Rivian's Order Fulfillment Process.

[Blaine]

I completely disagree. As bad as Rivian has been, I've had zero communication from Ford directly about my order (other than "here's our latest web site update"), and my order page is exactly the same as it was on my Day 1 order. I received one bungled email communication from my local Ford dealer, claiming I never responded to their first email - which was later confirmed that in fact they never sent. Is Ford's zero communication better than Rivian's faulty, ambiguous communication?

Exactly. No surprise that the people who won the Lightning lottery and/or the dealer allowed to cut to the front of the line think it's a great system.

The people, like you, that have reservations thousands or tens of thousands of people ahead of even the guy who received the very first Lightning, but aren't getting one, have a different feeling about it.

Reality is that they both have similar problems: They allow people to cut the line, don't give trustworthy info to anyone who isn't close to delivery, etc.

Someone above argued that we should expect better of a company not beholden to scummy dealers, which is reasonable, but they both have huge issues with communication and prioritization.

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[Zoidz]

What “wave” were you in? I am a wave 3 Lightning reservation.

With the overwhelming demand for the F150 BEV Lightning I see a large price increase coming for 2023 Lightning models.

I received zero communication about what wave I am in. Not from Ford, not from the Dealer. The dealer's first "second" email asked me to pick a trim level configuration so they could apparently try to figure that out. I have not been given any estimated 2022, 2023 or 2030.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

no dealer mark up for my F-150 hybrid or Lightning.

Consider yourself lucky. Every dealer in Denver is charging markups at this point. Ordered Lightnings MAY be the only exception.

 

[MNLightning]

I received zero communication about what wave I am in. Not from Ford, not from the Dealer. The dealer's first "second" email asked me to pick a trim level configuration so they could apparently try to figure that out. I have not been given any estimated 2022, 2023 or 2030.

What do you see when you login to view your order? And when did you order it.

 

[moosetags]

Totally agree with this. Though I would say that after looking at all those dealer markups, Ford’s system is very much broken as well.

A few days ago, I was in the Ford dealership in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. They had two Mach 1 Mustangs in the the showroom. They were being offered for MSRP plus a $40,000.00 dealer incentive. There was also a run of the mill F-150. It was MSRP plus a $10,000.00 dealer incentive. Yes, Ford's distribution system in badly broken.

Brian

 

[Blaine]

What do you see when you login to view your order? And when did you order it.

He hasn't been invited to order. Despite a first day order (unlike the guy that got the first one, and many other people who have ordered or received their trucks).

And people who have ordered have been unable to pick the models they want and had to postpone... with no information on what might change for 2023 or if they'll still be making just a token number of Pros, etc.

Ford's system is trash, too.

 

[dleepnw]

Some people have their trucks in less than 6 months while other folks with exact same configuration and much older orders are just waiting....and I can find no pattern or logic in it. Talked to several folks who have exact same order as I do, and they got their truck in under 6 months. Talked with Rivian about it, at least the people answering the phone also have no clue why the process of filling orders appears utterly random. On the one hand, I figure more time for them to keep making them better (like the paint orange peel) is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is crazy that customers waiting since 2019 are still waiting while customers with 2022 orders for same color and options are already driving their trucks. I am not a 2019 order, but I really feel for them. I am just one of the orders in the great middle of those waiting and trying to understand the process that seems random at best, and certainly lacking in equity. Rivian should expect another uprising if they don't start giving their older orders priority. Before anyone says it is the color or the package or the state of residence or some other variable....that's just not accurate per the folks I have spoken with in the FB groups that have their trucks while others with same color and same options in the same state locations with older orders are still waiting.

Meanwhile, I have several trucks and own a shop that develops and distributes automotive parts so we are ordering a new truck every year and I can compare the process of recently ordering and getting a super popular truck from Ford. This is the little Ford Maverick, Ford has been selling about 10,000 of these per month. We made our order in November and picked it up this week. From start of the process to finish it was easy to track the order, we knew when the VIN issued, we knew the week it was scheduled to be built, we knew when there was a little delay in that build week because of a component, and we knew the week it got built with the shortage of items was resolved, and we knew when it was on the way for delivery (and nobody with an order 4 months newer for same package got their truck first). This replaces an old 08 Dakota for us, and we will have some fun with it and do our own wheels and sways and springs. When the Rivian gets here it will replace our nicer truck as the one we use for camping and surfing and road trips...which is a Honda Ridgeline.

Rivian talks a good game about transparency but they could do much better or the fact they were first out the gate won't mean much as Ford delivers their Lightning with more efficiency and far more transparency. Are you listening 'RJ' Scaringe? And how about that ability when power goes out in our area to run my house or my business off the truck because Ford has built in that feature from the start? What about that feature and how did that not get designed into the Rivian from day one? We have massive solar installs at home and at the shop, the Rivian will charge for free and it would be nice to avoid the current $6 per gallon gas here and keep things running when the power goes out for an hour or two. Nonetheless, will have some fun with this Maverick until our truck shows up from Rivian... in 2023 or whenever since nobody at Rivian really seems to know.

By the way Rivian, this is a CHEAP truck, about ONE THIRD the cost of the Rivian, and yet there is no orange peel in the paint and it has Android Auto!

As a order holder and shareholder (directly and through my company), I sure hope Rivian can pull it all together. As a guy who also owned car magazines and wrote for them for decades the buzz from friends in the automotive press industry is how fast the automotive press is going to turn on Rivian. So far the reception from the automotive press has been astoundingly positive and willing to give Rivian the benefit of the doubt to a massive extent. But without some cleanup of the order filling process that positivity will turn and customers left waiting for years will be profiled and their stories headlined in the car magazines.

i've been confounded by their broken process as well and then came to an epiphany. i believe they have some percentage of orders they are delivering to post 3/1 price hike customers. meaning they are trying to offset the loss of revenue from pre 3/1 price hike customers. from a purely numbers point of view, maybe that makes sense but from a customer experience point of view, this is just about the most shady thing you could do. so its not so much broken but a cold, cutthroat non-customer friendly move.

 

[MNLightning]

He hasn't been invited to order. Despite a first day order (unlike the guy that got the first one, and many other people who have ordered or received their trucks).

And people who have ordered have been unable to pick the models they want and had to postpone... with no information on what might change for 2023 or if they'll still be making just a token number of Pros, etc.

Ford's system is trash, too.

That seems odd, the dealer I selected knew about my order basically from the moment I placed it. Not saying he had any super useful information but the dealer was able to outline the milestones in the process for me and keep me updated. On top of that even if he hasn't been invited to order he might/should be able to open a Ford Account and talk to a rep. I had a couple of chat sessions with Ford and were able to clarify my position in the process.

 

[Blaine]

i've been confounded by their broken process as well and then came to an epiphany. i believe they have some percentage of orders they are delivering to post 3/1 price hike customers. meaning they are trying to offset the loss of revenue from pre 3/1 price hike customers. from a purely numbers point of view, maybe that makes sense but from a customer experience point of view, this is just about the most shady thing you could do. so its not so much broken but a cold, cutthroat non-customer friendly move.

i agree that’s probably what they’re doing and that it’s sketchy. Unfortunately, it’s pretty much standard operating procedure when supply is so limited. Tesla let lots of people jump the “line” if they were willing to buy more expensive Model 3/Y trims. Ford is building a minuscule number of the $40k version and letting people who want the Lariat/Platinum to jump the line. Rivian is now perhaps doing the same. The main difference is that they’re actually the same trucks, just sold at a new, higher price, but the premise is the same. They *could* build your vehicle, but they’d rather build someone else’s for someone willing to pay more.

 

[Blaine]

That seems odd, the dealer I selected knew about my order basically from the moment I placed it. Not saying he had any super useful information but the dealer was able to outline the milestones in the process for me and keep me updated. On top of that even if he hasn't been invited to order he might/should be able to open a Ford Account and talk to a rep. I had a couple of chat sessions with Ford and were able to clarify my position in the process.

He hasn’t been invited to place an order. He just has a reservation.

So, the dealer *might* tell him where he is in *their* line, but it’s of minimal value, and some dealers won’t even share that info… especially if they let a bunch of people cut to the front of the line and don’t want people to realize it.

And knowing your place in the dealers line still leaves a bunch of unknowns. Say you’re 20th in line at that dealer:

How many Lightnings will they get next year?

Will Ford allow another wave of “Dealer Prioritization”, aka, let their friends/employees cut to the front of the line, therefore changing your place in line?

Will Ford still only build a token amount of Pros? Only the very first person in line at each dealer had a chance at one this year. Then they were “sold out.”

If 40k of the 200k reservations were people who wanted a Pro (very reasonable estimate, IMO), now that number is 39,500 people, minus a few who bit the bullet and paid way more for another Lightning that was available. If Ford still makes 4% Pros for the next couple years, there could be people waiting several years for a Pro. Who knows? There’s been no public communication on that.

Will they still make very few XLTs? Will they still force people to buy the $10k option package to be allowed to buy the $10k big battery?

I’m not saying they even have all these answers. Lots of variables, now, but some are avoidable, like the minuscule number of Pros, letting people cut the line, etc. and the communication has been poor on a number of topics.

 

[SeaGeo]

Ford has an excellent system in place for customers who have placed Lightning orders. I simply log into my Ford Account and I have immediate access to updates. I have no need to call my dealer, use chat, e-mail or call a 1-800 number for updates.

My Lightning was originally scheduled to be built the week of 7/11. It was then bumped to 7/18 and now I can see that it’s been bumped again for the week of 7/25.

My Lightning was scheduled to be produced this week, and I have no update from Ford. They also took a couple of weeks to let me know I had an anticipated production date *after* it was communicated to me by my dealer.

I think Ford is doing a good job, but even their production communication is inconsistent.

 

[Guy]

My Lightning was scheduled to be produced this week, and I have no update from Ford. They also took a couple of weeks to let me know I had an anticipated production date *after* it was communicated to me by my dealer.

I think Ford is doing a good job, but even their production communication is inconsistent.

Are you taking delivery of the Lightening in addition to your R1T?

 

[SeaGeo]

Are you taking delivery of the Lightening in addition to your R1T?

No. I'm giving my reservation to a coworker at no cost. My dealer won't sell it to them directly because of the name matching to factory orders Ford has to try and cut down on ADM issues, so I'll likely cosign with them and then they'll pull me off the registration.

 

[Guy]

No. I'm giving my reservation to a coworker at no cost. My dealer won't sell it to them directly because of the name matching to factory orders Ford has to try and cut down on ADM issues, so I'll likely cosign with them and then they'll pull me off the registration.

Cool, that is good of you.

 

[SeaGeo]

Cool, that is good of you.

Thanks. Figured it's that or they sell it at markup to some random Joe. She is super excited, it's good to see.

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