Customer support communication

[MassDriver]

The problem is the lower end dealerships figure there are lots of buyers, so the "needy/loud" ones can be ignored. The upper end they know there are limited options (fewer dealerships, less allocation available) so again why bother with a squawker. Throw in "auto groups" that own a bunch of dealerships, and they know that the business isn't going far even if you get po'd enough to "walk" from dealer "A", they'll make money off you at dealer "B".

The Tesla model is just as broken esp for used. Like most of Tesla they've thought through the "ideal, nothing goes wrong or is abnormal process" and optimized that which works great. Anything else is just a train wreck of not well thought out scrambling. Trying to buy a 2018 P100D used turned into a gong show, getting passed around between agents like a baby with a full diaper at a family gathering. After a month of not even being able to get pictures of the actual car let alone go see it in person I just gave up.

Three kind of sales guys from my experiences...

1. "Professional" sales - Sold car stereos and window tinting last week, selling Porsche this week, then boats or doing real estate a month or two from now. Walking the showroom, looking for the next "up" to drive in, likely to be the first guy/gal on your leg as you drive into the dealership, won't remember that you talked to him a week from now.
2. "Legacy" sales - Been at a dealer forever, sees themselves as the automotive "soup Nazi" (Seinfeld reference for the younger set ), deciding who is worthy to purchase and who's not. Likely too busy to give you the time of day if the clothing or arrival car isn't "up to scratch".
3. "Relationship" sales - The guys/gals that plan to work in a brand (or a brand class) for a long term, actually uses CRM to keep track of you and your history, makes sure you're invited to all the dealer events/previews, etc. Has excellent "situational awareness" of when you're in the dealership and will stop for a quick chat, knows when to stop chatting, has the confidence that when you're ready to buy you'll come see him so he's not humping your leg or "going for the close" at every turn.

Tons of #1s around, and they're completely useless. #2 is a fixture at a lot of "high end" dealerships (here the BMW dealerships are full of them, Merc use to be but have moved to mostly #1s that use to work at Best Buy). #3 is what you want as a customer, however its a tricky one to find as they need the right dealership to keep from being overrun by #1s and #2s.

Agree on the sales manager for escalation, he/she is on the same KPI/comp arrangement as sales advisors and is only getting looked at for the single store, so they may be motivated to "push things along", particularly towards the end of the month/quarter.

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[Rafe Stone]

I am in category 3. I’m very dissatisfied with the lack of response from either Porsche or my dealer. Some of the buzz has worn off and I’m considering all my options. As one investing over $200G I’d expect better service.

 

[Rafe Stone]

Totally agree and I’ve had many a heated email recently with my dealership,on lack of comms.

I don’t mind the car being delayed but just one email a month would be great just with a 3 or 4 line update, Their reply was pretty much do you want the car or not in the end.

in danger of being flamed butI think Porsche customers fall into 3 categories, I don’t want get into naming categories but my view is....

Category 1.) People who are stepping up from another band into the lower end Porsche’s. part of the more mass produce models, 718, Macan etc so the whole step up into the brand. They feel happy to have made the ‘step up’ so they are used to buying from mass producers so are happy just to move into a premium brand.

Category 2.) People who are in the middle who see the investment as pretty significant but expect the customer service to match the expense and brand they are buying into.

Category 3.) People who have multiple vehicles, the Porsche might be just for collection or occasional use so these customers probably get great service as they have bought multiple vehicles and even poor service is probably ok to a degree as the cash investment or usage might be so low they don’t need to worry.
I also think people feel differently if the lease or buy, I buy my cars so I’m a bit more emotionally attached to the vehicle to say cars I get had over the years on a company lease. Ownership dials up the level of service I typically expect.

Personally I was in category 1 with my last two cars, both used 911s but just happy to be part of the Porsche experience. Any customer experience gaps got masked that I was happy be able to join the club and put it down Lack of attention to The fact I was buying a used vehicle so not really a true full customer.

I feel with my first new Porsche car purchase with the Taycan that I was in category 2, I’m shelling out over £100k for a car which is not cheap and was expecting the level of service would kick up a notch. I’m not after a white gloved service but the experience on ordering, tracking, information and comms has been well below par, some down to the fact it’s a new vehicle and comms/knowledge are not as defined but mainly just lack of customer focus.

I have genuinely had better customer experience from Amazon at times than Porsche.

anyway... that’s just my opinion

 

[Rafe Stone]

I’m in category 3 agree with the concerns raised and reconsidering all options.

 

[felixtb]

I am in between category 2 & 3 an have been considering my options carefully the last month of non action. HOWEVER, have been waiting for SOOO long for this car that I can not cancel..... just hope that I will have better after sales service than I have had on the sales side. Or will have to change dealer for that part of my total ownership experience even if that means travelling for 1 to 2 hours to get service.........

On another note I think my wait is finally cumming to an end.... Last night I received an invitation to sign into My Porsche and when that was done my car and its VIN was visible...

 

[Toby Pennycuff]

I am likely between Categories 2 and 3 as well. I have 2 Porsche racecars ( a 1973 911S and a 2001 GT3 Cup), a 1979 911 Turbo and a 1989 Carrera Targa. Along the way, I've also owned a Cayenne S, a Cayenne Turbo, a Cayenne GTS (LOVED this car with its manual 6-speed!) and a Cayenne Diesel. My wife has also had a Panamera in the past. I have a Taycan 4S that is sitting in Emden waiting for its "cruise" across the Pond (hopefully in the next week or so) and I have a Macan GTS on order for my wife. As I noted earlier in this thread, I've spent more money on parts and factory tools than I care to admit!

Thus, I (rightly or wrongly) feel I am due some small recognition for the loyalty and real dollar spend I have made with Porsche over the years. The reason I parted company with the Dallas dealership (on the Sales side) was that the Sales team and the GM all determined that since I was not buying a new GT3 every 9-12 months, I was simply not a "valuable" customer to them. That's fine (and I told them so) and I took my business to the Fort Worth dealer. I've had nothing but good luck with the Fort Worth dealer, because my Sales Advisor falls into Category 3 noted earlier. Great guy, keeps me posted (even while he was furloughed) and has worked with me every step of the way.

It would be nice if Porsche was willing to consider a total picture of spend any given customer has with "the brand". But alas, it does not seem that Porsche cares much about that perspective. Love the cars for the visceral thrill mine deliver and so I will stick with the brand, warts and all.

Toby

 

[glennkreisel]

I am likely between Categories 2 and 3 as well. I have 2 Porsche racecars ( a 1973 911S and a 2001 GT3 Cup), a 1979 911 Turbo and a 1989 Carrera Targa. Along the way, I've also owned a Cayenne S, a Cayenne Turbo, a Cayenne GTS (LOVED this car with its manual 6-speed!) and a Cayenne Diesel. My wife has also had a Panamera in the past. I have a Taycan 4S that is sitting in Emden waiting for its "cruise" across the Pond (hopefully in the next week or so) and I have a Macan GTS on order for my wife. As I noted earlier in this thread, I've spent more money on parts and factory tools than I care to admit!

Thus, I (rightly or wrongly) feel I am due some small recognition for the loyalty and real dollar spend I have made with Porsche over the years. The reason I parted company with the Dallas dealership (on the Sales side) was that the Sales team and the GM all determined that since I was not buying a new GT3 every 9-12 months, I was simply not a "valuable" customer to them. That's fine (and I told them so) and I took my business to the Fort Worth dealer. I've had nothing but good luck with the Fort Worth dealer, because my Sales Advisor falls into Category 3 noted earlier. Great guy, keeps me posted (even while he was furloughed) and has worked with me every step of the way.

It would be nice if Porsche was willing to consider a total picture of spend any given customer has with "the brand". But alas, it does not seem that Porsche cares much about that perspective. Love the cars for the visceral thrill mine deliver and so I will stick with the brand, warts and all.

Toby

Looks like Porsche is making some great progress! They are launching a web site and app to document and track all the milestones along the delivery process! Yay

 

[Rafe Stone]

I am in between category 2 & 3 an have been considering my options carefully the last month of non action. HOWEVER, have been waiting for SOOO long for this car that I can not cancel..... just hope that I will have better after sales service than I have had on the sales side. Or will have to change dealer for that part of my total ownership experience even if that means travelling for 1 to 2 hours to get service.........

On another note I think my wait is finally cumming to an end.... Last night I received an invitation to sign into My Porsche and when that was done my car and its VIN was visible...

Aw

 

[Rafe Stone]

Awesome

 

[feye]

I get a better customer experience buying shoes. :-D
Just some basic things that could be fixed @ Porsche corp and until customers speak up Porsche won't put the effort into fixing them. Gotta get dragged into the modern times to compete w the Tesla's, Lucid, Rivian, Karma Fischer, etc. Like OTA updates, every car will need to support that functionality. You can embrace it or you'll be forced to do it. Modern customer support will be the same way.
Oh well.. tic tok...

No, OTA updates are not the future! My MS90D had a perfectly working autopilot when I purchased the car, now it is practially useless, crippled by OTA updats over the years. If you like Tesla, please stick with it, but don't explain to us how amazing it is.

 

[feye]

I am in category 3. I’m very dissatisfied with the lack of response from either Porsche or my dealer. Some of the buzz has worn off and I’m considering all my options. As one investing over $200G I’d expect better service.

All this whining. Let's face it, you ordered a new model car, which is in great demand world-wide, and until it actually goes into production there is no information to be produced. What is the expectation here? You want to have the parts at suppliers tracked when they are produced and shipped to the factory? You want to see the raw material mined?

I ordered before Xmas for production in Feb. Now I don't know maybe this month maybe June. I got 3 delays.

1. Production acceleration was slower than anticipated.
2. Software problems.
3. Covid-19 shutdown/supply problems.

It is what it is. I have heard people waiting for much cheaper EVs over a year.

 

[felixtb]

All this whining. Let's face it, you ordered a new model car, which is in great demand world-wide, and until it actually goes into production there is no information to be produced. What is the expectation here? You want to have the parts at suppliers tracked when they are produced and shipped to the factory? You want to see the raw material mined?

I ordered before Xmas for production in Feb. Now I don't know maybe this month maybe June. I got 3 delays.

1. Production acceleration was slower than anticipated.
2. Software problems.
3. Covid-19 shutdown/supply problems.

It is what it is. I have heard people waiting for much cheaper EVs over a year.

Why are you so negative toward people that believe they have got bad service from their dealer.....? You might have only great experiences..... but some others might not have and should be allowed, as you are, to express their grievances and concerns without being attacked by other forum members who do not want to admit to being unfavorably treated by their dealer...... forums are notably for civil conversation about a specific type of subjects. And all discussions on the subject, good or bad, should be allowed without being attacked..... or am I completely off base?

 

[nsheth_ahimsa]

Looks like Porsche is making some great progress! They are launching a web site and app to document and track all the milestones along the delivery process! Yay

Here is the info and press release - looks like Taycan build tracking coming soon!

Porsche - Track You Dream

 

[glennkreisel]

No, OTA updates are not the future! My MS90D had a perfectly working autopilot when I purchased the car, now it is practially useless, crippled by OTA updats over the years. If you like Tesla, please stick with it, but don't explain to us how amazing it is.

There are a few ground breaking things Elon did and I always give him credit.
Without Elon basically going personally bankrupt over the Roadster we would not have the Taycan. If he didn’t almost loose everything on the model s mass production no Taycan would exist. So that is amazing one person Elon Musk pushed a trillion dollar auto industry into mass producing electric cars.
The Tesla is a good car for a company only a few yrs old. Impressive and we should all be thankful. Even Porsche acknowledges often Elon pushed them to produce electric cars.
They would not have without his competition.

 

[glennkreisel]

Here is the info and press release - looks like Taycan build tracking coming soon!

Porsche - Track You Dream

The customer facing software in the taycan is circa 2015. Classic phenomenal hardware engineering company paying little attention to software and user interface. Either lack of internal resources allocated or complete outsourcing of all customer facing software. I’ve seen this with so many hardware companies over my 40 yrs building software startups. i have contacted Klaus Zellmer @ PCNA to see if they are open to help on the customer facing software side.

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