Blocked by Mike Levine on Twitter for asking about early reservation holder deliveries

[DaveH]

Levine really stirred the pot with a tweet this morning. Once on his post in twitter, click on "Quote Tweets" to see the reactions.

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[Imissmy1996bronco]

Levine really stirred the pot with a tweet this morning. Once on his post in twitter, click on "Quote Tweets" to see the reactions.

I had to throw a quick burner account together to view it (given the title of this thread) but it looks like he’s getting blasted pretty good over it

 

[Mango&Moose]

Levine really stirred the pot with a tweet this morning. Once on his post in twitter, click on "Quote Tweets" to see the reactions.

He's about 19 months late getting that info out.

A lot of this could have been avoided if @Ford Motor Company had stuck to the plan.

 

[bloominguez]

They can't build what they don't have the parts for. Hopefully, we all understand that concept, regardless of how frustrating it is.

In the light of these constraints, Ford had the choice of either screwing some of the dealers (via primarily going by reservation timestamp) or screwing some of the reservation customers (via going primarily by allocations). Ford chose to screw the customers. They may have been contractually obligated to do so; I'm not privy to the details of Ford's agreements with dealers.

A lot of my ire has been directed at the communications team for their inability or unwillingness to clearly explain the situation to us. In fact it was the communications team that continually stressed the importance of reservation timestamp from Day 1. Covid was very much a thing in summer 2020 and Ford should have seen these challenges coming and been more cautious in its statements.

But in truth, there's no easy way for the communications team to tell us "we chose to screw you instead of the dealers". They feel they can't be that clear with us, because it would piss people off. They would rather piss people off by being vague, uncommunicative, and evasive.

Amen to *almost* all of the above.

The part I disagree with is the "don't have parts" part. Well over a year now and Ford can't figure out how to get "tow package" (to pick just one example) parts? Seriously? That excuse is losing its validity the longer this drags on. More likely scenario is that Ford is prioritizing more profitable and/or easier to produce builds.

Missing the point.
Day one and two reservations not filled.
Later reservations and no reservations filled WITH THE SAME BUILD.
This is not a supply chain issue. This is Ford changing the the way orders are filled after promising they're be filled in reservation order. No one has an issue if the parts are not available. People do have an issue with Ford sending product to those with late reservations and those with no reservations. I have now seen several identical builds to mine delivered to people with late reservations and no reservations and I am not scheduled for build and have no VIN number and my reservation was within the first 12 hours.

Exactly. We understand Ford not being able to deliver certain builds as fast as others. But we have a hard time seeing people walk in and get a vehicle with the same constraints. We (now) understand that allocations are much more important than reservations. But we have a hard time when it becomes clear that reservations don't matter at all (except for Ford PR) if a "walk-in" gets a Bronco before an early reservation holder who has ordered more than a year ago and has been waiting 500+ days from reservation date.

I think some folks have a misunderstanding of what Corporate Comms is vs. the role of Customer Care.

Clearly. A good corporate communications professional would understand that word of mouth and brand reputation matter. It's not about pretty commercials and staged Twitter photos, or at least it shouldn't be only that. It should also be about satisfying car nuts and Bronco fans, the people who are out there talking up Broncos to people who don't pay attention to cars. Doing his best to make sure that "car guys" have good things to say about the Bronco, and Ford in general, when family members and co-workers ask.

Mike Levine is horrible at his job. "Best" case scenario is that he knows that he's doing horribly but has his hands tied by Ford management because they believe that telling the truth (we're screwing reservation holders) is worse than saying nothing and blocking them.

 

[Bronc-O]

Amen to *almost* all of the above.

The part I disagree with is the "don't have parts" part. Well over a year now and Ford can't figure out how to get "tow package" (to pick just one example) parts? Seriously? That excuse is losing its validity the longer this drags on. More likely scenario is that Ford is prioritizing more profitable and/or easier to produce builds.




Exactly. We understand Ford not being able to deliver certain builds as fast as others. But we have a hard time seeing people walk in and get a vehicle with the same constraints. We (now) understand that allocations are much more important than reservations. But we have a hard time when it becomes clear that reservations don't matter at all (except for Ford PR) if a "walk-in" gets a Bronco before an early reservation holder who has ordered more than a year ago and has been waiting 500+ days from reservation date.




Clearly. A good corporate communications professional would understand that word of mouth and brand reputation matter. It's not about pretty commercials and staged Twitter photos, or at least it shouldn't be only that. It should also be about satisfying car nuts and Bronco fans, the people who are out there talking up Broncos to people who don't pay attention to cars. Doing his best to make sure that "car guys" have good things to say about the Bronco, and Ford in general, when family members and co-workers ask.

Mike Levine is horrible at his job. "Best" case scenario is that he knows that he's doing horribly but has his hands tied by Ford management because they believe that telling the truth (we're screwing reservation holders) is worse than saying nothing and blocking them.

Many assumptions being made in all the above and it's useless to try and argue with people that want to believe this stuff. Just to pick a couple of points, a third party produces the towing package, so Ford is at their mercy. I learned that some of the dealer stock that's been appearing is because the dealers that have them know the constraints and ordered accordingly so they can have Broncos on their lot.

 

[bloominguez]

Many assumptions being made in all the above and it's useless to try and argue with people that want to believe this stuff. Just to pick a couple of points, a third party produces the towing package, so Ford is at their mercy. I learned that some of the dealer stock that's been appearing is because the dealers that have them know the constraints and ordered accordingly so they can have Broncos on their lot.

Yeah, poor helpless little Ford Motor Company. Unable to figure out how to contact other vendors. Completely at the mercy of any third party who can't deliver. No contingency planning at all, even after well over a year. One wonders how they make any vehicles at all.

Not only that, but Ford also has engineers that work with their suppliers to help them with various issues, or at least they used to. They called it "Supplier Technical Assistance".

I understand the constraints and how to get a Bronco faster, but that's not the point. I'm saying that after a year the excuses wear thin. Managing vendors is a key part of running the business. The fault is Ford's at this point.

You're right. It *is* useless to argue with people who'll believe whatever they like.

 

[Bronc-O]

Yeah, poor helpless little Ford Motor Company. Unable to figure out how to contact other vendors. Completely at the mercy of any third party who can't deliver. No contingency planning at all, even after well over a year. One wonders how they make any vehicles at all.

Not only that, but Ford also has engineers that work with their suppliers to help them with various issues, or at least they used to. They called it "Supplier Technical Assistance".

I understand the constraints and how to get a Bronco faster, but that's not the point. I'm saying that after a year the excuses wear thin. Managing vendors is a key part of running the business. The fault is Ford's at this point.

You're right. It *is* useless to argue with people who'll believe whatever they like.

I have a feeling some of the problem is there may be a contract in place and even if Ford wanted to go somewhere else, how many other suppliers are out there making those parts? Much like the Webasto situation, they pretty much own that game. Then, is the company producing the part for Ford the one with the issue or is it one of that companies vendor? It seems that SOME parts are being delivered, but very slow and erratic.

 

[John Auer]

I have a feeling some of the problem is there may be a contract in place and even if Ford wanted to go somewhere else, how many other suppliers are out there making those parts? Much like the Webasto situation, they pretty much own that game. Then, is the company producing the part for Ford the one with the issue or is it one of that companies vendor? It seems that SOME parts are being delivered, but very slow and erratic.

Old Henry Ford had it right, make what you sell. Probably the most vertically integrated OEM right now is Tesla. I don't want a Tesla, I want a Bronco with a QUALITY hard top.

 

[Pkrpro19]

Thats 100% on Granger! They knew they were not going to get the allocations from Ford and misled their customers. Them taking that many orders will help their dealership with allocations down the road but does nothing for their customers waiting.

If it was just a delay from supply line shortages I would be much more understanding. Ford re-negged on their initial promised delivery model, and has shown absolutely no concern for the customers that negatively effected. Reference the folks over at Grainger who are first week res holders and looking at likely 2024/2025 delivery dates.

 

[Imissmy1996bronco]

Thats 100% on Granger! They knew they were not going to get the allocations from Ford and misled their customers. Them taking that many orders will help their dealership with allocations down the road but does nothing for their customers waiting.

Nope, Ford changed the rules to add allocations. Originally ford advertised in order of reservation.

Given the timing when ford reneged it is very likely they introduced allocations because other dealers complained that ones like granger got so many orders.

they played in the rules, and then ford changed the rules.

 

[DaveH]

Thats 100% on Granger! They knew they were not going to get the allocations from Ford and misled their customers. Them taking that many orders will help their dealership with allocations down the road but does nothing for their customers waiting.

But Mr Levine: Allocations aren't really a thing? Timestamp and commodities are more important?

Confession: When Levine posted this, I was still naive enough to think it might be true.

 

[Pkrpro19]

Nope, Ford changed the rules to add allocations. Originally ford advertised in order of reservation.

Given the timing when ford reneged it is very likely they introduced allocations because other dealers complained that ones like granger got so many orders.

they played in the rules, and then ford changed the rules.

Ford announced to dealers around November 2020 that when build and price launches in January 2021 it will 100% be allocation based. It was on the dealer to relay that to customers to make appropriate changes to other dealerships if so desired. Granger knew and failed their customers big time! I knew, but being A/Z/D plan buyer my allocation through my dealer would be there due to having to specify this in WBDO when ordering my Bronco. I reserved just like everyone else too, day one and had to switch to a soft top after initial order submitted March 18th 2021. I received mine August 7th 2021, built July 16th 2021.

21MY Badlands 4dr, 2.7L, Lux Pkg, Sas Pkg, Tow Pkg, Soft Top, Area 51

 

[DaveH]

Ford announced to dealers around November 2020 that when build and price launches in January 2021 it will 100% be allocation based. It was on the dealer to relay that to customers to make appropriate changes to other dealerships if so desired. Granger knew and failed their customers big time! I knew, but being A/Z/D plan buyer my allocation through my dealer would be there due to having to specify this in WBDO when ordering my Bronco. I reserved just like everyone else too, day one and had to switch to a soft top after initial order submitted March 18th 2021. I received mine August 7th 2021, built July 16th 2021.

21MY Badlands 4dr, 2.7L, Lux Pkg, Sas Pkg, Tow Pkg, Soft Top, Area 51

Granger was quite transparent that there was going to be an allocation formula. There was plenty of discussion about it on this forum. However, nobody knew what the allocation formula would be. At the time most were placing their initial orders in March '21, Fords public position via the FAQs was:
Reservations will be fulfilled in approximately the same order received, based on final ordering and production of similarly configured Broncos.

The discussion this board was that the largest factor in the allocation formula would be the number of converted reservations. There was plenty of grumbling on this board since timestamp order wasn't being followed.

For MY '22 the allocation was changed to 50% overall Ford sales volume and only 12.5% Bronco sales. That is a huge change and was when allocation discussions went crazy. If Ford restored the '21 allocation formula, the complaints would mostly go away.

This biggest issue is not that there is an allocation formula, but that the allocation formula doesn't even remotely honor Ford's original statement and that Ford changed the formula long after orders were placed. Saying that Granger failed their customers is completely false. There was plenty of transparency and discussion with Granger about it this forum. If there is a dealer that has been more transparent about allocations, please let me know who that is. When I call my local dealers, they are all vague about allocations meanwhile Granger has provided detailed information on their allocations.

 

[John Auer]

This whole ordering/reservation debacle is why the system needs to change. We should be able to order our vehicles directly from Ford and then decide how and where to take delivery.

 

[Bronc-O]

Granger was quite transparent that there was going to be an allocation formula. There was plenty of discussion about it on this forum. However, nobody knew what the allocation formula would be. At the time most were placing their initial orders in March '21, Fords public position via the FAQs was:
Reservations will be fulfilled in approximately the same order received, based on final ordering and production of similarly configured Broncos.

The discussion this board was that the largest factor in the allocation formula would be the number of converted reservations. There was plenty of grumbling on this board since timestamp order wasn't being followed.

For MY '22 the allocation was changed to 50% overall Ford sales volume and only 12.5% Bronco sales. That is a huge change and was when allocation discussions went crazy. If Ford restored the '21 allocation formula, the complaints would mostly go away.

This biggest issue is not that there is an allocation formula, but that the allocation formula doesn't even remotely honor Ford's original statement and that Ford changed the formula long after orders were placed. Saying that Granger failed their customers is completely false. There was plenty of transparency and discussion with Granger about it this forum. If there is a dealer that has been more transparent about allocations, please let me know who that is. When I call my local dealers, they are all vague about allocations meanwhile Granger has provided detailed information on their allocations.

Ford warned them early on and they apparently didn't take them as being serious. People blame Ford for changing the rules like they don't have the right to do that if they want to. The dealer responded with a more generous offer that really brought in reservations. That is where they really started failing their customers. They should have known by then that there was no way they could fill all of those orders in a reasonable time frame.

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