7 ms·

Tesla currently provides Comcast levels of customer support

65 points by econnors 4y ago

bediger4000 4y ago
That's darn good compared to the Industry Incumbents, though. They do CenturyLink levels of service.
- smt88 4y ago
  What are you talking about? The situation in the tweet is insane and absolutely unheard of with incumbents. I've owned multiple brand new Toyota's and have never had an issue that needed fixing under warranty in the first place, let alone a failure to fix it.
- katkatkatkatket 4y ago
  You realise there's an excellent chance that the "industry incumbents" have been aware of the switch to EVs and hybrids, and are just biding their time before Tesla's circus show collapses? It's been pretty obvious for a while to a casual observer of incoming government regulations (at least, in the EU) that ICE car production will literally be banned very soon. I'm sure the companies that form the backbone of the economy of a major country in the EU have had even more notice. In fact, I suspect they will do very well out of this transition.
CamperBob2 4y ago
To be fair, I've always gotten good service out of Comcast. The secret is to sign up for business service, never residential. You want to do this even if the installation is for a residence. The guy who hooks up your modem DGAF, and the tech support people are both better informed and more inclined to believe you when you tell them that yes, in fact, you did check to make sure the router was plugged in, and yes, in fact, you did try restarting it after leaving it powered off long enough for the capacitors to discharge.
- philwelch 4y ago
  I’ve always been too cheap to do this but it sounds like a valid plan.
- frankfrank13 4y ago
  The last couple years they've been way better as well, somehow that massive "we're fixing customer service" push kinda worked
mikeortman 4y ago
I sold my Tesla 3 weeks ago, primarily because I couldn't get condensation in my taillight fixed after 4 cancelled appointments and a no-show. I was getting tired of things breaking, and the no-show put me over the edge. I'll let the dealer I sold it to deal with it.
themerone 4y ago
I absolutely hate the franchise dealership model, but it does provide some level of checks and balances. Dealers can exert far more pressure on a manufacture to fix things than an individual owner. Owners with a bad dealership experience can go to a competitor within the same brand. Manufacturers hate stepping in between dealer and customer disputes, but it is a possibility. I think direct sales can be superior, but Tesla is proof that it is not inherently better.
- frankfrank13 4y ago
  I'm always surprised at myself for buying into "disruption". When Tesla did ~DTC I thought it was absolutely the future, and everyone should do it. Boy how wrong I was. I had a brand new car break down after about a month, I was in the shop getting essentially a tear down in about 48 hours, the dealer covered my repair and rental, and I was back in my car in about a week. Are direct sales still superior? I think you're right, we need someone to go to, after-sales is too critical for the consumer, and I think Tesla treats it like SaaS, which... maybe it really is lol
katkatkatkatket 4y ago
Maybe after enough of these stories become common knowledge, we'll hear less of the "EVs have fewer parts and are therefore more reliable" argument. Reliability is largely a function of design and engineering choices.
- lillecarl 4y ago
  EVs should by design be more reliable, since they have fewer wear&tear parts (no ICE). If Tesla were to make an ICE car none would function the year out because their manufacturing quality is horrendous. Reliability and simplicity goes hand in hand, but it doesn't make the simple thing immune to failure if the quality is crap.
  - katkatkatkatket 4y ago
    >EVs should by design be more reliable, since they have fewer wear&tear parts (no ICE). It's possible to make perfectly reliable software, and an unreliable screwdriver. >Reliability and simplicity goes hand in hand True, but modern EVs are only simple in concept. In practice, they rely on the precise operation of legions of components with nm-sized features, that are bumped and shaken continuously throughout the vehicle's life.
    - Ekaros 4y ago
      Also the automakers and supply chains have decades of experience making ICEs very reliable. Actually quality and reliability we now have for reasonable prices is not bad at all. On average they just work.
addicted 4y ago
My cousin’s Tesla, costing over 100k, is reliably unusable for half the year. Everyone I know who owns a Tesla is using other cars a significant amount of time due to the repairs issue (they also break down a lot more). However, the cheerleading leading up to the purchase, and the fact that no one else is talking about this publicly, leads many to not talk about it. It’s way too much like a cult.
- katkatkatkatket 4y ago
  How could this be? They have so many fewer moving parts! \s
  - GianFabien 4y ago
    It's not the mechanical parts that are the problem. It's the software. The Tesla owners are not only software beta-testers but also the crash test dummies.
    - katkatkatkatket 4y ago
      But software has zero moving parts! It must be so reliable.
- Ekaros 4y ago
  And I really think that it won't fly for those who don't make purchase from fandom. And that will at some point start to affect the consumer perception for general public.
- brador 4y ago
  Many Tesla owners also own Tesla stock.
- GianFabien 4y ago
  Owning a Tesla is like joining a cult. The sunk cost of having bought one and the loss of face after all the bragging leads many to carry on denying that they have bought the promises and ended up with a lemon. Perhaps there is a opportunity in creating a 12-step program / detox. I'm sticking with my 6 year old car. It goes where and when I want it to. No smart ass computer on wheels that thinks it knows better than me.
meltyness 4y ago
Sounds like they've gotten better! https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/99sbwa/former_tesla_programmers_anecdotes_about_problems/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/99sbwa/form...
- jiggawatts 4y ago
  That is a terrifying read. I work with orgs that produce similarly poor quality software, but that software isn't controlling "two ton death machines".
blagie 4y ago
I'd never buy a Tesla. I want a car I own. A Tesla-style model, I paid for a car which, in any real sense, Tesla owns and lets me use.
nradov 4y ago
Comcast customer service doesn't seem so bad? I've been using their cable TV and Internet service for 10+ years and it's been pretty reliable. When I had intermittent Internet connection failures a few months ago they sent a technician out the next day and replaced the faulty gateway.
andsoitis 4y ago
> "You can only text them in the app. Nobody will give you a number to call." Why does this person not go to one of their service centers and talks to someone in person? I've done it and the staff were super helpful.
- rasz 4y ago
  Because he is in this uncomfortable position of being well enough to afford a Tesla and even additional FSD, but not wealthy enough to be able to stop working and allocate time for an appointment or have someone on the payroll doing errands for him ... but still feeling entitled.
  - cinntaile 4y ago
    Running errands during working hours is not a function of how much you earn.
tzs 4y ago
The trick I've found to getting good Comcast customer support is to go to one of their offices. Even before they opened Xfinity retail stores they would have some office where you could go to exchange equipment, pay bills in person, make service changes, and so on. The people at those offices seemed to be better informed and more capable and given more power than the people on phone support. When I had Comcast for internet, cable TV, and phone I'd go to their nearest office every time my current contract was expiring and my rates were about to go way up. I'd tell them what channels and internet speed I actually wanted/needed, and tell them I didn't really want to pay more than I was currently paying. They would always find some new bundle that would cover what I wanted and with the discount for a new one or two year contract be the same or cheaper than what I had. Sometimes the new bundle would have things I didn't need, such as adding their security service. I had that for two years and never once armed it--but it saved my about 20% for that two years. The only thing I actually ever used in the security system was the camera. I'd long wanted some way to remotely check my home temperature from work, and so I pointed the Comcast camera at a thermometer. :-)

65 points by econnors 4y ago

bediger4000 4y ago

That's darn good compared to the Industry Incumbents, though. They do CenturyLink levels of service.

smt88 4y ago
What are you talking about? The situation in the tweet is insane and absolutely unheard of with incumbents. I've owned multiple brand new Toyota's and have never had an issue that needed fixing under warranty in the first place, let alone a failure to fix it.
katkatkatkatket 4y ago
You realise there's an excellent chance that the "industry incumbents" have been aware of the switch to EVs and hybrids, and are just biding their time before Tesla's circus show collapses? It's been pretty obvious for a while to a casual observer of incoming government regulations (at least, in the EU) that ICE car production will literally be banned very soon. I'm sure the companies that form the backbone of the economy of a major country in the EU have had even more notice. In fact, I suspect they will do very well out of this transition.

CamperBob2 4y ago

To be fair, I've always gotten good service out of Comcast. The secret is to sign up for business service, never residential. You want to do this even if the installation is for a residence. The guy who hooks up your modem DGAF, and the tech support people are both better informed and more inclined to believe you when you tell them that yes, in fact, you did check to make sure the router was plugged in, and yes, in fact, you did try restarting it after leaving it powered off long enough for the capacitors to discharge.

philwelch 4y ago
I’ve always been too cheap to do this but it sounds like a valid plan.
frankfrank13 4y ago
The last couple years they've been way better as well, somehow that massive "we're fixing customer service" push kinda worked

mikeortman 4y ago

I sold my Tesla 3 weeks ago, primarily because I couldn't get condensation in my taillight fixed after 4 cancelled appointments and a no-show. I was getting tired of things breaking, and the no-show put me over the edge. I'll let the dealer I sold it to deal with it.

themerone 4y ago

I absolutely hate the franchise dealership model, but it does provide some level of checks and balances. Dealers can exert far more pressure on a manufacture to fix things than an individual owner. Owners with a bad dealership experience can go to a competitor within the same brand. Manufacturers hate stepping in between dealer and customer disputes, but it is a possibility. I think direct sales can be superior, but Tesla is proof that it is not inherently better.

frankfrank13 4y ago
I'm always surprised at myself for buying into "disruption". When Tesla did ~DTC I thought it was absolutely the future, and everyone should do it. Boy how wrong I was. I had a brand new car break down after about a month, I was in the shop getting essentially a tear down in about 48 hours, the dealer covered my repair and rental, and I was back in my car in about a week. Are direct sales still superior? I think you're right, we need someone to go to, after-sales is too critical for the consumer, and I think Tesla treats it like SaaS, which... maybe it really is lol

katkatkatkatket 4y ago

Maybe after enough of these stories become common knowledge, we'll hear less of the "EVs have fewer parts and are therefore more reliable" argument. Reliability is largely a function of design and engineering choices.

lillecarl 4y ago
EVs should by design be more reliable, since they have fewer wear&tear parts (no ICE). If Tesla were to make an ICE car none would function the year out because their manufacturing quality is horrendous. Reliability and simplicity goes hand in hand, but it doesn't make the simple thing immune to failure if the quality is crap.
- katkatkatkatket 4y ago
  >EVs should by design be more reliable, since they have fewer wear&tear parts (no ICE). It's possible to make perfectly reliable software, and an unreliable screwdriver. >Reliability and simplicity goes hand in hand True, but modern EVs are only simple in concept. In practice, they rely on the precise operation of legions of components with nm-sized features, that are bumped and shaken continuously throughout the vehicle's life.
  - Ekaros 4y ago
    Also the automakers and supply chains have decades of experience making ICEs very reliable. Actually quality and reliability we now have for reasonable prices is not bad at all. On average they just work.

addicted 4y ago

My cousin’s Tesla, costing over 100k, is reliably unusable for half the year. Everyone I know who owns a Tesla is using other cars a significant amount of time due to the repairs issue (they also break down a lot more). However, the cheerleading leading up to the purchase, and the fact that no one else is talking about this publicly, leads many to not talk about it. It’s way too much like a cult.

katkatkatkatket 4y ago
How could this be? They have so many fewer moving parts! \s
- GianFabien 4y ago
  It's not the mechanical parts that are the problem. It's the software. The Tesla owners are not only software beta-testers but also the crash test dummies.
  - katkatkatkatket 4y ago
    But software has zero moving parts! It must be so reliable.
Ekaros 4y ago
And I really think that it won't fly for those who don't make purchase from fandom. And that will at some point start to affect the consumer perception for general public.
brador 4y ago
Many Tesla owners also own Tesla stock.
GianFabien 4y ago
Owning a Tesla is like joining a cult. The sunk cost of having bought one and the loss of face after all the bragging leads many to carry on denying that they have bought the promises and ended up with a lemon. Perhaps there is a opportunity in creating a 12-step program / detox. I'm sticking with my 6 year old car. It goes where and when I want it to. No smart ass computer on wheels that thinks it knows better than me.

meltyness 4y ago

Sounds like they've gotten better! https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/99sbwa/former_tesla_programmers_anecdotes_about_problems/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/99sbwa/form...

jiggawatts 4y ago
That is a terrifying read. I work with orgs that produce similarly poor quality software, but that software isn't controlling "two ton death machines".

blagie 4y ago

I'd never buy a Tesla. I want a car I own. A Tesla-style model, I paid for a car which, in any real sense, Tesla owns and lets me use.

nradov 4y ago

Comcast customer service doesn't seem so bad? I've been using their cable TV and Internet service for 10+ years and it's been pretty reliable. When I had intermittent Internet connection failures a few months ago they sent a technician out the next day and replaced the faulty gateway.

andsoitis 4y ago

> "You can only text them in the app. Nobody will give you a number to call." Why does this person not go to one of their service centers and talks to someone in person? I've done it and the staff were super helpful.

rasz 4y ago
Because he is in this uncomfortable position of being well enough to afford a Tesla and even additional FSD, but not wealthy enough to be able to stop working and allocate time for an appointment or have someone on the payroll doing errands for him ... but still feeling entitled.
- cinntaile 4y ago
  Running errands during working hours is not a function of how much you earn.

tzs 4y ago

The trick I've found to getting good Comcast customer support is to go to one of their offices. Even before they opened Xfinity retail stores they would have some office where you could go to exchange equipment, pay bills in person, make service changes, and so on. The people at those offices seemed to be better informed and more capable and given more power than the people on phone support. When I had Comcast for internet, cable TV, and phone I'd go to their nearest office every time my current contract was expiring and my rates were about to go way up. I'd tell them what channels and internet speed I actually wanted/needed, and tell them I didn't really want to pay more than I was currently paying. They would always find some new bundle that would cover what I wanted and with the discount for a new one or two year contract be the same or cheaper than what I had. Sometimes the new bundle would have things I didn't need, such as adding their security service. I had that for two years and never once armed it--but it saved my about 20% for that two years. The only thing I actually ever used in the security system was the camera. I'd long wanted some way to remotely check my home temperature from work, and so I pointed the Comcast camera at a thermometer. :-)