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The cure for R1S waitlist fatigue

rivianguy

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I'm an early R1S reservation holder (though not day 1) with an August/September delivery date. Like many in this forum I've been patiently waiting through the many unpredictable delays that are associated with a new car company bringing a disruptive product to market.

A few days ago I was fortunate enough to go through the 'first drive' experience in an R1T. As an R1S reservation holder it was non-obvious how to go about getting one of these lined up, at least in my case. I'm sure others have had an easier time scheduling these than I, but in my case it took multiple follow ups with CS to get one scheduled. The 'register online for a first drive' apparently did absolutely nothing in my case (perhaps because I'm R1S not R1T) and it was only after speaking with CS that I finally managed to get one.

Many people own a R1T by now, and many more have taken first drives and written a great deal about their first impressions. I'm not going to attempt to recreate those reviews here as many have been well written and comprehensive.

Here I speak directly to the beleaguered and impatient (and in some cases no doubt disheartened) long term R1S reservation holders.
1) The R1T is the best and most exciting vehicle I have ever driven by far.
2) The R1S will be worth the wait.
3) Contact CS to get a first drive scheduled if you haven't already done so. It will renew your belief in Rivian and your reservation.

I am well past the age where I get too fired up about worldly goods, but I can honestly say I have never looked more forward to taking a delivery of a vehicle than I am with this one. I credit the first mile drive for this.
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Mygrain

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My idea for a "cure" was to get a tour of the factory. I figured Rivian could arrange a tour more easily than a First Drive. Maybe they'd let me tag along while they gave a tour to someone taking delivery at the plant. So I emailed CS and politely asked for a tour of the factory.

Reply from Rivian CS: No factory tour. But if I visited the plant, I could "walk around" an R1T and then "explore the lobby."

I said thanks, but no thanks ... and maybe I'll check back in 6 months.
 

dleewla

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same boat but CS did nothing to help me get a test drive. just a bunch of "we can't wait to get you behind the wheel" but basically sit your butt down and wait. its been like this for 5-6 months. i finally got a Guide assigned 2 weeks ago and the first thing i asked for was a test drive. she said she would try and came back a couple of days later and said there are no test drives in your area recently (Seattle) and when a first drive event pops up she would try to get me an invite. i put out a question to the community on social media and course i got lots of responses about people having had drives not long ago or having one coming up. i told that to my Guide and that got her digging. still no actual test drive but at least im a little bit closer.

and whats frustrating is some people have had or will have multiple test drives already. WTF? thats seriously the most frustrating thing about this.
 

runwithscissors

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same boat but CS did nothing to help me get a test drive. just a bunch of "we can't wait to get you behind the wheel" but basically sit your butt down and wait. its been like this for 5-6 months. i finally got a Guide assigned 2 weeks ago and the first thing i asked for was a test drive. she said she would try and came back a couple of days later and said there are no test drives in your area recently (Seattle) and when a first drive event pops up she would try to get me an invite. i put out a question to the community on social media and course i got lots of responses about people having had drives not long ago or having one coming up. i told that to my Guide and that got her digging. still no actual test drive but at least im a little bit closer.

and whats frustrating is some people have had or will have multiple test drives already. WTF? thats seriously the most frustrating thing about this.
Waiting for a R1S supposedly First half of 2023. Not trying to rub it in but had 2 test drives with the R1T on Long Island to prove your point. I felt funny accepting the 2nd invite to test drive and never mentioned the first drive I had but couldn't turn it down. I'm assuming he knew based off my profile since he told me about my configuration at the time. Test drives go by so quickly with time and traffic is always fun here... I can't wait for the new OC interior but still confused with which wheels to pick.
 

dleewla

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Waiting for a R1S supposedly First half of 2023. Not trying to rub it in but had 2 test drives with the R1T on Long Island to prove your point. I felt funny accepting the 2nd invite to test drive and never mentioned the first drive I had but couldn't turn it down. I'm assuming he knew based off my profile since he told me about my configuration at the time. Test drives go by so quickly with time and traffic is always fun here... I can't wait for the new OC interior but still confused with which wheels to pick.
yeah, i get it. im sure i might have done the same thing and taken the second drive. but therein lies the issue. its not the customers fault here, its Rivians.

how disorganized do you have to be that you can't keep track of who has or who hasn't had a test drive? there's no good explanations that make Rivian not look bad here: disorganized, doing it on purpose, simple mistakes (over and over again across multiple locations), too centralized/decentralized. whatever the issue, its systemic.
 
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rivianguy

rivianguy

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yeah, i get it. im sure i might have done the same thing and taken the second drive. but therein lies the issue. its not the customers fault here, its Rivians.

how disorganized do you have to be that you can't keep track of who has or who hasn't had a test drive? there's no good explanations that make Rivian not look bad here: disorganized, doing it on purpose, simple mistakes (over and over again across multiple locations), too centralized/decentralized. whatever the issue, its systemic.
It definitely seemed like threading through a loophole to get a test drive in Seattle, but hey dleewla at least you have a guide! I'd take that any day of the week. :)
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