Constructive Feedback for Ford [Input Wanted]

[Jules]

It appears that Ford wants to transition to more of a "direct order" system. As a consumer, I'm supportive of this if it improves the overall buying experience. Due to circumstances both within and without Ford's control, it seems that the version of direct ordering used for the Maverick has had flaws for some customers.

As a highly engaged community I think we are of great value to Ford as "beta" testers. I want the system to improve to benefit future buyers, and myself if I ever buy direct again. So I think it's mutually beneficial for us to share constructive feedback on what could have been improved and for Ford to take note.

I'll kick off with some of my own suggestions, but would love suggestions from this excellent community. Of course no guarantees that Ford either sees or acts on this, but I believe they're monitoring this forum.

Without further ado:

- While it may be difficult to provide precise details for practical and/or competitive reasons, having a portal for order holders to log into to see their order status would be very useful. It would prevent a lot of inbound inquiries from customers, especially amid confusion over whether orders are "confirmed" vs not.
- Early adopters of an entirely new platform (Maverick) are going to be different to deal with than mass adopters. To generalize, they're probably more willing to forgive production hiccups, but also benefit from regular communication, even if imperfect. While shifting production week emails might be unwanted for mass market, I think early orderers are likely to benefit on balance. At the least an opt-in should be provided (maybe on the aforementioned portal).
- Long-run for direct ordering to be competitive with emergent car manufacturers there needs to be tighter control over MSRP. I'm not sure the legal specifics but I know I can walk into a Polestar dealer and they're obligated to provide me a car at MSRP, so it is definitely possible. As a customer it's not a great feeling to wait 6 months+ for a vehicle and still not be entirely sure if the dealer will honor prices. Especially when I know Ford's sanctions against such dealers is weak / non-existent.
- To the extent dealers are involved, Ford should make a better effort to educate them. Naturally this is a challenging production environment, but when I ordered last year I was told it would be 8-12weeks to receive the vehicle. Thankfully I didn't take that at face value, but it should have been abundantly clear to everyone involved that this wouldn't be realistic. Again this is where a portal could help to ensure that there is some centralized "source of truth".
- I think the flaw of allocations has been recognized by Ford so I'm not going to harp on it, but clearly allocations is a rubbish system for direct orders.

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[Tone]

As I have said in other posts and directly to @Ford Motor Company they should include orders (Pre-scheduled) in thier Ford Pass accounts. They have reservations there, no reason why they can't have orders clear through the delivery stage with updates. It would save a whole bunch of phone calls and chats tying up their people.

 

[JASmith]

Ditto, I'd like a direct order system with a web interface where I can complete my order and get a confirmation with order status tracking without any dealer involvement. Even McDonalds can handle this with their phone apps, and Amazon can even show you how many stops away the delivery truck is from your house on a live tracking map. If Carvana and Vroom and the like can deliver vehicles directly, I don't see why Ford can't do the same. We know the dealers even at MSRP are making massive profits right now, so sell directly to the consumers at a bit above what the dealerships are paying for the vehicles and cut out the middle-man as a win win for both sides.

This eliminates weird allocation requirements and hassle for the customer and massive markups with incentive to get customers to cancel orders so they can market adjust and overall simplifies the process. No reason that buying a car has to be any more complicated than buying a refrigerator.

Ford revolutionized the auto-industry and reduced costs by inventing the assembly line, now do the same for re-inventing the direct order system from manufacturer straight to customer.

 

[RR - All the way]

Recognize that sending out "general, applies to everyone" emails, to a diverse population of buyers with orders leads to confusion and stress. These last two constraint emails were NOT good. Identify the audience in need of specific type of info and pinpoint response accordingly.

Of course, with other means of providing info, like some already listed, i.e. web interface, these types of emails are a moot point.

 

[WannaMav]

It would save a whole bunch of phone calls and chats tying up their people.

It's not as if those people are being interrupted from tightening bolts on the assembly line. Handling customer inquiries is what they're paid to do.

 

[unlimited]

It's not as if those people are being interrupted from tightening bolts on the assembly line. Handling customer inquiries is what they're paid to do.

They wouldn't need as many if they gave us a place to check status without interacting with an individual.
Think about it as if it were your company, would you want to pay someone to answer calls all day or pay someone to tighten the bolts to get the product out faster?

 

[bgn]

They wouldn't need as many if they gave us a place to check status without interacting with an individual.
Think about it as if it were your company, would you want to pay someone to answer calls all day or pay someone to tighten the bolts to get the product out faster?

Do you not use the order tracker that they provide?

 

[unlimited]

Do you not use the order tracker that they provide?

Correct me if I am wrong but that only applies when you get a VIN or notice of build date. I do not have either one of those.

 

[bgn]

Correct me if I am wrong but that only applies when you get a VIN or notice of build date. I do not have either one of those.

Yeah, I see what you mean now. You'd like to get a confirmation that everything was submitted by the dealer. I think they send emails for that. Either way, sometimes the email the dealer takes down is incorrect, so you may never get those.

 

[WannaMav]

They wouldn't need as many if they gave us a place to check status without interacting with an individual.
Think about it as if it were your company, would you want to pay someone to answer calls all day or pay someone to tighten the bolts to get the product out faster?

Interacting with a bona fide human being is vastly more preferable in my book than is staring at and refreshing an impersonal web site.

No reason to not have both options. Marginal cost is piddling.

 

[Captain]

It appears that Ford wants to transition to more of a "direct order" system. As a consumer, I'm supportive of this if it improves the overall buying experience. Due to circumstances both within and without Ford's control, it seems that the version of direct ordering used for the Maverick has had flaws for some customers.

As a highly engaged community I think we are of great value to Ford as "beta" testers. I want the system to improve to benefit future buyers, and myself if I ever buy direct again. So I think it's mutually beneficial for us to share constructive feedback on what could have been improved and for Ford to take note.

I'll kick off with some of my own suggestions, but would love suggestions from this excellent community. Of course no guarantees that Ford either sees or acts on this, but I believe they're monitoring this forum.

Without further ado:

- While it may be difficult to provide precise details for practical and/or competitive reasons, having a portal for order holders to log into to see their order status would be very useful. It would prevent a lot of inbound inquiries from customers, especially amid confusion over whether orders are "confirmed" vs not.
- Early adopters of an entirely new platform (Maverick) are going to be different to deal with than mass adopters. To generalize, they're probably more willing to forgive production hiccups, but also benefit from regular communication, even if imperfect. While shifting production week emails might be unwanted for mass market, I think early orderers are likely to benefit on balance. At the least an opt-in should be provided (maybe on the aforementioned portal).
- Long-run for direct ordering to be competitive with emergent car manufacturers there needs to be tighter control over MSRP. I'm not sure the legal specifics but I know I can walk into a Polestar dealer and they're obligated to provide me a car at MSRP, so it is definitely possible. As a customer it's not a great feeling to wait 6 months+ for a vehicle and still not be entirely sure if the dealer will honor prices. Especially when I know Ford's sanctions against such dealers is weak / non-existent.
- To the extent dealers are involved, Ford should make a better effort to educate them. Naturally this is a challenging production environment, but when I ordered last year I was told it would be 8-12weeks to receive the vehicle. Thankfully I didn't take that at face value, but it should have been abundantly clear to everyone involved that this wouldn't be realistic. Again this is where a portal could help to ensure that there is some centralized "source of truth".
- I think the flaw of allocations has been recognized by Ford so I'm not going to harp on it, but clearly allocations is a rubbish system for direct orders.

Remember that some States outlaw and prohibit direct sales from Auto manufacturers. Dealership pay lots of money to politicians to keep it that way. Ford needs those dealerships to fix and maintain these cars. Ford has with these last vehicles given themselves a horrible reputation…. Sadly most dealerships have a horrible reputation and that now translates to the car maker. ie… Bronco, Maverick and Lightening launches. Ford allows Ford Dealers to screw the public with huge markups and looks the other way. No other manufacturers do that.. carrying the Ford name should require some sort of responsibility to honest business practice. It doesn’t. Shame on Ford.

 

[Tone]

t's not as if those people are being interrupted from tightening bolts on the assembly line. Handling customer inquiries is what they're paid to do.

I'm just trying to give Ford a cost benefit reason to make some of these suggested changes.
The main reason to is IT'S GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!!!!!

 

[Red Ryder]

I actually had a good dealer experience. Even though I waited a long time, the dealer honored MSRP as promised, no add-ons or pressure to finance or buy warranty. The dealership owner even came out and thanked me for patiently waiting for my Maverick.

On the other hand, FoMoCo frustrated me with erroneous emails about six-month additional delays and other nonsense. It wasn't my best buying experience as a result.

Given a choice, I would rather go to a stocked dealership and buy a vehicle. I didn't get any additional value or better choices by ordering and waiting.

 

[WannaMav]

I'm just trying to give Ford a cost benefit reason to make some of these suggested changes.
The main reason to is IT'S GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!!!!!

More focused communication - by any means - redounds to the benefit of both the buyer and the seller. There will still always be occasions when a direct query is desirable. For example, just look at how many posts here are some variation of "What does In Production mean?"

 

[skadizzle]

I would like a true direct order where you don't even have to get the dealership involved or at most, for pick up. You should be allowed to place an order online, select the dealer you want to pick it up at, and do all paperwork and payment online so that the dealership has no say on BS dealer fees or ADM. This should also eliminate the allocation process altogether and the longest you will wait is maybe an extra day or so for the receiving dealer to get a full load of vehicles for delivery.

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