Frustration and Disappointment—My Horrible Experience with Safelite
When it comes to car repairs, we all hope for a smooth experience, especially when dealing with something as crucial as a windshield replacement. Unfortunately, my recent encounter with Safelite in Wilmington, DE, turned out to be a frustrating ordeal that left me feeling undervalued as a customer.
I scheduled my appointment through my car insurance company and even paid in advance—easy peasy, or so I thought. Arriving at 9:30 AM for my drop-off, I was met with the first hurdle: the employee informed me that my Tesla needed to be charged to at least 50%. Thankfully, there was a charger just a few minutes down the road, so I quickly charged it from 30% to 55% and returned, thinking I was all set.
However, upon my return, a different employee informed me that I was now late to my appointment. They were fully booked for the day, and I would have to reschedule. Confused and frustrated, I explained that I was instructed to charge to 50%. It was then that I learned the requirement was actually 60% so they could take the car for a test drive and recalibrate the Full Self-Driving (FSD) sensors. After some back and forth, they finally accepted that 55% was more than sufficient, equating to about 180 miles of range.
The miscommunication didn’t stop there. I was then told that I would have a balance due upon pickup, despite having already paid in advance. When I showed the employee my payment confirmation on my credit card app, he dismissed it as a mere “pre-authorization,” assuring me they would check it on their end.
As if the day couldn’t get worse, I received a call later that afternoon stating that the windshield replacement glass was broken and would need to be reordered. I was told I would be contacted on Monday once the new glass arrived. Monday came and went with no call. I tried reaching out to the local shop, but to my dismay, there wasn’t even a listed phone number for them.
After some frustration, I called their corporate number, only to find out that the local shop had already scheduled an appointment for me that upcoming Thursday—without any communication on their part via phone or email. To add insult to injury, I ended up spending $30 on rideshare services just to transport myself back and forth from the shop.
And to top it all off, I returned to find my Tesla sporting its very first door ding after being parked all day in their shopping center lot. It truly felt like I was being misled throughout the entire process, and it was clear that my business wasn’t valued.
In light of this experience, I chose to take my business elsewhere. I have a service date scheduled with Tesla on October 2nd, and I can only hope for a far better experience.
If you’re considering using Safelite in Wilmington, DE, I encourage you to think twice. Customer service should be a priority, and my experience was anything but satisfactory.
