The other day Elon Musk tweeted that he wants to improve service for Tesla cars. 

Someone posted his Tweet in the Reddit Telsamotors subReddit. 

The first comment is "We already know what the comments are going to look like… let’s try to keep it respectful" 

The conversation goes downhill very quickly. 

Suddenly, Musk wants to improve customer service. 

I guess he's starting to read the complaints that have been piling up on social media for years. 

I'm experiencing a customer service nightmare with my new Tesla solar system. 

It was installed a few months ago and worked perfectly for one month. 

The system has been down for over two months with no resolution in sight. 

From what I read online, some people waited 11 months for a service tech to resolve their solar problem. 

How would you feel if you spent $25-$50K on a solar system that doesn't work, and Tesla can't tell you when they'll have a service tech available? 

Even worse, how pissed are you when they cancel scheduled service appointments an hour before the tech is scheduled to arrive? 

You rearranged your schedule to be available and suddenly they pull the rug out from under you. 

Telsa sells state-of-the-art products, but they don't give a damn about servicing their customers. 

I can't return my solar system, so they have me over a barrel. 

Remember the old saying "It all starts at the top" and we all know Musk is more interested in keeping his name in the press than keeping his customers happy. 

His "I don't give a damn" attitude will eventually catch up with him. 

Public sentiment is already turning against him and his cavalier attitude. 

The "new" Musk wants to fix Tesla's customer service problems. 

His goal is to resolve 50% of car repairs in one hour or less. 

That's a lofty goal for any car company. 

I don't own a Tesla car but from what I read service is a nightmare. 

When people bring their car in for service, they're treated rudely by the service department. 

Many times, they don't fix the problem, so the car owner has to return to the service department multiple times. 

Other times, the service department damages the car and claims innocence when the car owner complains. 

Tesla sells premium products, so their customers are well-to-do and sophisticated. 

They expect to be treated like royalty when they drop $75K or more on a car. 

Have you ever taken your car to a Lexus or BMW service department? 

They roll out the red carpet for you. 

They treat you like royalty. 

They follow up the next day to make sure all problems are resolved. 

When I worked for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in the 1980s, they provided high-quality hardware and backed it up with award-winning customer service. 

DEC invested a lot of money in customer service training for everyone in the company. 

When I worked for Cellular One in the 1990s customer service was a top priority. 

At the time, there were only two cellular companies in each market so there wasn't much competition. 

The cellular infrastructure was just being built so service was expensive and not great in all areas. 

By providing great customer service, we separated ourselves from our competitors. 

Cellular One spent a lot on customer service for the entire company, even if you weren't in a customer-facing role. 

We were the IT department, and our customers were the employees who provide customer service to our cellular customers. 

Internal customers are just as important as our external customers. 

You can provide state-of-the-art products but there will always be a need for customer service. 

People remember you when you provide a great customer service experience. 

If you don't keep your customers happy, word spreads fast, especially in our social media society. 

I used to win customer service awards because I provide fast, efficient service. 

What set me apart from other techs was that I stayed on site until I was sure the problem was resolved. 

When the customer was satisfied, I would head out to my next service call. 

I won customer service awards because I would call back every customer the following day to make sure their system was still working properly. 

It only took a minute or two to call back the customer, but they really appreciated that I cared about them. 

I was the only tech that would start my day by calling my customers. 

A little bit goes a long way. 

How often do you check in with your customers to see if they need anything from you? 

About the author 

Ted Prodromou

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