I don't feel valued as a customer

[oskeei]

......
You want full transparency? Transparency of what exactly? What does that even mean? Do you want to audit Rivians build procedures and delivery policies? See what colors or builds are being delivered? So customers can manipulate the data they are given in attempt to get earlier deliveries, choosing different colors or options, or changing a delivery address.

Transparency means communicating honestly, openly, and authentically. I'll use my experience with their customer service. I communicated to them that I wondered if there was a reason my build was delayed compared to other customers who had ordered after me and gotten a guide, access to the shop or even gotten delivery. What I got was a scripted (other have copy and pasted the same response I got) that they had NOT even started delivery of "Adventure" vehicles and were still reconciling orders from 2020 and previous.

Based on the data, I am not sure that is honest, open or authentic. Is it a flat lie, probably not. Is it misleading, yes.

If Rivian wants to think long term, they need to not just worry about expansion of facilities and what the next model will be and try to facilitate and build positive relationship with their customers..

Bigger car companies have figured it out with a big focus on customer experience. I don't think all of those Rivian Service Centers are just for warrenty work. I'm sure Rivian expects some after sale revenue from folks coming back for Rivian service. Not sure they'll see the profits ICE car companies make, but there is still plenty of oppertunity.

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[Dark-Fx]

Bigger car companies have figured it out with a big focus on customer experience.

I suppose if that's one thing legacy auto has with dealerships, is being shielded from their direct bad behavior, and giving you a different entity to complain about.

 

[HJP1]

I waited 2 1/2 years for my R1T and at times felt like a very unappreciated customer, once I took delivery I can't say enough about the vehicle and customer service both in Illinois during the summer and Arizona over the winter.

 

[DallasRivianR1S]

While I agree concrete timelines would be great, no manufacturer really does them, it just gives them a deadline to miss. And then a jaded customer "who made plans for this date". And if they deliver early, sometimes the customer says "I don't have the money right now, its too early". I was supposed to get a Cadillac Lyriq Debut Edition in Spring 2022, they missed, and then GM said all of the Debut Editions were supposed to be built by the end of 2022, they weren't, and I still haven't heard anything from Cadillac, as we enter Spring 2023. Go read about people's experiences with Ford with the Ranger/Lightning/Bronco. Or VW and the ID4. Or Kia/Hyundai and their Evs or dealerships in general.

Distribution should be "fair". Fair to who? Whose definition? First come first serve? Closest to service center? Those willing to pay the post 3/1 price increase? Rivian is a business. They want to survive. Like it or not, distribution needs to be efficient. They need to factor in things like build schedules, costs, post delivery service ability, etc. Do you really think Rivian should operate the same as a restaurant down the street?

You want full transparency? Transparency of what exactly? What does that even mean? Do you want to audit Rivians build procedures and delivery policies? See what colors or builds are being delivered? So customers can manipulate the data they are given in attempt to get earlier deliveries, choosing different colors or options, or changing a delivery address.

You have "need" of a car, go buy one. No one is stopping you, you just seem locked in on Rivian, it is a great product. If other manufacturers are doing better, go buy one of them and circle back when Rivian is building quicker.

saying other companies suck, is not an excuse. i imagine you think they have had no missteps, and should never be criticized?
you also appear to already have your vehicle.
as for fair distribution, unless it is all arbitrary and capricious, they can notify us of their parameters so we can modify orders and expectations accordingly.


appreciate your "permission" allowing me to buy another car, but you are missing my point

 

[Donald Stanfield]

saying other companies suck, is not an excuse. i imagine you think they have had no missteps, and should never be criticized?
you also appear to already have your vehicle.
as for fair distribution, unless it is all arbitrary and capricious, they can notify us of their parameters so we can modify orders and expectations accordingly.


appreciate your "permission" allowing me to buy another car, but you are missing my point

Think about this from Rivian's perspective for a second. If they notify everyone of their parameters they are using to determine who gets what first, then a ton of people who are lower on the list are going to change their configs in order to move up the list. Having many more people now meeting the parameters for quick delivery than the cars they can make they will now need to select new parameters to determine who goes first out of this delivery set.

If they disclose these parameters then people will just change their configs to match the new and current parameters and repeat the same song and dance ad infinitum. The tl;dr is the reason they don't state their parameters is exactly because people will modify their orders.

 

[Bigmikeh24]

I pre-ordered my R1-S in January of 2019. 1543 days ago to be exact.

4 or 5 times since then I was told my vehicle will be ready in the next 6 months. Every 6 months it would be the same line.

I was invited to go for a test drive about 6 months ago.
The rep said “oh there’s the same configuration you ordered right next to us””
Where’s mine? I asked.
“Right. Sure. Ah, we don’t have that kind of information available to us.”

last fall they said 1st quarter 2023. Yeah, whatever…..

I February, I’m walking our dog and see my exact configuration drive right by me in the neighborhood. I wonder to myself what it was I said that pissed off rivian so much.
I guess the fact that I’m over 50 and not some kind of influencer must be the reason.

I finally get the magic email at they beginning of march telling me that I’m invited to the 8 step process. Get now I’m called an alcoholic.

I jump through all the hoops in 2 days. Then they go dark.

then suddenly I’m assigned a guide. She tells me I need to go through the 8 step process….
I already did. I tell her….
“Great! They’ll get back to you about delivery!”
thanks….

a couple weeks go by. I get a text from the service center to schedule my delivery. We set the date.
My guide reaches out to me…. “Did the service center reach out and give you a schedule yet?”
Yes I tell her.

I was supposed to get my car last Friday. Thursday morning 24 hours before the scheduled time I get a message saying there looking forward to seeing me.
At 5:00 Thursday evening I get a long voicemail and text message from the service center saying that my car is still on a train stuck behind another one in Bakersfield that derailed.

a couple hours after that my guide reached out to me asking if i heard anything from the service center. She said she heard some cars might be delayed….OMFG?‍

I finally lost my patience and replied . “Aren’t you supposed to be my guide? Isn’t that something you should be doing for me?”

that was last Friday. I haven’t heard from her since……?

 

[COdogman]

saying other companies suck, is not an excuse. i imagine you think they have had no missteps, and should never be criticized?
you also appear to already have your vehicle.
as for fair distribution, unless it is all arbitrary and capricious, they can notify us of their parameters so we can modify orders and expectations accordingly.


appreciate your "permission" allowing me to buy another car, but you are missing my point

There is a difference between saying "other companies suck" and no other companies are doing what you are asking. I suppose if you decide that is a make or break point for you, then Rivian will fail that test. So will all other manufacturers. It highlights that you have expectations of Rivian that no other company delivers on either.

Rivian never promised to notify people of what was being built, what was available, or even whether they can deliver the build you are waiting for. If they attempted to notify all customers of "parameters" so you could modify your order, that would be a temporary situation until those parameters changed for a million possible reasons at the factory. They would be faced with even more constantly changing orders making it nearly impossible to pin down a build schedule more than a week in advance. That slows EVERYONE'S order down.

Not one person in this forum has ever said Rivian "had no missteps". You know that but seem more interested in complaining than accepting the logic or facts of the situation. No one is telling you to like it, but it is reality and Rivian broke no promises or any agreements in building and delivering and communicating the way they are.

 

[DallasRivianR1S]

not sure I agree with this comment
we can't tell people the parameters because they will act on them?
that makes zero sense to me
i do think of it from Rivian's POV. Right now, they have little competition in their niche, that will change. As you have seen from other replies on this thread, this approach has not engendered trust or loyalty from many on here. Always better to under-promise and over-deliver.

 

[COdogman]

not sure I agree with this comment
we can't tell people the parameters because they will act on them?
that makes zero sense to me
i do think of it from Rivian's POV. Right now, they have little competition in their niche, that will change. As you have seen from other replies on this thread, this approach has not engendered trust or loyalty from many on here. Always better to under-promise and over-deliver.

You literally are not thinking of it from their perspective. Their goal is predictability and consistency. Your goal is to get a Rivian as soon as possible. If they did what you suggested it would make their goals impossible. Multiple people have attempted to explain this to you at this point.

You are citing the few with complaints vs the majority of satisfied owners. No informal poll on an internet forum is representative of the overall level of satisfaction of tens of thousands of owners.

 

[DallasRivianR1S]

There is a difference between saying "other companies suck" and no other companies are doing what you are asking. I suppose if you decide that is a make or break point for you, then Rivian will fail that test. So will all other manufacturers. It highlights that you have expectations of Rivian that no other company delivers on either.

Rivian never promised to notify people of what was being built, what was available, or even whether they can deliver the build you are waiting for. If they attempted to notify all customers of "parameters" so you could modify your order, that would be a temporary situation until those parameters changed for a million possible reasons at the factory. They would be faced with even more constantly changing orders making it nearly impossible to pin down a build schedule more than a week in advance. That slows EVERYONE'S order down.

Not one person in this forum has ever said Rivian "had no missteps". You know that but seem more interested in complaining than accepting the logic or facts of the situation. No one is telling you to like it, but it is reality and Rivian broke no promises or any agreements in building and delivering and communicating the way they are.

again, you already have your vehicle.
i am offering suggestions for better satisfaction from their customers, clearly some others here agree with me as well. just because you think otherwise, does not invalidate my opinions (as I do not invalidate yours)
if you cannot see why anyone would be upset as their timelines continuously get delayed, then my apologies to you.
had i known about this in the beginning, I would have gone a different route
but here we are

and I have had much better communication when custom ordering a vehicle from the German luxury brands, so its not to say that their approach cannot improve, or that Mercedes and Porsche do not have a much higher level of customer care/communication.

they are a young company, and have had (and will continue to have) missteps. there is a reason the street has punished their SP. and there is a difference between complaining and constructive criticism. I am rooting very hard for them to succeed.

and they did break promises. when you promise a delivery date, and you do not meet it, it is a broken promise. they did not violate a contract, but they certainly broke a promise, multiple times. again, under-promise and over-deliver. not the opposite

 

[DallasRivianR1S]

I pre-ordered my R1-S in January of 2019. 1543 days ago to be exact.

4 or 5 times since then I was told my vehicle will be ready in the next 6 months. Every 6 months it would be the same line.

I was invited to go for a test drive about 6 months ago.
The rep said “oh there’s the same configuration you ordered right next to us””
Where’s mine? I asked.
“Right. Sure. Ah, we don’t have that kind of information available to us.”

last fall they said 1st quarter 2023. Yeah, whatever…..

I February, I’m walking our dog and see my exact configuration drive right by me in the neighborhood. I wonder to myself what it was I said that pissed off rivian so much.
I guess the fact that I’m over 50 and not some kind of influencer must be the reason.

I finally get the magic email at they beginning of march telling me that I’m invited to the 8 step process. Get now I’m called an alcoholic.

I jump through all the hoops in 2 days. Then they go dark.

then suddenly I’m assigned a guide. She tells me I need to go through the 8 step process….
I already did. I tell her….
“Great! They’ll get back to you about delivery!”
thanks….

a couple weeks go by. I get a text from the service center to schedule my delivery. We set the date.
My guide reaches out to me…. “Did the service center reach out and give you a schedule yet?”
Yes I tell her.

I was supposed to get my car last Friday. Thursday morning 24 hours before the scheduled time I get a message saying there looking forward to seeing me.
At 5:00 Thursday evening I get a long voicemail and text message from the service center saying that my car is still on a train stuck behind another one in Bakersfield that derailed.

a couple hours after that my guide reached out to me asking if i heard anything from the service center. She said she heard some cars might be delayed….OMFG?‍

I finally lost my patience and replied . “Aren’t you supposed to be my guide? Isn’t that something you should be doing for me?”

that was last Friday. I haven’t heard from her since……?

sounds like flawless communication from Rivian with no broken promises
how dare you question this flawless company?
I'm sure you feel very appreciated as a customer
you sound very unreasonable

obviously, that was sarcasm
I am sorry about your experience so far, and hope it is better once you have your vehicle
I remember what a PITA it was to build my house, but after delays and cost overruns we are in the house and love it. hopefully the end user experience will wash away the purchase experience

 

[Dark-Fx]

and I have had much better communication when custom ordering a vehicle from the German luxury brands, so its not to say that their approach cannot improve, or that Mercedes and Porsche do not have a much higher level of customer care/communication.

Maybe I missed it but what German luxury brand vehicle have you special ordered in the last three years?

 

[freshpow]

not sure I agree with this comment
we can't tell people the parameters because they will act on them?
that makes zero sense to me
i do think of it from Rivian's POV. Right now, they have little competition in their niche, that will change. As you have seen from other replies on this thread, this approach has not engendered trust or loyalty from many on here. Always better to under-promise and over-deliver.

Here goes. You're begging for more transparency but if you give everyone the parameters by which you're manufacturing then many people in line will change their configurations to try to "jump the line" and get their vehicle sooner. At that point, you might as well throw your entire production schedule and delivery estimates in the trash because those were based on the initial order configs.

If you really want to speed up your delivery - switch to an R1T and you'll have it in a few weeks. I was initially an R1S pre-order but am very glad I switched to the T.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

again, you already have your vehicle.
i am offering suggestions for better satisfaction from their customers, clearly some others here agree with me as well. just because you think otherwise, does not invalidate my opinions (as I do not invalidate yours)
if you cannot see why anyone would be upset as their timelines continuously get delayed, then my apologies to you.
had i known about this in the beginning, I would have gone a different route
but here we are

and I have had much better communication when custom ordering a vehicle from the German luxury brands, so its not to say that their approach cannot improve, or that Mercedes and Porsche do not have a much higher level of customer care/communication.

they are a young company, and have had (and will continue to have) missteps. there is a reason the street has punished their SP. and there is a difference between complaining and constructive criticism. I am rooting very hard for them to succeed.

and they did break promises. when you promise a delivery date, and you do not meet it, it is a broken promise. they did not violate a contract, but they certainly broke a promise, multiple times. again, under-promise and over-deliver. not the opposite

FWIW he does not have his vehicle yet either. We know why you're upset, we get it. Some of it is Rivian's fault, some of it is the economy, some of it is covid, some of it is to be expected for a first model year car out of a first model year company. If you want to be on the cutting edge of anything you're going to have to eat a little shit.

With any new product since the beginning of time there have been delays and mistakes. It's not just rivian. What it sounds like to me is you don't really want to be an early adopter. That's alright, most people don't. It's the same as people who beta test software, they get all the cool shit before the rest of us but sometimes those cool things don't work as expected or are delayed.

I think you either need to adjust your expectations or maybe grab something else for this car and catch Rivian in a couple years. It seems to me, and a few other people here, that you are just expecting a level of service no manufacturer these days is providing but especially new and smaller manufacturers. We aren't trying to rain on your parade or even tell you your expectations are unreasonable. We get that lots of people don't like waiting or putting up with delays and hassles. That's unfortunately the reality for Rivian right now.

 

[DuoRivians]

Man,… people love to create drama from nothing

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