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VOTS..the good, the bad and the ugly

3K views 20 replies 7 participants last post by  crabjoe 
#1 ·
On the odd chance that a bunch of folks who, like me, are awaiting finally actually SITTING in the thing, I offer the following, current to this morning. I wasnt going to do it, but it might help relieve (or cause) some more angst amongst people in similar statuses...I'm leaving out some of the gory details in the interests of brevity. It'll be long enough anyway.

I ordered a 2014 Ram 1500 SLT Quad CAB with the BigHorn trim upgrade on 6/28. I started calling DODGE shortly thefreafter. (I make no apologies for the number of times i called...until it finally started to sink in that it was a waste of my time.)

It took over a week for me to actually GET the VON number. (My fault, their fault, i dont know and i dont care...I didnt know it existed..some folks reported walking out of the dealership with it..) It took several attempts (days) once I got it to actually get it to "work".

I discovered there are SEVERAL phone numbers that will get you to a CS REP, or, as i now call them, telephone answerers. Depending on who you actually get, they may not be "branded" RAM...they, generally speaking, know virtually NOTHING about the "thing" you ordered, nor what the screen is telling them. They are however, quite good at inventing things as they go along. A poster in here once remarked "they were blowing smoke up my A.."...i refused to believe it... i believe it NOW...

Incredibly, these TA's, CANNOT, repeat CANNOT access the VOTS system. Most of them cannot, or will not, access the build and/or ship systems that provide additional information.

Even now, its even money, if i was to call, and provide the last 8 of the VIN (as an aside I have the COMPLETE VIN courtesy of my build sheet which I acquired along the way) that someone will tell me they cant locate a vehicle with that number, nor the VON number, nor my phone number. It happened as recently as yesterday.

Further, about 10 days or so ago, my SLT Bighorn morphed into an OUTDOORSMAN, per the VOTS system...at that point i refused to accept the drivel these phone answerers were telling me (see all of the above)...the dealer was insistent it WILL be what i ordered and had no idea why it said what it said either. I demanded, and was assigned an actual case number, and the issue was "kicked upstairs" to a "specialist"..their words not mine...I actually received a phone call from the woman I spoke to who assigned that cae number...(she told me she was an old hand at this, and had been woth DODGE for a long time, and was curious herself why the VOTS system was showing the wrong vehicle......she called me back early this past SAT AM!...unfortunately, even she couldn't be called back or tracked...because she was the first person I spoke to, out of perhaps more than a dozen who seemed to have a grip on reality.

She told me...and im paraphrasing it, to ignore the VOTS system...it doesnt happen in real time, its only updated periodically, perhaps once a week or less, and doesnt accurately represent where your vehicle is in the process, or even WHAT your vehicle is. She assured me that i was indeed getting what I ordered, was to be shipped o/a 8/6, and was to arrive in the railyard a few hundred miles from here (Memphis) o/a 8/14...thanking her profusely, i decided to not call anymore to anyone or even post here until I was "further along"...i did call the dealer, who told me that DODGE had indeed called him (which I knew) and confirmed the order. and he proceeded to confirm the shipping dates, and said allowing for truck delivery etc i would be sittting in the thing a few days to a week afer 8/14.

Despite another thread elsewhere with all the build/status codes listed, and indicators of when i would receive emails, and actually being told BY DODGE telephone answerers that i would only receive emails when the build was commenced, and then shipped, I noticed several people in here were posting about emails at other stages. they didnt sound crazy to me....

I was in the notorious D1 stage for several weeks...magically, THIS AM, the VOTS system now tells me Im in TRIM...(of course it still says the wrong vehicle) AND I received an email saying the same. Skipped all the other steps, and whether i was supposed to be notified or not. Please dont ask the obvious...is it in TRIM "now"?? how could it be shipped 8/6 if its in trim? mebbe it WAS being built weeks ago..mebbe not....

Conclusions...the VOTS system is inaccurate, to say the least...doesnt happen in anything reasonably close to real time, and is clearly way behind (pick the number of days/weeks yourself) the actual physical location/stage of build of your(?) vehicle.

Something is being built for me, mebbe, possibly.....it will be delivered when its delivered...mebbe/possibly...

Why did i put myself thru this??? why not?..its alot of money...they put the system in place specifically to address these questions from people who ORDERED a vehicle...I owe no one any excuses or explanations for my phone calls, either here, or at DODGE.....as a matter of fact, I can make an excellent case that DODGE owes ME an explanation. Suffice it to say, I omitted (yeh I know "thank gawd") some of the stupider, dumber things that were told to me along the way...I began to recognize them early on in the conversations....

At some point..I "think" I'll get get...mebbe y'all will get yours too...but i would not base ANYTHING on ANY info the VOTS system shows, or what the "telephone answerers" say, or, what the "dealer" is saying eiher...AND THAT sportsfans, is the truth.....
 
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#2 ·
I'm not surprised that VOTS isn't real time. I went from Production Scheduled to Paint, skipping Frame. I think the email people are getting (at least what I got) just says the build has started, it doesn't specifically say frame, paint or trim. VOTS has said paint for 3 days so I figure in reality it is probably sitting in Final Inspection. Despite not being real time and 100% accurate, at least for my experience it has been pretty close based on what the dealer's computer has shown. My dealer gave me an estimated ship date of 8/13 a couple of weeks ago, and my truck seemingly started to build this Monday, so that seems pretty reasonable. I've never seen a reason to call Customer Service, my dealer has been more than happy to share what his computer shows.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I can appreciate that, and you're right...however, if ONE of the telephone answerers had provided anything close to a coherent explanation early on, I wouldnt have bothered either.....my dealer is cooperative, personable, and Im dealing with the sales mgr....I can only assume that the system HE access IS closer to reality, because if its not, your dealer is looking at the same system......btw, thanks for that URL...I actually had it in my evergrowing "library" of "DODGE STUFF"...its not there.....clearly, the thing is shipped with a sticker on the window...however THAT begs the question of how quicly THAT system is updated...but i guess ill have to add that to my mornings activities for awhile!!!
 
#5 ·
I agree with everything. I said before and will say again the VOT system is just a gimmeck and provides nothing accurate. My dealer told me yesterday he spoke with contact and my truck would gontonframe tgis week. This was late yesterday. Today per the system it is already to paint. I do think you have to keep in mind since it takes so little time to build the system probably can not keep up. Again just Monday was told no 2014 were being built and none would be till the end of the month by CS. So that info is just as bad
 
#6 ·
Id like to be as generous as you are JAMES...but I know corporate baloney when i smell it....we're at the point where reading bar codes takes nanoseconds...no matter how fast the thing "moves down the line"...if the VOTS system is indeed so far behind, thats telling me one of two things...if it HAS the right info, someone need to schedule updates faster, or in real time....if it doesnt have the right info, (and my description change tells me it doesnt), then there are "people" in the middle of it, punching keys, possible off..kaff kaff..hard copy inputs....couple that with the apparent delays built into a poorly designed system, and you get.....US.......

BTW, thanks to the mods, wherever you are....
 
#7 ·
I've probably ordered 15 cars over the years I've been driving (since 1960). This goes all the way from a '67 Dodge Charger up to my new truck that I ordered last week. The last order was for a Mercedes S550 4Matic. So, that car was built in Sindelfingen, Germany. It took 6 weeks from the time I placed the order until it arrived at the M-B dealership. I had no status updates on production, it arrived when it arrived. And, in order to even get it the dealership had to have an allocation to order a car which they did NOT have. This required them to obtain a build allocation from another M-B dealership. From all the "stuff" on this forum it appears that this VOTS system simply creates frustration for the buyer (and doubtless for RAM -- since many folks get activated and want "real-time" status updates). They'd be better off to trash this system than mislead the buyer. I do think that serious issues are afoot when it takes more than 3 months from order to delivery. Having said that, I did receive the "Scheduled for Production" notice for my truck less than a week from when I ordered it. I went over the data carefully and everything I ordered from model to options was 100% accurate. Frankly, that IS customer-centric. I'd be fine now with just a phone call from the dealer letting me know my truck is prepped and ready for me to pick up.
 
#12 ·
good...please believe me, i was MORE than tempted to take you up on your kind offer......the dealer assured me I was getting what i ordered...but frankly i dont know EXACTLY what system he was looking at, and im not sure i'd believe any of them (people OR systems) at this point...moreover, he told me IF somehow it wound up an OUTDOORSMAN, i would get that at the price we agreed on, and that trimline costs more...having said that, and knowing full well its just a matter of taste, i dont like the OUTDOORSMAN...i want what i ordered...BTW, as i may have mentioned, the snail mail buildsheet, which was run and dated and postmarked 6/29, had it right.....I requested another one a few days ago, specifically to be sent snail mail...lets see which gets here first, the truck, or the build sheet...(one clerk said it takes 3-4 weeks to snail mail one...) and more importantly, what it says...ALL the items (all 5 pages of em) were exactly correct including the vehicle ...thanks again for the offer...I wish there was a way....
 
#13 ·
No problem. I really hope it is an issue with VOTS as that is relatively easy to fix. If it is anything else it won't be a good thing. My gut instinct is one of the description files got crossed and that caused the issue.

In any case, your dealer should be looking at a system that is higher up the data food chain than the VOTS system. Right now VOTS is a snapshot in time. It seems someone has a fuzzy lens when taking the snapshot and I want to ensure it gets cleaned.
 
#14 ·
SPP,

If you want to look up an order, look this one up.. The last 8 of the VIN is DG547139 and the VON is 28392963.

This is from my order for a 2013 Ram 3500, which I cancelled back in May. But for some odd reason, it still comes up in VOTS as "production scheduled".. Dealer says it's cancelled, per my request...

If for some reason it does get built and shows up, I'll take it! Because it's supposedly cancelled, I just put a new order in for a '14MY (VON 29551658) .. It's equipped the same, except I added the factory spray-in bedliner... I'd rather have Line-X, but with my new position at work, I don't have time to get it done on a weekday...
 
#15 ·
really yankee!?!??! They are trying to get that system up and running as a perk to those who order. It is not meant for daily tracking and really is purely a nicety they don't have to do. If you had any idea as to what goes on daily at any assembly plant you would understand why its not working (it is change over) right now. Really I think a simple ETA from the dealer should be enough. Be patient man stress kills.
 
#17 ·
I can appreciate your position...I actually wish the thing had never been invented..go back to the old days..order the thing, and go to sleep for a couple months, until the dealer calls...or, occassionally call HIM "just because".....BUT INSTEAD....I was told I could track the vehicles' production BY THE DEALER...and frankly, I think he meant it exactly the way he said it...I suspect I have learned MORE about the way the thing works, or more precisely DOESNT WORK, than alot of folks who are making honest, but ill informed attempts in here to make sense of it..I see those other posts and laff...and its not funny..... I wish you had been listening to some of the so-called explanations, outright lies, and total inventions I have been told...if you had heard them, in response to simple questions, you wouldnt be posting what you did..CHRYSLER/DODGE/JEEP isnt some charitable institution....I expect accurate, TIMELY information.....but no matter...when the thing shows up, (assuming its the right vehicle) and assuming it runs waaaaaaaaaay better than the VOTS system....then all this wont matter...except to the ongoing legion of people who will post in here wanting to try to figure out "whats going on"...loooong after these threads have been buried....
mebbe by then they'll have it working...or not....yeh..."stress kills..."I couldve lived without all this......
 
#16 ·
Teflon I would ask you really? This is a service they offered. If they could not offer it right then they should not offer it at all. It is no different that a service on your actual truck. Would you accept them saying the radio or nav different work. No you wouldnt. If you would read a few of these threads. It isnt neccessarly the Vots system that makes people mad it is the constant wrong stories times and dates that are given. I dont think it is to much to ask for a customer who is paying 30 to 50k for a truck to want a reasonable time period they could expect what they ordered.
 
#19 ·
first of all James your going to compare a service that can tell you when your truck is being built to a mechanical service on a truck?!?!?! LMAO Yankee heres the other problem, they want to make the customer happy, sometimes they cant access the system so they feel they need to say something. By doing so they have no idea you"ve called 500 times so when the y try and be nice they give you the wrong info. It is a system that needs work no doubt, but its more of a courtesy then a need don't you think? IDK I guess im just one of those people who can wait for the dealer to call me and say come get it.
 
#20 ·
first of all James your going to compare a service that can tell you when your truck is being built to a mechanical service on a truck?!?!?! LMAO Yankee heres the other problem, they want to make the customer happy, sometimes they cant access the system so they feel they need to say something. By doing so they have no idea you"ve called 500 times so when the y try and be nice they give you the wrong info. It is a system that needs work no doubt, but its more of a courtesy then a need don't you think? IDK I guess im just one of those people who can wait for the dealer to call me and say come get it.
No I dont...but its not worth the argument...THEY created the system...if it was accurate, i wouldnt call 500 times, and get 500 explanations...including explanations that include...your VIN/VOTS doesnt exist...we dont know why someone else "in the building" gave you shipment dates...your phone number isnt in our system...your email isnt in our system....you name it, they told me that...it got to the point where i could tell if I had an even shot at getting something useful in the first few seconds....all ...blah blah blah....its inexcuseable.....I dont need a "courtesy system" that isnt worth the powder to blow it up....I need and deserve, accurate info...no matter how often i call, or which "telephone answerer" I happen to get....
 
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