Delivery Issue - Can't be happening!

[stynes]

I got a call Wednesday night from my guide with the same issue. My truck was not going to be available for my appointment Thursday morning.
?
However I called and talk to the guide, and asked him yesterday (Thursday) around noon if he had any additional information about a delivery date. Nothing quite yet. He would check around 5 o’clock Normal time.

I called again around 5 o’clock. My guide was great; he called the South San Francisco service center and spoke to the delivery team and kept me on the phone as I wanted to stay on.

My guide never disclosed what the problem was with the truck, but he indicated Wednesday that they wanted it to be perfect before delivery. I wanted it perfect before delivery also.

Shari and I are just preparing to leave the house now for a 9 o’clock delivery! I hope for each of you that these problems are just small glitches as Rivian works through the challenges of mass producing and delivering an incredible new vehicle.

But it is hard to not feel frustrated when it’s been 3 1/3 years since I put my deposit down November 26, 2018! Having said that, I woke up about five times last night wondering what time it was and when the hell is the sun is gonna come up!

So now we’re headed to the car and on our way to South San Francisco Service Center! R1T here I come!

Someone says Patience is a virtue. I don’t know if I’m very virtuous! But doing the best I can!

Good luck, @Ron S. We expect to see pictures once you take delivery!

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[OldGoat]

Some interesting takes (to me) on this situation.

For example, I'm not sure what the valuation of the company has to do with the level of service provided. When the stock was trading north of $150 were people thinking the service would be 4x better than when it traded at $35? The IPO is priced based on the underwriters projections and predictions....and one could easily argue it should have been priced higher. One should not base expectations of product or service quality on company valuation.
Or
That we should expect perfection based on how long they have been developing the truck. Here is the dirty little secret about ALL mechanical systems...stuff breaks. The mere act of loading it onto the flatbed and transporting it can result in a loose screw here, a shift in a bracket there. If you are expecting perfection, you are bound to be disappointed (and don't even get me started on software!)

If I were doing the post mortem/lessons learned for Rivian, I'd have two suggestions for improvement
1) don't wait a day to reach out to the customer
2) if the truck can't be delivered, offer to pay for an Uber to take the customer to the rental place (my assumption is that it is a rental truck) to pick up the loaner

Now, I get it...if I were the OP I would have been extremely disappointed and disappointment often manifests itself as anger. It's why I always appreciated people I worked with that were front-line customer support. The good ones were able to talk the people off the cliff and, in essence, get them to take the proverbial deep breaths/count to 10. (Sounds like the OP has done that in this case, which I applaud)

 

[rhuber]

Contrast Rivian's behavior with Tesla's behavior in this video:




Spoiler: The guy shows up and the car has errors about battery (pack) issues, so they reset it to clear the errors and send him on his way (shady imo). The car fully fails on the highway after a few miles, and now he fully owns a car he can't drive.

Ask yourself which situation you prefer, a delayed delivery, or the thing that happened to the guy in the video. I'm pretty sure I'd take a delayed delivery every time.

I get the frustration, but I also commend Rivian for wanting customers to have working vehicles that have been validated as much as possible. I know there have been some issues with vehicles, but overall they appear to be trying to make the vehicles great at delivery.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

I understand your disappointment and frustration, but this sort of "customer is always right, give me what I want mentality" is what burned Tesla's goodwill in their earlier years and forced them to put up walls between their employees and consumers. Before this occurred, interacting with Tesla employees used to be a great experience and their service was top notch. Now it's nearly impossible to chat with a human at a service center, and when you manage to do so they are often short and guarded conversations. I watched and experienced this decline over the years and it started with posts like this.

I used to be a member of a couple of local Tesla groups and active on fan-run Tesla forums and the level of entitlement displayed progressed from reasonable to absurd. People went from making reasonable requests to throwing literal tantrums over having slight details corrected as if they were driving a Rolls Royce. Repeated service visits for 1mm variances in panel placement (panel gaps), slight barely noticeable paint detail issues, and so on. Never had I ever paid attention to any of these things, and I expect most non-enthusiasts hadn't either, until I became involved in those groups. They made impossible demands of perfection, received less than expected, and threw actual fits until the company bent over backwards to try to meet their expectation. They wanted the best loaners at their convenience (that they would then absolutely abuse) while their 1mm panel gap was adjusted for the third time or their car was taken apart for a phantom creaking noise, all for free as goodwill. This occurred despite the well acknowledged fact that Tesla was struggling to get off the ground , get their production quality and volume up to speed, and fending off bankruptcy. Didn't matter though, because some folks selfishly got theirs.

Begin rant:

Having frequented these forums over the last couple of years, I have noticed the start of a similar trajectory with members of this community. I hate to say it, but that similar trajectory started with posts like this one. Rivian discovered an issue with your vehicle and has disappointingly but reasonably delayed delivery until they can resolve it. You immediately got miffed and requested they provide a loaner R1T, which you likely know is not available because they are production constrained and every one produced is being delivered to a customer. When they sought to address your request with an alternate solution, you were further miffed that it wasn't an R1T and wanted to escalate to the manager .. for what exactly? A magical R1T to appear that they can give you? Keep in mind that any R1T they have available on site is likely destined for another customer, so if they give it to you to drive temporarily then that customer is deprived of their vehicle for days while yours is being fixed.

Rivian is a new company working under historic and unprecedented pressures to deliver quality vehicles. There's no doubt that consumers should hold them to a high standard, but we need to have reasonable expectations for Rivian at this stage. Rivian's goodwill will run out if consumers try to suck them dry with impossible requests and accommodations. In that scenario, at best they'll be like Tesla where the only option while your vehicle is in service is getting uber credits, or you can't talk to a human at a service center; at worst, they will collapse and/or be acquired by Amazon. Do we want that future for Rivian? I don't.

End rant.

 

[KWeimer711]

I actually thought a loaner would be reasonable. Then they could take their time. I assume we'll get Rivian's as loaners when our vehicles are in for service?

what makes you think that?

 

[KWeimer711]

Pretty sure OP was at the height of emotion when this was posted. Every subsequent post they reply "thank you" and "good advice." Don't get so excited to tell them their reaction was wrong.

Good luck, OP!

but it was in fact wrong....first of all, just acting the way they did...second of all, coming on here thinking people would side/sympathize with them

he/she should delete their post if they realize now that they were in the wrong and caught up in the emotion of it all

 

[GeneralName]

Lol get em.

I understand your disappointment and frustration, but this sort of "customer is always right, give me what I want mentality" is what burned Tesla's goodwill in their earlier years and forced them to put up walls between their employees and consumers. Before this occurred, interacting with Tesla employees used to be a great experience and their service was top notch. Now it's nearly impossible to chat with a human at a service center, and when you manage to do so they are often short and guarded conversations. I watched and experienced this decline over the years and it started with posts like this.

I used to be a member of a couple of local Tesla groups and active on fan-run Tesla forums and the level of entitlement displayed progressed from reasonable to absurd. People went from making reasonable requests to throwing literal tantrums over having slight details corrected as if they were driving a Rolls Royce. Repeated service visits for 1mm variances in panel placement (panel gaps), slight barely noticeable paint detail issues, and so on. Never had I ever paid attention to any of these things, and I expect most non-enthusiasts hadn't either, until I became involved in those groups. They made impossible demands of perfection, received less than expected, and threw actual fits until the company bent over backwards to try to meet their expectation. They wanted the best loaners at their convenience (that they would then absolutely abuse) while their 1mm panel gap was adjusted for the third time or their car was taken apart for a phantom creaking noise, all for free as goodwill. This occurred despite the well acknowledged fact that Tesla was struggling to get off the ground , get their production quality and volume up to speed, and fending off bankruptcy. Didn't matter though, because some folks selfishly got theirs.

Begin rant:

Having frequented these forums over the last couple of years, I have noticed the start of a similar trajectory with members of this community. I hate to say it, but that similar trajectory started with posts like this one. Rivian discovered an issue with your vehicle and has disappointingly but reasonably delayed delivery until they can resolve it. You immediately got miffed and requested they provide a loaner R1T, which you likely know is not available because they are production constrained and every one produced is being delivered to a customer. When they sought to address your request with an alternate solution, you were further miffed that it wasn't an R1T and wanted to escalate to the manager .. for what exactly? A magical R1T to appear that they can give you? Keep in mind that any R1T they have available on site is likely destined for another customer, so if they give it to you to drive temporarily then that customer is deprived of their vehicle for a days while yours is being fixed.

Rivian is a new company working under historic and unprecedented pressures to deliver quality vehicles. There's no doubt that consumers should hold them to a high standard, but we need to have reasonable expectations for Rivian at this stage. Rivian's goodwill will run out if consumers try to suck them dry with impossible requests and accommodations. In that scenario, at best they'll be like Tesla where the only option while your vehicle is in service is getting uber credits, or you can't talk to a human at a service center; at worst, they will collapse and/or be acquired by Amazon. Do we want that future for Rivian? I don't.

End rant.

 

[SANZC02]

I actually thought a loaner would be reasonable. Then they could take their time. I assume we'll get Rivian's as loaners when our vehicles are in for service?

In time they may have a few Rivian’s as loaners but they would never have enough to provide one for every vehicle they take in. I would not want to invest in a company tying up millions of dollars in loaner vehicles.

Think about it, if they have 100 services centers and they only had 10 vehicles at each center at 75k per vehicle that is 75 million. I would prefer them to use that capital for more productive purposes. If they need to provide a loaner use a local rental company like most companies do.

 

[ads75]

In time they may have a few Rivian’s as loaners but they would never have enough to provide one for every vehicle they take in. I would not want to invest in a company tying up millions of dollars in loaner vehicles.

Think about it, if they have 100 services centers and they only had 10 vehicles at each center at 75k per vehicle that is 75 million. I would prefer them to use that capital for more productive purposes. If they need to provide a loaner use a local rental company like most companies do.

Someone is upset they didn't get a Rivian as a loaner, someone else who has been waiting for a truck for 2 years is upset the service center has 10 vehicles they can't sell.

Last time I had my Wrangler in for warranty work, dealer sent me to Enterprise, and they gave me a minivan. As a single guy with no kids, a minivan is pretty far from my 2 door Rubicon. But it worked, and I drove it. Would I like a similar vehicle for a loaner, yes. Should someone expect it, especially form a startup with limited vehicles, no.

 

[888tom888]

I can hear the frustration in the OP's post. Many of us have waited and waited for our new Rivian's and to have the rug pulled out from under you at the last minute sux. No doubt. For me, I'd rather take delivery of a vehicle that's as close to being fully operational. Stuff happens, but kudos to Rivian for wanting to fix it before delivering. Imagine the grief you'd feel if you got your truck and it wouldn't run. Imagine the post in this forum on that one? As far as expecting a Rivian loaner, to me that's unreasonable. How could Rivian make loaner trucks when they can't even get launch edition owners their vehicles.???? the right thing to do is get a free loaner and enjoy it. Last point, many people including me, expect Rivian to get it right out of the box. Unfortunately the world is a messed up place right now as it relates to the supply chain. Patience will be rewarded. Just in case its not, always have a Plan B or C. That's just smart.

 

[swflorida]

I think a lot of people are losing sight of what the original post even says...

 

[No.92]

Contrast Rivian's behavior with Tesla's behavior in this video:




Spoiler: The guy shows up and the car has errors about battery (pack) issues, so they reset it to clear the errors and send him on his way (shady imo). The car fully fails on the highway after a few miles, and now he fully owns a car he can't drive.

Ask yourself which situation you prefer, a delayed delivery, or the thing that happened to the guy in the video. I'm pretty sure I'd take a delayed delivery every time.

I get the frustration, but I also commend Rivian for wanting customers to have working vehicles that have been validated as much as possible. I know there have been some issues with vehicles, but overall they appear to be trying to make the vehicles great at delivery.

This! I think Rivian handled a bad situation with the best they could. Yes the communication could have been better to inform you the day before, but they went above and beyond to offer you a loaner/rental (and an F150 no less). If what happened in the video happened to you, you'd be SOL and have to wait 1.5hrs with the car just to wait for a flatbed to pick it up and then find a way home. That IMO would be more of a pain in the ass. I'd be more furious in that situation after receiving a brand new car

 

[Gabe1aron]

I actually thought a loaner would be reasonable. Then they could take their time. I assume we'll get Rivian's as loaners when our vehicles are in for service?

Rivians as loaners are orobably years down the road, once they get caught up with deliveries. At least they were willing to give you something as a loaner.

 

[mgc0216]

I was thinking on the post above about creeping entitlement, and I wonder about who's buying these trucks / who bought those early Telsas.

I'll preface this by saying I'm probably projecting (and this is not about the OP at all): The most expensive car I have ever bought was my 2020 Crosstrek - it's also on the 2nd car I've ever bought new. I've always told people "I'm not a car person" - it's not that I couldn't have bought something nicer, I just didn't really see where spending 2-3x on something else was going to get me 2-3x the pleasure that I would get out of whatever it was I was buying.

So, now if I am about to write a check for the most expensive vehicle I've ever bought, I might have heightened, bordering on unreasonable, expectations about what I should expect in terms of product quality, how i am treated when something doesn't go right, and what kind is or is not reasonable with regards to service and everything that goes with it.

Just spitballing but I think a lot of that Tesla entitlement could have come from folks not realizing that they didn't buy a luxury car with a luxury car buying experience (whatever that is these days), but they felt they did because the Tesla was a huge step up from whatever they had purchased in the past.

It's something I often call the Disneyland mentality. When I was younger as a family we'd go to Disneyland and I'd act like an entitled jerk if something didn't go my way because, after all, "this is MY vacation! We are spending a lot of money here, and we deserve to be treated special" Once i'd been a dad for more than a few years, and after I'd embarrassed my wife and kids with. my antics, I realized nearly everyone around me was in the same boat - most of us were all on our vacations, and some folks this might be the only trip to Disneyland they ever get and it might have represented years of saving and planning (where our trips were pretty regular since we would hold annual passes even though we lived in Portland). Bottom line, i wasn't special, I wasn't entitled anything more than anyone else.

Anyway . . . .

If you got to the end of this post, I owe you a beverage of your choice if we ever meetup in real life.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

Rivians as loaners are orobably years down the road, once they get caught up with deliveries. At least they were willing to give you something as a loaner.

Yup ... Tesla is pretty much just Uber credits at this point that you cannot apply to tips!! Yes, you could be an a-hole and not tip the driver, but it is not their fault that Tesla doesn't let you use credits towards tips -- I ALWAYS tip the driver well! In the end, tipping Uber drivers when my Tesla has been in for service actually costs more than driving my Tesla!

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