How do we get a true and accurate update from Porsche?

[Taycan191]

My build completed 7/21 and was scheduled for delivery to the Southern CA dealer 9/9, but then pushed to 12/9/2022. Was told it was due to the battery delay. Since it was being delayed I asked if I could change delivery from the dealer to the LA PEC, but was told I couldn’t. One of my regrets in my build for not doing this originally (Oh well). Dealer has still been great. Then got an updated delivery date to 11/18. I’m thinking why move the delivery date back up if they don’t have something factual to support that, but who knows with the way things have been going. Checked TYD on Friday 9/23 and coincidentally it showed it was delivered to Emden Port that day. I asked the dealer if that meant the battery was actually installed and they said yes, and that it would probably be here sooner than 11/18. So Hopefully it really is at Emden Port with a battery installed.

With the continued rate hikes I’d like to secure financing again and would like to know if it’s really at the port awaiting a vessel and when it’s expected to be on a vessel. I already lost the rate to my original loan lock. After the car was built and had the VIN I was told by my dealer it would definitely be here by 9/9, so I secured financing back on 7/26 (as it showed back then it was at the Emden Port awaiting a vessel) right before my bank adjusted their rates based on the feds increase at that time and was locked in for 60 days, which covered me through late September. Rates have gone up once already and will go up again this week. With last week’s fed increase my bank is raising rates again on Tuesday and said I have til Monday to lock in for another 60 days. Each time this happens you have to un your credit again, so it’s not something I want to keep doing even though my credit is strong.

When you call the executive offices of the US customer service they tell you to contact the dealer at this point. However, I don’t think even the dealers are given the true picture. After contacting the US customer service back in August I was told that the car never left the factory and was awaiting a battery. Would be nice to get a true update as to what’s going on so I can decide Monday as to whether or not to lock in another loan.

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[W1NGE]

My build completed 7/21 and was scheduled for delivery to the Southern CA dealer 9/9, but then pushed to 12/9/2022. Was told it was due to the battery delay. Since it was being delayed I asked if I could change delivery from the dealer to the LA PEC, but was told I couldn’t. One of my regrets in my build for not doing this originally (Oh well). Dealer has still been great. Then got an updated delivery date to 11/18. I’m thinking why move the delivery date back up if they don’t have something factual to support that, but who knows with the way things have been going. Checked TYD on Friday 9/23 and coincidentally it showed it was delivered to Emden Port that day. I asked the dealer if that meant the battery was actually installed and they said yes, and that it would probably be here sooner than 11/18. So Hopefully it really is at Emden Port with a battery installed.

With the continued rate hikes I’d like to secure financing again and would like to know if it’s really at the port awaiting a vessel and when it’s expected to be on a vessel. I already lost the rate to my original loan lock. After the car was built and had the VIN I was told by my dealer it would definitely be here by 9/9, so I secured financing back on 7/26 (as it showed back then it was at the Emden Port awaiting a vessel) right before my bank adjusted their rates based on the feds increase at that time and was locked in for 60 days, which covered me through late September. Rates have gone up once already and will go up again this week. With last week’s fed increase my bank is raising rates again on Tuesday and said I have til Monday to lock in for another 60 days. Each time this happens you have to un your credit again, so it’s not something I want to keep doing even though my credit is strong.

When you call the executive offices of the US customer service they tell you to contact the dealer at this point. However, I don’t think even the dealers are given the true picture. After contacting the US customer service back in August I was told that the car never left the factory and was awaiting a battery. Would be nice to get a true update as to what’s going on so I can decide Monday as to whether or not to lock in another loan.

The sad truth is you don't unless you can speak to the CEO Porsche GmbH which may raise a few eyebrows to get you the basic information you need.

Feels like there are too many moving parts / 3rd parties in the chain and is compounded by technology (TYD included) that can't be relied upon or anything concrete to make an assessment on.

This 'perfect storm' has got a while to run unfortunately before it blows out and 'normal' services are resumed.

In many instances the dealer will not have access to pertinent information (generally the case in UK) as they can be left in the dark too.

 

[G7SUM]

The sad truth is you don't unless you can speak to the CEO Porsche GmbH which may raise a few eyebrows to get you the basic information you need.

Feels like there are too many moving parts / 3rd parties in the chain and is compounded by technology (TYD included) that can't be relied upon or anything concrete to make an assessment on.

This 'perfect storm' has got a while to run unfortunately before it blows out and 'normal' services are resumed.

In many instances the dealer will not have access to pertinent information (generally the case in UK) as they can be left in the dark too.

100% the case. I have a line into a senior Porsche UK exec who is as much in the dark as the rest of us sadly.

 

[Taycan191]

Just confirmed with Porsche USA. All the future dates in TYD have no real value. They’re just plug ins. They confirmed today that although TYD said it moved up to 11/18 delivery and arrived at Emden Port on 9/23, it actually didn’t. It’s still just waiting for a battery and even the date they pushed back to 12/9 now is not a true date. The supply chain and battery issues are one thing, but the lack of information and false communication with Porsche is some of the worst customer service I’ve seen.

 

[Windpower]

I’ve been living supply chain problems for years and the worst thing a brand can do is not give accurate, truthful information to customers. This is a sure way to kill brand loyalty. Porsche (and in my experience, many German companies) don’t get this. They treat customers as cog in the wheel who should be happy to get the thing they purchased. American companies, with all their faults, at least understand that unless customers are part of the team, they will be out of business as soon as there is a good alternative.
The bad news is that there are few good alternatives to the Taycan. So Porsche has their Taycan customers over the proverbial barrel. At least for now.

 

[backslashed]

What update could be worse than no update at all?

 

[Archimedes]

TYD is an inaccurate toy. Has been from the start. Best to just ignore it. Until your SA can give you a solid delivery date, there’s nothing you can do but wait.

 

[Jrkennedy37]

This happened to many of us last year with zero explanation why cars were held up. Mine was slated for 9/3/21 delivery initially and we eventually received the car the last week of December. Not giving an excuse for how you’ve been treated because it does suck. We wound up buying our car off lease (after hitting max extension period) since the timelines were so protracted and uncertain for the Taycan. At one point the dealer gave our deposit back because it was unclear if the car would ever be complete and ship.

Today, I’m so glad we got the Taycan even if it was so delayed. It’s one of the most impressive vehicles we’ve owned and by far the best daily driver.

Hope you receive an update or the car itself soon.

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

I’ve been living supply chain problems for years and the worst thing a brand can do is not give accurate, truthful information to customers. This is a sure way to kill brand loyalty. Porsche (and in my experience, many German companies) don’t get this. They treat customers as cog in the wheel who should be happy to get the thing they purchased.

I've seen this sentiment expressed in this forum repeatedly, so I thought I'd offer a different take. I'm not picking on you specifically, just using your post as an example.

In no particular order:
- Porsche is not getting paid for cars which are built and piled up high in facilities that are, no doubt, expensive to guard and rent/lease.
- The inability to drain the staging area of already-produced cars is most certainly causing further logistical issues upstream - do you stop production, or slow it down? By how much? Lose your suppliers for X because you don't have enough supply of Y?
- The same inability to ship translates, likely, into reneging on agreements with shippers - the boats still sail on schedule, but not with the agreed-upon payload

This isn't even getting into the supply issues proper. It's fair to say that Porsche have an "incident" on their hands, potentially without a solution or end in sight.

In general, in an incident/crisis, there absolutely is something like "too much communication" - you just don't know what to tell the customer: there is no clear ETA (and you don't want to revise it a number of times, as the word carries weight and customers lose patience), and explaining the "internals" of the situation - where the problem is, what you're trying to do etc. - means fuckall to the customer. So you put up a "we're working diligently, it's a fluid situation" blurb, and focus on fighting the fire.

It's not personal, it's not disrespect, and absolutely does not mean that you don't care.

 

[Windpower]

It's not personal, it's not disrespect, and absolutely does not mean that you don't care.

I’m good. Nothing personal. Just my experience from 30 years in high tech.
Today, companies need to bring customers in as partners and not treat them as customers were treated in the 1950’s. I like to say “what would you tell your wife”. You don’t have to be 100% transparent but you can’t leave big questions unanswered.
And don’t get me wrong: I sympathize with Porsche and other car manufacturers. I just don’t believe Porsche is handling the information well.

 

[whitex]

I’ve been living supply chain problems for years and the worst thing a brand can do is not give accurate, truthful information to customers. This is a sure way to kill brand loyalty.

Maybe, but Tesla has been doing similar for years, while building brand loyalty. They actually used to have more detailed information at first, similar to TYD (milestone names were different, but similar meaning, e.g. "parts procured" instead of "freeze point" but meant the same thing, no more changes to the options), but it proved to be not very accurate and frustrated customers. So they went to place order, then mostly radio silence until your car is going through PDI at the service center and they need to schedule delivery. Even the higher level managers I got to know over time were in the dark, they honestly had no clue where the car is or when it will show up. I am not sure which experience is better, watching the app tell you potentially incorrect information, or having no information at all. I have gone though both flavors of experiences with Tesla over the years as I bought 4 of them. That said, their ordering/delivery experience is not why I decided to not buy more, so maybe it's not a loyalty killer after all.

 

[WuffvonTrips]

It's not personal, it's not disrespect, and absolutely does not mean that you don't care.

That's your opinion, with which some agree and some don't. But Porsche customer management is failing to positively influence those opinions, to the detriment of the brand. Too much communication in a crisis may be the case when that communication drains the resource that otherwise would be resolving the crisis, but this instance is more about customer management resources (both centrally and in dealerships) that should be working with IT systems that already track the necessary data in order to manage production and delivery.

 

[RAHRCR]

Some may be surprised to know that Porsche also has a separate arm of their business dedicated to consulting. They focus on consulting other companies on the very issues they are drowning in today. They can and should do better….especially with clear customer communication.

I can help them with a pre-written note that they could send to each of us once per week. (Keep in mind that they have a specific build for each of us and have our contact info). Using blanket statements like “port issues and 12V shortages” for custom builds is no longer acceptable.

**************
Dear [Insert your name], thanks for the custom order for your Taycan [insert model]. We recognize that your order was due for delivery on [insert original delivery date]. However due to a shortage of [insert the worst part shortage on your build], the latest delivery date for your vehicle is [insert date]. We expect the deliveries of the [worst shortage part] on [week x]. Based on our planned allocation sequence, your vehicle is planned to receive the [worst shortage part] on [week x]. It will then complete the final stages of delivery as per your TYD.

While the plan can change based on a number of factors, we hope that you will find this additional level of transparency helpful while we work to deliver your vehicle as soon as possible. We will continue to provide you with a weekly update on the [worst shortage part for your vehicle] and how it impact the final delivery of your Taycan.

Porsche


*************

With this, you would know exactly what is holding up your build (no more guessing), when they plan to get the parts, whether they actually got the parts, and align that information with what they put into TYD.

This would meet my basic expectations….short of actually delivering my vehicle.

If they are incapable of doing this, that is a problem. If they are capable of doing this but unwilling to do this, that is an even bigger problem.

 

[JamesDD]

I’m also in the camp that Porsche poor communication is indefensible. I’ll use my situation to reiterate the point that information, even in an uncertain and volatile situation, is critical to customer satisfaction. TYD and the dealer told me in July that my car production was COMPLETE and should be at the dealer in late August. I got a great offer for my old CT and sold it expecting to be without a car for 4 weeks that has turned in to 4 months (for now). Porsche knew well before I sold my old car that the vehicle was NOT complete but failed to timely communicate that to the dealer and me. I’m sure there are many other scenarios where prompt communication of a bad message, even if vague, would have helped.

 

[Archimedes]

I’m good. Nothing personal. Just my experience from 30 years in high tech.
Today, companies need to bring customers in as partners and not treat them as customers were treated in the 1950’s. I like to say “what would you tell your wife”. You don’t have to be 100% transparent but you can’t leave big questions unanswered.
And don’t get me wrong: I sympathize with Porsche and other car manufacturers. I just don’t believe Porsche is handling the information well.

How many global pandemics that shut down ww supply chains in the last 30 years?

Porsche isn’t able to provide accurate timelines right now because they can’t get them from their suppliers. They’re at the mercy of an unpredictable supply chain fuxored by a global pandemic sundae with a regional war cherry on top.

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