While the press is wringing its hands about how Tesla is recalling every Model S ever made because of a possible seat belt issue, the company is busy doing what Tesla does best — being proactive and getting out ahead of the potential issue.
Winner of the Founder Series Model X, Bjørn Nyland has posted a video showing a Tesla representative checking his Model S at a Supercharger station in Norway. Similar accounts from Tesla owners experiencing an ad hoc seat belt service check while Supercharging have been widely reported across the Tesla Motors Club forum.
Tesla has recently sent an official letter to Model S owners asking them to bring their Model S to the nearest service center for a seat belt check, but some owners are worried the repair facilities will be overwhelmed by the need to check so a high volume of cars in a short period of time. If you are concerned about whether your seat belts are installed correctly, you can check them yourself in just a few minutes.
Tesla’s plan to inspect cars while they are Supercharging is brilliant, because owners are already planning to wait about a half hour while their car recharges. What better way to reduce friction for owners then by leveraging that time to also perform the seat belt service check?
Consumer Reports has just removed the Model S from its list of recommended vehicles because it says it suffers from too many reliability issues. At the same time, its own surveys show Tesla owners are happier with their service experience than the owners of any other cars. Aren’t frequent reliability issues and high customer satisfaction mutually exclusive? Apparently not. Most customers understand that problems occur with all manufactured products, especially a product as complex as and automobile and particularly one as new to the market at the Tesla. They are willing to forgive a glitch if the company steps up and remedies the problem quickly and fairly.
Oddly enough, Tesla shares declined Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. If those nervous investors really thought about it, though, they should have been buying Tesla stock instead of selling it. Tesla relies exclusively on customer recommendations to market its cars. One of the oldest rules in selling is, take care of the customer and the customer will take care of you. By sending representatives out to check on cars while they are charging, Tesla has sent the clearest possible signal that it intends to take care of its customers very, very well, now and in the future.
Photo Credit: YouTube via Bjørn Nyland
