communications standpoint. There is a corporate number you can call, but nobody ever answers. You're put in the que until you're hung up on. Emails take weeks for responses, if you get a response at all.

I just got my car back from service, and I am very pleased with what they did and how I was treated. They contacted me almost daily to keep me apprised of the status of my repairs. It took longer than they quoted (by a lot) but I was given a loaner and didn't feel put out. So credit where due for sure.
The great experience I had with servicing my car doesn't make up for the horrid communication from Tesla. By saying other companies are bad too doesn't address anything and is excusing bad behavior.

 

[P100D_Me]

Here's a fairly recent experience with one of my other cars (ICE), booked it in for scheduled service (over the phone of course) and mentioned there was an issue with the heater not blowing on one side. The SA said no problem, if we diagnose it as being a blend motor we can have the part here same day and replaced. That is exactly what happened, all covered under warranty of course, no fuss, no down time, just fixed and great personal service to boot.
For the Tesla apologists above, when people are waiting months for a windscreen and cannot speak to a person to get an update you have to wonder is this 'new way' of running a car company actually better?

 

[Cheburashka]

I agree completely but people feel like bashing tesla will fix the issue when they should be doing everything they can to get the message to the ones that care about fixing the issues. I'm my experience as a Tesla owner I guess I'm one of the luckier ones who has had good experiences with my sc.

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

 

[FlatSix911]

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

Yes, these actions speak far louder than words... Tesla service was once great and is now at the bottom of the barrel.

No other car company has cutoff customer communication as a policy... Tesla will suffer the consequences for years to come