Customer Service Levels Across Makes
April 14th, 2015, 9:46 AM
#1
Customer Service Levels Across Makes
Sutliff Motors (GM) (Harrisburg, PA) vs. Tesla Motors (Devon, PA)
As many of you are familiar with my experiences from my 2009 Tahoe, I thought I’d expand on some of my more recent experiences with my new set of wheels and services rendered. While one does not often compare a full size SUV to a sports sedan, that’s what I’m driving. However this post isn’t about the cars. It’s about the service. For anyone not paying attention, I now own a 2013 Tesla Model S 85. The 85 refers to the size of the battery pack not physical size mind you, but capacity. It also comes with more HP and a few more niceties than the lower level ones. Back to the service. When I purchased my 2009 Tahoe LTZ new in March of 2009, it had to be taken back to the dealer a multitude of times. Without diving into specific reasons, it had to be left at the dealer for more than a day. I was offered a vehicle to use, from Sutliff. While technically I didn’t need one, as we are a three car family, I took them up on the offer since my wife was tired of meeting me at the dealer for fixes. (I lost count after 6). So, here I bought a $55,000 new SUV from them, and wonder what they will loan me. Turns out it was a 2006 Chevrolet Lumina (or similar, it was 6 years ago). From Enterprise rape-a-customer. I mean rent-a-car. The process wasn’t smooth, easy, or quick. I left work early to drop my vehicle off, and take possession of a loaner. The line at Enterprise was 4 people deep with one teenager behind the counter in a tie and shirt combo that screamed ‘I borrowed this from my step dad’. After a long and arduous wait, while texting my wife, who at the time was working two jobs, and had exactly 1 hour between them to meet me for dinner, I left in this car. The car wreaked of smoke, had exactly a sliver under 1/8th a tank of fuel, was covered in an unknown sticky substance, and had an empty bottle of coke rolling around the back seat. Plastic bottle of coke, although I’m shocked it wasn’t cocaine seeing as how this rent-a-wreck was located urban center adjacent. So, I make it to dinner, but late. Initially I argued with Sutliff over the vehicle, however since it wasn’t a weekend, I didn’t actually need to tow. (Boat, lake, you get the idea). A few days later, after they called me and told me ‘we can’t fix it’ (GM later paid me off to shut up because… they couldn’t fix it). I returned the hunk-of-junk to the dealer, as Enterprise was closed. The car sat, overnight, in the dealer lot. Next day… Get a call from Enterprise. They’ve charged me $500 on my CC and will be charging me more because I “damaged the front” of their $5,000.00 car. I was LIVID, beyond livid. I let Sutliff and Enterprise have a taste of what’s it like to try to scam me. Long story of calls, in person chats, and various letters later, they managed to waive all costs. So here I am, vehicle that doesn’t do what it should, and stress levels that could land me on the space station. And that experience pretty much sums up what it’s like to deal with every car dealer I’ve ever been to. Except Sun Motors on the Carlisle Pike, who sell premium cars. (BMW, Porsche, etc. ). But that’s also another story… (It's where I go for inspection now).
On to the Tesla Experience: My intergalactic space boat of light and wonder… failed me. About 3,000 miles into my purchase the driver side rear door, would no longer open from the outside. While not mission critical to my life, it’s very disappointing to have this occur. It opened fine from the inside. So, I called Tesla’s number and said HELP my door won’t open! They said, we are looking into the issue, (An actual human!) An honest to God actual human, with an AMERICAN accent on the phone asked me REAL people questions, and showed genuine interest in fixing my issue!
This wasn’t my first call though. About a week into space boat ownership the charge port (or as you may know them, fuel door) wouldn’t open. I called, again, real person, real questions, real conversation! Turns out... running the car through a car wash when its 20 degrees out can cause the port to freeze shut a bit. He said “hey, do you see the top right of the triangle part, its red” I said ‘yes’. He said give that a push… bam! Door opened. Another side story, unlimited monthly car wash passes… are the most awesome thing ever.
Back to the door handle. He said, it looks like we will have to bring that in to fix it. I said… okay… he said he could give me the number of the closest service center, or he could have them call me. I said I’d call. I called and scheduled an appointment on the 11th. I gave them a list of concerns I had with the vehicle. Door won’t open, and a rattle in the rear over rough pavement. I told them I’d like to do some errands while it was being fixed, and they said, no problem, we can give you a loaner. About 2 hours after drop off, I get a call that it will take longer than originally expected, and they said keep the car as long as you need. Ok… so I drove home from Devon, since they would be closed Sunday, I figured I’d get my car Monday. Well, it’s now Tuesday. I did get a call Monday afternoon… Sir, we’ve identified the issue with your door handle, and so you don’t have any further ones, we’ve gone ahead and replaced ALL FOUR DOOR HANDLES for you. I was like.. WHAT?! Are you sure? You fixed something that wasn’t even broken?!
In case you aren’t familiar with this forum, please search Tahoe Door handles of death. Apparently if they remove no more than four layers of human flesh from your child's fingers, it’s not considered a part they should replace. Anyway, to sum it up, the scheduling was efficient, the communication pleasant… ohh and the loaner car you ask? A 2015 Tesla Model S P85+. The P stands for Performance, which means this thing will 0-60 in 3.9. The Plus stands for who knows, but holy cow is it FAST. Mine will 0-60 in 5.5, and I thought that was fast. The moral here? Tesla gave me the SAME CAR or BETTER as my loaner. No questions, no first born required. They proactively replaced parts with better parts (Generation 2 door handles). They’ve provided a level of service unheard of at any dealer I’ve experienced, all the while delivering an amazing product. Of course now my inferior car feels inferior and I have to go buy a P85D, which will 0-60 in 3.05 seconds...
Car comparisons aside, their service has exceeded all my expectations and solidified my belief in this company.
My wife is the current daily driver of the Tahoe, unless we are headed to the lake, in which case I drive.
I’ll write up a driving comparison, if anyone is interested in comparing a full size SUV to a sports sedan.
Of course driving a Tahoe after driving a Model S is like performing brain surgery with oven mitts. It works, but you never really feel like you’re in control.
Tesla Model S 0-60 Times - 0-60 Specs
What it's like to own a Tesla Model S - A cartoonist's review of his magical space car - The Oatmeal
Yes, I'm as critical of the S as my Tahoe. Any squeak, rattle, deathly door handles, will be mocked and picked on. While I didn't pay new car pricing, it was not an inexpensive vehicle.
I bought it Certified Pre Owned, and it came with a 6 year, 100,000 mile bumper to bumper from new.
Which means that until 2019 or 100,000 miles... full warranty
Motor/Battery are a 8 year UNLIMITED mile warranty.
Wife and I are planning epic road trips this summer to SC, FL, and hopefully AZ all FREE with the supercharger network.
As many of you are familiar with my experiences from my 2009 Tahoe, I thought I’d expand on some of my more recent experiences with my new set of wheels and services rendered. While one does not often compare a full size SUV to a sports sedan, that’s what I’m driving. However this post isn’t about the cars. It’s about the service. For anyone not paying attention, I now own a 2013 Tesla Model S 85. The 85 refers to the size of the battery pack not physical size mind you, but capacity. It also comes with more HP and a few more niceties than the lower level ones. Back to the service. When I purchased my 2009 Tahoe LTZ new in March of 2009, it had to be taken back to the dealer a multitude of times. Without diving into specific reasons, it had to be left at the dealer for more than a day. I was offered a vehicle to use, from Sutliff. While technically I didn’t need one, as we are a three car family, I took them up on the offer since my wife was tired of meeting me at the dealer for fixes. (I lost count after 6). So, here I bought a $55,000 new SUV from them, and wonder what they will loan me. Turns out it was a 2006 Chevrolet Lumina (or similar, it was 6 years ago). From Enterprise rape-a-customer. I mean rent-a-car. The process wasn’t smooth, easy, or quick. I left work early to drop my vehicle off, and take possession of a loaner. The line at Enterprise was 4 people deep with one teenager behind the counter in a tie and shirt combo that screamed ‘I borrowed this from my step dad’. After a long and arduous wait, while texting my wife, who at the time was working two jobs, and had exactly 1 hour between them to meet me for dinner, I left in this car. The car wreaked of smoke, had exactly a sliver under 1/8th a tank of fuel, was covered in an unknown sticky substance, and had an empty bottle of coke rolling around the back seat. Plastic bottle of coke, although I’m shocked it wasn’t cocaine seeing as how this rent-a-wreck was located urban center adjacent. So, I make it to dinner, but late. Initially I argued with Sutliff over the vehicle, however since it wasn’t a weekend, I didn’t actually need to tow. (Boat, lake, you get the idea). A few days later, after they called me and told me ‘we can’t fix it’ (GM later paid me off to shut up because… they couldn’t fix it). I returned the hunk-of-junk to the dealer, as Enterprise was closed. The car sat, overnight, in the dealer lot. Next day… Get a call from Enterprise. They’ve charged me $500 on my CC and will be charging me more because I “damaged the front” of their $5,000.00 car. I was LIVID, beyond livid. I let Sutliff and Enterprise have a taste of what’s it like to try to scam me. Long story of calls, in person chats, and various letters later, they managed to waive all costs. So here I am, vehicle that doesn’t do what it should, and stress levels that could land me on the space station. And that experience pretty much sums up what it’s like to deal with every car dealer I’ve ever been to. Except Sun Motors on the Carlisle Pike, who sell premium cars. (BMW, Porsche, etc. ). But that’s also another story… (It's where I go for inspection now).
On to the Tesla Experience: My intergalactic space boat of light and wonder… failed me. About 3,000 miles into my purchase the driver side rear door, would no longer open from the outside. While not mission critical to my life, it’s very disappointing to have this occur. It opened fine from the inside. So, I called Tesla’s number and said HELP my door won’t open! They said, we are looking into the issue, (An actual human!) An honest to God actual human, with an AMERICAN accent on the phone asked me REAL people questions, and showed genuine interest in fixing my issue!
This wasn’t my first call though. About a week into space boat ownership the charge port (or as you may know them, fuel door) wouldn’t open. I called, again, real person, real questions, real conversation! Turns out... running the car through a car wash when its 20 degrees out can cause the port to freeze shut a bit. He said “hey, do you see the top right of the triangle part, its red” I said ‘yes’. He said give that a push… bam! Door opened. Another side story, unlimited monthly car wash passes… are the most awesome thing ever.
Back to the door handle. He said, it looks like we will have to bring that in to fix it. I said… okay… he said he could give me the number of the closest service center, or he could have them call me. I said I’d call. I called and scheduled an appointment on the 11th. I gave them a list of concerns I had with the vehicle. Door won’t open, and a rattle in the rear over rough pavement. I told them I’d like to do some errands while it was being fixed, and they said, no problem, we can give you a loaner. About 2 hours after drop off, I get a call that it will take longer than originally expected, and they said keep the car as long as you need. Ok… so I drove home from Devon, since they would be closed Sunday, I figured I’d get my car Monday. Well, it’s now Tuesday. I did get a call Monday afternoon… Sir, we’ve identified the issue with your door handle, and so you don’t have any further ones, we’ve gone ahead and replaced ALL FOUR DOOR HANDLES for you. I was like.. WHAT?! Are you sure? You fixed something that wasn’t even broken?!
In case you aren’t familiar with this forum, please search Tahoe Door handles of death. Apparently if they remove no more than four layers of human flesh from your child's fingers, it’s not considered a part they should replace. Anyway, to sum it up, the scheduling was efficient, the communication pleasant… ohh and the loaner car you ask? A 2015 Tesla Model S P85+. The P stands for Performance, which means this thing will 0-60 in 3.9. The Plus stands for who knows, but holy cow is it FAST. Mine will 0-60 in 5.5, and I thought that was fast. The moral here? Tesla gave me the SAME CAR or BETTER as my loaner. No questions, no first born required. They proactively replaced parts with better parts (Generation 2 door handles). They’ve provided a level of service unheard of at any dealer I’ve experienced, all the while delivering an amazing product. Of course now my inferior car feels inferior and I have to go buy a P85D, which will 0-60 in 3.05 seconds...
Car comparisons aside, their service has exceeded all my expectations and solidified my belief in this company.
My wife is the current daily driver of the Tahoe, unless we are headed to the lake, in which case I drive.
I’ll write up a driving comparison, if anyone is interested in comparing a full size SUV to a sports sedan.
Of course driving a Tahoe after driving a Model S is like performing brain surgery with oven mitts. It works, but you never really feel like you’re in control.
Tesla Model S 0-60 Times - 0-60 Specs
What it's like to own a Tesla Model S - A cartoonist's review of his magical space car - The Oatmeal
Yes, I'm as critical of the S as my Tahoe. Any squeak, rattle, deathly door handles, will be mocked and picked on. While I didn't pay new car pricing, it was not an inexpensive vehicle.
I bought it Certified Pre Owned, and it came with a 6 year, 100,000 mile bumper to bumper from new.
Which means that until 2019 or 100,000 miles... full warranty
Motor/Battery are a 8 year UNLIMITED mile warranty.
Wife and I are planning epic road trips this summer to SC, FL, and hopefully AZ all FREE with the supercharger network.
Last edited by SabrToothSqrl; April 14th, 2015 at 9:48 AM.
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