Tesla seems to have an issue maintaining sales continuity across all of its stores, at least that is what one survey tells us. According to Prospect Satisfaction Index released recently by Pied Piper, one in four Tesla retail stores are among the best in the auto industry at treating prospective buyers and turning them into paying customers. However, Tesla stores as a whole scored at the bottom.
Pied Piper CEO Fran O’Hagan told The Los Angeles Times that Tesla ‘s stores displayed a high degree of variance, with some stores featuring “excellent, helpful salespeople,” and others whose employees seemed indifferent over whether customers purchased a vehicle.
Tesla ranked 34th out of 34 auto brands included in a survey that evaluated how helpful their salespeople are to customers and experienced one of the survey’s biggest year-to-year declines. Audi finished first in the survey, followed by Lexus and Toyota.
When asked for comment on the ranking, a representative from Tesla pointed to an old Tweet from its CEO, Elon Musk.
“Tesla finishes last in being salesy! Good,” Musk said.
Tesla finishes last in being salesy! Good. Also, I can’t believe there is a real Pied Piper.https://t.co/9Zzijxxyy4
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2016
The sales philosophy of Tesla overall is vastly different from other major auto retailers. In a 2012 blog post, Musk noted his preference for Tesla employees to be informative and not aggressive when it comes to sales.
“They are not on commission and they will never pressure you to buy a car,” Musk wrote. “Their goal and the sole metric of their success is to have you enjoy the experience of visiting so much that you look forward to returning again.”
