UPDATED RANT: Rivian Service Centers are a poorly managed drain on the company

[Onyx]

Got our R1S back after paint repairs only to find trim molding is peeled off and warped now. Sending it back for more repairs. This is getting frustrating for a new vehicle.

I got my vehicle back from them last with the moldings not clipped in right under the hood and The vent cover under the hood not even pressed all the way down where the clips should be clipped in and seated. pieces hanging there like they broke the tabs or clips. I do auto body so I know what to look for. The Redmond Washington auto body shop that the Bellevue service center uses is absolutely terrible and they need to be reprimanded for the work that they are doing. Especially if it's insurance work or warranty work.

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[goldburger]

Rivian owes me a $460 refund check dating back to November the they charged my credit card without getting approval. This is all service center driven so can't get my guide or the call center to do a damn thing...

 

[Bee]

Rivian owes me a $460 refund check dating back to November the they charged my credit card without getting approval. This is all service center driven so can't get my guide or the call center to do a damn thing...

Flip side to that is they charged me $550, I didn't pay it, they sent one bill that fell through the cracks and I haven't heard from them and I no longer own the vehicle.

So sorry to hear about your trouble but this could come up in your favor too. Everyone gets to spin the wheel of chance!

 

[Zeusy Zeus]

I agree 100% with OP I had a horrible experience with mine and ultimately didn’t take delivery of the vehicle multiple times. It’s really steered a lot of customers away from the brand. There’s atleast 5 people I know who were considering buying a Rivian and I turned them off on the idea. Not to mention all the negative posts on here and throughout Reddit and other outlets expressing my dissatisfaction. Rivian has lost and continues to lose customers due to having people who have no business working at these service centers.
To be fair I haven’t had the best experience with Mercedes and BMW either especially in busier cities. Basically seems to me that no one wants to work and they just want to do the bare minimum. Maybe I’m a little salty?

 

[Redline]

I agree 100% with OP I had a horrible experience with mine and ultimately didn’t take delivery of the vehicle multiple times. It’s really steered a lot of customers away from the brand. There’s atleast 5 people I know who were considering buying a Rivian and I turned them off on the idea. Not to mention all the negative posts on here and throughout Reddit and other outlets expressing my dissatisfaction. Rivian has lost and continues to lose customers due to having people who have no business working at these service centers.
To be fair I haven’t had the best experience with Mercedes and BMW either especially in busier cities. Basically seems to me that no one wants to work and they just want to do the bare minimum. Maybe I’m a little salty?

And yet they’re number 1 with Consumer Reports Most Loved by owners…

There’s some issues yes, as with any startup, but clearly, those of use who own them, love them.

 

[Move]

First service in the books for me. Here are my thoughts.
1. Scheduling was straightforward and could have gotten an earlier date if I had been available during that time. 3 weeks between time of issue to availability at Houston SC. Vehicle was still functioning, but I was getting random errors that didn't impede operation.
2. Pre-service communications were top notch. Received several reminders and details about loaner/rental (ended up with rental).
3. Houston SC deserves an award for their customer service. Everyone was kind, overly communicative and responsive to my needs and inquiries. They added some items on the fly for me that I asked to have checked. Even had someone test drive with me quickly to see some of the issues. I was out and with a rental in under 30 min (with a 10 min test drive).
4. Here is where the service concerns start. Originally told the fix for the 12V system would be a 2 day item. However, one of the other errors I was having required deeper diagnostics as they had never seen it before. So they advised me it would be another few days over the weekend. Considering it was a new issue, I figured additional days was no big deal and waited until Tuesday the following week before I reached out as I had noticed my vehicle was sitting outside the shop most of the time. I was then informed that they were waiting on the Field Service Engineer to review the diagnostics they had captured and that this was a 24-48 normal delay. (at this point it had been nearly 72 hours since they captured diagnostics). Waited another 48 hours and received feedback that the random errors were going to be resolved in upcoming code release and vehicle was not impaired by errors.
5. Picked up my R1S on day 7 and again, top notch service by Houston SC. Received my VERY detailed invoice that explained everything they did and what the outcomes were and calculated they spent a total of 5 hours working on the vehicle over the 7 days, based on the invoice.

Conclusion: The delays are very unnecessary and as many have mentioned, they are costing the company a LOT of money. This is a management issue and they need to figure out a better way to pair the Field Service Engineers with the Service Center appointments so that days are not being wasted. In my opinion, they should also figure out how to get the diagnostic information taken and evaluated before the appointment so that they actual time at SC is limited. They have all the right tools to do this work, just don't seem to have the organization and process ironed out. I suspect they'll get this resolved in time and we will see a direct impact to bottom line and improvement in customer satisfaction.

 

[Supratachophobia]

And yet they’re number 1 with Consumer Reports Most Loved by owners…

There’s some issues yes, as with any startup, but clearly, those of use who own them, love them.

Honestly, it's this stupid Tesla-stolkhome syndrome all over again. I went through headache after headache with my first Tesla purchase but still somehow forgot it all when I bought a second a few years later. The total product was that good (vehicle+service+charging). I suspect the Rivian product is the same way. Overall, it's such a good product despite the self-sabotage by the sales arm.

**Again, Rivian, you set expectations, not us.**


Of course, it's either that or lying to ourselves on a 6 figure purchase to make us all feel better rather than embarrassed.....

 

[Supratachophobia]

First service in the books for me. Here are my thoughts.
1. Scheduling was straightforward and could have gotten an earlier date if I had been available during that time. 3 weeks between time of issue to availability at Houston SC. Vehicle was still functioning, but I was getting random errors that didn't impede operation.
2. Pre-service communications were top notch. Received several reminders and details about loaner/rental (ended up with rental).
3. Houston SC deserves an award for their customer service. Everyone was kind, overly communicative and responsive to my needs and inquiries. They added some items on the fly for me that I asked to have checked. Even had someone test drive with me quickly to see some of the issues. I was out and with a rental in under 30 min (with a 10 min test drive).
4. Here is where the service concerns start. Originally told the fix for the 12V system would be a 2 day item. However, one of the other errors I was having required deeper diagnostics as they had never seen it before. So they advised me it would be another few days over the weekend. Considering it was a new issue, I figured additional days was no big deal and waited until Tuesday the following week before I reached out as I had noticed my vehicle was sitting outside the shop most of the time. I was then informed that they were waiting on the Field Service Engineer to review the diagnostics they had captured and that this was a 24-48 normal delay. (at this point it had been nearly 72 hours since they captured diagnostics). Waited another 48 hours and received feedback that the random errors were going to be resolved in upcoming code release and vehicle was not impaired by errors.
5. Picked up my R1S on day 7 and again, top notch service by Houston SC. Received my VERY detailed invoice that explained everything they did and what the outcomes were and calculated they spent a total of 5 hours working on the vehicle over the 7 days, based on the invoice.

Conclusion: The delays are very unnecessary and as many have mentioned, they are costing the company a LOT of money. This is a management issue and they need to figure out a better way to pair the Field Service Engineers with the Service Center appointments so that days are not being wasted. In my opinion, they should also figure out how to get the diagnostic information taken and evaluated before the appointment so that they actual time at SC is limited. They have all the right tools to do this work, just don't seem to have the organization and process ironed out. I suspect they'll get this resolved in time and we will see a direct impact to bottom line and improvement in customer satisfaction.

They need John McNeil, he was putting Tesla on the right track before Elon forced him out for making him looking bad.

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