I think it is very easy to hate on the Tesla service process. Challenging to get an appointment, hard to get in touch with an actual human, ambiguous loaner car access...not good. And when you do get someone on the phone, it feels like many of them have different idea about how things work.
Also, you pay top dollar for a techy car, but the service facilities feel kind of haphazzard -- the interiors are more like Enterprise rent-a-car and they always seem understaffed and confusing.
Also, I'll admit. I'm a film director, and I'm used to being well taken care of. As you might image, I'm not one to take BS anyone and I want my time to be respected.
So after picking up my stunning grey Tesla 3 long range, I noticed some subtle issues: a chip here, a scratch there, a few things that weren't quite right.
I got an appointment to have it evaluated thru the app, but it self-cancelled and it took months to get another. Finally, a few months later, I pulled into Tesla Burbank.
I was lucky to pull in and be greeted by a human being who clearly takes pride in his work.
This individual is named Nelson Paniagua, and he deserves not only to be promoted -- he should collaborate to re-write the Tesla manual on customer service. If one even exists.
Nelson caught a few things I had missed and added them to the list and was generally courteous and enthusiastic.
I found out that it was going to take over a week to attend to my car's needs, and I wanted to have it because of a busy week ahead, but I was concerned that I'd be locked out of an appointment, again.
I told Nelson this and he said 'I'll reschedule your apppointment and send you an email confirming this. That way you can come in any time.'
Nelson and I kept in touch over email until I was able to bring my car back in. He always got right back to me during this extended period from--get ready--May until August!
Finally I had time to bring the car by, and Nelson set up an appointment.
As I was bringing the car in, I remembered that it was hard to get a loaner car. While Tesla does provide $100 in Uber credits per day, the horror of having to call an Uber any time I had to go anywhere was almost worth not getting the car fixed.
So I asked Nelson about the loaner. Nelson made sure I had a Telsa S loaner car waiting for me, and it came with free, unlimited Supercharging. Not bad. Actually great.
Drop off was fine. I told a ride with Mark to listen to some minor squeeks and was impressed by his knowledge and specific focus on interior noise.
Nelson sent me daily updates as to my car's progress in service and paint. Finally about a week later, I left a tennis lesson and saw that my car was ready. Thru the Telsa app, I asked if I could come in any time and Nelson said yes. So off I went.
I got my car back in about 15 minutes, and was happily on my way. The repairs are perfect.
Thank you, Nelson. You are absolutely an asset to Tesla. Elon -- promote him! He will keep customers happy, and they will tell their friends, who will all buy more cars! read more