in a long post
2007
I followed Tesla's progress with the roadster for a couple of years but the size and cost of the car was not a good fit for me. I was excited when Tesla announced they were offering a sedan with a price tag 1/2 of the sporty roadster.
2009
On March 26, 2009 Tesla opened up the opportunity to reserve one of these new cars. I printed off the one page of information offered on the company web site and talked it over with one of the marketing executives in my office. He wanted to be more ecologically responsible but when it came time to put some money down he declined. It was the next morning on March 27, 2009 when I submitted my reservation for this practical electric car concept. At that time I did not know where I was in the que or if I would ever see that $5,000 again.
2010
Sometime later I got a call from Tesla "Kevin" to confirm my order. I was assigned the reservation number 300. I now know I was 300 out of 520 reservations that first week.
2011
About a year later I received a package with Tesla gear including a shirt, hat, coffee mug and toy RC roadster. Later I was contacted and offered the opportunity to upgrade to the Signature series for an additional $35,000, I declined.
2012
In 2012 when the production models started producing I was surprised to learn that I would not be getting VIN 00300. The signatures would be first. I originally configured a 60 kWT car and also learned that those vehicles would not be available till 2013. In November 2012 after Tesla announce the super charger network I called Tesla and had them open up my configuration to change it to 85 kWT.
Tesla called me and communicated a delayed production date in mid-January 2013 due to the Active Air Suspension option. I should have known that there was a lot of variability in this sales process by now but I was still surprised. No Christmas present for me.
On 12/29/12 I received an email from my DS with a VIN number. Ok I thought, 30 days from now.
2013
I called my DS on January 3rd and was shocked to learn that the car was built and ready to ship. It took a week of paperwork and payment tasks to authorize it to be released for home delivery. The amount of time waiting and communication disconnects are a huge waste for TESLA and for customers like me. It then took an additional 4 days to get the car loaded on a truck.
I finally started calling Tesla's 866 number directly and requesting to be connected to delivery to get a live DS. All of the Delivery Specialist were very professional and helpful.
This morning I learned that the truck was 1,044 miles out and was scheduled for delivery tomorrow morning. I called UPS Logistics and confirmed this information and I am now waiting on the “CALL”from the driver. It’s surreal. I’ll post pictures tomorrow.
TESLA’s DELIVERY MODEL
TESLA’s delivery model is the right one. Make to order and personal touch delivery service. The direct ships are a short term countermeasure until they get their service network built. The traditional model would be to exclude sales to areas like Missouri. I am grateful that Tesla did not adopt that approach. The large Gaps in the model are the lack of communication, transparency and visibility. The same gaps that most businesses face today.
I am a Supply Chain and Continuous Improvement executive and I offer George B. my services for one month, free of charge, to assess and develop a strategy to implement the processes needed to close the gaps in their value chain.
Tesla has fantastic people, but flawed, non-existent and disconnected processes. They will not lose enthusiast, like myself, that have been looking forward to this day for 5+ years, but they will not be successful long term with competitive shoppers. They are bleeding 10 to 15% of reservation holders today.
2007
I followed Tesla's progress with the roadster for a couple of years but the size and cost of the car was not a good fit for me. I was excited when Tesla announced they were offering a sedan with a price tag 1/2 of the sporty roadster.
2009
On March 26, 2009 Tesla opened up the opportunity to reserve one of these new cars. I printed off the one page of information offered on the company web site and talked it over with one of the marketing executives in my office. He wanted to be more ecologically responsible but when it came time to put some money down he declined. It was the next morning on March 27, 2009 when I submitted my reservation for this practical electric car concept. At that time I did not know where I was in the que or if I would ever see that $5,000 again.
2010
Sometime later I got a call from Tesla "Kevin" to confirm my order. I was assigned the reservation number 300. I now know I was 300 out of 520 reservations that first week.
2011
About a year later I received a package with Tesla gear including a shirt, hat, coffee mug and toy RC roadster. Later I was contacted and offered the opportunity to upgrade to the Signature series for an additional $35,000, I declined.
2012
In 2012 when the production models started producing I was surprised to learn that I would not be getting VIN 00300. The signatures would be first. I originally configured a 60 kWT car and also learned that those vehicles would not be available till 2013. In November 2012 after Tesla announce the super charger network I called Tesla and had them open up my configuration to change it to 85 kWT.
Tesla called me and communicated a delayed production date in mid-January 2013 due to the Active Air Suspension option. I should have known that there was a lot of variability in this sales process by now but I was still surprised. No Christmas present for me.
On 12/29/12 I received an email from my DS with a VIN number. Ok I thought, 30 days from now.
2013
I called my DS on January 3rd and was shocked to learn that the car was built and ready to ship. It took a week of paperwork and payment tasks to authorize it to be released for home delivery. The amount of time waiting and communication disconnects are a huge waste for TESLA and for customers like me. It then took an additional 4 days to get the car loaded on a truck.
I finally started calling Tesla's 866 number directly and requesting to be connected to delivery to get a live DS. All of the Delivery Specialist were very professional and helpful.
This morning I learned that the truck was 1,044 miles out and was scheduled for delivery tomorrow morning. I called UPS Logistics and confirmed this information and I am now waiting on the “CALL”from the driver. It’s surreal. I’ll post pictures tomorrow.
TESLA’s DELIVERY MODEL
TESLA’s delivery model is the right one. Make to order and personal touch delivery service. The direct ships are a short term countermeasure until they get their service network built. The traditional model would be to exclude sales to areas like Missouri. I am grateful that Tesla did not adopt that approach. The large Gaps in the model are the lack of communication, transparency and visibility. The same gaps that most businesses face today.
I am a Supply Chain and Continuous Improvement executive and I offer George B. my services for one month, free of charge, to assess and develop a strategy to implement the processes needed to close the gaps in their value chain.
Tesla has fantastic people, but flawed, non-existent and disconnected processes. They will not lose enthusiast, like myself, that have been looking forward to this day for 5+ years, but they will not be successful long term with competitive shoppers. They are bleeding 10 to 15% of reservation holders today.
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