What car manufacturer have you worked with where this is even remotely true?
None. It doesn't work that way. But it isn't just a "now" - it has never worked that way. If I call up Ford customer service because I have an issue with infotainment on my F-150, they will direct me to my local service centers.
If service can verify or reproduce an issue, they'll try to fix it, and/or engage their internal service/engineering resources.
Trying to call a manufacturer just to let them know you don't like the way some features are working, or to try to report a software bug? Some might go along with it just to make you happy, but your report is going nowhere beyond that.
But Ford will have several service centers (dealers) in close proximity to most people. In my experience with BMW, one did NOT communicate directly with corporate. One went through the dealership which would then deal with corporate. BMW had regional reps assigned to work with each dealership in their region. At least on the luxury level (Ford is not a fair comparison) the service team can be your advocate. I had an issue with one of my BMWs and they kept throwing stuff at it but it kept recurring. I had built a good relationship with the service manager. I decided to invoke the lemon law and came in with copies of my letter to BMW with copies to the GM and the Service Manager at the dealership. The service manager told me he agreed with me and asked me to give him an hour. An hour later he reported that BMW would buy back the car. A good experience with my dealership and once it agreed, a very good relationship with BMW which is why I then ordered a replacement 5 series.
This forum is filled with folks who have done the same thing with their service reps from Lucid. I would urge everyone to do the same. You are much better off interacting with a service rep who knows you and your car and can advocate for you than dealing with random phone answerers. I suspect that Lucid will also listen better to its own reps (that is true for most car companies).
I have always been fond of email. It creates a permanent record. If your matter is not urgent, email is IMO a good alternative.
Lucid has also gone the extra mile with MCR16 monitoring this forum and responding like an ombudsperson when issues arise. When I had BMWs I was on the two major BMW forums and no one from BMW was on either (at least in a visible way). I am now on the Genesis forum and, again, there is no company rep on that forum.
No car is perfect. Lucid is dealing with being a brand new company so it will have hiccups. If you are buying a Lucid, you should do so knowing that you are an early explorer and there will be some issues coming up. My Genesis is more solid, and the software works reliably, BUT it does so by innovating less. For example, my garage door opener is the three buttons on the rear mirror housing, not the more powerful version that Lucid is creating.
I agree with rfc805, no car company interacts on these kinds of issues directly with its customers (other than some focus groups). You are much better off sending them an email and letting it work its way through the system.
On the other hand, I do understand the frustration that the OP has confronted. Dealing with faceless bureaucracies has become a common problem in recent years and it is going to get worse as AI will make it impossible to determine if you are speaking/interacting with a real person or a bot, and in the case of the latter, whether your response is an hallucination.
A couple of my doctors call-in systems have become so annoying that I sometimes just drive over to the office. That actually works for me but they are reasonably close and I enjoy driving.
