GRM Exclusive Reveal: Exocet Spec-A

nderwater wrote:

Warren v wrote: Hey guys, sorry about the lack of communication (or communication expectations)... It takes time to grow a business, especially when everyone involved refuses to compromise quality. Please forgive our growing pains.

FWIW Warren - I just wrapped up a massive project here at work where we replaced the PCs of 2,300 staff members. We ran into shipping delays, software incompatibility, people shipped the wrong PC, you name it. But you know what pissed people off the most? Lack of communication. People were willing to be patient as long as they knew that their issue was on our radar and we were working on it--but if they weren't getting speedy responses to their inquiries, things would hit the fan fast. We ended up bringing another team member just to manage the communications load, and it made all the difference. Yes, you're in the business of making and selling cars--but I would argue that making client communications a top priority will do more to sustain the company's bottom line than clean welds and shipping on time.

^This.... Right now what is estimate for new orders coming in? six months till shipped? A year till shipped?

Awesome product btw. Loved that one customers video.

nderwater wrote: FWIW Warren - I just wrapped up a massive project here at work where we replaced the PCs of 2,300 staff members. We ran into shipping delays, software incompatibility, people shipped the wrong PC, you name it. But you know what pissed people off the most? Lack of communication. People were willing to be patient as long as they knew that their issue was on our radar and we were working on it--but if they weren't getting speedy responses to their inquiries, things would hit the fan fast. We ended up bringing another team member just to manage the communications load, and it made all the difference. Yes, you're in the business of making and selling cars--but I would argue that making client communications a top priority will do more to sustain the company's bottom line than clean welds and shipping on time.

You nailed it. I don't think anyone is upset at Exomotive for getting slammed with orders, dealing with explosive growth, and suffering from the consequences of terrible winter weather.

The part that is unacceptable is the complete communication blackout with paying customers. When you combine that with visible communication with non-customers on forums, Facebook,... It gives the impression that Exomotive cares more about attracting new customers and their deposits than it does about servicing us existing customers. And that's bad.

The balancing act that nderwater described is part of business. You can't ignore the customer communication part. Even if dedicating 10% of your resources to communication means that cars will take 10% longer to produce, that's still the right choice.

linuxd00d wrote:

nderwater wrote: FWIW Warren - I just wrapped up a massive project here at work where we replaced the PCs of 2,300 staff members. We ran into shipping delays, software incompatibility, people shipped the wrong PC, you name it. But you know what pissed people off the most? Lack of communication. People were willing to be patient as long as they knew that their issue was on our radar and we were working on it--but if they weren't getting speedy responses to their inquiries, things would hit the fan fast. We ended up bringing another team member just to manage the communications load, and it made all the difference. Yes, you're in the business of making and selling cars--but I would argue that making client communications a top priority will do more to sustain the company's bottom line than clean welds and shipping on time.

You nailed it. I don't think anyone is upset at Exomotive for getting slammed with orders, dealing with explosive growth, and suffering from the consequences of terrible winter weather. The part that is unacceptable is the complete communication blackout with paying customers. When you combine that with visible communication with non-customers on forums, Facebook,... It gives the impression that Exomotive cares more about attracting new customers and their deposits than it does about servicing us existing customers. And that's bad. The balancing act that nderwater described is part of business. You can't ignore the customer communication part. Even if dedicating 10% of your resources to communication means that cars will take 10% longer to produce, that's still the right choice.

+73

You guys are being heard. Quite loudly.

We definitely don't want to give the impression that we're neglecting some of our customers. It's not possible to get away with that when our business is so closely tied to the internet. Kevin gets hundreds (and hundreds) of questions, emails, and phone calls per week. With such a small team, it's a big challenge to overcome. Now that we are in our final shop and most of the business-side setup is complete, things are starting to get easier. Through this crunch time, priority has been customers whose cars are nearly ready to be delivered.

Rest assured, any communication shortcomings are due to our balls-to-the-wall focus on getting the current orders fulfilled as quickly as possible. The traditional approach is to jack up the prices and hire a dedicated team of support staff. The goal of this project was to offer a high-quality kit at every-man prices, and our method of achieving that has been to automate and simplify as much as possible. I suspect that same approach can be applied towards customer support.

Right now we're coming up with long-term solutions for making sure everyone stays well-connected throughout the entire process without increasing the kit cost.

Twitter / Instagram feed of pictures of each chassis as it moves from stage to stage? Everyone has a smartphone now right?

You might start with something as simple as making a google doc of your orders & status available to people who have paid toward a car:

John D / Beverly Hills CA / Paid in full / Shipped / Delivered 3-21-14
Chris K / Annapolis MD / Paid in full / Shipped / Delivery ETA 3-31-14
Sam F / Orlando FL / Paid in full / Shipping week of 4-7-14 / Delivery ETA 4-18-14
Mike J / Austin TX / Paid in full / Chassis ETA 4-10-14
Fred F / Olympia WA / Deposit received / Chassis ETA pending full payment
(etc.)

When clients call/write for an update, you can point them to the doc for the latest info.

I am not a paying customer (yet) but this would make me happy with min effort:

After someone pays money, give them a chassis number. Period.

At the end of each period (day/week/??) have a Google Doc with chassis number/stage of completion/estimated date.

It should leverage things you guys are already keeping track of, and allow the customer to check things as they go. Pictures of selected stages for each would be icing on the cake.

Here's a few thoughts:

1st-you can't look at all calls equally. When someone has made a deposit, he's entered into an agreement that places his concerns above the slavering hordes.

2nd - there will be slavering hordes. It's an unfortunate byproduct of success and an accessibly priced product. Double your price, and there'll be a lot fewer calls to handle.

3rd- consider a members only forum in addition to your public face. Stalker owners past, future (deposits made) and present interact on a invitation-only message board with a manageable signal-to-noise ratio. Any issues get dealt with swiftly, and often without management even needing to get involved, as the other owners are quick to help on another out.

I'm still needing spring rates too. I emailed no response yet. Im being told by Flyinmiata my build is set for last week of March & really need to get chassis parts ordered this week myself. Please see my post on previous page. I guess I can call FM but just need Eibach springs didn't want to pester for something they don't list for sale. I'm really excited for my build don't want to loose momentum.

tuna55 wrote: This would make me happy with min effort: After someone pays money, give them a chassis number. Period. At the end of each period (day/week/??) have a Google Doc with chassis number/stage of completion/estimated date.

That's really what I care about most. For me, storing the donor miata, lining up the help I need for the build and freeing my schedule is a problem without a time estimate.

kreb wrote: 1st-you can't look at all calls equally. When someone has made a deposit, he's entered into an agreement that places his concerns above the slavering hordes.

Exactly. I'm a paying customer. Make me feel valued. Seriously.

Warren I have no idea who all you have on your team besides you a welder and an intern referenced here. However I have seen a pattern like this before . A bunch of enthusiasts and engineers come up with an awesome idea and bring a great product forward.

Things go great till the execution gets more complex, than they hit a rough patch. Not because there not good engineers or not working hard, but because there are very few people that are both attention focused enough to be great engineers and big picture focused enough to be great project managers.

I should know, despite the fact that I have an engineering degree and license , I'm really a mediocre at best engineer. However I'm a dang good project/process manager.

My suggestion, get someone removed from the technical aspects of the project to look over your operations. I'm not saying hire a guy and therefore raise overhead, the great thing about a project like this is people are passionate about it and it's cool. I bet you could get folks to volunteer to help out just to say they did, or to build a resume so they can maybe kne day break into a line of work they are passionate about.

As a dealer who's between Exomotive and customers, I would love to see improved communication.

Last time I checked, wait time for chassis was about 18 weeks. The 14 weeks being quoted 14 weeks ago has proven to be optimistic, I don't think production has even started on those. So it's probably best to add a month to any quoted times.

http://guides.exomotive.com/hc/en-us/articles/200193477-Recommended-Upgrade-Path

got heard recieved this today.

Looks like you should have the bodywork mounts in house at this point. How about some pictures of the new bodywork!?!

We are taking this customer commuication issue very seriously.

We're actively attacking this on two fronts: now and the future. Kevin has been supplied with endless coffee to fight through the backlog, and we're evaluating our communication methods to dedicate more time to the customers that recently ordered their kits. We had been triaging the communications to give immediate support to customers with upcoming delivery dates and those that have already taken delivery (kit support). We are actively looking to expand our workforce to include more sales communication ability.

I personally love the idea of a publicly accessible spreadsheet, but a big list raises many privacy concerns for our customers and our business. We're looking into a workable long-term solution. There's something cool we can do with our production management database.

The shift in frame delivery timelines was from the weather and move-in delays, permitting, dancing around contractors, getting electricity, running cables for internet, etc. I hate to make excuses, but things were a little hectic until our property was ready. Since we moved into our new shop, we have been banging out frames on schedule.

Building the car wasn't the source of delays, it was having the workshop to build the car. Until we moved into our shop, we were welding in a food processing building! Now that we're in our final shop, things are catching up. We even have a dedicated composites workshop framed out, ventilation is on its way.

Sexy shots of bodywork progress will come soon. Now that we have a facility to do that messy work in, progress is being made quickly.

In reply to Warren v:

Regarding the privacy concerns, could you make the public spreadsheet just chassis numbers? Once the order is placed, give the customer their chassis # and a link to the spreadsheet, and have one of the guys update it once a week on Friday afternoon with all the progress you've made that week. Due to the forum's odd formatting limits I can't post one here, but have like 4-5 columns: chassis #, production stage (fabrication/assembly/welding/powdercoating/packing for shipment), order date, shipped date, and call it good? Might cut down on some of the email inquiries.

We're working on a solution that lets our customers feel much more "in the loop". We keep very close track of everything; it's not a matter of making the effort to make a spreadsheet. We're just asking for a few weeks to give us a time to implement this system in a manner that respects both ourselves and our customers. The prospect of releasing all your sales figures in detail is scary to anyone that's ever run a business. It will happen, and it's been on the to-do list for a while.

Just for fun, here's a very blurred out screenshot of our production management database (I'm not specifying where in the production timeline this is zoomed in on). I post a lot of fun things on this page (mainly donuts), but I don't want you guys thinking we're not serious about what we're doing. :)

Until then, feel free to email Info@Exomotive.com if you have any questions about your production schedule. For the record, we contact customers a bit before their car goes on the first build table to confirm their final configuration and specifications. If you haven't heard from us, the status is "queued for production".

Realistic wait times will probably be more useful than a list of chassis numbers to new customers. Set the expectation right from the start. I know there were extenuating circumstances over the last few months, but there are always extenuating circumstances, so a bit of padding in the estimates is good.

It wouldn't be difficult to put up a small sub-site where a customer could log in and see the current status of their kit. It would be a quick thing to run off a database and easy to maintain - every time a kit moves to a new stage of production, just click a button and it's time-stamped. You can even show the production queue. Warren, lemme know if you want me to put something together for you

Agree with Keith that the best practice is stick to estimated build date at time of order to the buyer - and no other production information need be public. As the growing pains of huge increase in business happens the ship is righting itself and getting back on track. Here's to making this low cost kit a best seller!

Thanx for being up front & don't compromise the quality for communication. My ass will be depending on your welds. Yes I wish i already had my kit, but I'm focused 2 turns ahead just likr on the track. Anyone getting into a kit needs to prioritise but if I'm shelling out my hard earned dough that deserves communication as well. I will gladly wait for quality.

Welds? We switched to hot glue to speed up the production process. The bodywork is now Papier Mâché.

Oh crap, 4 days early.

Any pictures of the new body yet? I here my Chassis # is 4th in line right now I would love to see some progress photos once its on the table (should be an interesting build with steel floors and double diagonals).

My chassis will be ready for pick up in a few weeks. As such, I’m trying to gather some things together. What spring rates would suit a street driven car that will see some autocross and a little track use? I was thinking 300/200 along with a 1.125” hollow front bar and stock rear bar. When plumbing the new brake and clutch lines, what size flare nut is used? 10mm x 1? Lastly (for now) I’ve read wheel spacers are required to allow clearance for the front cycle fender stays, what is the target wheel offset?

Slosean wrote: My chassis will be ready for pick up in a few weeks. As such, I’m trying to gather some things together. What spring rates would suit a street driven car that will see some autocross and a little track use? I was thinking 300/200 along with a 1.125” hollow front bar and stock rear bar. When plumbing the new brake and clutch lines, what size flare nut is used? 10mm x 1? Lastly (for now) I’ve read wheel spacers are required to allow clearance for the front cycle fender stays, what is the target wheel offset?

I can answer a few of these. For spring rates take a look at the following link (also good for a lot of info): http://guides.exomotive.com/hc/en-us/articles/200193477-Recommended-Upgrade-Path

300/200 would be a pretty good setup based on the info listed on the link.

As for the flare nut, they are 10 x 1. They are the same as the OEM size. If I can make a recommendation on the brake lines. I would strongly suggest the kit that exomotive sells for three reasons. First it moves the brake line up into the tunnel, and on top of the PPF. This gives me a higher level of safety knowing that they can't be punctured/broken by road debris. Second they are all braided stainless which adds to the reliability. Third, it includes the clutch line and lines that go to the brake calipers. Normally you replace the brake lines at the calipers with braided ($100ish) and the clutch line ($40ish). For a little more you can get the whole damn thing in stainless. On top of that you don't have to worry about flaring the pipes (which can be botched pretty easy).

As for the wheel spacers, I don't know the answer. I would like some input as well. I can tell you that my rear wheels don't have a lot of space between the exo-frame and the tire...

My opinion on brake lines - they should be hard lines as much as possible. Stainless lines do flex, ever so slightly, and you don't want a spring rate in your brake system. It's a lot easier to simply plug together a bunch of flex lines, but it's also not hard to buy pre-flared lengths from your local auto parts store, bend them with a cheap HF bending tool and end up with a rock hard pedal and an OE-quality brake system. It's not difficult to route them in a safe manner in the tunnel.