In the wake of Samsung’s investigation of their Galaxy Note 7 devices exploding and their announcement to discontinue sales, Sprint has immediately suspended sales of the Galaxy Note 7. Sprint put out a news release that indicated they were working closely with Samsung to ensure the safety of those customers that have already purchased the device. Sprint will give you a “similar device until the issue is resolved.” Customers can go to any Sprint store to make the temporary exchange. Earlier today, T-Mobile announced that they were halting sales of the Galaxy Note 7, although it is still a little sketchy as to the exact details of Sprint and T-Mobile’s policy, they are promising to take care of the situation. Sprint said they would share more information as it becomes available.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has only been on the market for two weeks – and what started off as a glorious introduction and unprecedented sales has turned into a marketing nightmare. The first reviews were great, but then there were stories of brittle glass – the Galaxy Note 7 is the first to use the new Gorilla Glass 5, which was to be harder and prevent breakage. There were reports that the device would reboot and get stuck in a loop. To top it all off, there are reports of a subtle percentage (0.1%) exploding. To their defense, Samsung did act fast to halt sales and conduct their own investigation. They concluded that it was a battery issue causing the explosions and are now ordering a recall of all Galaxy Note 7s.
After riding a wave of increased profits, Samsung’s stocks have started to slip as the cost of a problem like this goes beyond the sheer money involved in a total recall. There are customer trust and loyalty issues that can also cost the company millions of dollars. Fortunately, Samsung immediately investigated the issue, halted production/shipments, and are now announcing a recall. This action shows that Samsung does care about the quality and safety of its product/customers and could turn into a great public relations move.
The timing could not be worse with Samsung’s arch rival Apple getting ready to launch its new iPhone next week. It may be the reason that Samsung is acting so fast to fix the problem so sales of the Galaxy Note 7 can move forward.