Lotus Communications

[DerTheDer]

Very early deposit, earlier than others who have received their cars. Also would not allow him to change his spec. He also has been an owner of Lotus for years, knows Matt Windle on a first-name basis, did a factory tour before that was even a thing and is a huge part of this community. He's been pushed back more than anyone.

The only thing that should matter is his early deposit date. Maybe if he had a youtube channel he would have been bumped forward...I do feel bad for him since he was a early depositer, but so am I coming up on two years before the Emira was even named.

Just goes to show loyalty gives you nothing. I am also a long time Lotus owner, which means squat.

I would 100% pull out but Lotus won't refund my money, otherwise I would be long gone.

Geely needs to hold the seinors responsible for this snafu.

 

[TomE]

...and still @TomE can't get his car. This is what blows my mind the most. Feeling better each day about my decision.

Not to be rude, but what makes him special?

He can get it. He just chooses not to at this time

@DerTheDer nothing special and certainly no expectation of any preferential treatment on my part. But I have expected to be treated fairly and consistently, which certainly hasn't happened - not just for me but for a large number of people who placed pre-reveal deposits. It's the deposit date that should count, not previous Lotus ownership or involvement with the factory or the Lotus community. I think other people are using my situation as an example, but there are others such as @Scruff111S and @Forlorn and nearly two dozen others just in the UK.

@NicolasB through most of last year that was true and the issue was with my car being delayed far more than other people's who had later deposits. As per my post in other threads and earlier in this one, I got my checkout email and the car was physically built by mid December, but I was still waiting for a test drive due to the muddle over test drive priorities. After those test drives, and due to other factors, I wanted to consider other options.

The current issue is how Lotus say they will handle me changing spec, switching to Base or asking to defer my FE slot. After the test drive they said I could take the as-built car or be counted as a cancellation, which means going to the back of the queue. Previously right up until test drives I'd been told it would only be a 6 month delay for any of these changes. The Base queue is not currently open. You have to join one of four queues for V6 First/Base or i4 First/Base, there is no mechanism to join a generic queue and then make a decision later, for example when Base info is published.

This has gone back and forth on numerous calls and emails with Lotus. Each time I get given a different answer, depending on who I deal with and what day it is. There's no special case or special treatment for me on this, it's just how it is being (poorly) handled by Lotus. Customer Care seem to be caught in the middle between me and "the factory". I feel sorry for them, as they are trying to help but are being given incorrect info and changing stories from their colleagues at Hethel about processes and what can or can't be done.

As it stands today, LCC had told me early last week I could switch to Base and then switch back to First if I wanted to once Base info is published, without it counting as a cancellation and with build date then based on a 6-9 month lead time after my decision. Then two days later they emailed me to say they are cancelling my order and I will have to make a new deposit for whatever route I pick. I was understandably furious at this major back-track and am waiting for Lotus to respond about why.

I've been holding off from posting about my decision and explanation, while I sorted things with Lotus. I'd hoped to be able to share that by now. You can all work out that I want to postpone. I'll provide some explanation on that at some point. But honestly, I am at the point now of giving up and never buying a new Lotus ever again.

 

[DerTheDer]

@DerTheDer nothing special and certainly no expectation of any preferential treatment on my part. But I have expected to be treated fairly and consistently, which certainly hasn't happened - not just for me but for a large number of people who placed pre-reveal deposits. It's the deposit date that should count, not previous Lotus ownership or involvement with the factory or the Lotus community. I think other people are using my situation as an example, but there are others such as @Scruff111S and @Forlorn and nearly two dozen others just in the UK.

@NicolasB through most of last year that was true and the issue was with my car being delayed far more than other people's who had later deposits. As per my post in other threads and earlier in this one, I got my checkout email and the car was physically built by mid December, but I was still waiting for a test drive due to the muddle over test drive priorities. After those test drives, and due to other factors, I wanted to consider other options.

The current issue is how Lotus say they will handle me changing spec, switching to Base or asking to defer my FE slot. After the test drive they said I could take the as-built car or be counted as a cancellation, which means going to the back of the queue. Previously right up until test drives I'd been told it would only be a 6 month delay for any of these changes. The Base queue is not currently open. You have to join one of four queues for V6 First/Base or i4 First/Base, there is no mechanism to join a generic queue and then make a decision later, for example when Base info is published.

This has gone back and forth on numerous calls and emails with Lotus. Each time I get given a different answer, depending on who I deal with and what day it is. There's no special case or special treatment for me on this, it's just how it is being (poorly) handled by Lotus. Customer Care seem to be caught in the middle between me and "the factory". I feel sorry for them, as they are trying to help but are being given incorrect info and changing stories from their colleagues at Hethel about processes and what can or can't be done.

As it stands today, LCC had told me early last week I could switch to Base and then switch back to First if I wanted to once Base info is published, without it counting as a cancellation and with build date then based on a 6-9 month lead time after my decision. Then two days later they emailed me to say they are cancelling my order and I will have to make a new deposit for whatever route I pick. I was understandably furious at this major back-track and am waiting for Lotus to respond about why.

I've been holding off from posting about my decision and explanation, while I sorted things with Lotus. I'd hoped to be able to share that by now. You can all work out that I want to postpone. I'll provide some explanation on that at some point. But honestly, I am at the point now of giving up and never buying a new Lotus ever again.

Sorry to hear all that drams Tom, such a shame Lotus is blowing off their excited early customers.

 

[Leonard]

In December I requested a spec change on the exterior colour and interior leather. This was a bit of a test to see how quickly CS would respond.......they didn't follow thru' so I cancelled my order and chased the deposit, which was returned. My original delivery date was July 22 but had been progressively shifted to Jan 23.

So on Friday CS contacted me to say my spec change had been accepted....the only purpose of this is to demonstrate how the organisation/process/task seems to have a disconnect......one that drove me away as I have had enough of being a beta owner with other marques. I wonder if I will be asked to go thru' checkout.

My checkout is still 'live'
Was tempted to checkout and see what happened

 

[Leonard]

I think I may have read a post on Facebook from someone who already cancelled then received a check out email . It’s all very odd considering we know some of the senior execs monitor these threads, you would think they would be horrified and make some urgent changes

Happened to me

 

[Leonard]

@DerTheDer nothing special and certainly no expectation of any preferential treatment on my part. But I have expected to be treated fairly and consistently, which certainly hasn't happened - not just for me but for a large number of people who placed pre-reveal deposits. It's the deposit date that should count, not previous Lotus ownership or involvement with the factory or the Lotus community. I think other people are using my situation as an example, but there are others such as @Scruff111S and @Forlorn and nearly two dozen others just in the UK.

@NicolasB through most of last year that was true and the issue was with my car being delayed far more than other people's who had later deposits. As per my post in other threads and earlier in this one, I got my checkout email and the car was physically built by mid December, but I was still waiting for a test drive due to the muddle over test drive priorities. After those test drives, and due to other factors, I wanted to consider other options.

The current issue is how Lotus say they will handle me changing spec, switching to Base or asking to defer my FE slot. After the test drive they said I could take the as-built car or be counted as a cancellation, which means going to the back of the queue. Previously right up until test drives I'd been told it would only be a 6 month delay for any of these changes. The Base queue is not currently open. You have to join one of four queues for V6 First/Base or i4 First/Base, there is no mechanism to join a generic queue and then make a decision later, for example when Base info is published.

This has gone back and forth on numerous calls and emails with Lotus. Each time I get given a different answer, depending on who I deal with and what day it is. There's no special case or special treatment for me on this, it's just how it is being (poorly) handled by Lotus. Customer Care seem to be caught in the middle between me and "the factory". I feel sorry for them, as they are trying to help but are being given incorrect info and changing stories from their colleagues at Hethel about processes and what can or can't be done.

As it stands today, LCC had told me early last week I could switch to Base and then switch back to First if I wanted to once Base info is published, without it counting as a cancellation and with build date then based on a 6-9 month lead time after my decision. Then two days later they emailed me to say they are cancelling my order and I will have to make a new deposit for whatever route I pick. I was understandably furious at this major back-track and am waiting for Lotus to respond about why.

I've been holding off from posting about my decision and explanation, while I sorted things with Lotus. I'd hoped to be able to share that by now. You can all work out that I want to postpone. I'll provide some explanation on that at some point. But honestly, I am at the point now of giving up and never buying a new Lotus ever again.

If id been allowed to defer to Base I'd still have my deposit in.
I dont see why it's a big deal for them.
It's keeping an order that they otherwise wouldn't have which has to be the most important thing right, even if they don't care about the CX element

 

[CarGuy07]

Aren’t the manufacturing plant and HQ both located in Hethel? In the various videos, the operation room oversees the assembly line. If a customer inquires about their car’s build status, is it not possible to run downstairs and see where it’s at? I don’t understand how so many automakers can provide status updates and Lotus can’t. It’s a pretty simple thing IMO. I’m trying not to make a rash decision but each day that passes by, I’m losing more interest.

 

[CarGuy07]

If id been allowed to defer to Base I'd still have my deposit in.
I dont see why it's a big deal for them.
It's keeping an order that they otherwise wouldn't have which has to be the most important thing right, even if they don't care about the CX element

Boardwalk Lotus told me that I can defer order down the line if I would like to do a
proper test drive when they receive demos in March. I didn’t make the FE batch so this will be a base V6. I don’t have confidence in demos arriving by then, and I feel that pushing it down the line could mean back of the line.

 

[TomE]

Aren’t the manufacturing plant and HQ both located in Hethel? In the various videos, the operation room oversees the assembly line. If a customer inquires about their car’s build status, is it not possible to run downstairs and see where it’s at? I don’t understand how so many automakers can provide status updates and Lotus can’t. It’s a pretty simple thing IMO. I’m trying not to make a rash decision but each day that passes by, I’m losing more interest.

Lotus Customer Care is a separate operation and not located at Hethel. They have a CRM system but seem to be reliant on spreadsheets and emails for several aspects.

 

[Leonard]

Lotus Customer Care is a separate operation and not located at Hethel. They have a CRM system but seem to be reliant on spreadsheets and emails for several aspects.

This is the biggest mistake.
I've always housed my CX teams with Operations #synergy

 

[CDM1855]

This is the biggest mistake.
I've always housed my CX teams with Operations #synergy

I think the customer service team may be in Northampton, so not close at all

 

[Pugwash]

and some are in Maidenhead. They are split over two locations.

 

[Forlorn]

and some are in Maidenhead. They are split over two locations.

Could they be working from home? This would explain the different stories .

 

[Scruff111S]

@DerTheDer nothing special and certainly no expectation of any preferential treatment on my part. But I have expected to be treated fairly and consistently, which certainly hasn't happened - not just for me but for a large number of people who placed pre-reveal deposits. It's the deposit date that should count, not previous Lotus ownership or involvement with the factory or the Lotus community. I think other people are using my situation as an example, but there are others such as @Scruff111S and @Forlorn and nearly two dozen others just in the UK.

@NicolasB through most of last year that was true and the issue was with my car being delayed far more than other people's who had later deposits. As per my post in other threads and earlier in this one, I got my checkout email and the car was physically built by mid December, but I was still waiting for a test drive due to the muddle over test drive priorities. After those test drives, and due to other factors, I wanted to consider other options.

The current issue is how Lotus say they will handle me changing spec, switching to Base or asking to defer my FE slot. After the test drive they said I could take the as-built car or be counted as a cancellation, which means going to the back of the queue. Previously right up until test drives I'd been told it would only be a 6 month delay for any of these changes. The Base queue is not currently open. You have to join one of four queues for V6 First/Base or i4 First/Base, there is no mechanism to join a generic queue and then make a decision later, for example when Base info is published.

This has gone back and forth on numerous calls and emails with Lotus. Each time I get given a different answer, depending on who I deal with and what day it is. There's no special case or special treatment for me on this, it's just how it is being (poorly) handled by Lotus. Customer Care seem to be caught in the middle between me and "the factory". I feel sorry for them, as they are trying to help but are being given incorrect info and changing stories from their colleagues at Hethel about processes and what can or can't be done.

As it stands today, LCC had told me early last week I could switch to Base and then switch back to First if I wanted to once Base info is published, without it counting as a cancellation and with build date then based on a 6-9 month lead time after my decision. Then two days later they emailed me to say they are cancelling my order and I will have to make a new deposit for whatever route I pick. I was understandably furious at this major back-track and am waiting for Lotus to respond about why.

I've been holding off from posting about my decision and explanation, while I sorted things with Lotus. I'd hoped to be able to share that by now. You can all work out that I want to postpone. I'll provide some explanation on that at some point. But honestly, I am at the point now of giving up and never buying a new Lotus ever again.

I feel your pain and frustration @TomE. As you mentioned me, i took delivery of my car 17th December, but with the way Lotus treated me, aswell as others, as a very early depositor, i will never buy a new Lotus again. I would however buy a used Lotus as the dealer was fantastic with excellent customer service. Still can't work out what Lotus hoped to achieve by treated people like this.

 

[NicolasB]

It's pretty sad when early depositors, forum moderators, and self-proclaimed super fans are all at the point of frustration that we're considering cancelling our orders and/or never buying a new Lotus again. It's really sad... I was so.. SOOOOOO excited when the Emira was announced (clearly), but that excitement has burned out quite a bit (almost entirely at this point). There are times when I blame myself.. thinking it's because I'm too obsessed and spend too much time on the forums talking about it everyday.. but then I hear everyone else's stories and it really bums me out. Lotus had such a great opportunity to rebrand themselves and launch the Emira properly, but it's been a let down this past year. One thing after another. Better comms could have gone a long way... maybe even had us overlook the detuned powertrain, lack of options on the First Editions (color palette, ADAS, interior features, etc), mediocre reviews and endure the continued delays... but here we are. Delays and zero communication (especially to North American buyers). My dealer won't even get back to me on updates (likely because he has none). There is no way NA production is starting this month and no way we'll actually see deliveries in March and it really sucks. If early order customers are treated like this, I can only imagine how painful warranty work, recalls, and servicing in general will be. I'm strongly considering other options, but most mean paying a lot more and giving up the manual transmission that I really want.

... This is why I have a new manual M4 on order, for less, with more power and I'll be able to track the order from day 1. Lotus really hit a home run with the Emira, but it seems that don't care if they round the bases and actually score any points. @TomE has been treated poorly for a while now, and it doesn't make sense. I think Windle is a nice guy, and maybe knows a lot about cars, but not much about running a business and focusing on the most important thing, the customers. I don't know that it's Geely, or the pandemic, because their other brands seen to do ok by comparison. Something needs to change our they will have nobody interested in their electric cars, which is their (unfortunate) future.

 

[Magma]

I'm in the US, so I may already know the answer to this question but...
If Lotus starts having issues, like bankruptcy, is there a risk of us not getting our deposits back? I assume the dealers are holding the deposits correct? Not Lotus?

 

[NicolasB]

I'm in the US, so I may already know the answer to this question but...
If Lotus starts having issues, like bankruptcy, is there a risk of us not getting our deposits back? I assume the dealers are holding the deposits correct? Not Lotus?

I wouldn't be that worried, not at this point. My concern would be getting parts for my car in 3 years.

 

[Magma]

I wouldn't be that worried, not at this point. My concern would be getting parts for my car in 3 years.

Well, first things first I guess. Have to get a car to need parts!

 

[Lotus64]

It's pretty sad when early depositors, forum moderators, and self-proclaimed super fans are all at the point of frustration that we're considering cancelling our orders and/or never buying a new Lotus again.

Am I the only one who isn't all that bothered by the delays / limited communication? I'm feeling left out!

Maybe it's patience, or low expectations for a boutique automaker with limited resources, or having another fun car to enjoy, or knowing deep down that no other car is able to fill the void left by cancelling my Emira reservation. My excitement hasn't wavered in the 15 months since I reserved.

Anyway feels like somebody died in here, so sending virtual hugs!

 

[Cachaco131]

Am I the only one who isn't all that bothered by the delays / limited communication? I'm feeling left out!

Maybe it's patience, or low expectations for a boutique automaker with limited resources, or having another fun car to enjoy, or knowing deep down that no other car is able to fill the void left by cancelling my Emira reservation. My excitement hasn't wavered in the 15 months since I reserved.

Anyway feels like somebody died in here, so sending virtual hugs!

I'm 100% with you. Not bothered at all.