I don't feel valued as a customer

[MIG]

i pre-ordered 3/1/2021. got pushed back twice already. Current delivery date is July-September. i mentioned to Rivian that I need another car ASAP. My daughter requires a car, and I wanted to give her my Accord. I can't do that without another vehicle to drive.
I told emailed them many times letting them know that I am flexible on color and options, but it took 3 emails to even get a response. And the response was a form letter. Not sure if they even read my emails. I even offered to pick up at the factory.
I showed them links from this forum, about people in Dallas who ordered after me, who already have their R1S. This is because they 1st told me, that I am being pushed back as I am not near a service center. (there is one 5 miles from my house).
I even had to reach out over 5 times before I got a call back about a demo drive. The demo drive (in Dallas), was very short. R1S drove great, and looked to be well put together. Seems like an amazing vehicle.
Doing my best to wait, even got some of my friends to put down deposits for R1Ss. Throughout the whole process, I have not felt that I was valued as a customer. I don't feel the communications have been timely, honest or forthright.
Hopefully they get through these growing pains. Poor customer service can certainly ruin even the best product experience.

I ordered over 3 years ago. Live within 2 hours of the factory. I talked up Rivian so much to my Tesla-driving neighbor that he finally put down a deposit about a year ago (March 2022-ish). Ran into him around Thanksgiving and he said he was waiting for his delivery the following week. My jaw dropped. He said he got an opportunity to pick a vehicle from the R1T Shop and they had one that appealed to him. Deposit-to-delivery in 8 months. I ended up getting my LE at the end of December but I was pretty cranky for a few weeks until I got the email. It'll happen. 2 years is still relatively short in Rivian-time.

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[DallasRivianR1S]

Yeah, so I think there's a big difference between phone & chat CS vs guides. I was assigned a guide like two weeks before I was about to get pushed back and a conversation with my guide got me an R1S in... 10 days? Any attempt to get CS to give me shop access got me nowhere. I think it's a difference of capability and access. Guide experiences here vary, but in general, I think people see much more activity/response/etc. from guides. Doesn't help you much other than to say, "wait for a guide".

I appreciate that advice, thank you

 

[evguy]

I can sympathize. We pre-ordered our R1S in May 2019, expecting to take delivery in late 2020/early 2021 as a replacement for our 2009 Highlander. Delivery got pushed out at least 3 times (I lost count), and communication was otherwise non-existent, meanwhile we had to spend four figures on Highlander maintenance/repairs we could have avoided had our original expectations been satisfied. Luckily, the Highlander just about held together until Nov 2022, when our R1S finally arrived (on my birthday of all days). Our 3.5 year wait was worth it. If you stick with it, I hope you feel the same way.

 

[DallasRivianR1S]

I ordered over 3 years ago. Live within 2 hours of the factory. I talked up Rivian so much to my Tesla-driving neighbor that he finally put down a deposit about a year ago (March 2022-ish). Ran into him around Thanksgiving and he said he was waiting for his delivery the following week. My jaw dropped. He said he got an opportunity to pick a vehicle from the R1T Shop and they had one that appealed to him. Deposit-to-delivery in 8 months. I ended up getting my LE at the end of December but I was pretty cranky for a few weeks until I got the email. It'll happen. 2 years is still relatively short in Rivian-time.

this is precisely my frustration. glad it worked out for you, and appreciate your reply.
this is a great forum, with good people that allow us to put our frustration in perspective
thanks again MIG

 

[theyoungone]

i pre-ordered 3/1/2021. got pushed back twice already. Current delivery date is July-September. i mentioned to Rivian that I need another car ASAP. My daughter requires a car, and I wanted to give her my Accord. I can't do that without another vehicle to drive.
I told emailed them many times letting them know that I am flexible on color and options, but it took 3 emails to even get a response. And the response was a form letter. Not sure if they even read my emails. I even offered to pick up at the factory.
I showed them links from this forum, about people in Dallas who ordered after me, who already have their R1S. This is because they 1st told me, that I am being pushed back as I am not near a service center. (there is one 5 miles from my house).
I even had to reach out over 5 times before I got a call back about a demo drive. The demo drive (in Dallas), was very short. R1S drove great, and looked to be well put together. Seems like an amazing vehicle.
Doing my best to wait, even got some of my friends to put down deposits for R1Ss. Throughout the whole process, I have not felt that I was valued as a customer. I don't feel the communications have been timely, honest or forthright.
Hopefully they get through these growing pains. Poor customer service can certainly ruin even the best product experience.

 

[SASSquatch]

I understand it’s hard to wait, but no manufacturer will change your order status based on you wanting to give your daughter your current car ASAP.

You ordered the S, which was slow to start being delivered because they decided to focus on the T. They are ramping up production, but the best bet if you’re flexible is to beg Rivian for access to the R1 Shop. That will be harder without a guide, but I would call in frequently. You might get lucky.

He doesn't need to get lucky - he just needs to call @CutTheLineKyle! He'll not only get you into the Shop without an actual reservation, but he'll also get you a Launch Edition with pre-March pricing to boot!

Godspeed.

 

[VSG]

i pre-ordered 3/1/2021

When did you expect to receive your R1S? Realistically, with all the information available to you back then? Back then, production hadn't started, R1S production wasn't even slated to start production until six months after the R1T production started, first year production target was 25k R1 vehicles, and you had two years of pre-orders in front of you. The R1S has only been in production for 6 months now, so I think it would be unreasonable to expect to have received your car. That said, Rivian *is* shipping some 2021 R1S orders at this time, and R1S production is going extremely well since the beginning of the year with over 7000 produced just this quarter, so the delivery update you receive in April should be pretty accurate, or perhaps you will even get your 8 steps before then.

What was your initial delivery window, back in Dec 2021 when they were first sent out? I bet it was 2H23, and I think that is still pretty accurate. If anything, it might be sooner because they are doing a much better job of setting delivery windows these days to ensure that they don't miss targets.

That said, Rivian knows all this too, so they could have done a much better job of communicating. If it were me I would have repeatedly been sending out a broad outline of the production plan, maybe as a Gannt chart with the dates removed, so that people could see where in the sequence they were and could adjust their expectations when dates slipped. I know there were many changes and challenges for production last year, and I know that they wanted to control the release of numbers, but keeping silent led to people filling in the blanks with their own ideas then blaming Rivian when those imagined dates and numbers weren't met.

 

[DallasRivianR1S]

When did you expect to receive your R1S? Realistically, with all the information available to you back then? Back then, production hadn't started, R1S production wasn't even slated to start production until six months after the R1T production started, first year production target was 25k R1 vehicles, and you had two years of pre-orders in front of you. The R1S has only been in production for 6 months now, so I think it would be unreasonable to expect to have received your car. That said, Rivian *is* shipping some 2021 R1S orders at this time, and R1S production is going extremely well since the beginning of the year with over 7000 produced just this quarter, so the delivery update you receive in April should be pretty accurate, or perhaps you will even get your 8 steps before then.

What was your initial delivery window, back in Dec 2021 when they were first sent out? I bet it was 2H23, and I think that is still pretty accurate. If anything, it might be sooner because they are doing a much better job of setting delivery windows these days to ensure that they don't miss targets.

That said, Rivian knows all this too, so they could have done a much better job of communicating. If it were me I would have repeatedly been sending out a broad outline of the production plan, maybe as a Gannt chart with the dates removed, so that people could see where in the sequence they were and could adjust their expectations when dates slipped. I know there were many changes and challenges for production last year, and I know that they wanted to control the release of numbers, but keeping silent led to people filling in the blanks with their own ideas then blaming Rivian when those imagined dates and numbers weren't met.

initially they said Oct-Dec 2022, then March-May 2023, now July-Sep 2023
and I understand "stuff happens", but communication can be better

 

[DallasRivianR1S]

When did you expect to receive your R1S? Realistically, with all the information available to you back then? Back then, production hadn't started, R1S production wasn't even slated to start production until six months after the R1T production started, first year production target was 25k R1 vehicles, and you had two years of pre-orders in front of you. The R1S has only been in production for 6 months now, so I think it would be unreasonable to expect to have received your car. That said, Rivian *is* shipping some 2021 R1S orders at this time, and R1S production is going extremely well since the beginning of the year with over 7000 produced just this quarter, so the delivery update you receive in April should be pretty accurate, or perhaps you will even get your 8 steps before then.

What was your initial delivery window, back in Dec 2021 when they were first sent out? I bet it was 2H23, and I think that is still pretty accurate. If anything, it might be sooner because they are doing a much better job of setting delivery windows these days to ensure that they don't miss targets.

That said, Rivian knows all this too, so they could have done a much better job of communicating. If it were me I would have repeatedly been sending out a broad outline of the production plan, maybe as a Gannt chart with the dates removed, so that people could see where in the sequence they were and could adjust their expectations when dates slipped. I know there were many changes and challenges for production last year, and I know that they wanted to control the release of numbers, but keeping silent led to people filling in the blanks with their own ideas then blaming Rivian when those imagined dates and numbers weren't met.

and I agree with you VSG, disappointment occurs when expectations don't align with reality. (I'm saying this as an oncologist) and that is the fault of their communication. Your Gannt chart sounds like a better solution

 

[1T2022]

I switched to R1T from R1S. Immediately got invited to confirmation of configuration. Soon took delivery. I still feel R1T drives and looks better

 

[Dark-Fx]

no guide yet

If your current window starts in July, switching your config could potentially hurt your chances of keeping that window, but, if you switch to an R1T, the odds are the Rivian system will assign you a guide rather quickly.

Ask them for access to the R1 shop on a phone call after you are assigned, and that evening switch your config back to the R1S. The shop access is supposed to follow what vehicle you have configured (it was for me).

If it doesn't work out and you get pushed back even further, I take no blame.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I don't know your situation, but when I read stuff like you've had multiple communications with them it is cause for concern for me. I cannot say this with certainty of course but do you feel you could have been rude in customer interactions with them? I only ask because it seems to me that the customer experience varies greatly between people and lots of the people who haven't had a ton of customer interactions or who rated their interactions as positive have been really happy with their delivery timelines.

My experience with Rivian has been pretty great throughout the entirety of the interactions I've had with Rivian. Maybe that's been because of my attitude, maybe because of my expectations or maybe I just got lucky. I have seen other stories on here of how some people have gotten really great service and some others of people saying the opposite.

As I said I'm not accusing you of anything, just something to think about.

 

[JMF]

Same situation here. I cancelled my order and bought a used one.

 

[DallasRivianR1S]

I don't know your situation, but when I read stuff like you've had multiple communications with them it is cause for concern for me. I cannot say this with certainty of course but do you feel you could have been rude in customer interactions with them? I only ask because it seems to me that the customer experience varies greatly between people and lots of the people who haven't had a ton of customer interactions or who rated their interactions as positive have been really happy with their delivery timelines.

My experience with Rivian has been pretty great throughout the entirety of the interactions I've had with Rivian. Maybe that's been because of my attitude, maybe because of my expectations or maybe I just got lucky. I have seen other stories on here of how some people have gotten really great service and some others of people saying the opposite.

As I said I'm not accusing you of anything, just something to think about.

reasonable question, and I have always been very professional, there is not much to be gained by being rude and/or difficult.

 

[goldburger]

Technically you're not a customer yet.

I disagree about this. It’s up to Rivian, via communication and service and production, to keep you a customer long enough to get a vehicle and more money out of you.

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