The year 2016 is likely to be known as the great Samsung Galaxy Note 7 meltdown. What a customer relations nightmare this has become, although nobody will know the true extent of the damage until Samsung releases its third and fourth quarter statements. Many factors will decide the final outcome, although one of the most important will likely be seeing whether customers are willing to wait for the updated Galaxy Note 7. Earlier it was reported by Samsung that 70-percent of the current Galaxy Note 7 users in Canada had already registered their device for recall. For those who have not returned their Galaxy Note 7s, Samsung is sending out an update that will produce a white battery indicator and every three hours you will get a notice to power down your device and return it to Samsung. While it might be annoying, it is designed to be effective.
One of the most critical areas is how fast Samsung can get replacement Galaxy Note 7s to their customers. While Samsung is persuading customers to return their Note 7 for a new Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge, many are opting for another brand altogether and there is a good chance that many of those customers will keep their new alternate manufactured device with Samsung losing the sale altogether. Samsung Canada COO Paul Brannen claims they are already shipping new Galaxy Note 7s to previous Canadian customers, and they hope to have those customers taken care of by the first part of October. Which will then be followed by the resuming of regular selling to all customers by mid-October.
This is not a bad turnaround time considering the official recall was announced on September 12. Brennan indicated that Samsung worked as fast as they could considering the circumstance and the number of devices that were involved. After Samsung had determined it was a battery issue, hundreds of thousands of new batteries had to be manufactured – correctly – and then the units had to be rebuilt as if to gear up for a new release. The new Galaxy Note 7s will have a green battery indicator and the box will bear a solid black square on the upper right of the white label.