News Analysis
The Gist
- App failure. Sonos faced significant backlash and a 25% stock price drop following a disastrous app release.
- The wrong fix. Critics argue Sonos's response focuses too much on internal processes rather than customer needs.
- Seven new promises. Despite introducing new customer service promises, industry experts remain skeptical about the impact on customer trust.
Audio equipment company Sonos saw major backlash earlier this year with the release of its new app. As customers raged about broken functionality, the company’s stock prices plummeted, taking a 25% dive in share value.
Now, nearly six months later, Sonos is making a commitment to a better customer experience. But is it too little too late?
The Sonos Saga: App Release Gone Wrong
The release of Sonos’s new app in early May promised users easier-to-use software, more control and personalized experiences. What customers received was wildly different.
Customers immediately took their complaints online (and to customer service), with grievances like: broken volume and pause buttons, inability to connect speakers and hardware, the app draining mobile device battery life, broken accessibility features for blind users and much more.
While Sonos CEO Patrick Spence published a letter apologizing for the issues, customers were not impressed with the new, months-long plan to release fixes.
Sonos took a hit with the flop of its new app. The bigger issue, however, was how the company’s customer service teams responded to complaints. People reported waiting on hold for long periods of time followed by poor customer service. One customer posted on Twitter about an agent hanging up on them.
@Sonos hi Sonos, I just spent 20 mins waiting in a queue for Sonos UK and when your colleague finally answered his line was breaking up really badly, when I said I couldn’t understand him he just hung up 😡
— Michael Dee (@MJD56) July 31, 2024
Now, months later, Sonos has released a statement that it will commit to improved quality and customer service. But is it too late to win back spurned customers?
Related Article: Sonos App Redesign Fail: Customer Outrage and Falling Stock Prices
Sonos Makes 7 New Promises to Customers
Sonos outlined seven commitments it plans to make to customers in a statement released in early October.
We’re renewing our focus on software quality, customer experience, and delivering the excellence you deserve from Sonos. Read about our commitments to you on the blog. https://t.co/HO5tahDhkx pic.twitter.com/dg1xCPXQEH
— Sonos (@Sonos) October 1, 2024
The commitments include:
- A better customer experience
- More stringent testing prior to launches
- Gradual release of changes to allow customers to adapt
- A new quality ombudsperson to guarantee transparency
- Extended warranties on home speakers
- Regular software upgrades to improve the app
- A new customer advisory board
Some of these changes are already underway. Others will be put in place through the remainder of the year.
The company claims that, “to demonstrate the significance of these commitments to the company,” the executive leadership team will not accept any annual bonus payouts between October 2024 and September 2025 — unless the company succeeds in improving the quality of the app and winning back customer trust.
Are These Even the Right Promises?
Sonos has offered up seven promises to their customers — but they might have missed the mark.
“The first 90% of this press release is focused on their reputation with broad platitudes about how they offer ‘the best audio system’ (mentioned twice in the first two paragraphs) and how committed they are to their customers,” said David Avrin, customer experience consultant and author of “Ridiculously Easy to Do Business With,” among other titles.
Then, he added, they go into detail on organizational changes they will make to address the root cause and new internal structures to provide better quality control oversight. “Meanwhile, what do their customers care about? Fixing the app. Barely mentioned near the end.” he said.
Why is this press release so bad? Because it’s all about Sonos, said Hank Brigman, CEO of Customer Experience Strategies, Inc. and author of “Touchpoint Power!”
It’s all about their processes and methodology, he explained: “Sonos, we as customers don’t care about your methodology. Just make sure your stuff works. And if it doesn’t, the key to us is that when we take our valuable time to inform you of your problems, we have an experience that is worthy of your brand.”
Brigman added, “I laugh at the press release’s claim that executives won’t accept annual bonuses unless there is improved quality in the app experience and in rebuilding customer trust. As customers, we have no idea how those bonuses would be determined.” In his experience, he said, executives are very good at meeting bonus triggers.
“Sonos, want to write a better press release? Write one sentence about what you are going to do to improve product and app release processes,” he said. “Then, use the rest of the press release to tell us about how you are actually going to improve our experiences when we need to communicate issues with you, including follow-up.”
Related Article: Bad Customer Service Exposed: 5 Stories to Learn From
Is It Too Little Too Late for Sonos?
Brigman touched on a key point: this press release comes months after the fiasco happened — a long time to keep customers waiting. Will customers stick around and hope for improvements, or have they had enough?
“My biggest question of leadership: what the heck have you been doing since May?” asked Brigman. “Wake up! You note that ‘80% of the app’s missing features have been reintroduced.’ Do you have one developer?”
And, he added, as bad as the press release is, it’s six months too late. “As is, it would have at least been an effort within the first week after the app release in May. You haven’t just missed the mark, you don’t even know where the mark is.”
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Nick Glimsdahl, host of the podcast “Press 1 For Nick,” had a more positive take. He said Sonos’ plans for testing, slower updates and appointing a quality leader show they’ve learned from their past mistakes. “However, they need to act fast to avoid losing more customers to other brands," he said. "The success of these efforts will depend on how quickly and effectively they deliver results.”
Nobody is sitting on pins and needles wondering whether Sonos is going to appoint a “Quality Ombudsman,” added Avrin. “We have busy lives and many will have simply moved on with a competitor or stopped trying.”
