Disappointing service experience & lessons learned

[Inkedsphynx]

I did absolutely everything you said...even more....and it still was a really crappy service experience....you got somewhat lucky it appears. Not all on your skills on how to approach. I am super skilled at "the approach", too. I make a career of it.

Maybe in this instance your approach was the problem ? I can spot a sales guy a mile away and there's nobody on this planet I like dealing with less. One of many reasons I don't work in customer service ?

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[R1Tom]

Nice is best. Unfortunately many of these customer service machines only know how to escalate "unhappy". So in the nicest way possible...when that needs to happen...i simply state that they aren't meeting expectations with desire to escalate...it helps. But in my case...service still gets a D at the moment. Rivians issues aren't that the customers aren't being nice enough.

 

[mini2nut]

I have a service appointment next month at the Costa Mesa SC for some panel alignment issues. It appears that they have already outgrown the location. My service appointment is 5-weeks out and the service lot is full.

 

[R1Tom]

Maybe in this instance your approach was the problem ? I can spot a sales guy a mile away and there's nobody on this planet I like dealing with less. One of many reasons I don't work in customer service ?

You got me! Haha! An engineer with the ability to communicate! That is me. What do you do?

 

[Inkedsphynx]

I am also an engineer, of the InfoSec variety

 

[jjswan33]

Sorry for your troubles. Fully in agreement about the Rivian service process, it is a dumpster fire. Don’t get me wrong at times they have been very responsive but only after they seriously F***ed up. Everyone I have talked to at Rivian for the most part has been nice and helpful but there is no ownership at Rivian service so once you get off the phone you have to hope the responsible parties actually follow up.

As someone who is relying on the Rivian as my only vehicle that is a pain, especially because I take my dog most everywhere and that just doesn’t work with a rental car or uber credits.

Let’s hope they can increase capacity at least as fast as they increase production otherwise we are in for a lot of stress getting our vehicles fixed in a reasonable time frame.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

I think the biggest issue right now is just that the SCs are overwhelmed. I've posted about some of my experiences previously (generally very positive experiences) and also shared info I've learned along the way speaking to my point here. For example, when I had my truck in most recently there was another guy there with a truck from Montana, because apparently we're the closest SC to him here in Seattle.

When I talked to the auto body shop guy the first time in August, he told me he'd ALREADY done over 300 repairs on R1Ts. That's an average of like 45 a month since they've been released. He's the ONLY body shop in the area certified to work on Rivians.

Every time I've been to our local SC I've counted at least 15 vehicles in back in various states of service.

There may only be ~15k R1s on the road, but the ratio of vehicles to service technicians is still very high, and for some reason people seem to be beating the shit out of their trucks - the auto body guy told me at that time that the rate of Rivian repairs far exceeded the rate for any other vehicle he saw regularly (though that might just be because, as mentioned, there are no other shops in the area that can work on them).

None of this is excusing Rivian, but I do believe that as they ramp more SCs, more staff, get more training on board, and solve some of their supply chain issues (many repairs I've talked to people about get stuck in limbo waiting on parts, including mine [it took 3 weeks to get a replacement tailgate in]), the experience will improve greatly.

 

[R1Tom]

I am also an engineer, of the InfoSec variety

All good! I do immensely more customer service than sales. The sales come due to the customer service..pretty much automatically....with 98% repeat. Not a day goes by with out delays due to supply chain issues and attempting to find solutions for end clients who need items for production. I interact directly with approx 25 manufacturing locations, and being rude or upset with the teams I interact with, would produce zero results. At times I do escalate to top management at each plant...and start with nice...but when we, and I genuinely mean we....can't meet a lifetime customers needs, and our competition can....we lose big time. My message is of genuine mutual interest.

I am the one that has to deliver that message....that we....can't make the needed date....that they may need to shut their line down....for maybe a week or more......send people home.....because we have in someway failed...be it a container ship, a plant shutdown in China, etc...

I can't say to the customer I am delivering the news to....please be nice to me...I am doing my best...as they have to draft that communication to their team...that they are shutting down due to lack of materials.

So yes....I am sales.....to paraphrase a movie....you want me on that call.....you need me on that call.....did I expense the lap dance.....your damn right I expensed the lap dance"....

All in good fun.

But I really want Rivian to make it...and I am concerned.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

I'm not worried about the longevity of Rivian. They're making smart financial decisions in a very difficult macro-economic climate and the issues we on these forums complain about are the same issues Tesla went through (still goes through for many of them) for years and they're doing just fine.

So long as Rivian keeps making smart decisions on how and where to use their capital (focusing on ramping R1s, next up R2s, etc) then I think they'll be just fine. Lots of doom and gloom to go around on the internet but most of it doesn't reflect reality. There's a lot of institutional impetus to see Rivian succeed at this point.

 

[Prime]

I have a service appointment next month at the Costa Mesa SC for some panel alignment issues. It appears that they have already outgrown the location. My service appointment is 5-weeks out and the service lot is full.

Maybe worth dropping off at SD service center instead of OC? Does it even give the option or are you auto selected to a SC based on your location.

 

[R1Tom]

I'm not worried about the longevity of Rivian. They're making smart financial decisions in a very difficult macro-economic climate and the issues we on these forums complain about are the same issues Tesla went through (still goes through for many of them) for years and they're doing just fine.

So long as Rivian keeps making smart decisions on how and where to use their capital (focusing on ramping R1s, next up R2s, etc) then I think they'll be just fine. Lots of doom and gloom to go around on the internet but most of it doesn't reflect reality. There's a lot of institutional impetus to see Rivian succeed at this point.

I agree at least partially regarding the institutional impetus. But Tesla had a huge head start, and Rivians competitors are already in town and more on the way. And when GM, Ford, Toyota, Tesla...all call their suppliers for their supply chain challenged stuff.....they will likely move to the front of the line....way in front of Rivian.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Nice is best. Unfortunately many of these customer service machines only know how to escalate "unhappy". So in the nicest way possible...when that needs to happen...i simply state that they aren't meeting expectations with desire to escalate...it helps. But in my case...service still gets a D at the moment. Rivians issues aren't that the customers aren't being nice enough.

I can't really comment on your particular situation. It could be anything, bad luck, a terrible incompetent person or something you did or did not do. Personally I don't believe in the needing to leverage negative feelings to persuade someone else. The whole "customer service machines only know how to escalate unhappy" comment is antithetical to my be nice advice.

I'm certainly not perfect, and I'm not immune to letdowns with customer service. I don't know any Jedi mind tricks to force people to do what I want. What I do know is that it works much better for me personally to recruit the customer service person's help and to make them want to help you. Making your displeasure known means you've closed the door to cooperation.

To be clear I'm not accusing you of anything, nor am I saying my method is totally foolproof. My technique has served me well in the past and it's just a guide. Feel free to take anything you find useful and discard the rest.

 

[R1Tom]

I can't really comment on your particular situation. It could be anything, bad luck, a terrible incompetent person or something you did or did not do. Personally I don't believe in the needing to leverage negative feelings to persuade someone else. The whole "customer service machines only know how to escalate unhappy" comment is antithetical to my be nice advice.

I'm certainly not perfect, and I'm not immune to letdowns with customer service. I don't know any Jedi mind tricks to force people to do what I want. What I do know is that it works much better for me personally to recruit the customer service person's help and to make them want to help you. Making your displeasure known means you've closed the door to cooperation.

To be clear I'm not accusing you of anything, nor am I saying my method is totally foolproof. My technique has served me well in the past and it's just a guide. Feel free to take anything you find useful and discard the rest.

I actually completely agree with you....and I am very much the same....just ultimately saying...unfortunately my experience so far with Rivian, has not been up to the levels I have been experiencing in the automotive world for at least 2 decades now. I hope they grow out of it....but am concerned that without improvement in initial quality...the poor service team will just continue to be massively overloaded beyond their capabilities.

 

[Mike TDM]

As someone who’s had a lot of service work done but had a much better experience let me offer a few tips. I have the benefit of many years of project management and execution of complex issues at a high level and I picked these tips up over the years.

First tip, this one may or may not apply to You but I mention it first because it’s the most important. BE NICE. Be nicer than you even think you should. These people are busy, and as such you want to stand out in their busy day. There are two ways to stand out, be a massive prick or be nicer than the average bear. Being a prick gets you pushed to the bottom of the pile while being nice tends to get you moved up or at least not pushed back.

Second tip is to be selectively flexible. Your truck had issues, but it doesn’t sound like any of these issues prevented you from using your truck. I would be flexible on work start date but not execution or be flexible on start date but not a loaner truck.

For example my tailgate was damaged in transit for my delivery. It still worked just was dented. I didn’t need that fixed in any specific timeframe so what I stressed to customer service was that I really enjoyed my truck and would be willing to wait for a loaner to be available for them to start service.

Third tip, ask politely to coordinate the repair with your local service center directly. The key is to do this nicely as by asking this question the implication is that the person you’re talking to is doing a shit job. No one likes that, and that’s always the common customer go to when they aren’t getting their way with a CSR.

Try something like “I bet you guys are really slammed. It’s probably easier for all of us if you get me in contact with the service center directly to coordinate this repair and I will make sure to keep you in the loop”. This convo should be had with your guide. Now you’ve given them permission to go on to another customer while still doing what you want and they feel good about it not like they failed.

Fourth tip, Set expectations with the service center. Offer to send a ton of pictures, ask if the parts required for the repair are in stock somewhere and if not ask to schedule the appointment for when they are. Be very obvious that you’re willing to go the extra mile to lighten their load in exchange for an expedited repair. I believe I said something like “Is there anything I can do to help you guys prepare for this repair? I want to get my truck fixed ASAP as I’m sure you do as well and I’m willing to help out wherever I can to make that happen”

Last tip, perform efficient follow ups. Call every couple days or if Rivian gives you an estimated completion date call at the end of that day. Make sure you don’t take an accusatory tone when calling and you’re just “checking in”. At the end of the call set an expectation for you to call back in a reasonable amount of time. If they say it will be ready on Tuesday say great, I’ll circle back end of day Tuesday and give you a call if I don’t hear from you beforehand, is there any time that works best for you?


Some of this flexibility is only applicable to non critical repairs. Understand that Rivian has to prioritize critical repairs. Also understand that most customers want immediate action over efficient action. The service team will take a truck they don’t have time to service and let it sit a week just to get a demanding customer to quiet down.

If you don’t believe me read the forums a bit and really think about some of the comments. Lots of people are very quick to chastise Rivian for not taking immediate action even with non critical issues like wind noise. Stand out by being flexible with the start time of non critical repairs and go out of your way to accommodate them in exchange for efficiency services.

I know some of you will read this and feel that it’s too over the top kissing ass and not do it. To those people I want you to ask yourself if stroking your ego is more important than efficient service and low downtime. The key to getting other people to do things for you is putting yourself in their shoes, understanding their problems and working on solving them together.

The service center is juggling many repairs all the time. They are all important to Rivian equally but your repair is most important to you. Be the leader in the process and let them offload some of the planning and follow up to you in exchange for fast service, if that’s your goal of course.

HA! Saw the "BE NICE" and thought of the movie Roadhouse instantly.

 

[RYU]

Unfortunately the Rivian Service Center is the catch-all for all Rivian problems right now. Even the problems that shouldn't have been and originates from the factory QC department. Once that improves, I hope it has a domino effect and the Service Center can focus on traditional service items.

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