“In other words,” CNNMoney correspondent Samuel Burke responded,
“the phone wasn’t good enough for them [Samsung] to keep making it for
now, but was okay for consumers to keep on using.”
As the crisis grew, customers seeking an exchange for the Galaxy Note
7 opened their email in-boxes to garbled, incomprehensible emails from
Samsung’s customer service department—at times with the wrong order
number attached, as well as other errors.
“As this is going to another company, when these exchanges are
submitted, we cannot check the status of them for you until they submit
you an order number for the new phone or tracking information,” wrote a
customer service rep to a Note 7 customer who had been requesting a
refund for almost a month with no response. “We have limited information
on a lot of the process at this time. I hope this information is helpful and
resolves the issues soon.” (Translation: We’re clueless about what we’re
doing or what you should do.)
The brand’s reputation was in free fall, yet Samsung was failing to act.
“Does anyone here have a Samsung Galaxy Note 7?” Stephen Colbert
asked on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “If so, please calmly remove
yourself from the theater. Hazmat teams are waiting for you in the lobby.
“Didn’t Samsung recall those phones that were catching fire? Yes, they
did,” he continued. “It’s like the old saying: Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, oh my god! My crotch is on fire!”
Even Sprint, a longtime Samsung ally, took a swipe at its partner.
“Hey @sprint, what if I don’t trust @SamsungMobile devices
anymore?” a frustrated customer tweeted.
Sprint’s response?
“Greetings,” wrote the carrier from its Twitter account. “You still can
trust Apple, HTC, LG or Alcatel.”
Every time Samsung announced a new television or washing machine
or phone on its Facebook and Twitter pages, or customers talked about
Samsung products on Web forums, an endless deluge of sarcastic zingers
appeared in the comments sections.
“I’m sitting in front of a Samsung LCD monitor. I hope it doesn’t
explode!”
Airlines around the world banned the Note 7 from flights. Pranksters
posted YouTube videos of Grand Theft Auto V showing characters buying