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A lackluster service experience so far...

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So I had a small issue with the radio reception not being as good as my previous couple cars. I asked that they take the car and check it out. Figured I would get the titanium underbelly shield added at the same time.

I requested a loaner car as, well, I need a car for work. I was told not a problem and we purposely put the service date a month in the future so that I would get a loaner.

The night before the car was supposed to be picked up I got an email stating that a Tesla loaner would not be available and that Enterprise would contact me to get me a rental. (Pretty annoyed at this time as it was nonessential service and I didn't want a non-electric loaner vehicle. By the time I read the email it was the morning of service so I figured it was too late to change the date.)

The Tesla service person came in a flatbed to pick up my car the following morning. Enterprise hadn't contacted me at that point yet (they stated they had, but there was no missed calls or voice message on my phone). The Tesla rep contacted Enterprise and someone picked up my wife to take to the Enterprise lot to pick up a car. The only car they had for her was a Lincoln Town & Country minivan. Needless to say, she was quite upset at that point. I called the Tesla service and complained and they apologized and stated that in the future I make it known that I would only take a Tesla loaner. I thought I made that clear initially, but at this point I wasn't going to argue.

Fast forward 5 hours. I hadn't received a call from the service center (which is 1 hour/60 miles from my house). I called them up and they received the car but hadn't looked at it yet. They said they would look at it by tomorrow morning. The person on the phone this time was not particularly pleasant to talk to.

And here we are. Thursday afternoon. Was planning on a small road trip this weekend and figured I would do it in my car. Now I'm not even sure I'm getting the car by then. Driving a decrepit minivan.

Color me unimpressed for now.

(Tesla Model S Vin P32441, received 3/2014.)
 
I'm a little confused on the timeline. Today is Thursday, so did they pick the car up on Wednesday? Or today? If they picked it up Wednesday and don't look at it until Friday that's bizzare, and not in line with my experience. They've picked up my car twice with a flatbed and had it back to me that same day.

Sorry if I misread your post. Glad you posted though. Its good for us to compare and share experiences with Tesla. Maybe we can keep them from morphing into another GM, as far as how they treat us (customers).
 
Good thing you posted. Tesla does monitor this forum (I've been contacted by them after posting). Your experience is completely different than my mine, so it seems something is amiss with your SC (understaffed, maybe). Hopefully Tesla will correct it quickly. I often keep an eye on my car via the internet apps when it's in for service. Usually sits in the parking lot less than an hour before it goes into the shop. I've never had it sit for a whole day with no one working on it.
 
Your past car makers gave a loaner of exactly the same car you owned? Your past car makers came and picked up your car before? Your past manufacturers were willing to to try to improve radio reception? Your past car makers topped off your gas tank?

Breathe in, Breathe out. Relax. You are creating stress for yourself.
 
Your past car makers gave a loaner of exactly the same car you owned? Your past car makers came and picked up your car before? Your past manufacturers were willing to to try to improve radio reception? Your past car makers topped off your gas tank?

Breathe in, Breathe out. Relax. You are creating stress for yourself.

No other automaker has promised they would do so, either. If Tesla wants to be held to a higher standard than car dealerships, they need to earn it.

Fortunately, mmcmonster's experience seems to be rare and/or an outlier but that doesn't mean we should just write it off as such and go about business as usual. Down that road lies GM.
 
(As for timeline, they picked up my car at 10:30 this morning and hadn't looked at it by 4pm. This is the Devon, PA, service center.)

The two previous manufacturers I dealt with, Lexus and BMW, both had their own models as loaner cars -- mid model lines, not high end models. BMW had me schedule a month in advance if I wanted a loaner. Lexus pretty much gave me loaners at the drop of a hat. That's why my wife traded in her 5 year old Lexus for a brand new Lexus.

I would have been fine if:
1) the Tesla salesperson told me at the time I was considering buying the car that loaner cars were typically through rental companies and not Tesla vehicles.
2) I didn't pay in advance for a ranger service contract.
3) when I scheduled the service they didn't promise the loaner car.
4) they brought back my car the same day.

The biggest thing that bothers me is that they took my reservation. Paraphrasing Jerry Seinfeld, 'They know how to take a reservation. They don't know how to keep a reservation.' It's a promise broken.

I'll probably cool down once I get my car back. :)
 
(As for timeline, they picked up my car at 10:30 this morning and hadn't looked at it by 4pm. This is the Devon, PA, service center.)

The two previous manufacturers I dealt with, Lexus and BMW, both had their own models as loaner cars -- mid model lines, not high end models. BMW had me schedule a month in advance if I wanted a loaner. Lexus pretty much gave me loaners at the drop of a hat. That's why my wife traded in her 5 year old Lexus for a brand new Lexus.

I would have been fine if:
1) the Tesla salesperson told me at the time I was considering buying the car that loaner cars were typically through rental companies and not Tesla vehicles.
2) I didn't pay in advance for a ranger service contract.
3) when I scheduled the service they didn't promise the loaner car.
4) they brought back my car the same day.

The biggest thing that bothers me is that they took my reservation. Paraphrasing Jerry Seinfeld, 'They know how to take a reservation. They don't know how to keep a reservation.' It's a promise broken.

I'll probably cool down once I get my car back. :)

I would escalate up the chain to the regional manager for the area. I've read other complaints about the service center(s) in PA not being especially knowledgable or helpful. I have a feeling there may be some bad apples working there. It's also inexcusable for them to not have a Model S reserved for you when you booked out so far in advance. That is total incompetence, in my opinion. You paid a lot of money for first class service and Model S loaners. You didn't get that, so someone in an oversight position should be made aware of your negative experience.

- - - Updated - - -

Communication was, and still is Tesla's biggest issue.

This is a management issue.
 
The first thing to do is talk to the service manager, give him the opportunity to make it right. He also needs to know what happened so he can improve his service. Be nice and explain your problems. If he is not responsive then move up the chain. If he is responsive give them another chance, and if you receive unsatisfactory service again then move up the chain. I have had nothing but excellent service from my service center, made a point of talking to the service manager even before they were open. No one is perfect so you have to know which battle to fight.
 
Just for the record, some car dealers do provide service similar to Tesla. Before my Tesla, I owned a MB purchased from the dealer in Bethesda, MD. The dealer would pickup the car from my house when I requested that service (admittedly, I live only 15-20 minutes from the dealer). The dealer always gave me another MB loaner to drive; it was not the same model, but I was not particular. I do not believe that this was standard MB practice. However, this dealership endeavored to go above and beyond what was typical.
 
Lexus would pick up my car at the office and leave another Lexus for the day in the event my service wasn't completed as expected. Once I asked if they would drop off the GS450 as a loaner as I was considering it for purchase. Service guy contacted sales guy and the car was dropped off at the office for my use until the following morning. That is the benchmark upon which Tesla needs to operate to win over high end car buyers.
 
My experience with Tesla service has been like that. I have always been offered a loaner. Once I accepted as I needed to drive during that day. Tesla gave me a P85+. The other times I've declined the loaner and Tesla picked my car up at my company parking lot in the morning and returned it in the afternoon. This is the Dallas SC.

So for me, service has been excellent. Each time I dealt with the service manager who knows his stuff and is genuinely helpful.

So mmcmonster is having an abnormal experience and it shouldn't be glossed over. Whatever is going on at that SC needs to be fixed. Maybe understaffed, maybe the wrong people working there.
 
Why are all these cars going in for service? What is wrong with them. Considering buy

What is wrong with these cars? I haven't got to the loaner concern part, but why does everyone have Tao bring them in?




My experience with Tesla service has been like that. I have always been offered a loaner. Once I accepted as I needed to drive during that day. Tesla gave me a P85+. The other times I've declined the loaner and Tesla picked my car up at my company parking lot in the morning and returned it in the afternoon. This is the Dallas SC.

So for me, service has been excellent. Each time I dealt with the service manager who knows his stuff and is genuinely helpful.

So mmcmonster is having an abnormal experience and it shouldn't be glossed over. Whatever is going on at that SC needs to be fixed. Maybe understaffed, maybe the wrong people working there.
 
It's small stuff. Some owners have had big stuff done, but not me. I've had 3 SC visits since I bought it in January this year:

#1: Alignment & install camber bolts to reduce rear camber. Replace front brake rotors to fix squealing.
#2: Install titanium shield (battery protection). Install washer on steering rack to fix low speed creak when turning.
#3: Replace vanity mirrors (on sun visors) as lids had snapped off. Retorque subframe bolts to fix the creak that was still there after visit #2. This fixed it.

So at least for me, just some minor niggles. Nothing that in any way impacted the ability to get where I needed to go.
 
Telling someone that by scheduling for service at a certain time they will get a Tesla loaner, and then when the time comes to have a loaner available having none in stock, is certainly communication problems. Somebody else obviously got that reserved loaner.

Agree. I'm simply saying that bad communication can usually be traced up the chain to bad management. I received some negative feedback last year regarding the communication style of one of my employees. After giving the situation some thought, I realized that the tone I set in my office indirectly contributed to the problem.
 
What is wrong with these cars? I haven't got to the loaner concern part, but why does everyone have Tao bring them in?

I've only had mine in for "service" twice in the last eleven months, one was the under body armor upgrade, the other was a Slacker radio problem that a tech showed me how to fix on my own and the car never entered the service area. Buy with confidence, you won't regret it.