Samsung Says Galaxy Note 7 Customers Have Been Given ‘Enough Compensations’ Amidst Explosive Battery Debacle
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Samsung’s 2016 financial outlook took a pretty big hit this summer, when the South Korean tech-titan was forced to recall millions of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 handsets. At issue, as many of you may recall, was an apparent battery-related malfunction resulting in the spontaneous explosion of certain Galaxy Note 7 units — and, of course, the many cases of property damage, and even some of physical damage, that ensued for a number of not-so-happy Note 7 adopters around the world.
And while the Galaxy-maker, itself, has taken full responsibility for the fiasco, offering disaffected customers a number of sweet incentives to help them replace their faulty Note 7 handsets, the company has apparently come out just recently, indicating that it thinks the class action lawsuit recently waged against it is “just too much.”
That’s right, folks — after months of already bad publicity, Samsung appears to be taking the high road, yet again, pointing the finger not at its own, yet-to-be-addressed manufacturing issues, but at the many customers who believed the firm had nothing but their best interests in mind all along.
Sure, Samsung may have formally apologized to the public; but behind closed doors, according to a number of Korean news reports, the company has recently been carrying out some serious legislative defense. In a recent letter to the Seoul, South Korea Central District Court, for instance, Samsung’s legal team expressed that the firm believes “We gave enough compensations and benefits to Note 7 consumers.” What’s more, Samsung believes that “the damages consumers are claiming are within the range that is endurable,” according to local news reports quoting Samsung’s written statement provided to the court last week.
Samsung’s seemingly blunt statement comes in response to a class action lawsuit that was lodged against it earlier this fall. In that case, as many as five individuals allege that they have experienced “significant physical, emotional, and or mental damage” [to themselves or their property] as the direct result of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 handset having exploded spontaneously while in their possession.
Of course Samsung, according to its public apology published in The Wall Street Journal, was quick to “defend” itself, pointing out that the company has “recalled all the products resulting in a loss of nearly 10 trillion won in order to minimize risk that consumers may face.”
It’s interesting to see Samsung take such a defensive tone amidst this debacle — a debacle that, all things considered, is a fault entirely of its own. These “we’ve given consumers enough” assumptions effectively undermine the South Korean firm’s integrity in the grand scheme of things, particularly as its fiercest rivals — namely Apple — have been considerably more gracious towards customers in the face of similar, product-related issues.
Instead of standing by its products, through and through, Samsung appears to be embracing the idea that everyone else is responsible for its own failures — and I, for one, think a lot of smartphone buyers will remember that when selecting their next handset.
Do you think Samsung’s defensive attitude is a good one for business?
How do Apple’s efforts compare?
Let us know in the comments!
