Service - Premium?

[cyberwife]

This is interesting - I was pretty shocked when we picked up our luxury car. This is in Newport Beach/Costa Mesa CA - we are talking about a mecca of high end vehicles and high end service. The bar is set HIGH in Orange County. However, I have never owned a luxury car before so my expectations were pretty high. They had offered to Uber us to the service center for our pick up, which we declined as we had other things we were doing right before our appointment so we drove our other car.

We get to the show room and we were absolutely 100% on time, and the first thing they say is, "let's get going, we have been waiting for you". We were offered a free alkaline water. We stood at the reception desk to sign some papers - not a nice "sit down here" at the desk or table - I mean they even do that at Toyota and gave us free popcorn!! We go back to the reveal area and I am looking for a place to put my purse and coat - nothing - had to lay it on the floor next to cars being repaired. The car is covered by a cloth and they pull it off - and we are then supposed to be guided through all the features and set ups and we are supposed to examine the car and let them know any and everything that is wrong. The person guiding us through was an designer/engineer filling in for the normal delivery agents - we have had several, all seem to disappear within a few days of becoming our new person. He did ok, but seemed under pressure to get us out of there - but frankly there were some basic things that he didn't know the answer to. We tried to be critical looking at the cars finishes but it's hard when you are feeling rushed and you are so excited to see and drive the car you have been waiting for for so long. We found some bigger items wrong and missed a few big ones too, which I have reported immediately upon finding them. But so far not even a single call to set up a time to bring in the car to fix this stuff. I always have to call Lucid and leave messages, text the guy that is supposed to be our rep now, talk to customer service - always me reaching out to them. Allegedly some of the items have been ordered but no one can say when they are expected to arrive.

We had tons of questions and my profile was not set up, only my husbands - and another gal comes over and says she needs to speak to our engineer guy - they come back and she says they have an event they need to leave for so we have to end the tutorial. UGH - We had been there just under an hour and when we reserved our delivery time they told us to allow 2 hours - so why are we getting kicked out? I think they messed up on the time or something of our appointment. They drove our car to the front and told us to watch the curb as it is a steep driveway....Thanks....that was it. I felt so let down - our big day after paying more than we have ever paid for a car - it felt so not luxury, not even fun and just plain rushed. I wanted to be treated like a queen!

At 380 miles we had a blow out on Thanksgiving - called customer care who was prompt in answering - they called out the Lucid towing people to come on Friday to pick up the car that was parked in a residential area - thankfully close enough to our friends house that we could walk and at least get some turkey! When the Lucid contracted tow people spoke to us they had no idea that Lucid was an electric car and suddenly I was very anxious that this was not going to go well. But they got it towed to the Lucid service center and they did replace our tire - BYE BYE $530, thankfully they had one in the shop so we didn't have to wait for days or worse yet weeks. But all they offered was free coffee. There was a place to sit on some minimalist sofas - but it just doesn't give you a vibe that you are worthy of a little extra TLC not just because you are shelling out big money for one tire and had a tire blow out on Thanksgiving - but you shelled out $150K for a car!! Like my son says- "you paid more for that car than I paid for my 3 bedroom house!" (he lives in the South - real estate is much cheaper there).

I haven't had the opportunity yet to see how they perform when my car does go in some day for the fixes. But I will report after that, so far not impressed.

 

[GEWC]

You expected to be treated like a queen when you bought a car? No offense, but this isn't a "limited edition only 7 are being made" car. Managing your expectations might be beneficial. They already go above and beyond with the reveal and the hour spent answering questions.

 

[MoniputerLM]

You expected to be treated like a queen when you bought a car? No offense, but this isn't a "limited edition only 7 are being made" car. Managing your expectations might be beneficial. They already go above and beyond with the reveal and the hour spent answering questions.

Our son bought probably the cheapest Lexus SUV and was always treated like a king by the dealership.

 

[cyberwife]

You expected to be treated like a queen when you bought a car? No offense, but this isn't a "limited edition only 7 are being made" car. Managing your expectations might be beneficial. They already go above and beyond with the reveal and the hour spent answering questions.

I have only bought new Toyotas, Volvos, Isuzu, Genesis, and Hondas - and none of them came even close to $150,000 - so yep - I expected more. I can get a free water and coffee just walking into any of those dealerships and not even buying a car. My Genesis came to me with a giant red bow and offers to take my picture with it along with that free water, so pulling off a car cover isn't exactly above and beyond. This is not your basic get in and drive away car Hertz rent a car - our delivery advisor had said to plan on 2 hours and that we would get all of our phones linked, the apps loaded and working, our personal preferences for seat positions, along with a full over view of the functions. We got less than an hour with a polite young man who could talk for hours about the design of the battery pack who didn't know a great deal about the features and settings. We have gotten virtually no action on any of the issues we found then or since (except for a verbal from one person that they ordered 2 parts) - sorry - I expected more and don't feel ashamed for that - and I would have had that same expectation for any of the other cars that we purchased in the past, so the bar isn't really too high.

 

[borski]

I have only bought new Toyotas, Volvos, Isuzu, Genesis, and Hondas - and none of them came even close to $150,000 - so yep - I expected more. I can get a free water and coffee just walking into any of those dealerships and not even buying a car. My Genesis came to me with a giant red bow and offers to take my picture with it along with that free water, so pulling off a car cover isn't exactly above and beyond. This is not your basic get in and drive away car Hertz rent a car - our delivery advisor had said to plan on 2 hours and that we would get all of our phones linked, the apps loaded and working, our personal preferences for seat positions, along with a full over view of the functions. We got less than an hour with a polite young man who could talk for hours about the design of the battery pack who didn't know a great deal about the features and settings. We have gotten virtually no action on any of the issues we found then or since (except for a verbal from one person that they ordered 2 parts) - sorry - I expected more and don't feel ashamed for that - and I would have had that same expectation for any of the other cars that we purchased in the past, so the bar isn't really too high.

I am certain if you contact the delivery center they would set you up with another appointment in order to walk you through everything. Have you done that? As for the items wrong, reach out to the service center directly and I'm certain they'll take care of you.

 

[cyberwife]

I am certain if you contact the delivery center they would set you up with another appointment in order to walk you through everything. Have you done that? As for the items wrong, reach out to the service center directly and I'm certain they'll take care of you.

I have called customer service about the paint chipping off our lucid letters, but have been trying to stick with the guy who said he ordered parts for us as I would like to follow that through with the same person. But I may have to try another path.

 

[Chirpy]

We used to do second handovers for those that needed it - you can tell. Some people glaze over after a while and it’s clear they’re not really taking anything in. The number you actually end up doing is quite small but very important to those that want it. Once you’ve talked about scheduling a quiet time and slowed the whole process down it’s obvious to see the relief on their face.

Any business has their quiet times and using them to make customers happy is a no brainier.

 

[Adnillien]

I have only bought new Toyotas, Volvos, Isuzu, Genesis, and Hondas - and none of them came even close to $150,000 - so yep - I expected more. I can get a free water and coffee just walking into any of those dealerships and not even buying a car. My Genesis came to me with a giant red bow and offers to take my picture with it along with that free water, so pulling off a car cover isn't exactly above and beyond. This is not your basic get in and drive away car Hertz rent a car - our delivery advisor had said to plan on 2 hours and that we would get all of our phones linked, the apps loaded and working, our personal preferences for seat positions, along with a full over view of the functions. We got less than an hour with a polite young man who could talk for hours about the design of the battery pack who didn't know a great deal about the features and settings. We have gotten virtually no action on any of the issues we found then or since (except for a verbal from one person that they ordered 2 parts) - sorry - I expected more and don't feel ashamed for that - and I would have had that same expectation for any of the other cars that we purchased in the past, so the bar isn't really too high.

I don't think your expectations are out of line at all. There should not be any rush when they walk you through all of the functions of the car. I agree with @borski suggestion to call and ask for another tutorial.

 

[joec]

I don't think your expectations are out of line at all. There should not be any rush when they walk you through all of the functions of the car. I agree with @borski suggestion to call and ask for another tutorial.

Agreed. I’m sure come January when this crazy end-of-year rush is over your DA would be happy to spend a bit of time giving you another round of tutorials.

All customers are different. Personally, I just want to go over my checklist to be sure there are no fit and finish issues and get to driving home. Others need a bit more guidance. Lucid’s delivery team is clearly a bit under stress at the moment, but that’s not an excuse. All the employees I’ve met so far want to provide great service. Let them know you are unsatisfied and they should do what they can to make it better.

 

[Mawashi Geri]

I don't think your expectations are out of line at all. There should not be any rush when they walk you through all of the functions of the car. I agree with @borski suggestion to call and ask for another tutorial.

I pick up my AGT tomorrow in Seattle. The DA told me that I will have a one hour tutorial. I am sure that I will require more. After reading this thread I can only imagine that my day tomorrow with Lucid might be challenging. There should no time constraints when the purchaser picks up their new vehicle. These vehicles are computers on wheels unlike an ICE vehicle which we are all familiar with. This is my first EV. I know nothing about them and I pray tomorrow’s experience will not be tarnished. Wait and see approach.

 

[scharnhorst]

I mean I get it having stuff explained to you while picking up the car is important... especially considering you have to drive it home so critical features need to be understood.

But, we are also capable of reading, there is this forum, the manual, google searches... Even if they spent 10 hours handholding through the entire delivery I wouldn't expect to not have to do some research. Hell just the fact that they are doing new updates fairly regularly should mean you are prepared to experience and have to learn about these new changes often.

As for premium service experience, my goal is to never see those people again after you pick up the car. If I do, then hopefully the customer service support side is top notch.

 

[hydbob]

I pick up my AGT tomorrow in Seattle. The DA told me that I will have a one hour tutorial. I am sure that I will require more. After reading this thread I can only imagine that my day tomorrow with Lucid might be challenging. There should no time constraints when the purchaser picks up their new vehicle. These vehicles are computers on wheels unlike an ICE vehicle which we are all familiar with. This is my first EV. I know nothing about them and I pray tomorrow’s experience will not be tarnished. Wait and see approach.

Thread 'User Manual' https://lucidowners.com/threads/user-manual.3927/

 

[borski]

I pick up my AGT tomorrow in Seattle. The DA told me that I will have a one hour tutorial. I am sure that I will require more. After reading this thread I can only imagine that my day tomorrow with Lucid might be challenging. There should no time constraints when the purchaser picks up their new vehicle. These vehicles are computers on wheels unlike an ICE vehicle which we are all familiar with. This is my first EV. I know nothing about them and I pray tomorrow’s experience will not be tarnished. Wait and see approach.

You’ll be okay - the experience posted earlier is not the common one. Can it happen? Sure. But it is the exception, not the rule.

 

[MHDave]

Thread 'User Manual' https://lucidowners.com/threads/user-manual.3927/

Obviously I have an opinion and point of view that compels me to suggest RTFM (um, Read The Fine Manual is the polite acronym), but I can recommend that reading over the Owner's Manual at least once will definitely aid your onboarding experience with your new car. It won't answer everything and some things will make your eyes glaze, but it will blend well with the words your delivery specialist says. As well as answer a number of questions people commonly post in this forum.
I do understand the expectations many of us have regarding how we're treated as we buy a luxury automobile, and I think many of those are fair expectations, but I also understand that Lucid isn't quite staffed yet to meet the sales and delivery expectations in many locations. I've thought from time to time that I should offer to help Lucid with augmented temporary staffing at locations near me ;-)

 

[hydbob]

Obviously I have an opinion and point of view that compels me to suggest RTFM (um, Read The Fine Manual is the polite acronym), but I can recommend that reading over the Owner's Manual at least once will definitely aid your onboarding experience with your new car. It won't answer everything and some things will make your eyes glaze, but it will blend well with the words your delivery specialist says. As well as answer a number of questions people commonly post in this forum.
I do understand the expectations many of us have regarding how we're treated as we buy a luxury automobile, and I think many of those are fair expectations, but I also understand that Lucid isn't quite staffed yet to meet the sales and delivery expectations in many locations. I've thought from time to time that I should offer to help Lucid with augmented temporary staffing at locations near me ;-)

I agree and that's why I posted the manual. There is no world where I have an expectation or where I believe it should be expected for anyone to have to go through every single feature of anything I buy with me when there is a manual to read through. Obviously, this is my personal opinion as well, but to go through that whole thing takes up way too much time for a delivery associate and it should not be expcted.

 

[SCOOTERSD]

I’ll address this to the 4 moderators on this page of the thread - very knowledgeable people I read and respect every day on this forum. I think there are numerous good points made about Lucid’s delivery support maybe not being “up to snuff”. I think cyberwife’s description of her experience is cause for caution and action - over and above scheduling another appointment. I will be going to Costa Mesa, hopefully soon, to pick up my car. I certainly don’t think driving 2 or 3 hours each way to Costa Mesa again for a “do over” is what I would consider premium. I consider myself well read and knowledgeable of the issues as well the operation of the car - largely due this forum, but I still expect to leave the delivery appointment knowing what is going to be done, when, and by whom. Lastly, I would expect that a “premium supplier” would have evaluated all of their processes to see if they were prepared for this impressive ramp up in the production and delivery phase. In scanning these boards (and my own experience), the uneven response of DAs tells me there are either not enough of them or their training and processes are not well designed to handle the surge. Just my two cents. OBTW - thank all of you for the great information you have provided over the 7months I’ve spent in your “classroom”. (Former US Navy Major Program Manager)

 

[Keithmaj]

I don't think your expectations are out of line at all. There should not be any rush when they walk you through all of the functions of the car. I agree with @borski suggestion to call and ask for another tutorial.

I agree that adequate non-rushed time will be needed for us to properly assimilate as much information as possible. If the Lucid delivery personnel can't give us as much of the full two hours as needed, then they should have other available personnel to step in to finish. Many of us are going to have to travel to get to the Delivery Center, so while scheduling a second follow-up session would be helpful and in some cases welcome, it's not always practical...

 

[borski]

I’ll address this to the 4 moderators on this page of the thread - very knowledgeable people I read and respect every day on this forum. I think there are numerous good points made about Lucid’s delivery support maybe not being “up to snuff”. I think cyberwife’s description of her experience is cause for caution and action - over and above scheduling another appointment. I will be going to Costa Mesa, hopefully soon, to pick up my car. I certainly don’t think driving 2 or 3 hours each way to Costa Mesa again for a “do over” is what I would consider premium. I consider myself well read and knowledgeable of the issues as well the operation of the car - largely due this forum, but I still expect to leave the delivery appointment knowing what is going to be done, when, and by whom. Lastly, I would expect that a “premium supplier” would have evaluated all of their processes to see if they were prepared for this impressive ramp up in the production and delivery phase. In scanning these boards (and my own experience), the uneven response of DAs tells me there are either not enough of them or their training and processes are not well designed to handle the surge. Just my two cents. OBTW - thank all of you for the great information you have provided over the 7months I’ve spent in your “classroom”. (Former US Navy Major Program Manager)

Just to be clear, I agree that her experience was inadequate; it is also not the normal experience, and is an exception. My intent with contacting them is that if they are too far from the service center they can do a "do-over" via mobile service, which they've done on occasion before.

 

[PDiddy]

I have called customer service about the paint chipping off our lucid letters, but have been trying to stick with the guy who said he ordered parts for us as I would like to follow that through with the same person. But I may have to try another path.

You're right to expect a higher level of service and accommodation from the sellers of a $150,000 car. You're not asking them to polish your nails, for God's sakes. Just provide a level of service that reflects the excellence Lucid's website connotes. Act like a luxury car company. Alarming how many people have one issue or another with these cars. I know some have had very positive experiences, but the overwhelming number of bad ones, from innumerable software glitches to scratched windshields to cars suddenly bricking on highways, is disturbing. To glibly excuse less than pristine service and inattention to detail gives Lucid a pass that is unearned. They need to up their game before word about quality issues spreads further, and their market cap falls by another third, as it did over the past month. On its face, I love the promise that this car offers, and I'd love to see Lucid do well over the long haul---Tesla needs the competition. But man, at this point, they're just not getting it done. As someone with a car on order, I'm seriously concerned.

 

[borski]

You're right to expect a higher level of service and accommodation from the sellers of a $150,000 car. You're not asking them to polish your nails, for God's sakes. Just provide a level of service that reflects the excellence Lucid's website connotes. Act like a luxury car company. Alarming how many people have one issue or another with these cars. I know some have had very positive experiences, but the overwhelming number of bad ones, from innumerable software glitches to scratched windshields to cars suddenly bricking on highways, is disturbing. To glibly excuse less than pristine service and inattention to detail gives Lucid a pass that is unearned. They need to up their game before word about quality issues spreads further, and their market cap falls by another third, as it did over the past month. On its face, I love the promise that this car offers, and I'd love to see Lucid do well over the long haul---Tesla needs the competition. But man, at this point, they're just not getting it done. As someone with a car on order, I'm seriously concerned.

To reiterate a third time: this experience sucked but is the exception, not the rule. Not giving anybody a “pass,” but mistakes happen.