Do we know more about Teslas than the employees?

[CjRichMar]

I called my Service Center just now to ask about the Model 3 key fob. The representative had no idea what I was talking about or even that Tesla was planning on offering one for Model 3 owners. While this example can be an exception since the news was released over the weekend, this is not the first (or second) time I've interacted with a Tesla employee about the 3 or the X and have known more about the operation of the vehicle than they have. Has anyone else had this experience? Is this even that abnormal?

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Yes, I usually know more about their products than they do. I've been given some seriously wrong information from show room employees. The worst information I received was that AP1 hardware would eventually be capable of FSD. This was before AP2 was ever announced. I kept asking him about it until he asked his coworkers and was set straight.

 

[Tam]

...abnormal?

They may not be compelled to admit to knowing the answers until their boss approves their knowledge as official.

 

[Knightshade]

Yeah, this is super common in sales generally not just Tesla.

 

[crackers8199]

i did the same thing today, as i've been in contact with (and have an open case with them) about how awful and completely unreliable the phone key has been. their response today (when i asked) was "oh, that's only for the S and X."

when i sent them the numerous articles out there on the model 3 fob (that all include pictures), the response was: "we can't comment on these absolutely speculative third party articles that did not come from tesla."

 

[N5329K]

I called my Service Center just now to ask about the Model 3 key fob. The representative had no idea what I was talking about or even that Tesla was planning on offering one for Model 3 owners. While this example can be an exception since the news was released over the weekend, this is not the first (or second) time I've interacted with a Tesla employee about the 3 or the X and have known more about the operation of the vehicle than they have. Has anyone else had this experience? Is this even that abnormal?

Totally normal. My local store had no idea about the fob, either. That was Saturday. They asked me to give them the documentation (pictures, owner's manual. etc) and I did. They copied it and passed it around to all the other employees on the floor.
Robin

 

[ewoodrick]

While there has been a lot of speculation, no one really knows about the Model 3 fob for sure. It is not for sale yet.
So, when you ask reps about something that in their world, they haven't been told about from management, they don't know about it. You may have even been talking to the person that designed it, but until it becomes official, they don't know about it. That's pretty much the way that most organizations work. Remember that most of the people that you talk to can't afford the cars that they sell. They might have never been in one. And with Tesla's expansion, they may have only been working there for a day.

And especially with a Service Center, they are working their butts off right now, trying to push cars. I doubt if many of them even remember their own names right now.

As I walked into Best Buy one day and was continuously harassed with "Can I help you" my anger got a manager to come over. Their question was "How do you know if our associates don't know more than you" My response? "They are working at Best Buy" and I just walked away. Really hated to be rude, but got pushed into it.

Of course there's a lot about the car that you know than they do.

 

[Foxhound199]

Yeah, this is super common in sales generally not just Tesla.

Yeah, I don't think I've ever shopped for a car where the salesperson was more knowledgeable about the car than me. Tesla's employees have been miles beyond my experience with other brands.

 

[Piney999]

Tesla is actually better then most car companies. Before Tesla, I was a BMW aficionado, and I always was WAY more informed then the BMW sales staff. It got to be embarrassing after a while. I give the Tesla folks a pass due to all the other turbulence around the company, they are doing pretty good overall.

 

[Nocturnal]

It is hard to beat the knowledge of an all out fanboy. I think my SC staff were pretty on it overall though. They know more than me, at least that was the case when I picked it up.

 

[Boourns]

Try shopping for a LEAF.

 

[Krazaak]

It's not uncommon for a knowledgeable owner of any car brand to know more about it than the average salesperson or factory technician. Technicians are trained to use diagnostic tools to identify and replace failed components. The days of listening to the engine to identify a problem are past, if it doesn't throw an ODB code, good luck finding the problem.

Short of the engineers who designed it, an independent mechanic who specializes in a specific brand of vehicle is the closest you'll get to an expert and that doesn't really exist for Teslas yet.

My BMW dealer couldn't successfully change the oil in my M6. They failed to do it properly each of the 3 times they changed it, despite me bringing in their own TSB explaining the process. That's supposed to be the easy stuff. It was a train wreck whenever they had to remove some piece of trim to fix something.