Lucid Motors is reportedly introducing a brand new protocol to gradual buyer order cancellations because it strives to promote extra autos earlier than the yr ends.
Insider has seen two inside emails despatched over the previous two months that seem to indicate Lucid is growing strain on its retail employees by requiring them to name clients as much as 14 occasions to forestall cancellations.
The memos come amid Lucid Motors’ rush to extend deliveries earlier than December 31 as the corporate goals to hit its target for the year of between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles. The EV startup has constructed 3,687 autos within the first three quarters of this yr, which implies it must make at the very least 2,300 autos this quarter alone.
In the meantime, the corporate confirmed in its third-quarter earnings name that Lucid Air reservations dropped from 37,000 in Q2 to 34,000 in Q3, with CFO Sherry Home attributing the drop to a mixture of accomplished deliveries and buyer cancellations. In a single electronic mail despatched to Lucid retail workers, the corporate laid out an elaborate course of for slowing buyer reservation cancellations, that are described as “failures” by the startup.
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A Lucid worker defined to Insider that when a buyer asks to cancel their order, their request is dealt with by a “case proprietor” who should name the consumer inside 24 hours to “try to save lots of” the order. Ought to they fail to take action, they’re required to name once more three extra occasions on consecutive days.
That is not all. The case is then handed as much as a supervisor, then to a regional supervisor, who must attempt calling the client repeatedly on 5 and three consecutive days, respectively. Solely in spite of everything these makes an attempt fail, the reservation could be canceled. The brand new protocol signifies that anybody who decides to cancel their reservation could possibly be known as day by day for 2 weeks by a number of Lucid workers earlier than their request is granted—assuming they do not choose up the telephone.
One present Lucid worker who requested to stay nameless advised Insider that is “unhealthy strain from the highest” on retail workers. “I believe the extent of desperation and the tone of that electronic mail, mixed with that cancellation protocol — it does not spell high-end and luxurious,” the worker added.
As a part of its end-of-year gross sales push, Lucid additionally launched trip “blackout” intervals across the end-of-year holidays for sure holidays, together with November 24-27 and December 17-31, for folks working in discipline gross sales, service, and supply departments, together with headquarters gross sales and supply.
Lucid didn’t remark to Insider however we contacted the corporate for extra particulars and can replace this story after we hear again.
