-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
This thread is the closest to the situation I'm experiencing, so I'll resurrect it.
I brought my P85D in for service at the Dublin (CA) service center. It's my first time at this center and I was met by an unfriendly Tesla rep who sort of barked out "do you have a reservation?" rather than hello. I informed him that we made the appointment over a month ago. So the interaction is brusque, but that's not my real issue. He told me they have no Tesla loaners and handed me the keys to a Dodge Journey.
I'm not a snob. My other vehicles are a stripped VW Rabbit and a basic Ford F150. But when I pay this much for a premium car, I expect to get a loaner that is at the same level of appointment. I certainly didn't expect to get a base model Dodge crossover.
When I asked about it, the rep told me that they're selling all the Model S's they have and this is the best they could do. If someone from Tesla is reading this, you need to take a look at how you handle loaners and how you staff the service centers. I bought a Tesla (two, in fact) after having owned BMWs, Mercedes and Audis and this is an ignominious first (yes, I'm being dramatic) in the loaner department. Seriously, people who pay $120k+ for cars expect a certain level of service, and this ain't it.
I brought my P85D in for service at the Dublin (CA) service center. It's my first time at this center and I was met by an unfriendly Tesla rep who sort of barked out "do you have a reservation?" rather than hello. I informed him that we made the appointment over a month ago. So the interaction is brusque, but that's not my real issue. He told me they have no Tesla loaners and handed me the keys to a Dodge Journey.
I'm not a snob. My other vehicles are a stripped VW Rabbit and a basic Ford F150. But when I pay this much for a premium car, I expect to get a loaner that is at the same level of appointment. I certainly didn't expect to get a base model Dodge crossover.
When I asked about it, the rep told me that they're selling all the Model S's they have and this is the best they could do. If someone from Tesla is reading this, you need to take a look at how you handle loaners and how you staff the service centers. I bought a Tesla (two, in fact) after having owned BMWs, Mercedes and Audis and this is an ignominious first (yes, I'm being dramatic) in the loaner department. Seriously, people who pay $120k+ for cars expect a certain level of service, and this ain't it.
Krugerrand
Meow
This might be your problem.
I expect to be treated (with basic respect and pleasantness - provided I'm reciprocating that back) the same way whether I'm buying a $1 pack of gum or a $1,500,000 home. There is no difference to me, it's just paper (or 1's and 0's - depending on how you look at it). It comes and goes. I'm not impressed by people of monetary wealth simply because they have all that money. Good for them, but whatever. They're people just like me and their poo smells just as bad, therefore 'special' treatment doesn't hit my to do list for them, they actually have to be 'special' and most are not. *shrug*
So, that brings us to the barking and brusqueness: While in the service industry, it is a job requirement to be of a certain human nature to be great at that job. Clearly not everyone hired for a service position is going to be of that nature or great. On the other hand, everyone has a bad day/week/month/year/whathaveyou, so sometimes you can give the person the benefit of the doubt - it costs you nothing. However, there are ways to shut down a person in the service industry who's being rude without blinking an eye or raising your blood pressure if you deem it important enough in that moment to be treated in a particular or better way. As an example: Look concerned, (a light touch on their shoulder if they aren't bigger than you) and say, 'I'm sorry you're having a bad day. Would you like to talk about it?' That's usually enough to right the ship.
However one decides to go about it (I got a million one-liners), the best solution is always to nip it in the bud in the moment it's happening if it's important to you, not come back to the Internet and complain that such and such a company should look into it. You're standing right there, facing the person, fix it and then you can be in your happy place. Since you believe so strongly in how you should be treated because of the amount of money you spent, why didn't you say right to the person's face, 'Look, I've spent over $120k on this car and I expect to be treated a certain way.'? And then go on to explain how you should be treated. (I'm not really looking for you to answer the question. It was meant to be reflective.)
Lastly, if they didn't have any S loaners available, they didn't have any available. *shrug, again* You had the option of getting back in your car and coming back another day, no?
Who said anything about special treatment? I said that I expected to get a loaner that was of the same level of appointment as the car I bought from them. It didn't have to be a Tesla. It could have been a Lexus or a BMW or any number of other premium cars that can be rented. If you bought a $1,500,000 home and it was out of service, would you be satisfied if the builder put you up in a Motel 6 while they were fixing a flaw with the house they sold you? If so, then you are a different type of consumer than I am. I totally understand that they may not have had a Model S available. They went out and rented a car instead. That's fine. They gave me a car that was nowhere near the same type of car that I bought from them. It was the cheapest car on the rental lot, in fact. That's the problem.
The attitude of the service rep wasn't the main issue I had, but if Tesla cares about customer service, they need to know about these types of interactions. And that's why I posted this (after I emailed Tesla)...so if others experience the same thing at Dublin, they can know it wasn't isolated and can press Tesla to fix the problem.
theslimshadyist
Active Member
As a soon to be new owner, this troubles me. I would expect the same level of service as BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc. My local dealer always calls to keep me informed of the progress, calls a day or two afterwards to follow-up with the level of service, which of course will be reflected when I get their survey. I've never had to chase down my service adviser for anything and in fact, they are the ones who are always chasing me.
Puzzled....
It's unfortunate, but my service center rarely has loaners. They'll do a rental, but you've got to go do the paperwork at the rental agency.
I love my service folks. They've been really great, but Tesla's service model makes the dealerships look quite good. Dealerships nearly always have a loaner. Dealership rates on things like tires/alignment aren't nearly as overpriced as Tesla. Tesla labor and parts for out of warranty items are really expensive. There are ZERO places other than Tesla you can get work done. There are more dealerships in much more convenient locations (and my Tesla service center is fairly close relative to most folks).
For me, Tesla's losing the argument that the dealership is a worse experience. Maybe for car buying, but not for ownership. Which is sad, because as I said, my service folks are really, really great, but they just can't overcome the disadvantages that Tesla's wholly owned model has. I've heard for 3 years that Tesla just needs time to get it together and staff up...I just don't believe that anymore...Tesla will always be behind the growth curve and it'll get worse with the Model 3.
Maybe in 7-10 years they'll flatten out growth enough that service can catch up. Until then...
I love my service folks. They've been really great, but Tesla's service model makes the dealerships look quite good. Dealerships nearly always have a loaner. Dealership rates on things like tires/alignment aren't nearly as overpriced as Tesla. Tesla labor and parts for out of warranty items are really expensive. There are ZERO places other than Tesla you can get work done. There are more dealerships in much more convenient locations (and my Tesla service center is fairly close relative to most folks).
For me, Tesla's losing the argument that the dealership is a worse experience. Maybe for car buying, but not for ownership. Which is sad, because as I said, my service folks are really, really great, but they just can't overcome the disadvantages that Tesla's wholly owned model has. I've heard for 3 years that Tesla just needs time to get it together and staff up...I just don't believe that anymore...Tesla will always be behind the growth curve and it'll get worse with the Model 3.
Maybe in 7-10 years they'll flatten out growth enough that service can catch up. Until then...
This might be a simple explanation: unlike other car manufacturers, Tesla does not have a traditional franchised dealership setup thus no traditional dealership service department. I have a good friend who is a service department manager for one of the big Japanese car manufacturers; he once told me that the service department is the money maker for the dealership, not the sales department. If this is true, it would make sense to keep those ICE vehicle regularly in the service department for lubes, oil changes, spark plug changes, timing belt, etc...(you get the picture). ICE owners have a myriad of options when it comes to "after purchase" service (i.e. at a dealer or an independent service shop). So, with the increased competition comes the need to differentiate yourself with the others (e.g. excellent customer service). Tesla's design eliminates all of this because all the service centers are owned by one entity...TESLA. Until independent outside parties are able to service these non-emitting CO2 machines, customer service will be hit or miss.
Krugerrand
Meow
And it wasn't. :wink:
I don't sweat the small stuff, and that's small stuff as far as I'm concerned. Heck, it might even be an adventure. In a Motel 6 I could walk to the ice machine in my lounging pajamas and not feel under dressed. And I wouldn't have to worry about my expensive loaner car being scratched in the parking lot because I'd be happily driving the Journey. :biggrin: I can roll with it. No biggie. And there's potential for a great story to tell all the nurses when I'm living in the nursing home.
Well that's good (that you contacted Tesla), but I still wonder why you wouldn't just deal with it directly with the service person. That person can't improve in their job if they don't get timely feedback (as in when they've transgressed) and what a perfect position you were in. Indeed, had you pressed it in the moment you probably could have gotten your premium loaner car.
cantdecide
Member
These days in the Bay Area Tesla service is just so overwhelmed I would classify all the experiences listed here as good in comparison...
After waiting 45 days for my appointment I eventually got to bring my car in. The employee was friendly and identified the issue immediately (common issue) and sent me on an Uber ride to work as there were no loaners (same as my previous few visits, I haven't gotten a loaner as yet). Later in the day they called to say that my tires would soon want replacement but they had none in stock. It got to the end of the day and I didn't have my car so I called to find that the service guy had gone home and they couldn't give me my car until the next day. Now I was stuck at work, 40 minutes from home, so I had to get my wife to come from home to get me while getting a nanny to look after the kids... Sigh.
My experience always is that the employees themselves are great, they are just overwhelmed and trying to be hero's by doing more work than they can handle. Tesla needs to add 50% more employees at each Bay Area service center (even if they can't be very efficiently utilized) until such time as they can build enough service centers to keep up. Add a nighttime shift with nighttime loaners for example. I would be fine with a LEAF for a loaner.
After waiting 45 days for my appointment I eventually got to bring my car in. The employee was friendly and identified the issue immediately (common issue) and sent me on an Uber ride to work as there were no loaners (same as my previous few visits, I haven't gotten a loaner as yet). Later in the day they called to say that my tires would soon want replacement but they had none in stock. It got to the end of the day and I didn't have my car so I called to find that the service guy had gone home and they couldn't give me my car until the next day. Now I was stuck at work, 40 minutes from home, so I had to get my wife to come from home to get me while getting a nanny to look after the kids... Sigh.
My experience always is that the employees themselves are great, they are just overwhelmed and trying to be hero's by doing more work than they can handle. Tesla needs to add 50% more employees at each Bay Area service center (even if they can't be very efficiently utilized) until such time as they can build enough service centers to keep up. Add a nighttime shift with nighttime loaners for example. I would be fine with a LEAF for a loaner.
Just to clarify, my original post indicated that I did this. "When I asked about it, the rep told me that they're selling all the Model S's they have and this is the best they could do."
This appointment was made in advance. I dropped my P85D off on the way to work. I expected it to be a quick process, like when I drop off my VW or F150 for service...pull in, sign the service order, take the keys to the loaner and off I go. I asked the Tesla rep why I was being given the Dodge. He said it was the best they could do. It was a more detailed conversation than just a simple question and answer (it went on for 10+ minutes, with me pointing out that they had plenty of time to arrange for a decent loaner). I suppose that I could have parked my butt in the service center and demanded that they replace the loaner but I had to get to work, and like I said the rep was pretty surly. I didn't have the time to give the rep a lesson in good customer service.
The expectations were set by Musk himself and they're not living up to it. For example, if you search the blog posts for "loaner" this comes up: https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/creating-world%E2%80%99s-best-service-and-warranty-program-0
It's dated 2013 and it shows an update date from last year in the summary. Of course it's not an enforceable contract, but when you put out statements like this when you're selling cars and then you hand out keys to a low level Dodge as a loaner, a reasonable person has every reason to call foul. I want to see Tesla succeed and good enough isn't good enough in this market.
Similar threads
- Question
