This will be an unpopular view but...

[Knightshade]

You don't get the highest consumer satisfaction rating in the industry by sucking at what you do. I can't speak to their service, neither of our two Tesla's have needed anything. We just drive them.

I mean, you do though, depending on the details of the survey.

For example

Tesla's biggest problem is its customer service, according to a new Bernstein survey

Tesla’s service and customer experience remains a relative weak spot, with little improvement in most areas and deterioration in several metrics versus our survey results from 2017

Cars are great. Everything else kinda sucks.

Again some companies do both well. I wouldn't cite Ford as an example but I would cite Lexus.

My IS350 was excellent as a car and both service, and customer service, were also excellent.

Including 2 specific cases I can cite:

When I bought my IS350 I special ordered it with the mark levinson audio upgrade... but NOT navigation....because the stereo upgrade was a big improvement for a small cost- but the nav system was expensive and not great.

So the Lexus website description of the audio system was written assuming you got both things (by default that's the only way to get the audio upgrade, but it's available via special order which is what I did).

Anyway- turns out the audio-only option is exactly the same EXCEPT that you can't play DVD-A discs.

To be honest, I didn't really care much, given how little content exists... but I did mention it when they asked post-purchase if I had any complaints.

Do you know what they did- without my having to fight or argue with them?

Fully refunded what I paid for the audio upgrade. Promptly, and without even asking. Since it didn't do everything their website said it would.


Another one- same survey I mentioned I didn't get illuminated door sills... this one is even funnier- turns their website had an error- someone had cut and pasted part of the description of a different package- so it (correctly) listed the contents of the sport package I got on my car... but also listed the illuminated sills another package got. They fixed the website, and then sent a tech to my workplace to swap the illuminated sills on the car for free, even though the only place it was even mentioned was a mistake on their website.

Again no argument or fighting or even saying I wanted them.

And that's without covering the already exhaustively mentioned horrendous ordering/delivery process Tesla put a ton of 3 owners through versus the simple and flawless Lexus one I went through during a special order.


Sadly though after my car they stopped making any vehicle in which I had any interest.

 

[jerry33]

And constantly disappointed me with their utter incompetence at actually running the company or providing customer service

In the six years and 121K miles I've had my S85k, I have no complaints about the service, with the exception that in the early days their alignment equipment was shipped from Hunter with the wrong settings. That wasn't Tesla's fault (as far as I can tell), and they did correct it later on. To put some values on it:

1. Could I get a timely appointment: Yes
2. Was I ever pushed to another date: No
3. Was there a parts availability problem: No
4. Was there always a Tesla loaner: Yes
5. Did mobil service show up when scheduled: Yes
6. If there was something questionable, was I charged: No
7. Did I ever have to bring the car back for correction: Yes, for the alignment issue mentioned above.

Now that's only a single data point, but it appears to be the same as the majority of owners I come in contact with. Now that's not to say that every Tesla SC runs the same high standards, but I can't complain.

 

[caskater47]

Elon Musk’s late-night announcement to raise prices and reopen some stores

January and February deliveries were down by around 80 percent compared to the months leading up.

That's a huge drop in sales. The company is crazy volatile, just look at its stock history. Do you really want all car manufacturers to act this way? I sure don't.

 

[jerry33]

That's a good question. The data shows that over that same time period, Tesla's customer satisfaction rating improved.

The only way one might be able to explain this is if new customer service reps provide a better experience than ones that have been stuck in the same job for years.

It might also be explained by the experienced gained in the job over the past several years. I'd tend to favour that one because some to many of those who were mechanics six years ago are now experienced supervisors. Six years ago, there were no experienced people--all were new and servicing a new product. I'm sure they learned a lot through trial and error.

 

[jerry33]

Elon Musk’s late-night announcement to raise prices and reopen some stores



That's a huge drop in sales. The company is crazy violatile, just look at its stock history. Do you really want all car manufacturers to act this way? I sure don't.

No, they are not down 80%. You need to compare the previous year's January with this year's January. Using 80% from December is just taking numbers and using them out of context. Jan and Feb have most cars shipped overseas, with North American cars mainly delivered in March. This is so that the quarter's sales numbers are normalized. If they shipped an equal amount each month everywhere then many of the overseas deliveries would happen in the next quarter. The other thing that would happen is a shortsville headline such as this: "Tesla produced X thousand cars this quarter but could only sell X-30%. Tesla has a demand problem." It's just good business to do it the way they do so that the deliveries closely mimic production.

 

[caskater47]

No, they are not down 80%. You need to compare the previous year's January with this year's January. Using 80% from December is just taking numbers and using them out of context. Jan and Feb have most cars shipped overseas, with North American cars mainly delivered in March. This is so that the quarter's sales numbers are normalized. If they shipped an equal amount each month everywhere then many of the overseas deliveries would happen in the next quarter. The other thing that would happen is a shortsville headline such as this: "Tesla produced X thousand cars this quarter but could only sell X-30%. Tesla has a demand problem." It's just good business to do it the way they do so that the deliveries closely mimic production.

If I recall Tesla has said many times it plans to hit 5k Model 3s being produced per week. So logically if they are trying to meet that goal there should be a steady increase in volume, not staggered production like you are saying. In which case the most recent months are more important to understanding their trends, not last January and February. If they can't keep the production rate on a climb it does mean they are slipping somewhere.

But you are correct that generally is better to compare like months annually to understand the ebs and flows of demand. I just don't think Tesla is a stable enough company or product yet to evaluate them in such a way.

 

[jerry33]

If I recall Tesla has said many times it plans to hit 5k Model 3s being produced per week. So logically if they are trying to meet that goal there should be a steady increase in volume, not staggered production like you are saying. In which case the most recent months are more important to understanding their trends, not last January and February. If they can't keep the production rate on a climb it does mean they are slipping somewhere.

But you are correct that generally is better to compare like months annually to understand the ebs and flows of demand. I just don't think Tesla is a stable enough company or product yet to evaluate them in such a way.

I must have said it unclearly, sorry about that. The production is stable, or slightly increased, but the shipments to various locations are not.
So if you're making 20,000 cars a month (for ease of calculation) there are several choices, here is one:
First month: 19,500 overseas, 500 local
Second month: 15,000 overseas, 5,000 local
Third month: 500 overseas, 19,500 local
There's no change in the rate of production, just in where the production goes, so it's only the quarter numbers that have validity. The overseas deliveries tend to be a month later than the production.

 

[StealthP3D]

Tesla's biggest problem is its customer service, according to a new Bernstein survey

I wouldn't cite a survey from a Wall Street firm, everyone knows they are not out to give you the facts but to lie, cheat and deceive for their own financial gain. Berstein has been negative (and wrong) so many times about Tesla I can't even count them all.

You are aware that it was a Berstein analyst that Musk cutoff during an earnings conference call, calling it a "boneheaded" question? Wall Street brokerages freely publish surveys like this for one reason, and one reason only - to lie, cheat and steal. I wouldn't pay any attention to anything published by a Wall Street broker (unless it was to make a contrarian move). And yes, I've been making my living investing in stocks for the last 27 years. I retired from regular jobs at age 37 due to successful investing. And, yes, I bought stocks rated as either "dogs" by Wall Street brokerages or as good companies that were simply priced too high to even consider buying.

So you can see why you might lose all credibility with me when you cite a survey done by a Wall Street brokerage house. Especially one that has a "history" with Tesla like Berstein does.

 

[StealthP3D]

January and February deliveries were down by around 80 percent compared to the months leading up.

That's US deliveries and exactly what one would expect when you're putting most of your new production on ships bound for Europe and China. Remember, most non-US reservation holders still don't have their hands on their Model 3's yet!

Way to go Sherlock.

 

[SunCharged]

FWIW they have delighted me with their product

And constantly disappointed me with their utter incompetence at actually running the company or providing customer service



They're not mutually exclusive things, and some companies are actually good at both.

This is 100 percent true and I agree. I love my M3. But it’s inexcusable to deliver a new car at any price point in 2018 with the AC not working. It’s like, did anyone try it before I drove 3 hours to buy the car? And oh yeah, I asked for a full charge due to my 3 hour drive home. Do you think they even got that right? No, it was under 30%.

 

[SunCharged]

Ex

Exactly. Surveys may not also take into account these two realities. A survey that focuses only on satisfaction of the product itself will skew unusually higher than a survey which balances both of these factors. The reality with statistics is its easy to skew in your favor based on the testing method you choose. As a smart consumer you have to look deeper if you want to understand the accuracy of such claims.

Oh stop trying to bring thoughtfulness into this debate! You’re just going to annoy FanBoy #1 (I’ll let you guess who that is)

 

[Knightshade]

I wouldn't cite a survey from a Wall Street firm, everyone knows they are not out to give you the facts but to lie, cheat and deceive for their own financial gain. Berstein has been negative (and wrong) so many times about Tesla I can't even count them all.

So whose surveys DO you trust?

Consumer Reports I guess since they're who rated Tesla #1 for owner satisfaction with the car?

Bad news then, once they asked about service/quality rather than "satisfaction"

Consumer Reports: Tesla's reliability tumbles to near the bottom in latest survey

Near dead last for Tesla.

it's almost like it's possible for a company to be GREAT at one thing and AWFUL at another or something!

 

[more863-also]

NoA and autopark definitely have LOW reliability!

 

[StealthP3D]

NoA and autopark definitely have LOW reliability!

True, I heard Ford and GMC have much better reliability with their Navigate on AutoPilot and AutoPark equivalents.

 

[Knightshade]

True, I heard Ford and GMC have much better reliability with their Navigate on AutoPilot and AutoPark equivalents.

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/best-self-parking-cars

There's actually 5 Fords on this list... (and 2 Teslas)

 

[more863-also]

True, I heard Ford and GMC have much better reliability with their Navigate on AutoPilot and AutoPark equivalents.

Yep, you're right. Their autopark is better.

 

[StealthP3D]

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/best-self-parking-cars

There's actually 5 Fords on this list... (and 2 Teslas)

OK, I wasn't aware that Ford's have misnamed the "self-parking" feature. It appears the driver still needs to control the gearshift, brake and throttle, it just turns the wheel for you. How is that "self-parking" unless "self" refers to you, the driver? That's just steering assist.

And I guess they have no equivalent of Tesla's "Navigate on AutoPilot". I thought theirs was better but I can't find that they even have it!

 

[Dana1]

White cars are for women. Just like white iPhones. But I'm glad you're willing to give Tesla more money so you can show your feminine side.

You know you sound like a (censored), right?

 

[EVDRVN]

If you don't like the price, then don't buy it!

The amount of entitlement these days is astounding!

What is a Tesla "fan boy"?

Someone who is delighted with their products. I rest my case. All car manufacturers wish they could have more "fan boys".

This is a good thing and yet you try to paint it as a negative.

I've been in the EV industry more than 15 years. I can tell you that those ratings were based on early adopters, EV fans and others. In addition it does not include more mainstream buyers and the reflection of more recent Tesla issues. This rating is as valid as the CR rating to not recommend the car anymore. Tesla will not have this rating in the future it they keep on the same track as they have recently.

 

[EVDRVN]

You know you sound like a (censored), right?

I tried to point that out with sarcasm but he liked my post. That made me laugh. Someone needs diversity training.