Author | Yan Guangming, Editor | Lei Qian
About the service of electric vehicles, I visited for more than half a month, which caused many questions. Different from the previous impression, I even have a sense of strangeness. I really don't know if there is a problem with the concept or the automobile format has changed, which is a bit unsuitable.
In my impression, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, selling cars and maintaining them were separated. So you can often see the sign of "special maintenance station". At that time, there was a lack of car service, which belonged to the bus age. Someone set up a car club to provide services for private cars. After the rise of 4S stores, such business naturally disappeared, so did the special maintenance station, and the nature of the club changed.
Looking back on this close history is like a lifetime ago. Recently, the active pure motor train has brought me back to the anxiety phenomenon before the popularity of family cars. Now it's reappearing. I heard that charging is difficult, battery life is difficult, and service is difficult. From experience, this is a precursor to the popularity of electric vehicles.
Not long ago, I went to Anting and was rear-ended while driving. When I got off the bus, I saw it was a pure electric car. The owner said politely that the electric car is fast and a bit unstoppable. I said, if it doesn't matter, it's just a "skin injury", so that we can ensure each other's safety. Taking this as an example, I asked him, some people say that electric cars don't need maintenance and service. He said with a smile, there, just like a fuel car, you need to buy insurance and services, but maintenance has become testing or replacing parts, and the mechanical part still needs maintenance. Who else dares to hit the road?
I think so, too. The kiss of a car answered the questions in my heart, but it didn't solve my doubts and puzzles about the electric car service at all. The following is my experience record.
In early May, I went to Shanghai Wujiaochang Tesla Exhibition Hall (also called Experience Store) for a field visit. The facade is not big, and the Xiangyin intersection of Guo Ding East Road belongs to the storefront of the old factory building reconstruction. Minimalism, no decoration, no window, no car price. There are only four cars in the store (two imported and two made in China), and there is a Yi Labao inside and outside the door (car price and preferential policies). There is no place to rest, not even a stool. Staff members are always available for inquiries or questions.
I asked the clerk: how to buy a car? Q&A: We don't sell cars. how much is it? Order online. While I was hesitating, the staff said, we can help you place an order online.
At the scene, although the exhibition hall is very simple, people who look at the car are constantly. In and out, not cold. Observe that it is basically aimed at price reduction and Tesla brand. The clerk looks very laid-back and has no "welcome" enthusiasm. I asked the shop assistant how to provide after-sales service for this car. The answer is that Tesla doesn't need maintenance, and there is nothing good to serve. I said, why? The explanation is that there are only two situations, one is that the car is out of power or there is an accident. The former requires the trailer to take away the charge, while the latter requires the insurance company to handle it.
The clerk's tone is blunt and his speech is a bit awesome. From this point of view, it is very different from the traditional car sales method. When Tesla first came in, the relevant personnel claimed to be directly operated, without dealers, placed orders online, and the sales were open and transparent. This is like the electric car itself, which simplifies the service because of its simplicity. Wonder, is this the reason? Is this speech or attitude?
Tucki opened the largest exhibition hall "Heshenghui" in Wujiaochang. This is a large-scale modern shopping center, which belongs to the newly rising sub-center of Shanghai and has a unique geographical advantage. In recent years, it has become a highland where creative talents and young people are concentrated. It is also located in a region with many universities, industrial transformation, dense new houses and developed transportation, and has become a hot spot in Shanghai.
Looking around, Tucki chose to open the hall here, otherwise Tesla wouldn't follow suit and open an experience store here. It should be said that the Tucki Exhibition Hall is the "scenery" of the "Heshenghui" (exquisitely decorated and with a sense of design), which can be seen as soon as you enter the door. I was attracted by the newly listed P7 to see the car here. There is a simple reason. The competing product of P7 is Tesla.
This is a standard exhibition hall with a sense of design and high taste, which provides a warm and quality car viewing environment and conforms to the tonality of high-end electric vehicles. The exhibition hall is equipped with a bar and lounge, as well as drinks and tea, which creates respect for guests when they enter the store, but it is not elegant and casual. The clerk is warm and thoughtful. After running, open the door for you to see the car. The pre-sales service model is the same as that of 4S stores. The big screen of the exhibition hall scrolls with videos of car companies, R&D, products and road test.
I asked the clerk how to buy a car. Answer: Like Tesla, we are also directly operated. One more question: What are the after-sales services? Answer: We learn from Tesla. To add, we have a long cruising range, high intelligence and configuration, and low price. Later, when I participated in the P7 test drive, I confirmed that they were really benchmarking Tesla in an all-round way. But when it comes to service, the interest is not high, and the topic always falls on technology and intelligence, rarely talking about service. Imagine, if I come to buy a car, even if the cost performance is higher, will I feel at ease?
After visiting two exhibition halls (experience stores) of hot-selling electric vehicles, I visited Shanghai Zhongsheng Lexus 4S store. Although it is located in the remote northeast corner of Shanghai, there are cars at the door, and there are many people watching cars in the shop. I noticed that the store was still in the epidemic and was not affected.
It is reported that Lexus' first electric car began to heat up before the store booked it. The clerk told me that the first subscriber was a lady. Obviously, customers who are optimistic about Lexus electric cars are not buying cars for the first time and know what they want. Take this topic and ask the clerk: How do you provide services for electric vehicles? The answer is clear: think of it as a fuel car. When asked whether electric vehicle services (projects) can be reduced, the answer is no, and service is the most important. Ask why? Answer: you can't reduce the service just because the electric car is simple. On the contrary, there is no shortage of maintenance (testing). It's about security and inner peace.
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Selling cars: What do you sell?
However, we do not deny that Tesla has had a far-reaching impact on the transformation and development of automobiles because of a series of innovations, especially in marketing and service models, and think that they are all "advanced", including the reception mode and experience form becoming simple or omitted, which is trendy and can even simplify services. I don't think this is desirable, otherwise it will have a very bad negative impact.
I think, as a new thing, it is particularly important to improve the service quality to gain trust and satisfaction, so as to promote its popularization, safety and reassurance. In fact, the connotation of service is not only the car itself, but also the soft brand service. In this regard, the Lexus clerk said well, no matter what car is sold, it is for service.