First real Hethel Yellow Emira

First yellow car in China

 

[Leonard]

TBF if I can change the spec without any delay then I don't really mind how Lotus make me feel about it. Without wanting to sound selfish, I'm only interested in getting the car I want as soon as possible and at least I don't have to play the Porsche/Ferrari game where you can't even buy the car you want without being on the 'chosen list' and instead have to buy one for a premium from a flipper!

And how exactly are you going to make an informed decision on your spec with no info. If ur in the June batch you probably have 48 hours to decide and even then changes aren't guaranteed

Love the yellow. Wow. Looks great!

As far as service… I’ve given this a lot of thought and I’m getting exactly what’s expected.

I compare this to people that complain about features on free sites like social media sites. We all have a choice to simply not use the site…

So I know I’ve just committed an interest free loan of $2,500 to a Lotus dealer and for that interest free loan I am getting lots of fun configuration time along with a bunch of excitement. Then, if I don’t want the car, or if I don’t like the service, I can get my loan back…

OR, if I love the car, I can continue this process of getting one of the first!

This isn't a free site it's a considerable outlay. There really is zero excuses

 

[TXEMIRA]

This isn't a free site it's a considerable outlay. There really is zero excuses

For me, so far, it’s a refundable $2,500 deposit.

Now if I was in $2,500 non-refundable OR $5,000+ - I may feel differently.

Yes the customer service could be better and should be better, but all-in-all I feel the excitement and wow factor, along with the coveted FE, far outweigh the unknown factor.

That’s all we are upset about right?
The unknown…

I hate that I still don’t know how the line works, but in my case, I can still back-out with no loss if I disagree on how Lotus is handling US distribution.

Not knowing the colors bothers me but I’m equally excited to see them all. It’s just one man’s humble opinion.

 

[Dommo]

And how exactly are you going to make an informed decision on your spec with no info. If ur in the June batch you probably have 48 hours to decide and even then changes aren't guaranteed

This isn't a free site it's a considerable outlay. There really is zero excuses

I'm almost certainly not in the June slot as my first deposit was 11th July but my point is that I don't actually care if I have to change my spec at short notice, I just don't want it to delay my place in the queue

 

[Leonard]

I hate that I still don’t know how the line works, but in my case, I can still back-out with no loss if I disagree on how Lotus is handling US distribution.

I'm £5k in and I don't feel I've really had 'an experience' to date.
The thought I could pull back the covers in June and be disappointed with the looks and then drive it out the showroom and be disappointed with the ride because they can't be bothered to share damper and spring rates etc is just getting to me now. Seeing them show other colours in markets that won't even get the car til later in the year is just beyond me. Probably painted in China as incapable of doing it still in Hethel. But hey what do I know or indeed any of us

 

[Eagle7]

I work in customer service and it grates beyond all else when I'm the one spending a lot of money and not getting the service/experience I expect and deserve.
As a CX professional there is Zero excuse for any of this BS and it is BS. Am I being melodramatic, maybe slightly? But this isn't Rolex, I'm not bending over backwards to get something so coveted I can flip it for 100% profit immediately.
I want this car for the right reasons, but I now resent spending 80k on a car that I may not be happy with purely because Lotus is incapable of sharing information properly. I'm not even looking at the ownership experience. But if this is the pre purchase experience the ownership experience could be dire

I worked in customer service too, for 20 years before retiring. I've also worked in manufacturing.

There's a few things you need to realize and either accept, or move on. Everything here is a first for Lotus. This is the first new car produced by their new factory. They hired 200 employees just for this. First time crew. They've never produced this car before. First time. First time this factory has ever produced a car. They've never had this kind of a response with orders and deposits before. First time ever. EVERYTHING they're doing right now is a huge first for them with this car, and production, and sourcing, and parts availability, and on and on. If you can't give them some slack and work with them through this, then you should move on now before you get even more frustrated and unhappy.

We're all being participants in the pioneer experience for this newly reformed and reorganized Lotus. If you aren't okay with that, then by all means cancel your deposit and move on, otherwise you'll do nothing but complain the whole way. In fact, just based on what I'm seeing from you already, after my 20 years experience in customer service, you're going to be one of those who will complain for the rest of your life; about Lotus, the experience you wanted but didn't get, and you'll always be bitter. You'll get a Porsche and gladly recount to the Porsche forums what a crap deal Lotus is and why you just couldn't deal with it, even though you would have liked an Emira, and what a shame Lotus isn't a better company, blah blah blah.

This "I expect and I DESERVE" entitlement mentality is exactly the kind of customer attitude nobody wants to see walk into their store. You should know this if you're in customer service. It's the kind of customer that is never satisfied, absorbs a disproportionate amount of customer service time and attention, and no matter what you do or say, they're never happy. Do you like dealing with a customer like that? If not, then don't be 'that guy'. Be the kind of customer you like to see and interact with.

 

[Dommo]

I'm £5k in and I don't feel I've really had 'an experience' to date.
The thought I could pull back the covers in June and be disappointed with the looks and then drive it out the showroom and be disappointed with the ride because they can't be bothered to share damper and spring rates etc is just getting to me now. Seeing them show other colours in markets that won't even get the car til later in the year is just beyond me. Probably painted in China as incapable of doing it still in Hethel. But hey what do I know or indeed any of us

I think these things can easily build a form of annoyance as a customer but we are in the unfortunate situation (as consumers) where Lotus have the upper hand. They've produced a high demand car in a market that you'll struggle to even buy any new car in and have a waiting list of willing buyers. Supply and demand is a bitch

 

[Leonard]

I worked in customer service too, for 20 years before retiring. I've also worked in manufacturing.

There's a few things you need to realize and either accept, or move on. Everything here is a first for Lotus. This is the first new car produced by their new factory. They hired 200 employees just for this. First time crew. They've never produced this car before. First time. First time this factory has ever produced a car. They've never had this kind of a response with orders and deposits before. First time ever. EVERYTHING they're doing right now is a huge first for them with this car, and production, and sourcing, and parts availability, and on and on. If you can't give them some slack and work with them through this, then you should move on now before you get even more frustrated and unhappy.

We're all being participants in the pioneer experience for this newly reformed and reorganized Lotus. If you aren't okay with that, then by all means cancel your deposit and move on, otherwise you'll do nothing but complain the whole way. In fact, just based on what I'm seeing from you already, after my 20 years experience in customer service, you're going to be one of those who will complain for the rest of your life; about Lotus, the experience you wanted but didn't get, and you'll always be bitter. You'll get a Porsche and gladly recount to the Porsche forums what a crap deal Lotus is and why you just couldn't deal with it, even though you would have liked an Emira, and what a shame Lotus isn't a better company, blah blah blah.

This "I expect and I DESERVE" entitlement mentality is exactly the kind of customer attitude nobody wants to see walk into their store. You should know this if you're in customer service. It's the kind of customer that is never satisfied, absorbs a disproportionate amount of customer service time and attention, and no matter what you do or say, they're never happy. Do you like dealing with a customer like that? If not, then don't be 'that guy'. Be the kind of customer you like to see and interact with.

Yup you are completely correct in 90% of what you say. But completely wrong about my attitude to this and my future expectations.
I'm calling this out as its unacceptable.... they aren't even trying at this point. Which is either incredibly cock sure based on their order book, OR in fact what it really is, incompetence to supply the information that a perspective purchaser deserves

 

[Leonard]

I think these things can easily build a form of annoyance as a customer but we are in the unfortunate situation (as consumers) where Lotus have the upper hand. They've produced a high demand car in a market that you'll struggle to even buy any new car in and have a waiting list of willing buyers. Supply and demand is a bitch

Really the upper hand? I thought Lotus were "for the drivers" not "for the apathetic"
Anyway I've sounded off enough for one night so will leave everyone in peace and stop spamming up the yellow emira in China thread

 

[Tonyshepp]

I worked in customer service too, for 20 years before retiring. I've also worked in manufacturing.

There's a few things you need to realize and either accept, or move on. Everything here is a first for Lotus. This is the first new car produced by their new factory. They hired 200 employees just for this. First time crew. They've never produced this car before. First time. First time this factory has ever produced a car. They've never had this kind of a response with orders and deposits before. First time ever. EVERYTHING they're doing right now is a huge first for them with this car, and production, and sourcing, and parts availability, and on and on. If you can't give them some slack and work with them through this, then you should move on now before you get even more frustrated and unhappy.

We're all being participants in the pioneer experience for this newly reformed and reorganized Lotus. If you aren't okay with that, then by all means cancel your deposit and move on, otherwise you'll do nothing but complain the whole way. In fact, just based on what I'm seeing from you already, after my 20 years experience in customer service, you're going to be one of those who will complain for the rest of your life; about Lotus, the experience you wanted but didn't get, and you'll always be bitter. You'll get a Porsche and gladly recount to the Porsche forums what a crap deal Lotus is and why you just couldn't deal with it, even though you would have liked an Emira, and what a shame Lotus isn't a better company, blah blah blah.

This "I expect and I DESERVE" entitlement mentality is exactly the kind of customer attitude nobody wants to see walk into their store. You should know this if you're in customer service. It's the kind of customer that is never satisfied, absorbs a disproportionate amount of customer service time and attention, and no matter what you do or say, they're never happy. Do you like dealing with a customer like that? If not, then don't be 'that guy'. Be the kind of customer you like to see and interact with.

I think you are being harsh Eagle. I think the issue, and correct me Leonard if I’m wrong, is that Lotus could provide the information that is crucial in order for us to make informed decisions. Gavan on the smokin tyre pod cast said he felt for the guys on the configurator making decisions on sport or touring. If the Chinese yellow photo is genuine why couldn’t Lotus publicise this photo or are they going to but someone beat them to it?
Either way I hope that the people buying the Evija are getting a better purchasing experience than the mainstream £80k buyers. Perhaps Lotus expected the first tranche of buyers to be die hard Lotus fans prepared to accept the car on past loyalty and expectation but this car has a much wider audience which in turn will turn around the business for them but does come with the associated expectation of knowing up front what you are buying.

 

[Dommo]

Really the upper hand? I thought Lotus were "for the drivers" not "for the apathetic"
Anyway I've sounded off enough for one night so will leave everyone in peace and stop spamming up the yellow emira in China thread

I'm as frustrated you are, like most other depositors probably are, but sometimes you've just got to accept that it's out of your hands. It's not a small financial purchase by any means but you could spend the same amount on a new M3 and you'll still be a cog in a machine that's driven by targets.

 

[Eagle7]

Yup you are completely correct in 90% of what you say. But completely wrong about my attitude to this and my future expectations.
I'm calling this out as its unacceptable.... they aren't even trying at this point. Which is either incredibly cock sure based on their order book, OR in fact what it really is, incompetence to supply the information that a perspective purchaser deserves

How do you know they aren't even trying? Do you know how many they have on staff? How many they have in the department (if there even is a department; it may just be like two people) that normally would handle all of this? Do you realize this is a company that's used to making maybe 40 cars a week? Split across 3 different models? I doubt they've EVER experienced anything like this. Do you know that they were receiving about 500 deposits A DAY while at Goodwood? And that was just from the U.K.? They had to call up staff on holiday to come in and attempt to handle the overload of calls and requests? Do you know what it's like to come to work in the morning and see THOUSANDS of unread emails in your inbox from all over the world?

It's not incompetence, it's being exactly what they've said; being overwhelmed. They're working on it. They're hiring people. Give them a chance. Things are going to improve, but slowly... let me repeat.... S L O W L Y as they adjust and get up to speed. If you can be patient, you're going to be rewarded with a car that may very well be one of the best, if not THE best 2 seater ICE sports cars ever produced.

 

[PaulP]

For me, so far, it’s a refundable $2,500 deposit.

Now if I was in $2,500 non-refundable OR $5,000+ - I may feel differently.

Yes the customer service could be better and should be better, but all-in-all I feel the excitement and wow factor, along with the coveted FE, far outweigh the unknown factor.

That’s all we are upset about right?
The unknown…

I hate that I still don’t know how the line works, but in my case, I can still back-out with no loss if I disagree on how Lotus is handling US distribution.

Not knowing the colors bothers me but I’m equally excited to see them all. It’s just one man’s humble opinion.

What upsets me is that it’s so obvious that with VERY LITTLE effort, most of our concerns would be easily fixed. And yet Lotus seems to make ZERO effort.

How hard would it be to take a picture of the colors of the car as available and send them out in a glitzy email to all those who have placed a deposit? Builds interest, makes us feel valued, and keeps engagement. Almost zero cost and very little effort.

Weekly or biweekly or heck even monthly email /blog /social media maybe putting a bit more info out or addressing questions and issues that are seen on social media or forums like this.

As near as I can tell Eagle7 has put in FAR more work and hours than the entire Lotus team in this regard. WTF us up with that?

People are told they can make changes no problem and now they’re told it will move them back - someone at lotus send an email with the ACTUAL POLICY and end all the frustration and speculation. But…crickets.

If there is a person even working part-time at lotus in customer engagement and brand development given this is the biggest launch in their history they should be ALL OVER this kind of stuff. A college intern could do it.

 

[TXEMIRA]

I'm £5k in and I don't feel I've really had 'an experience' to date.
The thought I could pull back the covers in June and be disappointed with the looks and then drive it out the showroom and be disappointed with the ride because they can't be bothered to share damper and spring rates etc is just getting to me now. Seeing them show other colours in markets that won't even get the car til later in the year is just beyond me. Probably painted in China as incapable of doing it still in Hethel. But hey what do I know or indeed any of us

Yup. Completely different people and situation. Totally respect your view.

On another note I really hate not knowing “how the line works” in the US and it could cause me to forget the brand completely if it doesn’t turn out.

 

[TXEMIRA]

What upsets me is that it’s so obvious that with VERY LITTLE effort, most of our concerns would be easily fixed. And yet Lotus seems to make ZERO effort.

How hard would it be to take a picture of the colors of the car as available and send them out in a glitzy email to all those who have placed a deposit? Builds interest, makes us feel valued, and keeps engagement. Almost zero cost and very little effort.

As near as I can tell Eagle7 has put in FAR more work and hours than the entire Lotus team in this regard. WTF us up with that?

People are told they can make changes no problem and now they’re told it will move them back - someone at lotus send an email with the ACTUAL POLICY and end all the frustration and speculation. But…crickets.

If there is a person even working part-time at lotus in customer engagement and brand development given this is the biggest launch in their history they should be ALL OVER this kind of stuff. A college intern could do it.

Agreed.
One intern could fix 90% of this.

 

[Leonard]

How do you know they aren't even trying? Do you know how many they have on staff? How many they have in the department (if there even is a department; it may just be like two people) that normally would handle all of this?

I really don't want to get drawn into this. But I work for a multi national that has been growing 20% a year for the last 10 years and has just spiked almost 100% in the last 12 months, so know exactly what's it's like. Part of me has some empathy for what they must be going through. But we are talking absolute basics here in communication. At the very least give consistency of information. At best listen to your customer base and answer their questions..
How do I know they aren't trying? Errr because they have just shown a Hethel yellow Emira in China that must have been available for a few weeks. And if they can paint that and ship to China then they can do all the colours and have them available for review to June delivery buyers for consideration (along with everyone else)

 

[TomE]

The thing is, loyal Lotus folks like me are also very disappointed. Because the handling of this has been WORSE than how Lotus handled this kind of thing in the past. Despite them saying this is a new dawn and they realise they need to improve the customer experience to win over new customers. In places it is utterly shambolic. Mixed and contradictory messages are a big part.

A huge factor is Hethel completely cutting the information flow to dealers, to the extent that many now have given up trying to keep customers up to date and answer their questions. Instead they just tell them to call Customer Care at Hethel. And although CC are helpful, they are working from scripts that are not kept up to date. And they’ve been told NOT to provide some information.

Volume of demand isn’t a valid excuse for poor comms.. It’s really not hard for ONE person at Lotus to put themselves in the customers shoes and think about what we might appreciate in terms of info and interaction. Technology can help ask and deliver with very little effort. I offered to write FAQs - declined.

Lotus say repeatedly they will publish pictures of cars before we have to commit final spec. I know they’ve built those cars. Where are the pics? Instead we get phone pics leaked of one car. And customers being told changes may now result in delays, contrary to what we were told previously.

I’m not asking for a heavily personalised experience, to be treated like a prince or anything labour-intensive. Simple things like honest updates, consistent information.

It would be nice as a pre-reveal depositer to have that early commitment acknowledged in even the tiniest way. Instead I’ve had to repeatedly push my dealer, Customer Care and senior Lotus staff to even be treated equally to the 6-11 July depositers. Because they can’t sort their systems and records out.

I was a similarly early pre-reveal depositer for an Evora. The customer experience was ten times better than this.

 

[Johnson]

Hmmm. In Australia we’ve had to put down a $10,000 non-refundable deposit. And the car costs $200,000. So it could be worse ;-)

 

[Eagle7]

I think you are being harsh Eagle. I think the issue, and correct me Leonard if I’m wrong, is that Lotus could provide the information that is crucial in order for us to make informed decisions. Gavan on the smokin tyre pod cast said he felt for the guys on the configurator making decisions on sport or touring. If the Chinese yellow photo is genuine why couldn’t Lotus publicise this photo or are they going to but someone beat them to it?
Either way I hope that the people buying the Evija are getting a better purchasing experience than the mainstream £80k buyers. Perhaps Lotus expected the first tranche of buyers to be die hard Lotus fans prepared to accept the car on past loyalty and expectation but this car has a much wider audience which in turn will turn around the business for them but does come with the associated expectation of knowing up front what you are buying.

I think more than anything it's a simple matter of staffing. Having enough people to handle a tidal wave of inquiries like they've never seen or had to handle before. For a company that was used to making maybe 40 cars a week, how many people do you think they had in any of these non-production departments? Until recently, Lotus was a very small specialty car builder. Now they've got a mainstream hit on their hands and they're struggling under the load that kind of attention brings. I agree they need to improve. It's one of the reasons why I went to the trouble of creating and providing improved configuration renders. They're aware of it, which is why they released the video of Gavan driving the Emira around Hethel and talking about the suspension settings and performance that he himself helped create. The execs have been accompanying the car around on the tours, and they're paying attention to the feedback they're getting. We're supposed to be getting a lot more information starting next month. We'll see.

Lotus may have intended to publish photos of the yellow car, but probably in the final location where it's going to be featured. In the world we live in today where there are billions of cameras everywhere all the time, it's virtually impossible to keep anything a secret. No matter what, there's somebody with a cell phone that can take a picture and post it on the internet within minutes where it can instantly be viewed around the world. That's just the way it is now. That can actually be a good thing, as it generates a lot of attention that Lotus doesn't have to pay advertising dollars for. It was one of the things Apple was famous for (still is). If people think something is supposed to be a secret, they'll fall all over themselves exposing it and talking about it, which is far more effective than if the company paid an advertising agency to create an ad, then pay to have it broadcast/published.

All of these non-official insider photos are generating a lot of awareness which is good. It may be frustrating right now because we're all eager to get all the info and images, but it's good in the long run that Lotus has a product that is generating this much interest and attention.

 

[Leonard]

The thing is, loyal Lotus folks like me are also very disappointed. Because the handling of this has been WORSE than how Lotus handled this kind of thing in the past. Despite them saying this is a new dawn and they realise they need to improve the customer experience to win over new customers. In places it is utterly shambolic. Mixed and contradictory messages are a big part.

A huge factor is Hethel completely cutting the information flow to dealers, to the extent that many now have given up trying to keep customers up to date and answer their questions. Instead they just tell them to call Customer Care at Hethel. And although CC are helpful, they are working from scripts that are not kept up to date. And they’ve been told NOT to provide some information.

Volume of demand isn’t a valid excuse for poor comms.. It’s really not hard for ONE person at Lotus to put themselves in the customers shoes and think about what we might appreciate in terms of info and interaction. Technology can help ask and deliver with very little effort. I offered to write FAQs - declined.

Lotus say repeatedly they will publish pictures of cars before we have to commit final spec. I know they’ve built those cars. Where are the pics? Instead we get phone pics leaked of one car. And customers being told changes may now result in delays, contrary to what we were told previously.

I’m not asking for a heavily personalised experience, to be treated like a prince or anything labour-intensive. Simple things like honest updates, consistent information.

It would be nice as a pre-reveal depositer to have that early commitment acknowledged in even the tiniest way. Instead I’ve had to repeatedly push my dealer, Customer Care and senior Lotus staff to even be treated equally to the 6-11 July depositers. Because they can’t sort their systems and records out.

I was a similarly early pre-reveal depositer for an Evora. The customer experience was ten times better than this.

It's a very good point about the dealer network Tom. If you want a D2C business model you make sure you get your in-house experience sorted before cutting off years of Retailer experience. At the very least bring the best of them along for the ride

 

[Leonard]

I think more than anything it's a simple matter of staffing. Having enough people to handle a tidal wave of inquiries like they've never seen or had to handle before. For a company that was used to making maybe 40 cars a week, how many people do you think they had in any of these non-production departments? Until recently, Lotus was a very small specialty car builder. Now they've got a mainstream hit on their hands and they're struggling under the load that kind of attention brings. I agree they need to improve. It's one of the reasons why I went to the trouble of creating and providing improved configuration renders. They're aware of it, which is why they released the video of Gavan driving the Emira around Hethel and talking about the suspension settings and performance that he himself helped create. The execs have been accompanying the car around on the tours, and they're paying attention to the feedback they're getting. We're supposed to be getting a lot more information starting next month. We'll see.

Lotus may have intended to publish photos of the yellow car, but probably in the final location where it's going to be featured. In the world we live in today where there are billions of cameras everywhere all the time, it's virtually impossible to keep anything a secret. No matter what, there's somebody with a cell phone that can take a picture and post it on the internet within minutes where it can instantly be viewed around the world. That's just the way it is now. That can actually be a good thing, as it generates a lot of attention that Lotus doesn't have to pay advertising dollars for. It was one of the things Apple was famous for (still is). If people think something is supposed to be a secret, they'll fall all over themselves exposing it and talking about it, which is far more effective than if the company paid an advertising agency to create an ad, then pay to have it broadcast/published.

All of these non-official insider photos are generating a lot of awareness which is good. It may be frustrating right now because we're all eager to get all the info and images, but it's good in the long run that Lotus has a product that is generating this much interest and attention.

I'm sorry but it takes one person in Customer Service and one person in Marketing to put out ALL the information we could ever need.
As said previously you and Tom have given buyers on this forum and others a better experience than Lotus themselves.
Imagine what you could have both achieved if it was your full time job and you actually worked at Lotus, with all of the associated resources available to you