Why I Cancelled My Model 3 Order and am No Longer a Tesla Fan

[neroden]

Tesla's communications remain a disaster area. I think this should have been escalated to management earlier (using the "escalate to management" button on the website) -- it should still be written down on paper and mailed, certified-return-receipt, to Tesla HQ.

 

[P85_DA]

Tesla's communications remain a disaster area. I think this should have been escalated to management earlier (using the "escalate to management" button on the website) -- it should still be written down on paper and mailed, certified-return-receipt, to Tesla HQ.

That button works only when u have car on your account

 

[theschnell]

I’m in no man’s land. Can’t hardly get in touch with anyone. Store did tell me new glass roof is not at store yet.

No response at all from ISA, despite my apologies.

I cancelled loan and will reapply for new loan when delivery date is scheduled.

I said in earlier post that my patience was not inexhaustible, but realizing if I want the car there are not many options but to patiently wait.

 

[MCJ_IP]

OP isn't wrong, that was a bad customer service move. I think that most of us would agree that we feel like we are in the Soup Nazi line (seinfeld reference). I am scared to even add full self driving to my order because it will be No Soup For You! and back to the end of the line. I've thought about changing my configuration to white seats just so I could get my car; but don't even dare do that because I'd probably not even get the white seat one and back to the end of the line. The soup is so good we are bowing our heads and shuffling forward at the mercy of Tesla. Once the queue clears out more I think things will get better... but until then, you have to pay your dues I guess. I'm willing to wait for whatever it takes to get my car. Which is why I'm on Day 595 of having reserved and Day 50 of having paid 3,500 ordering a maxed out P model with still no contact, word on VIN or delivery date... It would be a joke if it were any other car.

Only 595 days? That means you reserved about 9 months (and 400,000) people after most of us.

 

[TrentC]

....I'm on Day 595 of having reserved and Day 50 of having paid 3,500 ordering a maxed out P model with still no contact, word on VIN or delivery date... It would be a joke if it were any other car.

You should try and order a Ferrari sometime. Two year wait (for a model in full production) and they wouldn’t even put me on the list. And am a current and previous owner of >20 years.

 

[voip-ninja]

Sorry buddy OP offers zero advice to future buyers ...if u want to continue using the disagree button versus writing out I have no issues using that as well ...delivery experiences are local and situational ...if someone bases their ownership on a one time delivery event than they are missing enjoying the car ...

What advice can the OP offer when Tesla refused to resolve his issue after delaying his original delivery by over a month and ultimately he walked?

It doesn’t mean his relaying of his experience is not valuable to others.

Calling me out for using the disagree button when you’ve disagreed with all my posts in this thread the same way?

Did I hurt your feelings?

Get a thicker skin.

 

[P85_DA]

What advice can the OP offer when Tesla refused to resolve his issue after delaying his original delivery by over a month and ultimately he walked?

It doesn’t mean his relaying of his experience is not valuable to others.

Calling me out for using the disagree button when you’ve disagreed with all my posts in this thread the same way?

Did I hurt your feelings?

Get a thicker skin.

Personally as an owner three times over with a roadster also on order I see no value in this post ...in five pages I haven’t seen one person say they are changing their mind as a result of this I also seriously doubt anyone would cancel an order ..deliveries are personal and some cases emotional they are one off without a lot of consistency ...if this was a consistent experience Tesla wouldn’t be standing still

 

[voip-ninja]

You should try and order a Ferrari sometime. Two year wait (for a model in full production) and they wouldn’t even put me on the list. And am a current and previous owner of >20 years.

Great comparison.

Tesla is producing more cars in a year that Ferrari have produced in their entire history.

Ferrari makes tiny numbers of high end cars and there is a long waiting list for some of them.

Tesla have previously claimed they would build 100,000 model 3s by end of 2017 (not 2018) and have declared it is their high volume mass production car.

 

[voip-ninja]

Personally as an owner three times over with a roadster also on order I see no value in this post ...in five pages I haven’t seen one person say they are changing their mind as a result of this I also seriously doubt anyone would cancel an order ..deliveries are personal and some cases emotional they are one off without a lot of consistency ...if this was a consistent experience Tesla wouldn’t be standing still

If someone is about to take delivery and Tesla says the car is going to the shop for two weeks would this info help?

What about someone who gets pushback about needing a few extra days to pick their car up after Tesla delayed?

Seems this thread includes valuable advice other customers could use in those scenarios.

Feel free to disagree and I don’t care how many Tesla’s you own.

 

[Glamisduner]

It's like walking in the rain without an umbrella because the weather guy slept with your wife.
Tesla (and Noah) isn't punished at all by you cancelling, but you're missing out on the car.

I'd try escalating one more time to management and getting the car you want.

Well if you don't mind walking in the rain

Personally as an owner three times over with a roadster also on order I see no value in this post ...in five pages I haven’t seen one person say they are changing their mind as a result of this I also seriously doubt anyone would cancel an order ..deliveries are personal and some cases emotional they are one off without a lot of consistency ...if this was a consistent experience Tesla wouldn’t be standing still

I just canceled my order.
















































and clubbed a baby seal while I was at it due to this thread.

 

[juanmedina]

I have to agree with the OP. Tesla customer service sucks bad. I have asked to talk to a manager without any success.... They really don't care at least from what I can tell.

After ordering my performance model 3 on 06/26 I still don't have a car. So far I have 5 order agreements and two incorrect VINs assigned and I still don't know if I will get supercharging.

I love Elon and Tesla but their customer service really concerns me as a customer and as a share holder. I hope they get their act together fast. To tell you the truth I have considered cancelling my order ...... specially after talking to my ISA or customer service.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Wanted to share my experience with attempting to get a Model 3.

Like many people, on March 31, 2016, I paid a deposit of $1000 for a Model 3.

On April 15, 2018, I received my configuration email. It said that my car would be ready in 3-6 weeks. I completed the configuration and paid the non-refundable $2500 additional deposit.

On June 4, 2018, I received an email from Alvin Lu (Inside Sales Advisor) telling me that my car would be ready for delivery soon and asking me to fill out a few more details (insurance, etc.) in my profile. I was leaving for a business trip in Europe that day so I emailed Alvin back and told him my schedule. He said no problem, I could pick up the vehicle when I returned from my trip.

On June 11, 2018, I received a call and email from Brodie Vogler (another Inside Sales Advisor) letting me know that my car could be picked up anytime on or after June 14. He knew that I was out of the country so he gave me some options for pickup on June 16, the day after I returned. We made an appointment for June 16 at 3pm.

On June 15, 2018, I received a call and email from Marshall Smith (Delivery Advisor) telling me that they received my car in Seattle (pickup location) but there were some "cosmetic issues" that needed to be repaired before I could take delivery. I called and talked to Marshall as soon as I arrived back in the U.S. and he expected that I would receive the car by the end of June. We made an appointment for me to pick up the car on June 30 at 11am.

On June 27, 2018, I emailed Marshall to make sure we were on schedule for the June 30 appointment. Marshall emailed me back the same day and said he checked with the body shop and they were optimistic that the car would be ready for delivery on June 30.

On June 29, 2018, I emailed Marshall to ask for an update. Later the same day he called to tell me that the body shop was waiting on a piece of replacement glass and the car would not be ready for pickup the next day. He agreed to keep me updated.

On July 9, 2018, after not hearing anything from Marshall I once again emailed him to get an update. At this point I'm starting to become impatient.

On July 10 I received a reply from Marshall telling me that the glass had been received, but as the body shop was reassembling everything they discovered more paint damage and more parts that needed to be replaced. He reached out to Brodie Vogler to ask if finding me a new VIN would be a quicker option. I replied that my preference at this point would be a new VIN because I'm concerned about the amount of damage to the original car.

On July 12 my Tesla account was updated with a delivery window of Oct-Dec 2018. I immediately emailed Brodie to find out whether that was correct, and if so I was not happy to have to wait that long due to circumstances outside my control. Brodie called me immediately and assured me that it would not take that long, and thanked me for being so patient.

On August 8 I received an email from Noah Rymer (Delivery Advisor) that my Model 3 would be available for pickup as soon as August 14. Unfortunately, I had another business trip in Europe from August 8-22. I emailed Noah back to let him know that I would be out of the country and would be back on August 23 and would like to pick up the vehicle on August 25.

On August 13 after receiving NO RESPONSE for 5 DAYS, I emailed him again (this time from Europe) to make sure that I could pick up the vehicle on August 25, as requested. Finally, Noah responded and said that the last day that they could hold the vehicle would be August 18, and since I couldn't pick it up by then they would have to issue me another new VIN which would take an additional 4-6 weeks.

I replied to Noah to let him know that this was not acceptable since I have had to wait so long already. I reminded him of the delays already and that they have my $3500 deposit, and asked that they please reconsider the decision to reassign the VIN.

Noah replied unsympathetically and stated that Delivery Centers can't hold vehicles for more than 7 days.

I replied to Noah, explaining that there are extenuating circumstances in this case and that he please review the history of my account and elevate this matter to his manager. I told him that I needed to receive the car when I returned from my trip and that I was not willing to wait any longer.

On August 14, after receiving no reply to my last email asking to elevate the matter to his manager, I emailed Noah again to make it clear that if my car was not ready to be picked up when I returned to the U.S. next week that I would need my deposit returned in full. It has been exactly 4 months since receiving my configuration email (far longer than the 3-6 weeks originally communicated to me) and I'm out of patience.

Noah replied and stated again that it would not be possible for the delivery center to hold my car until I return. Then he enthusiastically offered to refund my deposit.

So after almost 2 1/2 years of waiting patiently and excitedly for my Model 3, I have cancelled my order and asked for a refund. This was a terrible customer experience, especially at the end with Noah Rymer. I'm so disgusted with Tesla right now that I'm quite sure I will NEVER consider buying (or recommend that anyone else buy) a Tesla for the rest of my life. Shame on you Tesla for not treating your most loyal customers better. Take a tip from your pal Jeff Bezos and learn to DELIGHT your customers at all cost.

Chris Gil - Seattle

The biggest issue I see is there isn't anyone for you to really email.

Normally what used to happen here is when someone had an issue like yours they'd post on TMC about it. Then someone here would tell them to contact so-and-so who is the North American Sales President (or something like that).

But, as far as I know there is no longer any head of sales.

If there is a huge mess-up who is there to fix it?

Tesla at times feels like a black hole. Where you don't get anything back from them for days, and what you do get back feels rushed without really understanding the situation. Or just being boilerplate stuff that's extremely impersonal.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Does anyone know who replaced the North American Head of Sales?

Please don't say Elon.

Tesla’s head of sales is leaving

 

[xyeahtony]

Its literally on the referring webpage that model 3 performance orders before Aug 1 get free supercharging

"All Model 3 Performance orders placed before August 1, 2018 will be given unlimited Supercharging, no referral required."

Referral Program

 

[notAnExpert]

Personally as an owner three times over with a roadster also on order I see no value in this post ...in five pages I haven’t seen one person say they are changing their mind as a result of this I also seriously doubt anyone would cancel an order ..

I appreciate the OP taking time to post his experience. His choice to cancel the order or some others’ opinion that he shouldn’t have canceled is not that important to me, but his transcript of interactions with Tesla is very valuable to me. When I take that with the experiences others have posted, it gives me an idea of what to expect with Tesla as I’m considering ordering a Model 3. Thanks OP.

 

[xyeahtony]

I appreciate the OP taking time to post his experience. His choice to cancel the order or some others’ opinion that he shouldn’t have canceled is not that important to me, but his transcript of interactions with Tesla is very valuable to me. When I take that with the experiences others have posted, it gives me an idea of what to expect with Tesla as I’m considering ordering a Model 3. Thanks OP.

Keep in mind the majority of people have positive interactions with tesla. Check youtube, and then check here. Most people are not going to report here on TMC that everythign went normal but they might come on TMC to whine.

But even if i had a piss-poor purchasing experience, that wouldn't matter to me. I'd still love my car and enjoy it. I remember when i bought my lexus, the people at the dealership were the biggest jackasses on the planet but i still wanted my car and still enjoyed it when i got it.

 

[S'toon]

If someone is about to take delivery and Tesla says the car is going to the shop for two weeks would this info help?

What about someone who gets pushback about needing a few extra days to pick their car up after Tesla delayed?

Seems this thread includes valuable advice other customers could use in those scenarios.

Feel free to disagree and I don’t care how many Tesla’s you own.

How To Use An Apostrophe - The Oatmeal

 

[dave999z]

I feel for the OP. Understand being soured by the process and canceling. It’s a shame.

Tesla’s delivery process is a complete joke sometimes. They reschedule on people constantly, with zero notice, introducing weeks-long delays. But if you need a few extra days because you’re out of town, pound sand. It’s totally lame. They better get their issues worked out and learn from this process so they can address future issues in a more reasonable fashion that’s respectful of their customers, or as others have noted a reputation for this kind of thing can really hinder the brand. It’s an amazing car. It’s not so amazing that people will have endless tolerance for being treated poorly.

They have to formalize some process for when people are away during their prized delivery window. Allow power of attorney, or be more flexible in holding the car at least two weeks (charge for it if absolutely necessary). But it unacceptable (and totally ridiculous) that this bounces you out of line as we’re running up against the sunset of the full tax rebate.

 

[voip-ninja]

How To Use An Apostrophe - The Oatmeal

Wnen I’m taking time out of my afternoon to bang out replies on my iPhone, I’m not going to stress out about autocorrect errors or your being irritated by something so trivial.

 

[notAnExpert]

Keep in mind the majority of people have positive interactions with tesla. Check youtube, and then check here. Most people are not going to report here on TMC that everythign went normal but they might come on TMC to whine.

But even if i had a piss-poor purchasing experience, that wouldn't matter to me. I'd still love my car and enjoy it. I remember when i bought my lexus, the people at the dealership were the biggest jackasses on the planet but i still wanted my car and still enjoyed it when i got it.

Yes, I understand that happy customers aren’t as vocal as unhappy ones. And, I’m grateful to people on this forum who share their positive experiences as well. In fact, I live in the same town as Tesla’s headquarters and some days I feel like I see more Tesla cars here than any other brand. There are many happy customers around me and I also have a few friends who work for Tesla Motors in engineering groups. Overall, I like their product and what the company wants to do in the long run. All of that factored in to why we are looking to order a Model 3 after driving other EVs for 5-6 years.

I think it is ok to accept that Tesla has not offered good delivery experience and initial quality experience to many people. Order cancelations, escalations of issues to executives, and using public forums to broadcast their experience are all powerful ways that unhappy customers can use to help Tesla improve its customer experience. In the end, Tesla customers will benefit from it.