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

Discussion in 'Model 3: Ordering, Production, Delivery' started by chrisgil, Yesterday at 6:31 AM.

  1. chrisgil

    chrisgil New Member

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    Location:
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    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
     
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  2. Ahzuz

    Ahzuz Member

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    Amen.

    I might have the same situation, as my Model S might be ready in the middle of an out of country trip, they said if you cannot come and get it when we ask you we have to give the car to another customer. I was like, wait, WHAT ? This is ridiculous, i've tweeted to Musk about this, non-sense at all.
     
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  3. Trips

    Trips "Boring bonehead questions are not cool. Next?"

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    Sorry to hear. You should have told him to put it in the body shop as they can hold it for months.
     
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  4. P85_DA

    P85_DA Supporting Member

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    I’m not so sure about this statement “at all cost” one could argue they go way beyond that already ...as A company that is trying to become profitable this wouldn’t work out...you can’t also say it’s entirely Tesla’s fault ...you yourself had business travel out of the country
     
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  5. Plan B

    Plan B Active Member

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    That is so messed up.
     
  6. TheLocNar

    TheLocNar Member

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    That really sucks, and honestly, I don't blame you for cancelling.
     
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  7. chrisgil

    chrisgil New Member

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    So what? After all of the time I had to wait, and the delivery window just coincidentally happened to coincide with my business trip, my car that I've put a deposit on should be sold to someone else and I should have to wait 4-6 weeks for a new one?

    And what would it cost to keep my car at the Delivery Center for another week until I get back? Surely that wouldn't make a difference in terms of Tesla being profitable.
     
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  8. ACA Man

    ACA Man Member

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    It cost them nothing.
     
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  9. P85_DA

    P85_DA Supporting Member

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    You already made your choice and if your intent is to try to convince others ..about how “horrible” Tesla is ..not much chance of that happening ...if u just needed to “b*tch about something write a letter to Tesla this thread serves zero value... unfortunately you are going to miss out on a great car ...
     
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  10. P85_DA

    P85_DA Supporting Member

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    Sure it does ..it’s inventoty turns it’s revenue being recognized etc ...if that was not the case they would mass produce and let these sit on lots versus a made to order model...
     
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  11. Evoixse

    Evoixse Member

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    This guys a short on tesla....dont let him get into your heads...this car is like a super hot chick that has respect for herself and wants to make sure everything is just right...it'll all be worth the wait...oh and look he jousted signed up today...lol
     
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  12. cbutters

    cbutters Member

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    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.
     
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  13. voip-ninja

    voip-ninja Active Member

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    That kind of customer service face plant is the kind of thing that can take a good company, or even a great company and leave them wondering what the hell happened after things start to fall apart.

    1. As soon as Tesla said that there was significant enough body damage that the car needed to go to a body shop, get new parts, and get repainted I would have been pressing them on how they are selling the car as new when it is being repaired. In many states there are laws around what % of repair can be done to a car and still sell it as new. In any event I would not have been comfortable with it.

    2. Having worked in the customer service area for a number of years I have found it best to simply bypass hostile or unhelpful employees. When Colin refused to budge on holding your car for one additional week, I think the better option would have been to start leaving voicemail messages, sending emails and sending a couple of certified mail letters to managers and executives at Tesla explaining the situation.

    3. What you described will set the hair on fire of anyone who works in customer service, and definitely would be seen as absolutely unacceptable to someone as customer service oriented as Elon Musk. Exceptions to policies CAN and ARE made at large companies on a weekly or daily basis exactly because of situations like this.

    4. After what you went through any executive worth their fat paycheck should have made sure you were not only taken care of but delighted at the final stage of delivery. They could have delivered the car to you at your home, on the weekend, with a Tesla flamethrower in the trunk to make up for all the trouble.
     
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  14. voip-ninja

    voip-ninja Active Member

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    That's where your mistaken, nearly everyone has a limit to their patience and definitely a limit with being disrespected. The line might be at a different place for different people but very few people will let a company abuse them repeatedly and still do business with them.
     
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  15. KarenRei

    KarenRei KarenRei KarenRei KarenRei KarenRei KarenRei

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    This is an issue that should have been escalated to management, and it's a shame that this didn't happen. I think any manager looking at that situation would have agreed to extend the deadline. Instead you were stuck with a bottom-rung flunkie who was "just following rules".
     
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  16. Krugerrand

    Krugerrand Well-Known Member

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    It’s unfortunate this was the sequence of events, you out of the country, then your car being damaged in transport, they oblige you with a totally new car, but then you’re out of the country again. None of that is anyone’s fault, that’s just life.

    On the last situation, the problem is that ‘Noah’ had NO say or power to have the vehicle held for your return. Even if he explains everything to his manager, he has no power. He’s just the messenger as he knows the message, which may or may not have been correct - and even if correct (which seems unreasonable for specific sets of circumstances) he again had NO power to do anything about it except relay the message.

    That’s like asking the minimum wage person at a fancy restaurant that fills your water glass and clears your dishes to make you whole because you got food poisoning. Wrong person to be talking to. I’d have gotten on the phone with the head of that delivery center (at minimum and gone as high as I needed) and they’d have held my car for my return - guaranteed.

    Always know who you’re talking to at a company when you’re trying to resolve an issue, it’s never the frontline person.

    For future this is how you start:

    You: ‘Noah, I understand this is out of your control, what is the name and contact information for the person in charge of the delivery center?’

    Sorry you ran out of patience, it’s a blow your mind awesome car.
     
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  17. Krugerrand

    Krugerrand Well-Known Member

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    Wasn’t any abuse going on. They communicated with him, they stopped first delivery because of damage to the car, they gave him a new VIN as he requested, and then gave him his non-refundable money back. Solid service.

    The issue was that the OP was talking to the wrong person when trying to get the last matter resolved.
     
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  18. KarenRei

    KarenRei KarenRei KarenRei KarenRei KarenRei KarenRei

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    #18 KarenRei, Yesterday at 7:31 AM
    Last edited: Yesterday at 7:38 AM
    In fairness: Tesla uses the same shipping companies as everyone else. A fraction of vehicles (I believe when I looked into it it was about half a percent) develop cosmetic damage at some point during the shipping process. With a dealership, though, when cars arrive they inspect them all for damage, and any with damage go in for repairs before they go out to the lot. Customers never see the damage; it's already fixed and hidden before the car shows up on the lot. With Tesla's lack of "dealership lots", all of the warts of car transport are exposed to the customers. If you're unlucky enough to get a car that gets damaged, you absolutely will know about it. And be stuck waiting.

    People need to remember this: dealerships frequently hide shipping damage from you. Usually just paint scratches or the like, but I've even seen some really egregious examples.
     
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  19. tvisdog

    tvisdog Member

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    Sounds to me like Noah violated #6 of Elon's Rules for Productivity in refusing to budge on their 7-day policy:

    6. Follow logic, not rules

    "In general, always pick common sense as your guide. If following a 'company rule' is obviously ridiculous in a particular situation, such that it would make for a great Dilbert cartoon, then the rule should change."
     
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  20. SpiceWare

    SpiceWare Member

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    Sorry this happened to you.

    The advisors are swamped, you'd have gotten a better resolution if you'd elevated it to management yourself.
     
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