Letter to Lynne Calder

[YANG]

A customer focused mindset and clear communication actually don’t take time. They just take will. One meeting and a plan can be executed in weeks. Ineos has dropped the ball and let it roll down the hill, across the gully, through the stream and half way up the far side embankment. This failure to acknowledge and take customer feedback with urgency has led to a group of owners with issues that could have been resolved much earlier. Had customer feedback been accounted for many of the current issues could have been resolved early in production. Failure to do so only causes more after sales warranty repairs and dissatisfaction. A new company should certainly not walk away from its “beta” testers (actual owners) with actual problems and leave them to fend for themselves.

I place the blame squarely on Ineos corporate and a very closed off upper management. One that behaved in a manner where they knew better what was going on then actual reality. It’s corporate ostrich behavior. Shove your head in the sand and make excuses when the shit piled up so high you couldn’t climb out of it.

The reaction speaks to the problem. All of a sudden angry owners with problems are making Ineos look bad. All of a sudden it’s damage control trying to tamp out fires every time they spring up.

 

[YANG]

China boasts a brand dedicated to manufacturing off-road vehicles, Great Wall Motor. This company provides complimentary rescue services, reaching even those stranded in the desert Gobi. The founder of Great Wall Motor is a meticulous automobile manufacturer who excels at listening to user feedback and swiftly incorporates improvements into subsequent models. These timely adjustments help prevent recurring issues that users may encounter during operation. My interest in the Ineos Grenadier began when it was first produced, even before it made its way to China. Issues have been noted, including water leakage from the roof window, excessive heat exposure of the roof window, a lack of illumination for the keyhole, an absence of a USB charging port on the central control panel, rusted exterior screws, water leakage from the tailgate seal, a low-mounted reversing camera producing a blurred image, significant wind noise within the cabin, and the power fuse box under the second-row seats being in close proximity to the floor without any protective measures. Should the vehicle wade through water and internal flooding occur, could it potentially compromise the car's electrical system? Furthermore, I must express my dissatisfaction with the mini display positioned behind the steering wheel, which is limited to displaying fault codes and a series of icons, such as the differential lock. Is such a design truly necessary?

 

[Phobiac]

A customer focused mindset and clear communication actually don’t take time. They just take will. One meeting and a plan can be executed in weeks. Ineos has dropped the ball and let it roll down the hill, across the gully, through the stream and half way up the far side embankment. This failure to acknowledge and take customer feedback with urgency has led to a group of owners with issues that could have been resolved much earlier. Had customer feedback been accounted for many of the current issues could have been resolved early in production. Failure to do so only causes more after sales warranty repairs and dissatisfaction. A new company should certainly not walk away from its “beta” testers (actual owners) with actual problems and leave them to fend for themselves.

I place the blame squarely on Ineos corporate and a very closed off upper management. One that behaved in a manner where they knew better what was going on then actual reality. It’s corporate ostrich behavior. Shove your head in the sand and make excuses when the shit piled up so high you couldn’t climb out of it.

The reaction speaks to the problem. All of a sudden angry owners with problems are making Ineos look bad. All of a sudden it’s damage control trying to tamp out fires every time they spring up.

You're absolutely right that customer focus and transparent communication don't require time, just the will and leadership to prioritize them. That’s a crucial distinction.

My comment was more about organizational maturity, not an excuse for inaction. New companies often struggle to operationalize feedback loops quickly, but I fully agree: failing to act on early, honest input, especially from customers who are essentially beta testers is a missed opportunity and a risk to brand trust.

Your points underscore how essential it is for Ineos to not just listen, but to visibly act on what they hear. Otherwise, as you’ve noted, the fallout is not just operational...it becomes reputational. Hopefully, they start to make that shift with urgency.

 

[Phobiac]

China boasts a brand dedicated to manufacturing off-road vehicles, Great Wall Motor. This company provides complimentary rescue services, reaching even those stranded in the desert Gobi. The founder of Great Wall Motor is a meticulous automobile manufacturer who excels at listening to user feedback and swiftly incorporates improvements into subsequent models. These timely adjustments help prevent recurring issues that users may encounter during operation. My interest in the Ineos Grenadier began when it was first produced, even before it made its way to China. Issues have been noted, including water leakage from the roof window, excessive heat exposure of the roof window, a lack of illumination for the keyhole, an absence of a USB charging port on the central control panel, rusted exterior screws, water leakage from the tailgate seal, a low-mounted reversing camera producing a blurred image, significant wind noise within the cabin, and the power fuse box under the second-row seats being in close proximity to the floor without any protective measures. Should the vehicle wade through water and internal flooding occur, could it potentially compromise the car's electrical system? Furthermore, I must express my dissatisfaction with the mini display positioned behind the steering wheel, which is limited to displaying fault codes and a series of icons, such as the differential lock. Is such a design truly necessary?

Great Wall Motor has been around since 1984, but it wasn’t until around 2014 that they began consistently leading the China Automobile Customer Satisfaction Index (CACSI), notably with the Haval H6. Since then, they've become top performers across multiple brands—Haval, WEY, Tank, and ORA.

That’s a long journey toward customer excellence, but they’ve clearly committed to it. As @YANG pointed out, by 2024 they were earning first-place CACSI scores across the board, including for after-sales service.

I do agree with @IslandFalconer customer-centricity doesn’t have to take decades. INEOS has the benefit of hindsight and should act with urgency. The roadmap is already well paved by others. Now it’s about the will to follow it.

 

[Commodore]

China boasts a brand dedicated to manufacturing off-road vehicles, Great Wall Motor. This company provides complimentary rescue services, reaching even those stranded in the desert Gobi. The founder of Great Wall Motor is a meticulous automobile manufacturer who excels at listening to user feedback and swiftly incorporates improvements into subsequent models. These timely adjustments help prevent recurring issues that users may encounter during operation. My interest in the Ineos Grenadier began when it was first produced, even before it made its way to China. Issues have been noted, including water leakage from the roof window, excessive heat exposure of the roof window, a lack of illumination for the keyhole, an absence of a USB charging port on the central control panel, rusted exterior screws, water leakage from the tailgate seal, a low-mounted reversing camera producing a blurred image, significant wind noise within the cabin, and the power fuse box under the second-row seats being in close proximity to the floor without any protective measures. Should the vehicle wade through water and internal flooding occur, could it potentially compromise the car's electrical system? Furthermore, I must express my dissatisfaction with the mini display positioned behind the steering wheel, which is limited to displaying fault codes and a series of icons, such as the differential lock. Is such a design truly necessary?

GWM has been around for a long time. Ineos is only a few years into the process. You really can't compare a mature company to a true startup. Give them a little time. Ineos will get there. If keyhole illumination and usb charging ports make the list of complaints then Ineos is doing a good job.

 

[IslandFalconer]

GWM has been around for a long time. Ineos is only a few years into the process. You really can't compare a mature company to a true startup. Give them a little time. Ineos will get there. If keyhole illumination and usb charging ports make the list of complaints then Ineos is doing a good job.

Youth isn’t an excuse for this level of incompetence. Ineos isn’t a new company, one product is new. I doubt Ineos isn’t capable of customer service in niche markets. Pharmaceuticals is niche. They need to start acting with urgency and show a commitment to owners.

 

[Jeremy996]

Ineos is a B2B business in the main, they are not used to the retail space and they are certainly not used to consumer laws!

 

[Baron von Teuchter]

I honestly wouldn’t expect BP or Shell or Rio Tinto or AstraZeneca or HSBC or Unilever or any other non-retail company to do any better as an Automotive startup.

Youth isn’t an excuse for this level of incompetence. Ineos isn’t a new company, one product is new. I doubt Ineos isn’t capable of customer service in niche markets. Pharmaceuticals is niche. They need to start acting with urgency and show a commitment to owners

 

[IslandFalconer]

I honestly wouldn’t expect BP or Shell or Rio Tinto or AstraZeneca or HSBC or Unilever or any other non-retail company to do any better as an Automotive startup.

Sooooooo, actually my spouse is a physician and pharma actually have excellent customer support. Most companies I’ve dealt with through my contract work like BP, Suncor, Shell, Chevron also have excellent customer support and contractor support. Ineos is a very established company. This “pass” so many owners seem so eager to give them is strange to me. There is no level of “bad” service that is acceptable. New product or not. When Tylenol was spiked by a sociopath in 1982 the response was the gold standard of how to react. Ineos has set the Coal standard for how to react. Customer service isn’t some new concept.
So no I don’t give them grace for the way they have treated customers.

 

[IslandFalconer]

Ineos is a B2B business in the main, they are not used to the retail space and they are certainly not used to consumer laws!

As a company entering a space it is on them to understand consumer law and comply. Not on owners to sue for compliance. “ Ignorance of the law is no excuse” I’m sorry but I give them no pass on their colossal shit show