Samsung’s Reputation Takes a Hit as Incidents Mount

Samsung’s Reputation Takes a Hit as Incidents Mount

Carriers stop distributing replacement Galaxy Note 7; Verizon CEO calls recall effort ‘real black eye”

            As of Monday, Samsung Electronic Co.’s rush to replace Galaxy Note 7 phones after a second recall, appears to have damaged the company’s reputation among consumers. The phone maker scrambled to manufacture and distribute new Note 7s to replace the 2.5 million devices recalled last month due to defective lithium-ion batteries. After recent reports of new phones overheating, Samsung temporarily halted production, and U.S. phone carriers including AT&T, Verizon Communications Inc., and T-Mobile U.S. Inc., said they would stop distributing replacement Note 7s.  

Samsung and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission authorized the recall last month of 1 million phones in the U.S., says they are working together to investigate new incidents. Samsung sped up production of more with batteries made from a different manufacture, and re-released over 500,000 mobile devices within 12 days to stores without coordinating with CPSC, which lead to more confusion.

As discussed in class branding is very important, and consumers gravitate to companies that project a trusting nature. Samsung is experiencing branding mistrust because of conflicting information given about the recall, and the redistribution of defective products that are still causing issues.

Link to article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/samsungs-reputation-takes-a-hit-as-incidents-mount-1476136987