Eager to put this whole Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco behind them, yet keep Galaxy Note 7 users as customers, Samsung Canada is following their US counterpart and offering a $100 CAD bill credit if they purchase a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge. This refund form of compensation started during the first recall when Samsung would give you $25 for returning your Galaxy Note 7 no matter what you decided to do at the carrier, Best Buy, or Samsung.com – choose a Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, or another manufacturers’ smartphone. This was just a jester of good faith for the inconvenience to the customer. To sweeten the deal, even more, Samsung is offering to refund your Samsung Galaxy Note 7 accessories as long as the customer has proof of purchase.
Paul Brannen, chief operations officer and executive vice-president of mobile solutions at Samsung Canada, said, “We greatly appreciate the support and patience of our customers, carrier and retail partners and remain committed to putting our customers first.” Time will tell if these small gestures will help keep Samsung fans loyal. Studies have shown that 40% of Samsung customers will not buy another Samsung smartphone from the company and that nearly a third are switching to an iPhone.
Other than the significant cash loss Samsung is getting hit with, investors are wary of Samsung’s future as current customers flock to iPhone or other brands. Some went to another brand because they would not settle for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge and were tired of waiting for a new and improved Galaxy Note 7. Some of those customers may be back for a Galaxy Note 8 or Galaxy Note 9.
However, there is talk that Samsung may discontinue the ‘Note’ name or even the device altogether. Samsung sells millions of Galaxy Note devices every year so it is hard to believe they will abandon the device completely. After the engineering fixes are done, it could make it a viable product once again. The Galaxy Note has filled a niche that no other device seems to be able to fill. The S-Pen and Wacom technology have made it an unequaled ‘personal assistant’ to help a user keep track of items. It is a sketcher’s or photoshopper’s dream phone and one that should be around for a while. Samsung needs to work on finding a solution and repairing their image before another Galaxy ‘Note’ hits the streets.