6 ms·

"The Product Specialists (...) goal and the sole metric of their success is to have you enjoy the experience of visiting so much that you look forward to return

by Gring 14y ago

"The Product Specialists (...) goal and the sole metric of their success is to have you enjoy the experience of visiting so much that you look forward to returning again." This is not the experience I had. Walked into a Tesla store, said I want to test drive a Roadster. Salesman went into that profiling mode that all car salesmen do constantly and no customer likes, asking me all kinds of questions to find out how much I earn. Since my answers didn't please him, he told me I could test drive it for $300 for half a day - essentially renting it. I won't be going back.

mietek 14y ago
Hasn't the Roadster been sold out for quite a while now?
- Gring 14y ago
  This was about 1 year ago.
shortlived 14y ago
How _should_ Tesla sales prevent any random techie from asking for a test drive?
- marshallp 14y ago
  They should simply have an upfront test drive fee. Book a test drive online.
  - mfringel 14y ago
    They could, but their goal isn't to make money on test drive fees; their goal is to sell cars.
    - marshallp 14y ago
      You've missed the point completely. It's not to make money, it's to deal with the OP's problem of get looked over by sales reps. People don't like being treadted like that, that's why they hate traditional car dealers.
enraged_camel 14y ago
Makes sense. They probably get a lot of people who pretend to be buyers just to be able to test-drive a Tesla. Since such people don't end up buying one (as they cannot afford it), letting them test-drive serves no purpose other than wasting the dealer's time, and setting a $300 fee helps weed them out. Note that most high-end car dealers do this. Another way to think about it is this: if you were a serious buyer, i.e. the type who can spend a tens of grand on a car, then a $300 fee would be pocket change for you. In all likelihood, it would count towards the purchase of the car if you decided to buy one. But declining to pay the fee basically confirms their suspicion that you were not a serious buyer and were there simply to satisfy your curiosity.
- tocomment 14y ago
  Actually if the fee is just a filter, they could refund your money if you buy any car in the next say 6 months. That way it's less of an obstacle for potential buyers but still filters out non-buyers.
  - run4yourlives 14y ago
    That's silly. If I'm trying to decide whether to buy a Maserati or a Tesla, and you tell me I need to pay you $300 for the Tesla just to test drive it, I can tell you that I'm buying the Maserati, since they've already figured out that I'm a potential buyer. Tesla is smart to size up the people that walk into their stores so that they don't offend the ones that actually can buy their cars. If they offend non-customers, so be it.
    - tptacek 14y ago
      If you're really deciding between a Maserati and a Tesla, I'd be willing to bet that Tesla isn't actually going to charge you $300 to drive one. If you walked off the street into a Maserati dealership dressed like a hacker, refused to provide any information qualifying yourself as a prospect, and demanded a test drive, you might not be allowed to drive one at all. Of course, if you wanted a Maserati, you could probably have one next week. Tesla is back-ordered to forever. So whatever they're doing seems to be working OK.
run4yourlives 14y ago
Can you actually afford a Tesla? Honestly? And if the answer is no, would you want someone you pay good money to spending time with someone that doesn't have the means to actually buy the product instead of a person who does?
- toomuchtodo 14y ago
  I'm a Model S reservation holder and a TSLA stock owner. I'm perfectly fine with TSLA charging for test drives.
  - r00fus 14y ago
    It's the honest approach, really. Having numerous dealers compete for my business just offends my sense of fairness - sure, I could get a test drive from one, then accept a lowball from another dealer - but is that really sustainable? At what point was that "lowball deal" really just the actual price you should have paid whereas the competing higher priced dealer was inflating their price so they could spend an hour or two showing you the car? To this extent, I even rent the car I'm going to buy (go to service dept at dealership, ask for the specific model). This way I can tell about all those ity-bitties like oh, whether the car will fit comfortably in the garage, how it feels on the way up the mountains, etc.
  - run4yourlives 14y ago
    Just to be clear: I'm supportive of Tesla's current practice of "vetting" people and charging for test drives (or just denying them completely ) if warranted. I see no reason for them to waste their time. What I don't think they should do is charge for test drives as a matter of practice, because that doesn't help them court their target clientele that are getting free rides (as vetted customers) at the competition.
- klinquist 14y ago
  ...especially in today's social network world, you'd be surprised how many technophiles, while perhaps unable to afford a Tesla, can influence those that can.
dave1619 14y ago
I had a starkly different experience when I visited a Tesla store (in Newport Beach). The product specialist was super helpful and we sat in a Model S for 10 minutes while he explained all the features. They didn't have a car to test drive but he apologized and said they were making them as fast as they could. The store was clean. Lots of people were in and out. And the whole experience did a good job to highlight the innovation behind the Model S (they had an entire powertrain on display). The Newport Beach store didn't have the Roadster, but if they let me test drive a Roadster for $300 for a half day... I'd jump on it. It'd be a very fun half day and well worth the few hundred dollars.
dagw 14y ago
$300 to rent a decent sports car for half a day seems like a pretty fair deal. But I agree it would be better if they where up front about it (and then perhaps waiving it for 'good' potential customers)

by Gring 14y ago

mietek 14y ago

Hasn't the Roadster been sold out for quite a while now?

Gring 14y ago
This was about 1 year ago.

shortlived 14y ago

How _should_ Tesla sales prevent any random techie from asking for a test drive?

marshallp 14y ago
They should simply have an upfront test drive fee. Book a test drive online.
- mfringel 14y ago
  They could, but their goal isn't to make money on test drive fees; their goal is to sell cars.
  - marshallp 14y ago
    You've missed the point completely. It's not to make money, it's to deal with the OP's problem of get looked over by sales reps. People don't like being treadted like that, that's why they hate traditional car dealers.

enraged_camel 14y ago

Makes sense. They probably get a lot of people who pretend to be buyers just to be able to test-drive a Tesla. Since such people don't end up buying one (as they cannot afford it), letting them test-drive serves no purpose other than wasting the dealer's time, and setting a $300 fee helps weed them out. Note that most high-end car dealers do this. Another way to think about it is this: if you were a serious buyer, i.e. the type who can spend a tens of grand on a car, then a $300 fee would be pocket change for you. In all likelihood, it would count towards the purchase of the car if you decided to buy one. But declining to pay the fee basically confirms their suspicion that you were not a serious buyer and were there simply to satisfy your curiosity.

tocomment 14y ago
Actually if the fee is just a filter, they could refund your money if you buy any car in the next say 6 months. That way it's less of an obstacle for potential buyers but still filters out non-buyers.
- run4yourlives 14y ago
  That's silly. If I'm trying to decide whether to buy a Maserati or a Tesla, and you tell me I need to pay you $300 for the Tesla just to test drive it, I can tell you that I'm buying the Maserati, since they've already figured out that I'm a potential buyer. Tesla is smart to size up the people that walk into their stores so that they don't offend the ones that actually can buy their cars. If they offend non-customers, so be it.
  - tptacek 14y ago
    If you're really deciding between a Maserati and a Tesla, I'd be willing to bet that Tesla isn't actually going to charge you $300 to drive one. If you walked off the street into a Maserati dealership dressed like a hacker, refused to provide any information qualifying yourself as a prospect, and demanded a test drive, you might not be allowed to drive one at all. Of course, if you wanted a Maserati, you could probably have one next week. Tesla is back-ordered to forever. So whatever they're doing seems to be working OK.

run4yourlives 14y ago

Can you actually afford a Tesla? Honestly? And if the answer is no, would you want someone you pay good money to spending time with someone that doesn't have the means to actually buy the product instead of a person who does?

toomuchtodo 14y ago
I'm a Model S reservation holder and a TSLA stock owner. I'm perfectly fine with TSLA charging for test drives.
- r00fus 14y ago
  It's the honest approach, really. Having numerous dealers compete for my business just offends my sense of fairness - sure, I could get a test drive from one, then accept a lowball from another dealer - but is that really sustainable? At what point was that "lowball deal" really just the actual price you should have paid whereas the competing higher priced dealer was inflating their price so they could spend an hour or two showing you the car? To this extent, I even rent the car I'm going to buy (go to service dept at dealership, ask for the specific model). This way I can tell about all those ity-bitties like oh, whether the car will fit comfortably in the garage, how it feels on the way up the mountains, etc.
- run4yourlives 14y ago
  Just to be clear: I'm supportive of Tesla's current practice of "vetting" people and charging for test drives (or just denying them completely ) if warranted. I see no reason for them to waste their time. What I don't think they should do is charge for test drives as a matter of practice, because that doesn't help them court their target clientele that are getting free rides (as vetted customers) at the competition.
klinquist 14y ago
...especially in today's social network world, you'd be surprised how many technophiles, while perhaps unable to afford a Tesla, can influence those that can.

dave1619 14y ago

I had a starkly different experience when I visited a Tesla store (in Newport Beach). The product specialist was super helpful and we sat in a Model S for 10 minutes while he explained all the features. They didn't have a car to test drive but he apologized and said they were making them as fast as they could. The store was clean. Lots of people were in and out. And the whole experience did a good job to highlight the innovation behind the Model S (they had an entire powertrain on display). The Newport Beach store didn't have the Roadster, but if they let me test drive a Roadster for $300 for a half day... I'd jump on it. It'd be a very fun half day and well worth the few hundred dollars.

dagw 14y ago

$300 to rent a decent sports car for half a day seems like a pretty fair deal. But I agree it would be better if they where up front about it (and then perhaps waiving it for 'good' potential customers)