Perspectives 5: What can we accomplish in 3 minutes?
“Caring is a powerful force because it implies that we care enough to try.”
Since 2015, my partner and I have been sharing a car. I had bought the car, a blue Toyota Corolla, in 2007. Our car had over 200,000 miles on it, it rode like a tank due to aging suspension and years of heavy use.
In 2022 we finally decided it was time to get a new car, and after months of research, we settled on a Tesla Model 3. I was super excited about our new car, and as we found ourselves waiting months for the car to be delivered, my excitement only grew. Then, finally in June we got the call that our car was ready. We hurried over to pick up our new white Tesla, and dropped it off to get some paint protection film installed, and have the windows tinted.
Within a few days of getting the car home, I noticed a rattle that was coming from the rear passenger seat area. The rattle, while not severe, was just annoying enough to draw my focus while driving. As a result, instead of experiencing a pleasant drive in the new car, I was always preoccupied with the imperfection of our new vehicle; there was a constant reminder that something wasn’t quite right.
I decided to take the car in to the Tesla service center to see if they could fix the rattle. I met with a super nice fellow who checked me in, and explained to him the problem.
“Rattles aren’t covered under warranty,” Stephen explained to me.
With that one statement, I instantly knew where this experience was going.
“The car has less than 100 miles on it,” I explained politely.
“Yeah, well, rattles are kind of normal,” Stephen said.
“Well, maybe you can just take a look? It’s probably something super easy,” I asked.
“We can look at it, but I need to hear the rattle happen.”
The rattle was intermittent, happening at various speeds and usually on roads that were not perfectly smooth. Needless to say, I could not replicate the rattle for Stephen.
I did convince Stephen to take have a technician look at the car, and left the car at the Tesla Center, returning to work.
At 5:00pm, Stephen messaged me, saying the car was ready for pickup. Of course, the rattle was never found.
For the next six months I drove around with the rattle, which bothered me each and every time I drove the car. And whenever someone asked me how I liked my new Tesla, my answer was “the quality control isn’t very good, and I found the service center pretty unhelpful.”
Then, a strange smell began emanating from the air conditioning system. To me it smelled like Elmers Glue, to David it smelled like vinegar, or something musty. Complaints of smells from the air conditioning system are common with Teslas, and I knew we needed the air filters changed. I hopped into the mobile app, and set up a service appointment. A technician would be out at 8:00am the next morning.
Richard, our Tesla technician, was a jovial fellow, super friendly. I knew I liked him right away. He asked how long I had lived at my current house. Come to find out, he lived just five houses away from me. He proceeded to change out the cabin air filters.
I decided to ask him about the rattle.
“Hey, while you’re here, do you mind if I ask you about this rattle I’ve been having? It’s driving me nuts. I took it to the Tesla service center and they couldn’t do anything about it.”
He politely agreed, and began inspecting the car by tapping various areas. Within a minute he was tapping the area the rattle was coming from.
“That doesn’t sound right…”
He popped off the panel above the rear passenger side door, grabbed some duct tape from his truck, taped something down, and popped the panel back on.
“Well, I can’t promise that’ll fix it, but I’m pretty sure it will. You’ve got my cell number, give me a call if the rattle still happens.”
I thanked Richard, and he continued on his way.
We didn’t drive the car for a few days, but when I did I immediately noticed the rattle was gone! It was like I was finally driving in the brand-new, perfect car!
Within just 3 minutes, Richard had transformed my driving experience. The difference between Richard and the Tesla service center was simple; Richard cared enough to try.
And now, with my rattle fixed, when people ask how I like my car, the answer is “I love it!”
What strikes me as sad is how the Tesla service center treated me, immediately setting the expectation that they weren’t going to help. All it would have taken was someone who cared to spend one minute tapping around, and they could have fixed my problem and made me so happy.
Reflection
Have you ever had an experience where you needed something, and the person you needed help from didn’t want to help? How did it make you feel?
Have you ever been the person who was approached for help, and turned the person away? Why did you do it? How do you think it made them feel?
Going forward, how can you make time to help someone?
