Tesla Motors is taking criticism within the auto industry for more understated sales techniques that many customers count among the company’s more endearing qualities.
Tesla placed dead last for the second year in a row in the 2015 edition of the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, a secret shopper survey of auto dealerships’ sales effectiveness, CleanTechnica reports. “Tesla leaves me scratching my head,” said Pied Piper Management CEO Fran O’Hagan told Words Auto. “They own all of their stores, so you would think each one would be doing the same thing. But they’re not. Tesla is consistent in its inconsistencies.”
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While a select few dealerships “do all the right things” to show that “they want you to buy, and prepare you to buy,” O’Hagan said others act more like “museum curators.”
Words Auto second-guessed the technique of sales staff who “spoke knowledgeably about the products and answered customer questions, but shied away from asking for the sale in an ill-advised demonstration of underselling.” But CleanTechnica notes that Tesla’s “hassle-free buying experience” is one of the things its customers say they appreciate about the company.
“While Tesla perhaps does lose sales owing to the more hands-off approach, it’s also a clear plus to those who don’t like feeling like someone is trying force a sale (as is the case at most auto dealerships),” writes CleanTechnica’s James Ayre. “Overall, Tesla’s approach to selling cars has gotten a ton of praise for consumers, and presumably pulls a lot more people into its stores and toward the company, which eventually leads to more sales.”
