Sick of waiting

[Ever Pragmatic]

But that needs to go on for all our sakes ~ if there's not new sales down the line then there's not the money to pay the warranty engineers and all the other services we may be wanting in the future.

I agree with you but there’s a conflict between radio silence on order holders and proactively going after new customers. It makes no sense pissing off the early adopters to chase new ones. The equity on the IA story they’ve built up with the likes of us is a marketing directors wet dream and they’ve missed an open goal on communication. I’d hazard to say that the majority of Gren customers have considerable life experience, deep mechanical sympathy and understand the huge challenges in bring the Grenadier to market.

irrespective of the real reason for the delay, I for one would enjoy the intellectual challenge of understanding it, and chew over any hypotheses to resolve it….

My Gren arrived at the dealer one month ago today and has sat there unfettled ever since. I can only imagine how lonely it is.

 

[J8hn]

I thought batch and hold was mostly for the physical parts and processes. Some they've discovered themselves and some from feedback from agents/dealers (was it @Shaky who posted on this?). They were doing this in any event way back with earlier iterations:

View attachment 7806256

Software is perhaps two issues ~ idle emissions & transport mode. The latter only being evident after a number of vehicles have been shipped.

Finally, there's the vehicle registration issue. In the UK posting forms to DVLA is a lottery all of it's own.

I believe they were setting up a temporary system with DVLA, utilising couriers for the delivery and collection of registration forms.

 

[DaveB]

Come on Dave, you are usually the voice of reason on this board, but I have to pull you up on this. Are you trying to tell me that if the customers stop ringing the customer service numbers, then those staff who normally answer the phones can go back to their real jobs building IG’s or working on software updates.

With regard to update videos it has to be the cheapest way to communicate to the masses. Record a 3 min video and chuck it on YouTube. Job done. Oh, and just send a mass email as well to let anyone who cares know it’s there.

I hope they don't use the customer service staff.
Head counts are head counts
If you reduce a head count in one section then you can employ one in another without changing your total headcount.
This is extremely important when presenting to Board of Directors.
I have done this numerous times.

An update video will take at least a couple of weeks to prepare as the script needs to go through production, supply, legal, and marketing first then get signed off by senior management.
Then the script gets turned into production notes and directors notes.
Once the production is planned, and everyone required is available, it is filmed, edited and then back it goes for sign-off again.
If anything has changed during these two weeks or so then back to the drawing board.
I have also done this many times.

Particularly over the last 3 years as COVID and supply issues have had huge impact.
I delayed the launch of a new range of products last year from March 2022, July 2022, October 2022, December 2022, January 2023 only to discover after launch in January that 80% of the product range would be delayed to late Q2 or early Q3 2023 due to component delays and quality failures.

 

[Jean Mercier]

I agree it is a total nuisance continually phoning for updates, so stop doing it.
I guarantee you they want to deliver your vehicle (and get paid for it) as soon as they possibly can.
Every minute and every dollar they spend answering calls and preparing update videos and releases is time and money they could be spending on the vehicle.

Every time they really give decent ... I repeat ... DECENT ... feedback, they avoid huge amounts of phone calls and enquiries that cost them a lot of money, and even more money if the answer isn't "decent", money they could spent on the vehicle!

 

[DCPU]

I agree with you but there’s a conflict between radio silence on order holders and proactively going after new customers. It makes no sense pissing off the early adopters to chase new ones.

I actually think saying nothing at this stage is probably what they've been told is the best strategy. Early adoptors have too much invested to walk away not knowing why. They may be vocal but they'll hang around just in case tomorrow is the day it all comes right.

No matter what some people think about the "sick of waiting" syndrome being negative, it's worth remembering that these same people are so outrageously optimistic that they've stumped up a four figure sum to a chemical company to be part of something.

For the rest, information will just "frighten the horses".

The equity on the IA story they’ve built up with the likes of us is a marketing directors wet dream and they’ve missed an open goal on communication. I’d hazard to say that the majority of Gren customers have considerable life experience, deep mechanical sympathy and understand the huge challenges in bring the Grenadier to market.

I'm convinced many of them really don't get it ~ it's a well paid job and a stepping stone in their personal career.

irrespective of the real reason for the delay, I for one would enjoy the intellectual challenge of understanding it, and chew over any hypotheses to resolve it….

I think we have a good list of reasons, whether they are the real ones or not I'm not sure we will ever know but I'm happy they seem credible and "enjoy" chewing over.

 

[DCPU]

I'm now coming to a mindset that I could well be on a 73 plate

Spare a thought for whoever bought the personalised 22 plate...

 

[DCPU]

I believe they were setting up a temporary system with DVLA, utilising couriers for the delivery and collection of registration forms.

Excellent ~ another nugget of info I did not know.

 

[alvan]

Actually, I went on chat asking if my car is in production and and a girl (I guess) very kindly answer me and in half an hour sent me an email with the answer...

 

[Ever Pragmatic]

I actually think saying nothing at this stage is probably what they've been told is the best strategy. Early adoptors have too much invested to walk away not knowing why. They may be vocal but they'll hang around just in case tomorrow is the day it all comes right.

No matter what some people think about the "sick of waiting" syndrome being negative, it's worth remembering that these same people are so outrageously optimistic that they've stumped up a four figure sum to a chemical company to be part of something.

For the rest, information will just "frighten the horses".


I'm convinced many of them really don't get it ~ it's a well paid job and a stepping stone in their personal career.


I think we have a good list of reasons, whether they are the real ones or not I'm not sure we will ever know but I'm happy they seem credible and "enjoy" chewing over.

My lady wife thinks I’m nutty and that I should spend the money on something else…! She’s not specified what this something else is however. as For waiting, I’m just going to continue to suck it up and bitch and moan until it arrives.

 

[Barney]

It's totally insane to read all of this. Everyone thinks …. Everyone is annoyed. Nobody has a car. All are waiting. I'm pissed. But what alternative is there but to wait? Another vehicle? Not for me. Maybe I shouldn't look here in the forum and on the order homepage every day?

 

[DCPU]

as For waiting, I’m just going to continue to suck it up and bitch and moan until it arrives.

Having paid the entrance fee you are fully entitled.

In reality, the Hard Way Home winners had it easy...

 

[Jean Mercier]

In reality, the Hard Way Home winners had it easy...

Unless I missed something, only one of them made it home! The others are still awaiting a software update I guess!

 

[Barney]

Having paid the entrance fee you are fully entitled.

In reality, the Hard Way Home winners had it easy...

But do the hard way home winners have their vehicle working at home?

 

[Tom D]

But do the hard way home winners have their vehicle working at home?

I suspect not as there would probably have been some social media splash about it..

 

[Tom D]

I’d hazard a guess that those who have been happy to wait are buyers for whom this will be a ‘forever’ vehicle, leisure vehicle or an addition to an already stocked garage. Whereas its those who need the vehicle for work or as a daily driver who are getting fed up.

 

[Shaky]

It's totally insane to read all of this. Everyone thinks …. Everyone is annoyed. Nobody has a car. All are waiting. I'm pissed. But what alternative is there but to wait? Another vehicle? Not for me. Maybe I shouldn't look here in the forum and on the order homepage every day?

The thing is, they have us on a nice little hook, we are effectively getting the vehicle a lot cheaper that people after us (sorry NA customers) and we now have the intrigue of waiting but the massive draw of missing out on getting it “for cheap”.

I suspect that I wouldn’t have been the only one who instantly pressed the refund button had they decided to put my purchase up by 10%. Common sense would have dictated that cancel the order, wait and see what happens and order at a later date if everything was fine and a success.

However for some that thread holding them to this project isn’t enough and they are turning their backs and there will be a few more before we all have our vehicles. As someone has already said IA won’t be too bothered as someone further down the queue will buy it for more money.

 

[JOB]

I suspect they have backed themselves into a corner. Batch and Hold made sense and bought them time to fix the software issue, only it seams the software issue isn't fixed and maybe a larger array of problems. Obviously they can't come out and tell us that now, so maybe we'll have to face radio silence for a bit longer.

This is possibly the most believable theory of them all. I agree that this “software update” comes from the realisation that something doesn’t work quite as it should.

Did those first cars leave the factory before Ineos realised that the horse had bolted?

I agree Dave, I know the couple of occasions that I’ve phoned won’t speed anything up, but at the end of the day we are paying customers and we can take our custom elsewhere if we wish to. Equally, I could happily stick to my current vehicle and we can use the pre-existing LR 110 for the heavy work until the cows come home and be £many better off. Especially as the scenario around U.K. business purchasers is such a horlicks.

 

[bemax]

I'm more confused than I was this time last week. I understood that my car ("January Build") was in batch and hold, was told this by IA on two occasions when trying to sort out my contract. Yesterday I spoke with the retailer on when the car would be expected in the UK, they suggested more definitive updates could only come from IA - called just now to be told that my car should be 'in production' soon! I now want to know, have they built the bloody thing or not?

To be clear, not sick of waiting; if i knew what was going on I wouldn't be frustrated but been treated like a mushroom* does not appeal to me.



*Kept in the dark and fed on bullshit

Can’t see anything not clear here. Your car has been in production, was ready and will soon be in production again to sort out everything that went wrong during the first production passage.

My one, contract signed on 7th of November, is probably in its fourth or fifth passage of the production line by now

 

[Shaky]

Without repeating what I have said previously there was supposed to be two software updates.

One was to sort out idle emissions and the gearbox and engine talking to the rest of the vehicle.

The second which does explain why some have left the factory is that when these vehicles are taken out of transport mode there are suffering from differing glitches happening all over the place and randomly.

Brake lights not turning off straight away was quoted but we have members reporting indicators not turning off and windscreen wipers running all the time.

Are they chasing gremlins through the whole vehicles systems ? Is it taking so long because each vehicle has differing problems ?

 

[Tazzieman]

Does the forum get an award when this thread gets to 100 pages?
Phew , it just goes around and around the same rodeo ring.
Get a Bronco!