UK Customer Service - Pre delivery

[ewoodrick]

I'm leaning more and more towards putting off a decision to purchase in the light of what seems to be happening at the moment. Most of the things being mentioned here with regard to poor service seem to be related to the introduction of the Model 3 to the UK market. I would guess that other manufacturers may well have similar problems when bringing a new model to new market, too.

I have no need to change cars soon, next year would be fine, so with luck things may well settle down. The only risk in delaying the decision is the uncertainty over exchange rates, duty etc, but I don't think there's anyway of being able to predict whether such changes will increase or decrease prices. We seem to be in such a state of flux with our government at the moment that I doubt anyone has a clear enough crystal ball to be able to guess how things will be next week, let alone next year...

First, remember, forums are places for people to complain. For every complaint in a forum, expect a thousand good experiences.
Indeed, the UK is in initial delivery mode. The intent is to get as many cars to as many people as fast as possible. Make the most people happy as soon as possible.
As I just posted, most complaints are from over-expectations. "When is my car going to get here" "I don't know" type of items. The sales folks are in just as much of dark as you are. They don't have any magic crystal ball capabilities.

After the initial influx is over, it probably won't get much better, as there are still more cars to be delivered and new ones ordered every day. And the Service Centers now have a lot more customers.

If this is disconcerting to you, then absolutely put off ordering. I would caution that this will probably stay similar for the foreseeable future though.

But odds are, as long as you don't expect too much, you may have an decent experience.

 

[AlternateFlux]

Thanks Alternate Flux, I’ve had a quote in principle.... seems quite good £455 with LV for performance + me and the wife. If I don’t hear anything tomorrow should I just turn up at Tesla Birmingham? I assume it’s the one in Digbeth?

It's this one:

91-99 Summerhill Road, Birmingham, B1 3RH

NOT the Service Centre

 

[Mattyb123]

Thanks. I’d have gone to the wrong place. It shows as high street Digbeth on google!

 

[AlternateFlux]

Thanks. I’d have gone to the wrong place. It shows as high street Digbeth on google!

No worries... It's just a 5 min Uber from New Street station. Easy to find.

 

[RjbT3]

First, remember, forums are places for people to complain. For every complaint in a forum, expect a thousand good experiences.
Indeed, the UK is in initial delivery mode. The intent is to get as many cars to as many people as fast as possible. Make the most people happy as soon as possible.
As I just posted, most complaints are from over-expectations. "When is my car going to get here" "I don't know" type of items. The sales folks are in just as much of dark as you are. They don't have any magic crystal ball capabilities.

After the initial influx is over, it probably won't get much better, as there are still more cars to be delivered and new ones ordered every day. And the Service Centers now have a lot more customers.

If this is disconcerting to you, then absolutely put off ordering. I would caution that this will probably stay similar for the foreseeable future though.

But odds are, as long as you don't expect too much, you may have an decent experience.

I could not disagree more. I personally know of 3 people who never post on forums who have all cancelled their orders for Model 3 and are waiting until next year, not to re-order, but to get the new VW Golf or something else. They have major concerns that after-sales service is going to be as bad, or worse. I also know of 6 others who are not bothering to order a Tesla as a result of what they are hearing. Plus, insofar as Tesla UK is concerned, for every complaint on a forum there are 1000 other bad experiences, plus some good ones for some lucky people!

 

[Rooster6655]

After the initial influx is over, it probably won't get much better, as there are still more cars to be delivered and new ones ordered every day. And the Service Centers now have a lot more customers.

If this is disconcerting to you, then absolutely put off ordering. I would caution that this will probably stay similar for the foreseeable future though.

This is not necessarily the case, in the future the sales and delivery experience is likely to be at least a bit more organised, its just this initial backlog that is likely to be cleared by Oct that is taking a lot of resources. Going forward the regular state from ordering to delivery should be less resource intensive and hopefully they will learn along the way.

Yes they will have lost orders during this process and potential customers who would have brought but the only thing that will heal that is time and other users experience long term which I am hoping in 2020 will be a lot better for all.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

I've experienced a similar "revolutionary" car launch, when I ordered my first Prius. That was a new model, with a massive amount of pre-sales hype. There was also a potential issue in that Toyota had to train up lots of dealers to be able to deal with the new technology being rolled out, as no one had any experience of dealing with a car that had no clutch, no gearbox, a permanently connected drive train, high voltage battery, inverter etc. In 2005 this was pretty radical stuff. When I committed to buying my first Prius it was very much an unknown, it was only later that it received pretty good reviews, was made car of the year, etc.

The way Toyota handled that launch was very different to the way that Tesla seems to be handling the launch of the Model 3 here. Despite the fairly long delay between order and delivery, Toyota did a pretty good job of both keeping customers informed, and passing on a fair bit of information as to both when cars would arrive, what the spec would be and how the first deliveries would be managed. They staged deliveries, so that they kept pace with the training programme for their dealerships, all in it was pretty impressive.

Having said that, I paid a refundable deposit for a VW ID.3 in May, and frankly VW have been less than inspiring. Not only has their communication been woefully poor, but it's also been pretty amateurish. Even the link we were given to the ID.3 reveal at Frankfurt didn't work properly, and was pretty poorly presented when things did work. A bit like Tesla, to get decent information about the VW ID.3 I've had to resort to 3rd party information sources. It's telling that my designated VW dealership have neither contacted me, nor have they any record of my pre-order. They were as much in the dark as I was.

I think we are just seeing a change in the way cars are marketed and sold. I get the feeling that car manufacturers are shifting to the same sort of flaky sales and marketing systems used by technology companies, where products are often sold when the support systems are a bit immature, and products are also sold sight-unseen initially, with initial sales depending very much on the desire of early-adopters to have the latest product, as quickly as possible.

My guess is that it is us, the customers, who need to adapt to this new way of selling cars, and lower our expectations when it comes to customer service. Perhaps we've become too used to a sales model where we get persuaded to buy a new car during visit to a smart showroom, where we're given free coffee in pleasant surroundings. The future looks as if it may be buying chaotically, with little or no face to face interaction, and relying on 3rd party reviews to gather all the information we need to make an informed purchasing decision.

 

[Sirricardo]

Sorry Jeremy, but with the M3 Tesla won’t register with a private plate. I was in this situation too.

You need to accept the car with the generic registration, wait a few days for the V5C, then swap the cherished plate onto your car online.

If you ask nicely when you collect your car they will make you up a set of the Tesla metal plates for your personal number. Just be sure to take your retention certificate to show them.

I've been told that they can fit the private plates on delivery if the plates have not been used on another car, i.e. New numbers.

 

[elecTED]

Having read all about the problems on here I decided that the best approach was to chill out and just wait for the car to arrive. Stressing about it or constantly ringing up won’t make the car come any quicker!

Could not agree with you more Roy!

I ordered in early May and realised in mid-June that Tesla were struggling to deliver the initial backlog of orders. I did not bother calling/emailing/visiting Tesla even once during the 4 month wait period even though it has been frustrating not knowing when the car would be ready for collection until the very end. Checking for VIN updates in the source code every day, scouting for ships in the ocean and taking part in the banter in this forum is all good fun while you wait.

I didn’t even bother complaining to the staff when I picked up the car (which was a pleasant experience). The staff know the score and much of the delivery problems are out of their hands. I think Tesla senior management and Musky realise they have failed customers with the poor pre-delivery experience.

By all means if you have a genuine reason contact Tesla but I’m sure you know by now that the wait period after ordering is typically several months and that Tesla UK are not geared up to handle the high volumes of customer communications generated by several years of pent up demand.

Patience will be rewarded with a great car.

 

[Jason71]

I've been told that they can fit the private plates on delivery if the plates have not been used on another car, i.e. New numbers.

If that is true then that is 100% their choice rather than and kind of technical restriction ( unless it's one they have put in their own software)
When you buy a new plate you get a certificate with info on it. when you want to put it on a car you give the cert to the dealer . they validate the info on it against the DVLA system. If the system says its valid then they can go ahead and register the vehicle using that plate. That is literally it. there is no extra fee or anything to faff about with.
For a "used" private plate that is not on a car you also have a certificate. A retention certificate. its virtually identical to the one for a new plate and the process is basically identical so if they can do one there is no good reason why they cannot do the other.

 

[Nky_84]

It doesn't seem much better for used inventory either! I placed a deposit on a model s on monday and apart from a few auto generated confirmation emails, I'm none the wiser if I could be picking up this weekend or next year....

I wouldn't mind if I had to wait a few weeks but the radio silence, even after a few call and email chasers is a bit disappointing.

 

[ewoodrick]

This is not necessarily the case, in the future the sales and delivery experience is likely to be at least a bit more organised, its just this initial backlog that is likely to be cleared by Oct that is taking a lot of resources. Going forward the regular state from ordering to delivery should be less resource intensive and hopefully they will learn along the way.

Yes they will have lost orders during this process and potential customers who would have brought but the only thing that will heal that is time and other users experience long term which I am hoping in 2020 will be a lot better for all.

And that's what we thought in the US as well. Hence my statement.

 

[Yev000]

There are 2 ways to buy a Tesla:

1. Order and forget about it for half a year - pretty hard as it's not a very forgettable car
2. Buy existing stock and get VIN allocated on the day, over the phone or in a showroom

The custom order is the worst by far in the UK. Yes it maybe an EV thing, but comparing Tesla to other EV manufacturers is not flattering.

To compound the issue the price and specs change every 2-3 months. So if like me you ordered 5 months ago, the price of the car has bone up, gone down, paint became a cost option instead of free, then gone up again... It's ok if you order and get it 1 month later, but if you have an order and it keeps changing it's not great.

They need to hire a lot more people and have a lot more tracking info to fix this. You need to be able to see where your car is from being assembled to being washed before delivery. All this can be done with a good system and some scanning of barcodes.

 

[ewoodrick]

I think we are just seeing a change in the way cars are marketed and sold. I get the feeling that car manufacturers are shifting to the same sort of flaky sales and marketing systems used by technology companies, where products are often sold when the support systems are a bit immature, and products are also sold sight-unseen initially, with initial sales depending very much on the desire of early-adopters to have the latest product, as quickly as possible.

I'd also add that this is probably the first time that most folks have not bought a car off the lot, I know it was for me. Online ordering is a different experience. That are many ways that I like it much more than walking around a car lot and salesperson after salesperson coming up and asking if they can help. And after the sale, your salesperson may be friendly, but that disappears quickly, or they don't work for the dealer anymore.
is there room for improvement, absolutely. Are we expecting too much? Maybe. A Tesla for a lot of folks is considered a stretch buy. It's the most expensive car they've ever bought and they are expecting luxury lounge type service. But reality is that these aren't necessarily in the luxury class. There are Ford F-150 pickup trucks in the US that cost twice the price and are rolling off the lots at an amazing speed.

 

[Yev000]

I'd also add that this is probably the first time that most folks have not bought a car off the lot, I know it was for me. Online ordering is a different experience. That are many ways that I like it much more than walking around a car lot and salesperson after salesperson coming up and asking if they can help. And after the sale, your salesperson may be friendly, but that disappears quickly, or they don't work for the dealer anymore.
is there room for improvement, absolutely. Are we expecting too much? Maybe. A Tesla for a lot of folks is considered a stretch buy. It's the most expensive car they've ever bought and they are expecting luxury lounge type service. But reality is that these aren't necessarily in the luxury class. There are Ford F-150 pickup trucks in the US that cost twice the price and are rolling off the lots at an amazing speed.

I think you are confusing luxury service with a service, period. The "sales" part is over. People here have bought the car and didnt have it delivered. Expecting too much?

I don't expect a foot massage...

I expect to be told when the car is delivered.

If there is a delay, I expect to be told, in a simple email.

If I get a delivery date I expect to be able to actually pick up a car, not turn up and get told it's not there.

Tesla in UK simply do not do that. You order, then your name seemingly gets picked out of a hat and you get a delivery date. If you can't make it, tough *sugar*, better luck next time. If you do make it and the car is not there, tough *sugar* better luck next time. If you want to cancel, thanks for playing you'll have your money back in 30 days.

You have maybe 7 days to pay using bank transfer which is inherently unsafe. Some people get delivery days with 1-2 day warning. Want to confirm receipt of funds? Tough *sugar*, stay on hold for 2 hours or learn to read HTML code.

Ordered a tow bar? Tough *sugar*

Ordered 19"? Tough *sugar*

Spec changed 3 month after order and now your spec is 5k cheaper? Back to the queue with you.

There is zero reliable information and you get treated like a beggar at a McDonalds.

This has nothing to do with "ordering a car online". There is simply no information and you get treated like a nobody. A lot of people here just want to be told where the car is.

 

[PrGrPa]

Teslas seem to go through 3 stages of delivery.
1. There's an order in place
2. Stuff happens in some sort of blackout zone
3. It's here, come and pick it up

Stage 2 brought a lot of anticipation with my Model S. Perhaps this is the 'wanting to be told where the car is' aspect? It'll come and when you can pick it up you'll hear from them. With our Model 3 I knew what to expect and it was fine. Albeit with more emails and calls from Tesla to finalise pick up date arrangements.

I found both Tesla experiences preferable to my experience at regular car dealerships.

 

[ewoodrick]

I think you are confusing luxury service with a service, period. The "sales" part is over. People here have bought the car and didnt have it delivered. Expecting too much?

I don't expect a foot massage...

I expect to be told when the car is delivered.

If there is a delay, I expect to be told, in a simple email.

If I get a delivery date I expect to be able to actually pick up a car, not turn up and get told it's not there.

Tesla in UK simply do not do that. You order, then your name seemingly gets picked out of a hat and you get a delivery date. If you can't make it, tough *sugar*, better luck next time. If you do make it and the car is not there, tough *sugar* better luck next time. If you want to cancel, thanks for playing you'll have your money back in 30 days.

You have maybe 7 days to pay using bank transfer which is inherently unsafe. Some people get delivery days with 1-2 day warning. Want to confirm receipt of funds? Tough *sugar*, stay on hold for 2 hours or learn to read HTML code.

Ordered a tow bar? Tough *sugar*

Ordered 19"? Tough *sugar*

Spec changed 3 month after order and now your spec is 5k cheaper? Back to the queue with you.

There is zero reliable information and you get treated like a beggar at a McDonalds.

This has nothing to do with "ordering a car online". There is simply no information and you get treated like a nobody. A lot of people here just want to be told where the car is.

Yep, exactly, you are expecting a lot more than they are going to provide. It seems that you may have ordered a model that isn't available yet and are upset that it's not been delivered. And you are now upset because YOUR decisions have delayed your car from delivery.

As to price changes, I've had my car since March 2018. I've seen all of the price decreases, but I'm still a happy camper. I've also seen tons of prices changes plastered on the windshields of every other ICE on a dealer's lot. So again, Tesla has only 1 way to change a price. A standard dealer will give 5 people 5 prices on the same day.

 

[Leloup]

Tesla is a whore.You have to pay before.

 

[MrBadger]

I'd also add that this is probably the first time that most folks have not bought a car off the lot, I know it was for me. Online ordering is a different experience.

Not ordering via a dealership is not uncommon in UK. Our current car is 12+ years old. Ordered via a broker. No face to face until collection. Likewise, the company car before that. All done over the phone.

But on both cases, we could track from order to factory to transport and customs and collecting dealer - we had absolutely no prior involvement with dealers until day of collection - in fact. the company car was delivered to office, so never had any involvement them ever. The biggest issue was care getting delayed at docks. Drove in in one car, home in another.

Actually my 20+ year old car was similar communication experience too. No internet, but ordered through dealership, but it was a highly awaited model so long waits, but dealership could keep me informed every step of the way if I just phoned them. Including that car was delayed in QC over Easter. I got a track day and a meet and greet with the designer because my delivery date had slipped a week from scheduled - not bad as car had been ordered previous year.

Internet is just a communication medium. I think its more correct to say Tesla ordering is a different experience. And the shame is, many problems would be an easy fix if people weren't so arrogant about the whole thing and admit there are problems.

 

[MrBadger]

Yep, exactly, you are expecting a lot more than they are going to provide. I

I think the onus is on Tesla to provide a service that is reasonable to expect.

If Tesla want to act different, maybe their website should have a disclaimer - "Do not order from us unless you don't mind being treated like shite"