After an overheating battery catastrophe, Samsung is making the right moves to recover, says Durham College School of Business and IT and Management professor, Sam Plati.
The company was in the headlines last year after faulty batteries in its Note 7 phones led to explosions and overheating. Samsung responded appropriately by recalling 200,000 phones in Canada, says Plati.
Samsung didn’t try to hide anything, admitted to its mistakes and didn’t try to blame any other company for what happened, notes Plati.
Although no other cellphone company has ever had a whole line of phone explode, Plati says Samsung’s actions have kept some of its customers loyal.
Plati believes Samsung’s honesty regarding its issues has set a precedent. No other cellphone company has ever recalled all its products and offered discounts on its next product, he says. Plati adds Samsung has even prevented any Note 7 that is still out there from being used, by completely disabling the function of the cellphones, what cellphone geeks refer to as ‘bricking’ them.
“I don’t think any manufacturer would have done what Samsung did, not even Apple,” says Plati.
Samsung’s Note 7 has been an absolute disaster since its first recall last September and although so many have been recalled the company has announced it will release the Note 8 later this year.
Samsung’s mobile chief, D.J. Koh, came forward regarding the battery faults that arose with the Note 7. After explaining the causes of the Note 7 explosions and overheating battery, Koh confirmed the Note 8 will be released in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Koh also announced Samsung’s eight-step plan to ensure the new batteries for the Note 8 and Samsung’s S8 are safe for manufacturing. Plati says Samsung is making the right move with releasing the Note 8.
Plati believes the Note 8 will receive some negative stigma and some consumers will wait before purchasing, but the people who love the iconic Note brand will “forgive and forget” and will purchase the new phones right away.
If HTC, Huaweii or any other smaller brand of phone had the same issue as the Note 7, North Americans wouldn’t be so quick to forgive them, according to Plati.
Plati believes the Samsung brand, like Apple and Microsoft, has a strong following.
The Note 8 has received a good response from consumers, says Plati. After some polling in his classes Plati confirms there is some interest in the Note 8.
The Chronicle also contacted several mechandisers in the Oshawa area who are reporting people seem to still have an interest in the Note 8 and the S8.
Although if the Note 8 experiences a problem, Plati believes it will be the end of the Note line.
“The S branding and the Note branding will be prematurely retired,” says Plati.
