Message from Matt Windle regarding Emira delays

Regards delays. Posted in another thread by @EM33RA
Thought it needed 'pinning' in it's own thread

 

[Porter]

They could use mobile mechanics as Telsa do to solve maybe 75% of issues and they may have to as in some EU countries, the closest dealer would be an 8 hour drive or more, which isnt going to work! They have a lot of work to do....

Same story in the US. I'm in one of the biggest markets in the country, particularly in terms of affluence, and the closest dealer is a 4+ hour drive away. This is in the middle of the densely populated US east coast, and literally the nation's capital. You can locally buy and service a Bugatti, Rolls, Bentley, McLaren, Aston, Ferrari, Lambo, Maserati, or even more esoteric things here... but a Lotus? Impossible.

They have dealers in places like Winston-Salem, NC (pop. 250k) or Wilmington, NC (pop. 120k) but not a single one anywhere remotely near the greater Washington DC-Northern VA-Baltimore area (pop. 9.9 million).

 

[Corkdsp]

lucky find here.....Geoff considering his next customer outreach program

 

[Leonard]

View attachment 7588
lucky find here.....Geoff considering his next customer outreach program

If only he just pressed the send key on his laptop there once a month....

 

[daniel heald]

I should have been clearer and said Lotus HQ rather than Lotus UK. Lotus HQ are responsible for all customer comms. If the strategy is to handle that direct for UK and via dealers for ROW that would be fine, but the dealers are as much in the dark as customers.

We’ve been saying for months it wouldn’t be hard to do a monthly update email. Or to create various sub-segments of customers and send them more targeted messages. They have a Customer Experience team and a CRM system and yet none of this is happening.

I get the angst being vented. I really do. And on the other hand how do Lotus communicate effectively when, I suspect, they do not really know and worse can't accurately predict when production may start. There are too many factors outside their control. Lotus might get a message lockdown is lifted and then three weeks later lockdown returns.
So I feel for all fellow customers and I do not know what Lotus could really do. More communications for sure and this could equally become a millstone of dissatisfaction too. How many monthly updates, accurate reports could we enjoy when the message hasn't changed. Simply "we have a great new factory and are ready to make the Emira, but due to issues beyond our control we can't start assembly. In truth we at Lotus do not know when production will start and can't predict the start of production. Please stay tuned, we will keep you informed.

 

[GetawayDriving]

I ordered a birdhouse as part of a Kickstarter campaign two years ago, and still don’t have it. It’s a webcam feeder, and the software takes a video, recognizes the bird and “collects” the different species that visit the feeder. Bought it for my mom, who loves watching the birds.

I get a monthly email from them, linking to a blog post, that details every step of development. There have been lots of delays, from software not working the ways they wanted to supply chain issues, and they’d display it warts and all - right down to the specific pieces they were waiting on and clever solutions or disappointing compromises they had to make along the way.

I still don’t have it, but I knows they’re actually shipping units now and while the delays have been frustrating for something that was meant to be a gift long ago, it has been an example of how to handle Comms under difficult circumstances.

Something like that would be a fascinating read and satisfy many, I think.

 

[Leonard]

I get the angst being vented. I really do. And on the other hand how do Lotus communicate effectively when, I suspect, they do not really know and worse can't accurately predict when production may start. There are too many factors outside their control. Lotus might get a message lockdown is lifted and then three weeks later lockdown returns.
So I feel for all fellow customers and I do not know what Lotus could really do. More communications for sure and this could equally become a millstone of dissatisfaction too. How many monthly updates, accurate reports could we enjoy when the message hasn't changed. Simply "we have a great new factory and are ready to make the Emira, but due to issues beyond our control we can't start assembly. In truth we at Lotus do not know when production will start and can't predict the start of production. Please stay tuned, we will keep you informed.

You simply be honest and transparent with your customer base and fill any delays with interesting anecdotes and product reviews.
Engage us. Make us feel like we are in it together, a community. At present all they are doing is creating a community of anti Lotus protagonists

 

[Porter]

how do Lotus communicate effectively when, I suspect, they do not really know and worse can't accurately predict when production may start. There are too many factors outside their control. Lotus might get a message lockdown is lifted and then three weeks later lockdown returns.

So I feel for all fellow customers and I do not know what Lotus could really do. More communications for sure and this could equally become a millstone of dissatisfaction too. How many monthly updates, accurate reports could we enjoy when the message hasn't changed. Simply "we have a great new factory and are ready to make the Emira, but due to issues beyond our control we can't start assembly. In truth we at Lotus do not know when production will start and can't predict the start of production. Please stay tuned, we will keep you informed.

^^^ that's exactly what they could do. They have failed to communicate with customers since way before they went down due to the supply chain crunch though.

This is absolutely NOT whinging about delays. Delays are fine, particularly considering global supply and logistics conditions, and honestly we all expected some kind of delays back in summer of 2021 when the vast majority of us placed deposits. Nobody really cares about that part! We just want to stop being disrespected by their stubborn and intransigent silence about EVERYTHING. They aren't even trying to hype their own product or the driving experience or anything else! They literally aren't doing actual modern digital marketing work beyond a bunch of blue and yellow graphics and some event glitz.

It's 2022. Everyone is online. Brands have to engage with their customers directly using the media channels that their customers use, or they will wither.

 

[TomE]

Same story in the US. I'm in one of the biggest markets in the country, particularly in terms of affluence, and the closest dealer is a 4+ hour drive away. This is in the middle of the densely populated US east coast, and literally the nation's capital. You can locally buy and service a Bugatti, Rolls, Bentley, McLaren, Aston, Ferrari, Lambo, Maserati, or even more esoteric things here... but a Lotus? Impossible.

They have dealers in places like Winston-Salem, NC (pop. 250k) or Wilmington, NC (pop. 120k) but not a single one anywhere remotely near the greater Washington DC-Northern VA-Baltimore area (pop. 9.9 million).

I believe there’s some sort of legacy contractual issue that has made it difficult for Lotus to add a dealership in the DC/VA area. I don’t know the details. I think it’s one of the planned new dealerships coming in the next 12 months.

 

[Leonard]

I ordered a birdhouse as part of a Kickstarter campaign two years ago, and still don’t have it. It’s a webcam feeder, and the software takes a video, recognizes the bird and “collects” the different species that visit the feeder. Bought it for my mom, who loves watching the birds.

I get a monthly email from them, linking to a blog post, that details every step of development. There have been lots of delays, from software not working the ways they wanted to supply chain issues, and they’d display it warts and all - right down to the specific pieces they were waiting on and clever solutions or disappointing compromises they had to make along the way.

I still don’t have it, but I knows they’re actually shipping units now and while the delays have been frustrating for something that was meant to be a gift long ago, it has been an example of how to handle Comms under difficult circumstances.

Something like that would be a fascinating read and satisfy many, I think.

Amen
It's so frustrating how Lotus don't understand this. They have so much resource they can call upon to drip feed us info to keep us happy and engaged. So frustrating. Sooo frustrating!!!

 

[TomE]

You would think!
I got told that the Head of CX went to a well established motor industry customer service professional.
So combined I have no idea what the hell they are doing.
I dont like talking ill of anyone, but hey they aren't giving us anything as customers and this is an online forum after all...

A quick search on LinkedIn and you’ll find her. Nicola Langley, ex Volvo. I met her at Goodwood. Lots of plans and various improvements “coming soon”. Waiting to see when those will become apparent.

 

[Porter]

I believe there’s some sort of legacy contractual issue that has made it difficult for Lotus to add a dealership in the DC/VA area. I don’t know the details. I think it’s one of the planned new dealerships coming in the next 12 months.

When I talked to Lotus USA about this around 6 months ago, I was told that they have two people doing dealership development outreach in the US and that they hadn't yet been able to find anyone in the DC/VA/MD region to partner with.

I'll have to give them a call again to see if things have substantially changed - particularly given what you have heard Tom. I'll report back.

 

[Leonard]

A quick search on LinkedIn and you’ll find her. Nicola Langley, ex Volvo. I met her at Goodwood. Lots of plans and various improvements “coming soon”. Waiting to see when those will become apparent.

Where are the basics....

 

[xen]

I mean, it seems pretty clearly to be this guy's job.

View attachment 7587

Well for context Al Habtoor were a shit show and ran the McLaren brand in Dubai to the ground. The franchise was eventually yanked from them and given to another company who are trying hard to salvage their reputation.

Think of any dodgy dealer practice possible and they did it. Selling ‘hot’ cars to resellers as ‘used’ and taking backhanders on premiums, modifying cars and selling as stock (sometimes with aftermarket parts)…

 

[Tonyshepp]

You simply be honest and transparent with your customer base and fill any delays with interesting anecdotes and product reviews.
Engage us. Make us feel like we are in it together, a community. At present all they are doing is creating a community of anti Lotus protagonists

Spot on it is a community, with new buyers like myself buying into that community spirt of a company run by enthusiasts.

 

[VL3X]

Spot on it is a community, with new buyers like myself buying into that community spirt of a company run by enthusiasts.

Yep.. I love this forum, but it's getting tough to stay positive about Lotus. I could see if we were getting some brand new super amazing exotic sportscar with 500HP and a ton of new tech, but it's a 20+ year old powertrain with limited colors and limited options coming from a brand new $20m+ factory. There's nothing special about the FE other than that silly exterior corner badge and saving ~$5k on options that some of us might not even spec anyway. With all this downtime waiting on parts, can't they get their shit together to provide matching deviated stitched steering wheels like originally advertised? Or some sort of special "First Edition #xxx" plaque for the interior?

We were told "Spring 2022" when most of us made our initial deposits and it's clearly going to be at least 1 year past then before any US customers (and most ROW buyers) get their Emira. I can tell my dealer is frustrated with the lack of comms too... and that's not a comforting thing to witness as a new customer. It's sort of like experiencing turbulence on an airplane and looking at the flight attendants for comfort, but they look worried too.

 

[Tonyshepp]

Yep.. I love this forum, but it's getting tough to stay positive about Lotus. I could see if we were getting some brand new super amazing exotic sportscar with 500HP and a ton of new tech, but it's a 20+ year old powertrain with limited colors and limited options coming from a brand new $20m+ factory. There's nothing special about the FE other than that silly exterior corner badge and saving ~$5k on options that some of us might not even spec anyway. With all this downtime waiting on parts, can't they get their shit together to provide matching deviated stitched steering wheels like originally advertised? Or some sort of special "First Edition #xxx" plaque for the interior?

We were told "Spring 2022" when most of us made our initial deposits and it's clearly going to be at least 1 year past then before any US customers (and most ROW buyers) get their Emira. I can tell my dealer is frustrated with the lack of comms too... and that's not a comforting thing to witness as a new customer. It's sort of like experiecing turbulence on an airplane and looking at the flight attendants for comfort, but they look worried too.

I should have added that there is no community spirit from Lotus.

 

[Leonard]

I should have added that there is no community spirit from Lotus.

Not attending the largest Lotus gathering at Chatsworth the other weekend was pretty telling/damning in my eyes

 

[Nick in Sydney]

I mean how difficult is it to send out a few periodic emails with something like, "Hey, we are glad you're a Lotus customer! We are committed to you, and can't wait to share the joy of Lotus ownership with you once these supply chain issues sort themselves out. In the meantime, here's a [random marketing content thing] to tide you over. Thanks again for your continuing interest and passion for the brand!"

It ain't hard.

Apologies if I've mentioned this before, but when my Macan was on order I received a package from Porsche with a simple metal model of a classic Porsche Speedster and a small screwdriver. The letter said something like "while we make your Macan, please have fun building another Porsche"

It was brand-building genius. Two years later I'm still telling people about it.

 

[Maurice R]

I think you’ve got part of the issue - the split reporting lines. But let’s be clear: there are senior managers in Lotus UK who are responsible for comms, customer experience, customer care, PR, marketing …. or the lack of these.

IMO “lack” is correct

 

[VL3X]

Apologies if I've mentioned this before, but when my Macan was on order I received a package from Porsche with a simple metal model of a classic Porsche Speedster and a small screwdriver. The letter said something like "while we make your Macan, please have fun building another Porsche"

It was brand-building genius. Two years later I'm still telling people about it.

Whoa! That's above and beyond!!